The chinampas in use today go back about a thousand years, to when Aztec farmers began building rectangular fields on top of vast lakes and growing food for what was then the city of Tenochtitlan.

Explore the Mexican Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, showcasing chinampas and their role in ecological design and community well-being.

Chinampas are floating gardens that once formed a backbone of agriculture in the valley of Mexico. Residents of Xochimilco created chinampas by building rafts from branches layered with mud.

The film discusses the history of the Aztecs, the last great Indian civilization in Mexico, which began around 1168 AD. The Aztecs, originally invaders from the north, developed a complex society ...

“This great system (chinampas) is all that’s left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone,” Cruz said.

"This great system [chinampas] is all that's left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archaeological zone," Cruz said.

“This great system (chinampas) is all that’s left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone,” Cruz said.

“This great system (chinampas) is all that’s left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone,” Cruz said.

“This great system (chinampas) is all that’s left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone,” Cruz said.

“This great system (chinampas) is all that’s left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone,” Cruz said.