Centro Cultural Carranza

The Centro Cultural Carranza is a major cultural center in the Colonia Jardín Balbuena. Its position on the grounds of the local government campus emphasizes the community’s comittment to culture and the arts. The center came about with the fusion of the old Venustiano Carranza Cinema-Theater and a much smaller local cultural center. Today, it’s one of the area’s principle venues for film screenings, plays, workshops, concerts and art exhibitions.

Visitors to Mexico City often don’t realize that Venustiano Carranza itself, the political entity, came to be only in 1970. This was after some number of years of construction of massive housing developments to replace the slum-housing that had stood here since the 19th century.

The local government buildings were opened only in 1974 on the site of the former Balbuena military airfield. Importantly, they share much of the central territory with the big institutions of the Federal Government. Among these are the Federal Legislative Palace and the courthouse to the immediate north. That means keeping the local government open and accessible is that much more important.

The giant combined cultural center was rededicated as the Centro Cultural Carranza in 2011. The new project integrated an abandoned cinema and the house of culture that had come about in the 1970s. Today it’s principly a performance stage. Art exhibitions and continuing education programs also fill out the offerings from the center.

Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.