5 RGSOUNDF - a year ago
Seemingly relaxing public square allowing for a calming break after touring the busy arts and crafts market across the street. However, the place is steeped in history, mostly tragic. The park is alternatively known as Jardin (Garden) Morelos, named so after the monument to honor José María Morelos y Pavón (1765-1815), a Catholic priest and one of the early leaders of the Mexican struggle for independence, executed by the Spanish authorities.
Almost one hundred years later, the place has seen a horrifying death of Gustavo Moreno, a brother of President Francisco I. Madero (1873-1913), who incidentally inaugurated the said monument 11 months before. During the "Ten Tragic Days" in February 1913, after a military coup, the Presidential Palace was bombarded from the Arsenal (Ciudadela), the red long building on the other side of the square. The brother of the president Madero, Gustavo Madero (1875-1913), himself an active participant in the Mexican Revolution was kidnapped and tortured by the monument, together with Captain Adolfo Bassó (1851-1913), after which they were both executed by a group of drunken soldiers.
