Tecpan, Colonial government building in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico

Tecpan is a colonial government building erected right after the conquest of Mexico-Tenochtitlan as the seat of the Ayuntamiento de Santiago Tlatelolco. Its ground floor keeps a 16th-century arcade of seven arches, already drawn in the Codex Tlatelolco of 1563, while the columns of the upper floor were added during the Porfiriato. The 18th-century main facade was dismantled in 1962 and moved behind the Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco.

The Tecpan was built right after the conquest of Mexico-Tenochtitlan as the government house and seat of the Ayuntamiento de Santiago Tlatelolco, which governed the republic of indigenous people. Its seven-arch arcade dates from the 16th century and appears in the Codex Tlatelolco of 1563. In 1850 it became a house of correction for juvenile offenders, and in 1853 the Colegio Correccional de San Antonio, which taught scientific and artistic subjects and mechanical trades. The upper-floor columns were added during the Porfiriato, when it served as a school for orphans.

The building houses David Alfaro Siqueiros's 1944 mural "Cuauhtémoc contra el mito", his first mixed-media work, combining paint with masonite and wood supports and sculptures by Luis Arenal Bastar. It depicts Cuauhtémoc resisting the conquest, the Spaniards as centaurs, a decapitated indigenous head and Quetzalcóatl. The site also holds the Sala Homenaje a Cuauhtémoc, created to honour the last Aztec ruler.

The monument is located in Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the city center and is accessible daily. Guided tours help visitors understand the different sections and their original purposes.

The building houses David Alfaro Siqueiros's 1944 mural "Cuauhtémoc contra el mito", his first mixed-media work, combining painting with masonite and wood supports and sculptures by Luis Arenal Bastar. Cuauhtémoc appears in the foreground resisting the conquest, while the Spanish are shown as centaurs and Quetzalcóatl faces the scene.