Plaza Tlaxcoaque in México City, Mexico

On the edge of Mexico City's Historic Center, a small chapel known as Concepción de Tlaxcoaque anchors and names the Plaza Tlaxcoaque. What is now a public square was once home to a 1960s modernist building which housed the DIPD (Investigation Divisions for Crime Prevention). This institution served many roles for the Mexican and Mexico City governments, but it was particularly known as the headquarters of the Secret Police.

During the counterculture students movements of the late 1960s  and early 70s, it became a site of arbitrary detentions, interrogation under torture and disappearances. A major earthquake in 1985 heavily damaged the building which would lead to its demolition. In the early 21st century, the square was remodeled to include a Plaza de la Memoria (Memory Plaza) where the government attempts to atone for the previous repressions, and it has also become surrounded by artworks such as murals that seek to help it shed its dark reputation.

"Quetzalcóatl Danza con sus Hijos al Mictlán" (Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec/Mexica god, dances with his sons to Mictlán, their version of the underworld) is a lofty title for a lofty work. Designed by artist Seher One for the walls of the Juana de Arco (Joan of Arc) Building, at the time of its completion in 2017, it was a likely contender for Mexico's largest street art mural.

Practically below it, on an underground traffic tunnel, there is another superlative mural. Inaugurated in 2018, this one is the work of Jorge Cejudo, called "Soy Mi Centro" (I Am My Center), it was set up as a "floating" mosaic, not placed directly on the walls but rather atop aluminum panels.

With about 9 million individual tiles stretching over 650 meters in length, it is often considered the largest mosaic of its type in the world. Finally, another building-tall mural can be found not far from the Tlaxcoaque Chapel, celebrating the band Three Souls on My Mind (later known as El Tri) and painted by Leonardo "Leo" Monzoy.

Outside of murals, Tlaxcoaque's surroundings also include sculptural works. The bright colors of Siameses Company's metal benches might make them the first to catch the eye. This collective consisting of Marisa Lara and Arturo Guerrero has made functional street furniture that also tells stories of animals like cats, rabbits and dogs via psychedelic visuals and shapes.

A nearby statue might be the most controversial feature of Plaza Tlaxcoaque. Representing a woman with her arms outstretched towards the sky, it is a memorial to the Khojaly Massacre (spelled here as Jodyali). In 1992, during the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian forces entered the Khojaly region populated by Azerbaijanis, leading to what is commonly referred to as a "massacre" of hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians.

This particular monument refers to the event as a "genocide", a term which is controversial as many believe it is historically inaccurate. The Armenian people themselves are often considered to have been victims of an attempted genocide by Turks in the early 20th century. With Azerbaijanis being a Turkic people, claims of genocide perpetuated by Armenians are politically-loaded. It would appear that this monument was part-funded by Azerbaijani organizations, along with a statue of former president Heydar Aliyev which was displayed in Mexico City for less than a year before its removal in 2013.

With a 2023 Azerbaijani offensive conflict resulting in an Azerbaijani victory and exodus of Armenians from the area in 2023, the Jodyali monument remains unchanged as of late 2024, and likely to continue standing as a controversial feature.