Personal Biography

I am a graduating Political Science major from Christopher Newport University from Virginia Beach, Virginia. I am attending Florida Coastal School of Law this upcoming fall to pursue a career in Family Law to hopefully become an Adoption Attorney a lifelong passion of mine. I am the child of a Master Chief in the United States Navy and Professor of English with five children, who now reside in Jacksonville, Florida.

Urbs and Civitas in Colonial Mexico City: Unearthing the Art of City Planning

Amanda Rocamontes

Sponsoring Professor: Dr. Steven Spalding

Abstract:

Throughout history, the study of ancient and modern cities has relied on a balance between focusing on the physical structures and the citizens occupying them. These dual concepts, otherwise known as urbs and civitas, or physical architecture and citizens respectively, have been viewed for centuries as opposing elements of cities by numerous urbanization and city-planning scholars. On the contrary, this paper seeks to rediscover the intricacies of these two terms in regards to their intertwined, inseparable relationship within cities, focusing on their mutual influence and connection rather than their oppositional elements. By analyzing primary sources of artwork, literature, and city views depicting Mexico City during its colonization period, the concept of urbs and civitas can be examined as relational entities of city planning, each one affecting the other in a correlating manner. Focusing on Mexico City in particular provides an ideal subject for this study, since it was a prominent city that underwent vast urbanization and rebuilding during its colonization period, and ultimately relied on the relationship between urbs and civitas to impart the ideal of Spanish monarchical sovereignty through its portrayal in stone and consequential rebirth within the society.

The colonization period, particularly the 1600’s-1700’s, was wrought with new discoveries, city planning, and urbanization in Spain’s new colony, Mexico City. Hernan Cortes, the conquistador responsible for the discovery, conquest, and development of this new territory faced many challenges in transforming the Aztec city with its indigenous identity embedded into its structure to a developed, Renaissance city modeled after Spain. Over time and with laborious city planning and redesigning, Mexico City eventually became “a preserve of Spanish values and…an elegant outgrowth of Spain similar to it in all the important ways” (Merrim 226). The shift in identity that occurred in Mexico City was drastic and was made possible by utilizing the relationship between the city’s urbs, or physical and architectural structures, and its civitas, or citizens. These two concepts are central in understanding any city, since “urbs, that is, the physical unit, and…civitas, or human association” represent the two main components of any city’s structure (Kagan “Urbs and Civitas” 9). Often studied as separate entities, urbs and civitas seemed to work hand in hand in Mexico City, since value-laden structures reflected and directed the society. Overall, during the colonization period, the inscription of cultural values into the physical layout and architecture of the city transformed Mexico City’s cityscape, and by analyzing artwork, literature, and city views from this time period it is clear that the urbs of Mexico City reflected the corresponding political, social, and cultural situations taking place within the civitas

Isidore of Seville discussed the concept of urbs and civitas and claimed, “A city [civitas] is a number of men joined by a social bond. It takes its name from the citizens who dwell in it. As an urbs, it is only a walled structure, but inhabitants, not building stones, are referred to as a city” (qtd. in Kagan “Urbs and Civitas” 9). This statement not only defines the terms but also references them as polarizing ideas, since they each refer to separate and opposite concepts with differing focuses and values of either people or structures; however, urbs and civitas jointly formed cities, making them inseparable and deeply related, since a city relies on both parts equally. Community and architecture combined elements of flesh and stone and gave cities a sense of elasticity, since they constantly adapted to shifts in history, politics, commerce, and other forces. In this way, the urbs and civitas reveal their interdependent nature, as changes in one frequently sparks changes in the other and values displayed in one are often incorporated later in the other. Through an analysis of a variety of cultural artifacts and primary sources from the colonization period, this essay will explore the relationship between urbs and civitas in Mexico City and demonstrate Spain’s utilization of the colony’s urbs to send messages of a powerful, glorified Spanish state to the civitas

Hernan Cortes’ letters to the King and Queen of Spain, evidence of Mexico City’s urbanization and redesign, date back to the sixteenth century. These letters were written to update the monarchs on the progress of city development in Mexico City and to reassure them that their authority and respect extended across the seas to their new colony. Cortes’ letters shed light on the urbs that were being constructed and the accompanying civitas. Throughout these documents there are numerous instances in which deciphering the urbs and the ideas embedded in them allow glimpses at the civitas, which embodies those same values as a result of their implantation into the physical structures.

The first example of the relationship between urbs and civitas displayed in the letters is Cortes’ assertion that the architecture in Mexico City was being crafted after that which prevailed in the motherland of Spain itself, utilizing the best Spanish architects and the Renaissance style (Chamberlain 517). The idea behind modeling architecture to be a copied version of Spain was based on the value or concept of the monarchy’s sovereignty and absolute power as the center and ruler of Mexico City (Merrim 226). Thus, the new colonized city did not receive an independent identity, but was simply conformed to fit Spain’s existing traditions and characteristics, demonstrating an exertion of authority by the Spanish rulers much like that of the Romans, whose new colonies were also systematically transformed to mirror the urbs of Rome (Thomas 226). Overall, the action of creating urbs directly modeled after those in Spain had two prominent results which became manifest within Mexico City’s civitas.

First, it inscribed the value of the Spanish monarchy and its power into the stones of the urbs in Mexico City, and that value was then reproduced in the civitas, which was a constant reminder of their loyalty to Spain via the presence of value-laden buildings. Implanting an idea within the urbs led to its reaffirmation in the civitas. Cortes wrote, “pues, sabeys e conosceys que Hernando Cortes…sirve a la corona real aqui en el nombre de sus altezas” [So, know that Hernando Cortes serves the true crown here [in Mexico City] in the name of your majesties] (Chamberlain 517). Secondly, modeling Mexico City’s urbs after those in Spain instilled the idea of civilized vs. barbaric cultures, since Cortes demolished all signs of the once powerful and prominent Aztec urbs and replaced them with architecture and streets modeled after the Spanish form, proceeding from the assumption that Aztec culture was barbaric or inferior and thus needed to be destroyed and replaced with something more civilized. Cortes wrote, “hacemos trabajo para conquistar e poner en paz estas partes para que vengan en conoscimiento de santa fé” [We work to conquer and bring peace to these parts in order to bring about an understanding of the holy faith], which illustrated the idea that the Spaniards worked to conquer the barbaric culture in order to bring peace and civility (Chamberlain 517). As a final act to demolish the indigenous ways of life, the Spaniards’ new cathedral and marketplace were built directly on top of sites that once held sacred buildings and meeting places for the Aztecs, in a declaration of superiority and authority (Kubler 9). The very stones used to construct the cathedral were taken from the rubble of Aztec ruins, destroyed in an attempt to erase the barbaric consciousness from the civitas of Mexico City (9). In the end, the shift in urbs from indigenous to Spanish styles led to a shift in civitas, as the citizens began to take hold of the values and ideas implanted in the structures of the city and implement them in their own society.

Another example of the relationship between urbs and civitas in Cortes’ letters is the street layout that he described, which was adjusted and modeled in Renaissance style (Chamberlain 518). In recounting the street design, Cortes explained that the roads and thoroughfares were orderly and grid-like, a popular element of city planning during that time period (518). One of the thoughts behind this layout was the concept of axiality, which referred to the linear connection of urbs in city plans (Blumenfeld 11). According to Blumenfeld, “the principal of axiality, heritage of Imperial Rome, has dominated city planning since the Renaissance” (11). Because the Renaissance style is characterized by mathematical rigor and architectural precision, the concept of axiality fit quite well with those values and was thus justifiably displayed in the new layout of Mexico City during the colonization period (Kostof 230). The values of order and organization were built into the urbs through the new street plans based on axiality, and those values were then transferred into the civitas, affecting them by bringing stability to the society as a whole. The Renaissance belief that “crooked streets were bad for the state, so linear geometry was needed in the city” supported the idea of organized urbs transferring to an organized civitas (230).

The orderly, methodically planned street design displayed the value of regularity that was crucial during the colonization period, a time of transition and unknowns for the society as a whole (Merrim 216). In the Spanish government’s attempts to tame the previously “savage” culture and add regulation and symmetry to a transitioning society, they decided to embed the values of order and organization within the urbs. In doing so they showcased them in such a way that the society was sure to notice and eventually adopt them as their own, thus changing the civitas.

Military control in Mexico City, a primary priority for the Spanish monarchy, was another thought behind the axial street design: As Stanislawski explains, “A distinct advantage for the grid-pattern town…is that of military control. This would apply in the case of subject towns to be held under control…[and] this had been recognized by the Spaniards” (106). Since Mexico City was a colony separated by a great distance from its founding power, Spain, military forces had to be present and efficient in order to maintain peace and to prevent any potential uprisings or attacks on the new colony. The organized, grid patterned street layout made it easy for soldiers to navigate through the new, unfamiliar city, which was an important feature for Spaniards, since the potentially threatening indigenous tribes had much more experience with the land (106). Cortes wrote, “trabajo juntos con los soldados para conquistar e poblar” [The soldiers and I work together to conquer and populate], alluding to his work with the military to maintain control in the city (Chamberlain 517). Thus, the values of military force and strength were also embedded in the urbs of the axial street design. These ideas transferred to the civitas, since the citizens of Mexico City sought protection directly from their founding country, Spain, in matters of disputes or threats (107). The civitas accepted military control as a necessary protection, as the value-laden urbs once again led to a shift in society.

Hernan Cortes’ letters also refer to the building plans for housing settlements. He wrote that the Spaniards’ housing was centralized and situated beside the main plaza in a block-like fashion (Chamberlain 518). Cortes also mentioned the indigenous and bi-racial citizens’ houses, which were separated and located a good distance away from the plaza and main roads (Kagan “Urban Images” 158). This aspect of the urbs in Mexico City displayed the value of Spanishdescent as the noble race (158). The physical layout and designation of neighborhoods was visual rhetoric, or a message expressed visually rather than in writing, that portrayed the value of elitism and social hierarchy (Steinhoff 27). The message derived from the visual rhetoric was displayed within the physical separation and structuring of the city and affected the inhabiting society for centuries, as the division of racism began to pervade Mexico City (Kagan “Urban Images” 159). The implantation of the value of “pure race” in the urbs of neighborhood designs was reaffirmed through its inscription in stone and thus reproduced in the civitas, creating a racial divide that would plague Mexico City long after the colonization period.

The relationship between the urbs and civitas was displayed in Cortes’ letters in a final example through the discussion of the plans for a new Cathedral honoring the monarchs’ religion, Catholicism, in place of the indigenous religions. Cortes expressed the idea of building a Cathedral and using Spanish techniques in its creation (Chamberlain 522). The plans for the Cathedral’s architectural design came from a Spanish architect who was inspired by the Cathedral in Seville, Spain, which showcased Spanish Renaissance techniques (Kubler 11). In doing so, Spanish culture was inscribed into the walls of the great structure, presenting Spanish customs and techniques as norms within the new colony and instilling the idea of oneness with Spain into the civitas. The indigenous citizens of Mexico City, confronted with the image of a towering Cathedral in Spanish style, began to assimilate and adopt the idea of unity with Spain, since it was visually and forcefully presented through the stone urbs and thus reaffirmed within the social civitas.

Not only does the mention of the cathedral in Cortes’ letters present the idea of adopting Spanish customs, but it also addresses the Renaissance theme of monumentality, which was the value of building cultural artifacts or structures that brought praise to the state (Thomas 230). This is an important concept, since monuments were excellent depictions of visual rhetoric and structures that expertly transferred values and ideas to the citizens who viewed them. The reason monuments were so crucial for a Renaissance city, especially during a time of transition such as the colonization period, was that they represented the power of sight, which hinged on the concept that things seen make more powerful impressions than things read or heard (Nutti 128). The idea that sight carried power suggested that creating formidable, grand monuments or buildings such as cathedrals displayed supremacy more fully than any other method. Thus, the Spanish monarchy capitalized on the opportunity to build a cathedral that evoked respect and reverence by embedding the idea of Spanish authority into the architectural design. The urbs portrayed the image of power, and eventually that idea blossomed and was reproduced within the minds of the society or civitas, instilling fear and respect for Spanish governmental and religious rule. After assessing the information gleaned from Cortes’ letters, it was clear that Spain was working to embed cultural values into the reconstructed urbs in hopes that they would grow into ideologies and values held by citizens of Mexico City, utilizing the relationship between the urbs and civitas to exert control, stability, and a Spanish identity within the new world.

The biombo, another cultural artifact retrieved from Mexico City, also sheds light on how urbs and civitas were interconnected in the Spanish colony “Among the most spectacular communicentric views [of cities] were those painted on the large folding screens known as biombos” (Kagan “Urban Images” 153). One of several biombos depicting Mexico City entitled “The Very Noble and Loyal City of Mexico” displays an artistic representation of the city’s urbs.

This biombo is a chorographic view, portraying Mexico City in a zoomed-in image with an emphasis on the creative and structural details of the city (Kagan “Urban Images” 154). It “conveyed a sense of Mexico City as a metropolis of truly monumental proportions, with its straight streets, broad squares, and a vast array of houses topped in red terra cotta tiles” (Kagan “Urban Images”154). The overall idea portrayed by this piece of artwork is that Mexico City was a powerful, booming colony full of life. This depiction was supported by a Spanish explorer, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who wrote in his journal after visiting Mexico City of the wonderful, beautiful sights he encountered that had never been dreamed or imagined before (Merrim 220). City pride seemed to be implanted into the urbs of the painting, since its structures and architecture reveal its grandeur and a well-developed Renaissance style. That ideology was transferred to the civitas, which began to take pride in the beauty and notoriety of their city’s urbs. Among the many notable structures and places portrayed in this biombo are some of the city’s most famous monuments.

The “calzadas,” or causeways, are showcased in this work, one of which spanned the entirety of Lake Texcoco in the north (Kagan “Urban Images” 154). These “calzadas” were broad and expansive and covered the whole of the city in straight, geometrical lines. Cortes took great pride in these roads, since they visually presented the power of the Spanish state, spanning bodies of water and connecting people and commerce (Chamberlain 522). Overall, the causeways demonstrated, once again, the ideas of order, organization, and the power of the Spanish monarchy, since their grid-like design demonstrated the concepts of axiality and geometrical precision and their location helped to further the spread of Spanish influence past Mexico City.

Another example of the architecture displayed is the aqueduct of nine hundred arches, which was enlarged in the artist’s representation in order to draw attention to the impressiveness of the structure (Kagan “Urban Images” 154). The aqueduct demonstrated the monarchy’s power once again, since the ability to channel and control water was something that had always been greatly esteemed and revered since the time of the ancient Romans (Connolly & Dodge 110). Such a large structure would have hardly gone unnoticed in the city and thus served as a constant reminder of the formidable presence of the Spanish rule. The civitas witnessed and responded to the visual rhetoric by submitting to their higher powers, the king and queen, once again demonstrating the relationship between ideas built into the urbs and their presence within the civitas.

The churches and convents painted in the biombo are the focal points of the whole depiction (Kagan “Urban Images” 154). One’s attention is drawn to these important urbs with some alterations in scale on the artist’s part. For example, “the height of the cathedral’s tower and overall proportions were grossly exaggerated” (Kagan “Urban Images” 154). These exaggerations were aimed at generating a certain view about religion in Mexico City, particularly that the piety of the people and power of the divine authority abounded. The grand, prominent urbs portrayed the ideas of strength and religious fervor, which were then instilled into the civitas, who encountered them daily and eventually accepted them as their own. This rebirth of ideologies and values instilled within religious structures into the civitas was evidenced by Mexico City’s reputation as one of the primary examples of devout Catholic settlements (Merrim 224). Overall, the structures within the biombo are important examples of the relationship between urbs and civitas, demonstrating that even paintings represented urbs using visual rhetoric and instilled values within the stones of Mexico City.

Cristobal de Villalpando, the artist who painted, “View of the Zocalo of Mexico City” in 1695, supplied another cultural artifact that portrayed the city’s urbs. Villilpando takes a communicentric view in this work by using a culturally significant place and depicting in great artistic detail in order to show its value to the city (Kagan “Urban Images” 159). Mexico City’s “zocalo” was its main central plaza, and its “market and many shops made it the city’s commercial center. It was also the site of the cathedral, the viceregal palace, the archiepiscopal palace, and other important administrative buildings. The “zocalo” remained the heart of Mexico City” (Kagan “Urban Images” 159-160). So, “metaphorically, it was the place where the city’s piety, law, and prosperity were simultaneously on view” (Kagan 160). Like the biombo, by looking at the urbs of the painting, one can see many values and ideas that were implanted by and through the structures. One of the important urbs that is depicted in this painting is the Parian, which was the large, permanent marketplace and the center of socioeconomic life (Kagan “Urban Images” 161; Villalpando). Other structures featured are the Portal de Mercaderes, “one of the plaza’s two commercial arcades” or passageways with shops along the sides, the Cathedral, the royal palace, and the canal (Kagan “Urban Images” 161; Villalpando). Overall, Villalpando portrays these urbs within the zocalo realistically, but there are still several aspects of the depicted urbs that he altered in order to instill ideas within the civitas using the power of visual rhetoric.

His first alteration concerns the architectural details of the royal palace. When comparing the real building’s adornment and the one featured in this painting, it is evident that Villalpando chose to make his palatial portrayal more majestic and grand than it was in actuality (Kagan “Urban Images” 161; Villalpando). The Parian was also adapted in Villalpando’s painting. Described as “a ‘horrible’ structure in the words of one Mexican architectural critic…the Parian appears here [in the painting] however, as a large, symmetrical building with several neat rows of shops” (Kagan “Urban Images” 161; Villalpando). Furthermore, he fully stocked the vendors’ large, elaborate stands within the Parian with a plethora of goods, creating the image that Mexico City was an advanced, trading and producing city. The image of the market depicted in this painting aligned with the accounts of many Spaniards, who found it to be “a microcosm of the New World, a plenum bristling with the enticements of adventure capitalism, a frontier zone where oddities become commodities and nature wares” (Merrim 222). The painting’s portrayal of the market reflects the capitalist ideal of trade and commerce, a goal that Spain had for its growing colonial city. By painting an organized, developed marketplace, Villalpando is simply projecting the goals instilled within the urbs, which Spain hoped would transfer to the civitas and thus transform the society into a profitable commercial power.

“Vista de la Alameda de Mexico,” a painting by Corpus Christi, features Mexico City’s “alameda,” which was “a park with a central fountain and a series of shaded walkways lined with poplars and oaks” (Christi; Kagan “Urban Images” 156). The “alameda” depicted in the painting contains many examples of street furniture, a characteristic of the Renaissance time period that focused on creating a peaceful, beautiful environment for citizens to enjoy (Kostof 236). It also contains other structures and themes related to the Renaissance and Baroque periods such as trees and green spaces, a central fountain, paths traveling in straight and diagonal lines, and areas emphasizing indulgence and reflection (236). These structures and features reflect the values of peacefulness and contentment for society. The urbs that filled and defined the “alameda” were modeled with those same values in mind, emphasizing symmetry and order in the pathways and showcasing natural beauty with trees and flowers. Through the incorporation of these value- laden urbs within the space of the alameda, the civitas was altered through the imparted relaxation and peace, leading to a shifted consciousness.

Christi, having created a serene setting filled with elements focused on peacefulness and tranquility, thought it important to include one detail that added a second dimension to the entire painting. A solitary, upright wooden plank stood alongside one of the pathways, seemingly meaningless without the legend below the painting that read “el bracero en que se queman los judios” [the stake where the victims of the [Inquisition] were burned] (Christi; Kagan “Urban Images” 157). According to Steinhoff, monuments were important because they gave meaning to the places in which they were located and created city pride through social and political rhetoric (27). The stake was a monument of political and religious rhetoric, serving as a constant reminder of Spain’s asserted authority and supremacy. Thus, through the inclusion of this simple wooden post, the values of law, order, submission to the state, and Catholicism were implanted in the urbs, which ultimately affected the civitas by instilling those values in their minds and giving them constant reminders of the consequences of not submitting and cultivating a Spanish consciousness. Overall, the ideals of peace, order, tranquility, Catholicism, and submission to the state were all embedded in the urbs and design of the “alameda” and were then reproduced within the civitas (Kagan “Urban Images” 157). By carefully planning the architecture to portray certain values, their survival and reaffirmation in society was secured, since the combination of the power of sight, visual rhetoric, and solidification in stone made them potent and long lasting ideas, ultimately shaping the consciousness of the civitas

Bernardo Balbuena’s poem “Grandeza Mexicana” was a poignant account of all the beauty represented in Mexico City. It was written in 1603 by Balbuena, a Spaniard living in Mexico City during the colonization period (Merrim 233). It expertly cultivated city pride by evoking strong feelings in the readers with the use of descriptions and citations of some of Mexico City’s finest structures or urbs. In doing so, Balbuena connected the values infused in the urbs to the ideologies held in the civitas, demonstrating the relationship between the two urban elements.

Balbuena’s first allusion to the physical structures of Mexico City occurred in stanza twenty-eight of his poem, which stated, “en grande proporcion y cuenta de torres, chapiteles, ventanajes, su soberbia presenta” [in great proportion and number of towers, spires, fenestrations, its pride is presented]” (Balbuena 28.83-85). This segment discussed the architecture of grandeur and might that was made powerful by utilizing verticality and monumentality, two concepts of visual rhetoric that conveyed power through stone by emphasizing height and cultural significance in architectural design (Nutti 127). The structures mentioned display Spain’s ultimate authority and rule over Mexico City, since the idea of power in the state was embedded in the architecture of tall, looming towers. This idea was then reproduced within the civitas, inspiring a submission to the state’s rule, since the power of sight conveyed the image of the Spanish state’s glory and strength through architecture (127). The onlooking civitas observed the visual rhetoric displayed by the urbs and underwent a shift in consciousness and identity, conceptualizing themselves as Spaniards and internalizing the values and ideologies presented in the stone structures.

Balbuena also described the natural beauty that Mexico City embodied, writing, “con bellisimos lejos paisajes, salidas y holguras, huertas, granjas, molinos y boscajes…[with most beautiful far away landscapes, departing roads, and clearings, gardens, farms, mills, and groves…]” (29.86-88). This stanza describes Mexico City’s layout, which was quickly being shaped through the process of urbanization but at that point still maintained some of its green, natural splendor and landscape. The grandeur and serenity of this natural space were highlighted and utilized to evoke city pride and foster a more unique, independent identity within the citizens, since their city not only contained powerful, towering structures reflecting Spain, but also indigenous, pre-existing beauty showcasing the New World as well. Balbuena’s assertions were seconded by many first-hand accounts of Spanish visitors during the colonization period, which often focused on the “sensational, sensorial, seductive novelty with regard to the flora and the fauna” (Merrim 218). The urbs of Mexico City incorporated a combination of the structure and organization of Spanish Renaissance architecture with the “radical novelty” of the natural world, which affected the civitas by creating new norms and a reformed consciousness for the citizens (Merrim 218). The Spanish could not simply erase all traces of the indigenous, natural urbs existing in colonized Mexico City, and that allowed for some autonomy and individuality to remain within the colony. The natural urbs, altered but not uprooted completely by the infusion of Spanish ideas and control, managed to give the idea of a Mexican, indigenous consciousness a foothold in Mexico City, thus shaping the collective consciousness of the civitas (218). Over time, what was left of the indigenous urbs reflecting the New World would eventually lead to a shift in the consciousness of the civitas, as they explored their native, Mexican roots showcased in the remaining natural urbs in Mexico City.

In the midst of booming urbanization and construction, Balbuena was still able to describe the peace and tranquility that could be found in Mexico City. His description of the city included, “alamedas, jardines…frutas bellas en flor [parks, gardens…beautiful fruit in flower]” (Balbuena 30.89-91). Similar to the previously quoted stanza, the urbs in this line once again showcases the natural beauty of the city. The parks and gardens, elements of the Baroque urbs, instilled the value of escape from the business of city life where citizens could gather or find solitude (Kostof 236). These ideas were ingrained in the designs of the parks and gardens, which utilized geometric organization, street furniture, and natural beauty to convey them, thus facilitating their transfer to the civitas that utilized and observed the spaces (236). However, these values of tranquility were also met with the aforementioned value of elitism and Spanishdescent. Thus, these parks were not open to all the public and offered peace and shelter only to the elites (Kagan “Urban Images” 153). Instead of utilizing a completely pure, free-flowing, naturalistic form, these areas contained elements of artificial, strict form characterized by geometrical precision (Kostof 230). These urbs embodied a forced peacefulness and appearance of tranquility implanted by the elites, who wished to assert their dominance and superiority over the rest of the citizens, who were forced to stay outside the walls (230). This delineation between classes displayed in the urbs facilitated a consciousness of elitism in the civitas, again defining their identities through the implantation of values within the structures of the city.

Shifting his focus away from the natural world, Balbuena also references Mexico City’s economic power. Several lines before the poem’s conclusion described, “anchos caminos, puertos principales por tierra y agua” [wide roads, main ports by land and sea] (Balbuena 47.140-141). This phrase discusses the wide streets or boulevards that were so common during the Baroque time period and fostered commerce through trade or merchants, social activities, and travel (Merrim 234). In this context, the boulevards seemed to refer to the economy and trade of goods, since they were highlighted along with ports, serving as the gateways for goods to enter and exit Mexico City by land or sea. These lines “depict Mexico City as a viceregal city ruled by gold and trade” (Merrim 234).

The urbs of wide roads and ports projected the values of commerce and capital, since the city was known as the hub of trade and wealth in the new world (Blumenfeld 12). In regards to

Mexico City’s involvement in capitalism, “Balbuena dwells lovingly on nature’s metamorphosis into artifice: gold into jewelry, stone into statues, cotton into clothing” (Merrim 235). Much careful planning was done to make the urbs suit the needs for commerce, and the social and political situations of growth and striving for surplus and wealth in Mexico City were highlighted through those designs. The values that were inlaid with the structures reproduced themselves within the civitas as the citizens of Mexico City adapted to the urbs and took hold of the vision of commerce and trade, beginning to produce goods and find industries from which to profit. The urbs reflected the civitas’ shift to capitalism, demonstrating the intertwining relationship that they shared. Overall, “Grandeza Mexicana” served as a looking glass to view the urbs of Mexico City from a resident’s first-person perspective and a marker for those studying the relationship between urbs and civitas to examine the ties between the two counterparts of cities.

Through the analysis of various cultural artifacts, it was evident that Mexico City’s urbs had a large effect on its civitas, which reacted and grew based on the value-laden structures erected in the new, rapidly developing Mexico City of the colonization period. Cortes wrote of the city’s changes in his letters, and by applying concepts of urbanization and city planning, it was possible to trace the relational connection between changes in the structures and changes in the values and consciousness of the citizens. By embedding Spanish cultural ideas within physical structures, their existence was preserved and their message was enhanced with the power of sight and visual rhetoric. Overall, the Spanish state imparted a Hispanic identity to their colonists through the utilization of urbs as vessels to carry political and religious messages. Thus, in order to read a cityscape and understand historical civilizations on multiple levels, it would be necessary to analyze the urbs and the civitas together, since they jointly explained shifts in consciousness and ideologies and acted to alter entire cities’ identities.

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