Mexico City's Museum Boom: From Aztec Skulls to Frida Kahlo's Red House
Mexico City boasts a total of 171 museums, such as the National Museum of Anthropology and the Tequila and Mezcal Museum. Among the latest additions are the Kahlo House Museum (Casa Roja), the Living Museum of Muralism, and the Museum of Cacao & Chocolate, which features the Huey Tzompantli unearthed in 2015. Since 1991, Raúl Barrera's Urban Archaeology Program has been uncovering Aztec ruins, with plans for new underground museums, including the Temple of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, set to debut by late 2026. The National Museum of Interventions and the recently updated National Museum of the Revolution emphasize Mexico's rich history. The Living Museum of Muralism, which opened in 2024, displays nearly 300 murals. Additionally, the Leon Trotsky House Museum and the Casa de la Literatura Gabriel García Márquez are set to open in 2025.
Key facts
- Mexico City has 171 museums, according to government count.
- The Huey Tzompantli, an Aztec skull rack with over 650 craniums, was discovered in 2015 during construction of the Museum of Cacao & Chocolate.
- The Temple of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, unearthed in 2010, is scheduled to open as a museum at the end of 2026.
- The Living Museum of Muralism opened in 2024 in the former Secretariat of Public Education building.
- Isamu Noguchi's mural 'History Mexico' (1935) is located above the Presidente Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market.
- The Kahlo House Museum (Casa Roja) opened late last year in Coyoacán, featuring original family artifacts.
- La Cuadra San Cristóbal, a Luis Barragán-designed horse ranch, opened to the public in 2025.
- The Anahuacalli Museum, designed by Diego Rivera, was renovated and expanded in 2021.
Entities
Artists
- Diego Rivera
- Frida Kahlo
- Isamu Noguchi
- Leonora Carrington
- Gabriel García Márquez
- Luis Barragán
- Max Ernst
- Emiliano Zapata
- Pancho Villa
- Leon Trotsky
- Hernán Cortés
- Bernal Díaz del Castillo
- Andrés de Tapia
- Raúl Barrera
- Fernando Romero
- Adán García Fajardo
- María José Camacho
- Emilia García Elizondo
- Gonzalo García Barcha
- Sister María de los Dolores
- Paul Gillingham
- Tony Perrottet
- Alicia Vera
- Mercedes Barcha
- Guillermo Kahlo
- Cristina Kahlo
- Mara de Anda Romeo
- Frida Hentschel Romeo
- Edward James
- Alfonso Cuarón
- Richard Avedon
- Bill Clinton
- Kofi Annan
- Barack Obama
- Sean Penn
- Fidel Castro
Institutions
- National Museum of Anthropology
- Tequila and Mezcal Museum
- Antique Toy Museum
- Mexican Sugar Art Museum
- Museum of Narcotics
- Urban Archaeology Program (PAU)
- Templo Mayor Museum
- Museum of Cacao & Chocolate
- National Museum of Interventions
- National Museum of the Revolution
- Living Museum of Muralism
- Leon Trotsky House Museum
- Kahlo House Museum (Casa Roja)
- Leonora Carrington House Studio
- Metropolitan Autonomous University
- Casa de la Literatura Gabriel García Márquez
- La Cuadra San Cristóbal
- Fernando Romero Foundation
- Soumaya Museum
- Capuchin Convent Chapel
- Anahuacalli Museum
- Sotheby's New York
- Smithsonian magazine
- Archives of American Art
- Frida Kahlo Park
- Hotel Catedral
- Spanish Cultural Center
Locations
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Coyoacán
- Historic Center
- Zócalo
- Templo Mayor
- Guatemala Street
- Churubusco monastery
- Presidente Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market
- Roma neighborhood
- Jardines del Pedregal
- Calle Fuego
- Tlalpan
- La Cuadra San Cristóbal
- Anahuacalli Museum
- Xochimilco
- Tenochtitlan
- Valley of Mexico
- Oaxaca
- Jalisco
- San Francisco
- New York
- Paris
- Florence
- Lancashire
- Stockholm
- Chiapas
- Miami