Founded in the 16th century, Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of the same name. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries it was a key point for the expansion of the Spanish colony towards the north of New Spain. It also functioned as a source of grain and principal supply site for mining, a major activity in Zacatecas and Guanajuato during the viceregal era.

In 1914 the Morelos Theater of Aguascalientes hosted the Revolutionary Convention where the troops of Francisco Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza met to discuss a government program that met with the social, political and economic reforms demanded by the Revolution. This venue was built by the engineer José Noriega at the end of the 19th century. It is neoclassical in style and has a capacity of 600 people.

Aguascalientes was declared a Zone of Historical Monuments in 1990. The historical zone is made up of 30 blocks with an area of 470 m2, with buildings constructed between the 16th and 19th centuries. The most important buildings are the churches of San Marcos, La Merced, El Conventito, Ave María and Emmanuel. There are other buildings for educational activities, public use and welfare services, in addition to those dedicated to military or civil purposes, among which the government and municipal palaces stand out. In 2010 was registered by UNESCO on the World Heritage List as part of the cultural itinerary of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro,.


The urban layout of the historic area is irregular, due to the vestiges of the old hydraulic infrastructure. This means it is not a perfect grid of right-angled junctions, but instead the streets widen or narrow, strike out diagonally or zig-zag, and some even end in the middle of a block. The plazas and gardens are open to the public and are located in front of churches; the plazas of San Marcos and La Patria and the Jardín del Encino stand out. Venustiano Carranza street communicates the city center with the Jardín San Marcos, which was formerly home to the Tlaxcala groups.

The church of San Marcos was founded in 1764 and is located in the neighborhood of the same name. The traditional San Marcos Fair is held here every year, between April and May. This fair has been held for 191 years, since 1828, and is one of the oldest and most important in Mexico due to its great diversity of exhibitions, cultural, artistic, sporting events, mechanical games, local cuisine and fireworks. One of the most renowned spectacles is the Serial Taurino, a bullfighting festival which takes place in the monumental Plaza de Toros and is considered the largest on the American continent. Well-known figures from the world of bullfighting participate, to the delight of numerous spectators.