Plaza Morelia / Jardín Garibaldi

The Plaza Morelia and the Jardín Garibaldi are two little known public spaces on the northern edge of Roma Norte. The plaza is perhaps surprisingly overshadowed by the much smaller Plaza Romita to its immediate south.

The Jardín Garibaldi enjoyed a brief moment in the sun when it was rehabilitated as part of the reconfiguration of the Avenida Chapultepec. That was practically the first time anyone had thought of the obscure public triangle. Even still, on theater nights, overflow crowds from the giant cultural center will mingle here.

The bust of Giuseppe Garibaldi is marked with the date 1864. The unification of Italy wouldn’t be complete until 1871. But by the time unification was achieved, Garibaldi was already enjoying a tremendous international reputation as a warrior and champion of democratic reform. His anti-Catholicism and later war against Austria meant that commemoration in Mexico would need to wait until after the Maximiliano regime (1861-1867).

The first mention of the monument’s placement here is in 1881. Garibaldi’s Australian-born grandson, Peppino, would later participate in the Mexican Revolution and it is he who is honored in Mexico City’s much more famous Plaza Garibaldi.

Just south of the Jardín, the Plaza Morelia opens up from the Calle Guaymas. A small neighborhood park with a playground, today it’s principally known for the Circular de Morelia Site of Memory. This a commemorative site to honor and provide support for the memory of victims of the State Security Apparatus and the Secret Police during the “Dirty War” of the 1970s. It’s open to the public.

Today the building, on the eastern edge of the circle, is run by the Mexican Sub-secretary for Human Rights. In its day, this same building had a grim reputation for disappearances, and worse.  It opened to the public in 2019.