Madero Street
The Francisco I. Madero Avenue is perhaps the most important street in the center of our city, however, its existence is barely 100 years old. Previously, it was known as Callejón de Zavala, because, at the height of today's Morelos Street, the passage through various properties such as houses, businesses, a basketball court, a cinema and, according to the people of that time, a popular house of quotes.
However, at the beginning of the 20th century, with the growth of traffic in the city center due to the arrival of the railway, the need to open this road to connect the station with the main square was identified. This task was left to the then governor, General Alberto Fuentes Dávila.
As will become evident, this situation required the demolition of many properties owned by private parties, something that was not liked at all. It is reported in different media that in the year 1914, various demonstrations took place, from the women of the brothel who would see their employment situation affected, to residents of the center who asked that their relocation be resolved to prevent this house from occupying another space in the first square of the city.
Many stories are told about this period, among them it is said of the governor's conflict with the revolutionary military commander of the area, who sought to avoid in every way the demolition of the assets of these people. They say that in order for the governor to achieve his goal, he invited him to a brothel, where he was given an open letter in order to distract him while the total opening of the new street took place in the center.
Although it is clearly unknown what happened that day, the story goes that the owners, upon seeing the government agents, had no choice but to leave and sadly watch as the place where they lived or worked quickly turned into rubble. It is from this anecdote that the people of Aguascalientes popularly named the new road as “The Street of Tears”.
Since then the street has had several names, both official and popular, the first was “Avenida de la Constitución” and although people continued to call it Street of Tears for a while, it would soon acquire the names “New Street”, “Street of the Frogs” for a fountain decorated with figures of these animals, “Of the Lions”, for the sculptures of two majestic lions that decorated for a long time the central medians that at some point existed, it was even also known as the “Street of the trompadas”, for the several boxing gyms that were near the Estación neighborhood.
By the middle of the 20th century, this would already have the name that it retains to this day of “Avenida Francisco I. Madero”, it was in the 60's that it became an important commercial corridor, as well as a place to walk and hang out with the family, popularizing the term go to “Maderear”.
Today Calle Madero offers you shops and restaurants with dishes of great gastronomic diversity, you will surely find something to see, do and eat, all in an environment that at times is capable of transporting you to another era, with its art deco style facades, squares and gardens.
