Iztapalapa

What the name says. Iztapalapa means, in Nahuatl, "in the water of the flagstones". This was lakeside ground, and the borough was known as a major vegetable producer thanks to the traditional chinampa system —the same floating-plot farming that survives in Xochimilco, to the south-west.

The borough seat. The building on the central esplanade houses the borough government: civil registry, citizen information, complaints and social support are handled here. The esplanade itself is used for traditional and religious ceremonies on the dates that matter locally —Revolution Day, Candelaria— and it is the staging ground for Iztapalapa's Holy Week Passion play, one of the largest in the world, which climbs the nearby Cerro de la Estrella.

Where it is. On Calle Aldama 63, Barrio San Lucas, in the historic core of Iztapalapa. Iztapalapa station on metro Line 8 is the closest, and the Cerro de la Estrella national park is a short ride away.