Zócalo

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A zócalo is a central town square or plaza, usually located in Mexican cities. The most famous Zócalo is that of Mexico City, which is formally known as the Plaza de la Constitución, The government district of Mexico City is known after this. Zócalos were often the original central squares of Mesoamerican cities that were coopted by the Spanish conquerors. The term zócalo is related to the Italian zoccolo meaning pedestal or plinth. Both zócalo and zoccolo ultimately derive from the Latin soccŭlus which is a dimunitive of another noun soccus meaning a type of clog. The modern English word "sock" shares a reflex with zócalo, zoccolo and soccus.

It was in the Zocalo of Mexico City that Mexico pledged allegiance to the Spanish Constitution of 1812, called "The Cadiz Constitution". The square received the name of "Zocalo" because Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, ordered a sculpture to commemorate Mexico's independence and put it in the middle of the town square. The statue was never finished and the only remnants of the work was the plinth which was to support it.

In the TV series Babylon 5, the eponymous station's primary market concourse is called "the Zocalo."