La Viga station
Metro · 8 Line 8
Neighbouring stations
- 8Line 8Chabacano La Viga Santa Anita
Transfers to other networks
The story behind the icon
The station silhouette is of two fish.
Near the station is the distribution centre for fish and seafood, better known as the La Viga market. At the end of the 19th century the inhabitants of the towns that are now the boroughs of Iztapalapa and Iztacalco lived in several settlements surrounded by chinampas and linked by a wide network of canals, among them the Nacional canal, the Apatlaco canal, the Piedad river and the Tezontle canal. But the main one was the old La Viga, which flowed from the Nacional canal linking Xochimilco, Chalco and Texcoco, and reached the Merced market, carrying many day-trippers to the Santa Anita area.
The name La Viga is taken from a ranch that stood beside the canal; this did not last long, for in 1903 the political division of the Federal District changed and the canal was ordered to be filled in to build a new roadway, giving rise to the present Calzada de La Viga, alongside which industries and settlements sprang up years later.
What's near La Viga
- Circo Volador