The cathedral is located at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas ("Square of the Three Cultures") which is the main square within the Tlatelolco neighbourhood of Mexico City. The name "Three Cultures" is in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by those buildings pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial, and the independent "mestizo" nation. The square also contains the remains of the Aztec Tlatelolco temples. Once the largest Aztec center of commerce and the spot where the Aztecs held out the longest against the conquistatadores in 1521.