Zócalo is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square", and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución. This name does not come from any of the Mexican constitutions that have governed the country but rather from the Cádiz Constitution, which was signed in Spain in the year 1812. Even so, it is almost always called the Zócalo today. Plans were made to erect a column as a monument to independence, but only the base, or zócalo, was built. The plinth was buried long ago, but the name has lived on. Many other Mexican towns and cities, such as Oaxaca, Mérida, and Guadalajara, have adopted the word zócalo to refer to their main plazas, but not all.

Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. Mexico City is one of the most important cultural and financial centers in the world. It is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). The city has 16 boroughs or demarcaciones territoriales, which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or colonias.