Metro Gómez Farías

Metro Gómez Farías is in the east of the City between the neighborhoods of Gómez Farias and the curiously octagonal colonia Federal.

It’s nearly a “locals only” station save for its nearness to the airport. That keeps a few long-layover visitors moving through. The Mercado Federal is one good reason to stop in. Those in the Gómez Farias colonia will probably head to the Mercado Ignacio Zaragoza just across the street in the Zaragoza neighborhood.

• The station, and the neighborhood to the immediate south, are named for  Valentín Gómez Farías (1781-1858).
• Gómez Farías was an important physician and lawyer who wrote the bulk of the 1857 Constitution. That’s the constitution that led to the Reforma period that tamped down on many of the privileges enjoyed by the Church and the Army. Although he died before the Reforma period really took off, it was thanks to his work that many of the reforms were legally established.

Today, generations of school kids grow up in and around Metro Gómez Farías and they learn his name in their studies. For out of town visitors, it’s usually just one stop more on Line 1. But the neighborhood and this part of Mexico City were deeply affected by the Reforms of the mid-19th century, and those that came later.