From Morelia to Querétaro and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Acueducto Padre Tembleque, aqueducts are a common feature of colonial architecture in Mexico. It is also known that the Aztec/Mexica people built aqueducts to supply cities like Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) with water, although little remains of these. As such, the arched remains of this infrastructure can be found throughout the country.
In the city of Oaxaca, capital of the eponymous state, the aqueduct began being built in 1722 and it used to run from the water source in the town of San Felipe, to the Carmen Alto church close to the center of the city, which made it known as the Acueducto de San Felipe. The name of Oaxaca at the time was Antequera, nicknamed “Green” for its city center being built out of a characteristically green-hued cantera stone, much like the aqueduct itself. Following expansion and diversion works, water would run through it until the early 20th century.
Some of the tallest arches of the aqueduct are found in the northern neighborhood of Xochimilco, where they tower over a waterfall formed at the confluence of the Río Blanco and San Felipe rivers. Given its strong presence in the area, it is not uncommon to see the entire work referred to nowadays as the Acueducto de Xochimilco. In this waterfall area, the arches are the centerpiece of a park known as Plaza de la Hermandad (Brotherhood Plaza), even if their pillars are covered in graffiti. Further south, closer to the city’s historic center, the lower arches are more clearly incorporated into its modern urbanism, as some have been turned into shrines, storage areas and even entryways to private properties.
Seeing the remains of this aqueduct become relatively abandoned is a stark reminder of the precarious hydrological situation in the city. Whilst Oaxaca may have once been provided with water by such an impressive work, it is now known for periods of water scarcity. Several rivers run through the city, although the major ones are all in trouble, the Río Jalatlaco is now fully intubated, while the Salado and Atoyac Rivers are often considered among the country’s most polluted urban waterways.
