This section reflects the Spanish Crown’s defensive policies and the architectural features of the Fort of San Diego.

This section highlights the importance of New Spain in the expansion of the Spanish Empire into new territories such as the Philippines.

New Spain played a crucial role in the conquest of the South Seas. The expeditions departed from its ports, the ships were built in its shipyards, and the crews included mestizos. Without the adventurous spirit, insight, and dedication of the sailors, captains, soldiers, and religious men from New Spain—who were often accompanied by Indigenous allies—these maritime feats of the 16th to 18th centuries would not have been possible. Yet, many lives were lost during the arduous transpacific and transatlantic voyages.

Hernán Cortés, eager for new conquests, offered his services to Emperor Charles V to explore the Pacific Ocean, recently charted by the Portuguese. He ordered shipyards built along the coast of Guerrero and organized five expeditions between 1527 and 1539.

This section presents the pre-Hispanic settlements of Acapulco and the ethnic groups that lived in the region at the time of the Spanish Conquest.

In the 16th century, the Acapulco region was inhabited by various Indigenous groups. Among the most prominent were the Yopes and Tepuztecos. Each group was governed by local rulers, forming a network of semi-independent communities. These groups maintained different relationships, including trade partnerships, military alliances, and shared customs, which together shaped a distinct cultural region.

This section emphasizes the importance of the discovery of the Acapulco–Manila–Acapulco route.

From the 14th century onward, the sea became the primary means of communication between peoples. The exploration of the Pacific culminated with Urdaneta’s discovery of the "tornaviaje" (return route) in 1565, which opened the Acapulco–Manila–Acapulco route and connected New Spain to the wealth of the East.

This exhibit showcases the commercial exchange with the Philippines, particularly porcelain and silk.

The voyage of the Manila Galleon to Acapulco carried not only goods, but also a wealth of cultural influences. Eastern fashions were reflected in clothing—such as embroidered silk shawls—as well as furniture and decorative items, bearing witness to a time when the boundaries of New Spain stretched all the way to China.

Acapulco was the gateway for goods and cultural influences from several continents—a crossroads of races and peoples, home to the famed Nao de China, also known as the Manila Galleon, and its legendary trade fairs. The museum preserves the highlights of this rich history.

By the early 16th century, Spain had amassed a vast empire, arousing the envy of other European powers. The American coasts were highly vulnerable to piracy; as a result, cities like Acapulco, San Blas, Veracruz, Pánuco (Tampico), and Campeche were often raided and partially burned.

Soldiers and officers stationed at the Fort of San Diego experienced a unique blend of cultures through food and its preparation.

This kitchen merged Spanish culinary traditions—based on pork sausages and preserved meats—with the emerging cuisine of Guerrero, which featured turkey meat, green pozole from Chilapa, and regional maize dishes such as "picaditas" and square "gorditas". This fusion of flavors was enriched by prized Asian spices unloaded in Acapulco, including pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. Local seafood like snook, shrimp, and clams added their distinctive tastes and aromas, along with the vibrant colors and flavors of tropical fruits—golden papayas, green limes, and ripe mangoes.

Colonial recipes often combined ingredients such as saffron, guajillo chilies, garlic, and "epazote"; squash blossoms with pork backbone; potatoes with cheese; and chocolate with coffee. These dishes evoke images of carts and hopeful women bringing their goods to the fort—of daily connections between Acapulco and the garrison that faced the sea. Most importantly, they reflect a culture formed and sustained through something as meaningful and universal as food.

Maritime fortresses typically reserved space for worship. These chapels, like churches, were dedicated to celestial figures.

The chapel at the Fort of San Diego was dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, who also lent her name to one of the fort’s outer bastions. The Spanish Crown actively sought to spread the Catholic faith in its territories, and every military enterprise also served as an instrument of evangelization.

This exhibit seeks to recreate the appearance and objects of the chapel as it would have been in the early 19th century, near the end of the colonial era. The arrangement reflects the way ritual items were placed in this sacred space.

This room presents the story of transculturation—a fusion of two cultures that blended over time to create a new one: Filipino culture.

Miguel López de Legazpi conquered and colonized the archipelago previously named the Islands of San Lázaro by Ferdinand Magellan, and later the Philippines by Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of King Philip II. Legazpi’s enterprise was unique in the expansion of the Spanish Empire: the Philippines was the only territory in the East colonized in the manner of the Americas. Its political and economic ties were not with Spain directly, but with New Spain. The 250 years during which New Spain administered the Philippines left a lasting impact on its society, culture, and worldview.

At the start of the War of Independence, José María Morelos was instructed by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla to spread the rebellion throughout southern Mexico, with his most important mission being the capture of Acapulco and the Fort of San Diego.

In February 1813, Morelos set out from Oaxaca with his army toward Acapulco, where insurgent Julián Ávila had already been threatening the area from the nearby Veladero hill. Morelos headed to the Costa Chica region with light artillery and a well-chosen force. The assault on the port and its fortress was a critical move for the independence cause.

For several months, insurgents and royalists engaged in fierce artillery battles, and the siege became a source of great suffering—marked by heat, hunger, and disease. On August 19, 1813, after six months of combat, the Spanish forces surrendered, and Captain Pedro Antonio Vélez raised the white flag over the fort. Thus, Morelos fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by Hidalgo.

International Film Festival Showcase.

Held in the port of Acapulco from 1958 to 1968, these festivals aimed to showcase some of the best films from around the world. The sixth edition took place at the Fort of San Diego from November 24 to December 7, 1963.