La Virgen Light Rail

The La Virgen Light Rail Station is named for the intersection of the Calzada de la Virgen with the Calzada de Tlalpan.

The Calzada de la Virgen cuts straight across this part of Coyoacán and ends at the Canal Nacional. The distance is some 4.6 kms. It’s most famous today for its two tianguis, on Wednesdays all the way in Culhuacan and just before the canal. The next day, the tianguis sets up closer to the station, in the Colonia Avante. The neighborhood reminds us that most of this area, including lower Culhuacan, became part of the Giant Hacienda of San Antonio de Padua Coapa. And though the Hacienda continued gobbling up its neighbors even through the 19th century, by the early 20th century, the neighborhood was laid out with homes for the wealthy.

The neighborhood has remained one of the greener parts of Coyoacán.  The calzada, from the station, leads down to the famous Coyotes Zoo, the only one of Mexico City’s zoos to feature only species endemic to the Valley of Mexico. The rather famous market is about a 15-minute walk from La Virgen station. But pedestrians can make a day of it by ending up at the Canal Nacional. It’s not the most touristic of locations in Mexico City or even in well-known Coyoacán. But it is a pleasant calzada, leading down past the Naval Academy and into ancient Culhuacan.