Although its original name is Jardín Héroes de Chapultepec (Garden Heroes of Chapultepec), this unusual garden is better known as the Jardin de los Platitos (Garden of the Little Dishes). It’s a fitting nickname, as the garden was built with thousands of dishes.

The garden was built by Don Daniel Mendoza Guevara, but it was his son Carlos Mendoza who conceived of the project. The two men found thousands of dishes in the garbage, which gave them the idea to clean the discarded goods and use them in order to transform the space into an oasis of outsider art. Neighbors, upon seeing the project, donated their old dishes to the noble cause as well.

Images of animals, such as a quail, a grasshopper, and a rabbit, parade across the benches. Most of the illustrations are reminiscent of Chapultepec Castle and the six teenage cadets—the Niños Héroes—who died defending it in September 1847.

The area is as useful as it is beautiful. In 1942, the fountain and the round pot where a palm tree now grows supplied clean water to that area of the city. Before the railroad stopped working, it was a well-known meeting point for travelers in the ‘50s. In the ‘70s, it was known as the meeting center of the Mariachis of Querétaro. Currently, it remains a quiet space for neighbors and as a historical rarity for the curious.