Mexico City

Up until 2013, it was common to refer to the city by the initialism "DF" from Distrito Federal de México. Since 2013, use of the abbreviation "CDMX" has become more common. The city is also coloquially referred as just "México" when used in a local geographic context. This denomination is also used in road signs and highway names. The informal demonym for Mexico City residents is chilango. Chilango was historically used pejoratively by people living outside Mexico City to "connote a loud, arrogant, ill-mannered, loutish person". For their part those living in Mexico City designate insultingly those who live elsewhere as living in la provincia ('the provinces', 'the periphery') and many proudly embrace the term chilango. …

The oldest signs of human occupation in the area of Mexico City are those of the "Peñón woman" and others found in San Bartolo Atepehuacan (Gustavo A. Madero). They were believed to correspond to the lower Cenolithic period (9500–7000 BC). However, a 2003 study placed the age of the Peñon woman at 12,700 years old (calendar age), one of the oldest human remains discovered in the Americas. Studies of her mitochondrial DNA suggest she was either of Asian or European or Aboriginal Australian origin. The area was the destination of the migrations of the Teochichimecas during the 8th and 13th centuries, people that would give rise to the Toltec, and Mexica (Aztecs) cultures. The latter arrived around the 14th century to settle first on the shores of the lake. The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325 or 1327. …

Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called the Basin of Mexico. This valley is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the high plateaus of south-central Mexico. It has a minimum altitude of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that reach elevations of over 5,000 meters (16,000 feet). This valley has no natural drainage outlet for the waters that flow from the mountainsides, making the city vulnerable to flooding. Drainage was engineered through the use of canals and tunnels starting in the 17th century. Mexico City primarily rests on what was Lake Texcoco. Seismic activity is frequent there. Lake Texcoco was drained starting from the 17th century. Although none of the lake waters remain, the city rests on the lake bed's heavily saturated clay. …

Secular works of art of this period include the equestrian sculpture of Charles IV of Spain, locally known as El Caballito ("The little horse"). This piece, in bronze, was the work of Manuel Tolsá and it has been placed at the Plaza Tolsá, in front of the Palacio de Mineria (Mining Palace). Directly in front of this building is the Museo Nacional de Arte (Munal) (the National Museum of Art). During the 19th century, an important producer of art was the Academia de San Carlos (San Carlos Art Academy), founded during colonial times, and which later became the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (the National School of Arts) including painting, sculpture and graphic design, one of UNAM's art schools. Many of the works produced by the students and faculty of that time are now displayed in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos (National Museum of San Carlos). …

Mexico City is one of the most important economic hubs in Latin America. The city proper produces 15.8% of the country's gross domestic product. In 2002, Mexico City had a Human Development Index score of 0.915, identical to that of South Korea. In 2007, residents in the top twelve percent of GDP per capita holders in the city had a mean disposable income of US$98,517. The high spending power of Mexico City inhabitants makes the city attractive for companies offering prestige and luxury goods. According to a 2009 study conducted by PwC, Mexico City had a GDP of $390 billion, ranking it as the eighth richest city in the world and the richest in Latin America. In 2009, Mexico City alone would rank as the 30th largest economy in the world. Mexico City is the greatest contributor to the country's industrial GDP (15. …

Mexico City International Airport is Mexico City's primary airport (IATA Airport Code: MEX), and serves as the hub of Aeroméxico (SkyTeam). Felipe Ángeles International Airport (IATA Airport Code: NLU), more commonly known as AIFA, is Mexico City's secondary airport, and was opened in 2022. It serves as the hub for the state-owned airline Mexicana de Aviación. It is located in Zumpango, State of Mexico, 48.8 kilometres (30 mi) north-northeast of the historic center of Mexico City by car. In 2019, the graphic designer Lance Wyman was engaged to create an integrated map of the multimodal public transportation system; he presented a new logo for the Sistema de Movilidad Integrada, describing eight distinct modes of transportation. The head of the government, Claudia Sheinbaum, said the branding would be used for a new single payment card to streamline public transportation fare collection. …