Metro Cuitlahuac

Metro Cuitlahuac on Metro Line 2 has been open since 1970.

The station is named for the very long avenue, of the same name. Avenida Cuitlahuac runs from here, north and east, all the way back to Insurgentes Norte. The avenue is named for Cuiltahuatzin, the second-to-last Aztec emporer,  better known as Cuitláhuac.

After the death of his older brother Moctezuma II in June 1520, Cuitlahuac came to power and successfully drove the Spanish from Tenochtitlán. He died from small pox the following December, and didn’t live to see the fall of Tenochtitlan the following August. He was succeeded by Cuauhtémoc, the final Triple Alliance tlatoani.

The park where Hernan Cortés is said to have wept at his tremendous losses that night is about midway between this Metro station and Metro Popotla. These are just a few of the many fascinating places along the extensive and very old Mexico-Tacuba Causeway. The neighborhood of the station is often referred to as Tacuba, as it’s within the area once part of that ancient stronghold.

The station image depicts one of the defensive shields carried by the victorious Mexica soldiers on that night. In 2019, the station was serving about 18,000 passengers every day. Most of them come from the Miguel Hidalgo neighborhoods of Popotla and San Álvaro.