[1] The complex ceased to be a convent in the latter part of the 19th century and has housed the Santa Teresa la Antigua Alternative Art Center since 1989.

[2] The impetus behind the establishment of the convent occurred in 1613 when the ship carrying archbishop Juan Pérez de la Serna ran into a storm that threatened to destroy it.

However, popularly the complex became known as “Santa Teresa la Antigua.”[2] Much of the facility was built with the intention of allowing public access, except for certain areas reserved for the nuns.

[2] Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz once lived here,[1][2] but due to her fragile health and the austere conditions of the order, she soon moved to another convent nearby in the city.

It served as military barracks, a school for teachers, as the home of the National University, the print shop of the government news agency and as the archive of the Secretary of Finance.

[2] The facade inclines noticeably backwards, which is due to the uneven sinking of the building into the soft soil underneath Mexico City, and is divided by buttresses.