Mexico Sites 2014

World Monuments Fund Sites and Projects in Mexico n the years since a 1985 earthquake devastated Mexi- Fund provides the necessary expertise while consistent- co City and destroyed many historic buildings, World ly prioritizing effective partnerships with local cultural IMonuments Fund has been privileged to work in col- heritage authorities. The conservation of historic sites is laboration with a number of local partners in Mexico. a goal that encompasses both the need to build local Conservation projects have spanned centuries of heri- engagement while also raising public awareness and ap- tage, and the World Monuments Watch has provided preciation of these sites. The selection of sites highlight- opportunities to assess the ongoing threats to the coun- ed here demonstrates that the range of activities is vast, try’s cultural heritage, while developing advocacy strat- and that educating the public about these places and egies to help create sustainable solutions. Projects are their value is an essential element in World Monuments organized according to the individual needs of each site Fund’s work. Our hope is that at the conclusion of each and local capacity, and WMF’s work has evolved over project, the public has a stronger understanding of how the years to integrate conservation, training, and advo- a historic site enriches the lives of local residents, as well cacy in as many projects as possible. World Monuments as those visiting for the first time. 2 CURRENT PROJECTS Jesús Nazareno Church ATOTONILCO The eighteenth-century Sanctuary of Jesus Nazareno of 1996, with financial support from WMF, Adopte una Obra Atotonilco, built by father Felipe Alfaro Neri, has served de Arte was able to complete a survey of the building as a spiritual center and pilgrimage destination for over and develop a comprehensive restoration plan. The res- 200 years. The church is famous for the pictorial murals toration of the façade and three stone altars located in by Miguel Martínez de Pocasangre that cover the inte- the main nave was completed in 2009, and was followed rior space and reflect a syncretism of Catholic religious by conservation work at the choir, the Chapel of Gloria iconography and native religious beliefs. The murals and Escondida, the Chapel and Anteroom of the Virgin of Lo- the numerous works of art within the chapels create an reto, the Chapel of the Virgin de la Soledad, the frames iconographic program that depicts the spiritual exercises of the Chapel of El Calvario, and the easel paintings of of San Ignacio de Loyola. the Chapel of Belen, which were completed in 2011. The Over the years, a lack of adequate maintenance—par- current phase of work includes conservation of the mu- ticularly on the roofs—allowed rainwater to infiltrate sev- ral paintings at the chapels of El Santísimo and Loreto, eral areas of the building, which threatened to destroy conservation of the gilt altar of the chapel of El Santísi- the rich pictorial collection. The threats were compound- mo, and production of a bilingual publication about the ed by sudden changes in temperature, smoke from vo- Sanctuary of Atotonilco and its restoration work, to be tive candles, and insufficient ventilation. Beginning in published by Rizzoli-Mexico in 2014. 3 Maya Sites of the Yucatán Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula contains some of the best the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2004, preserved examples of architecture and urban settle- WMF partnered with the Cultural Foundation of Banamex ments from the pinnacle of Maya culture (Late Classic Pe- to develop a program to support field projects at sever- riod, A.D. 800–1000), including Aké, Chichén Itza, Kabáh, al Maya settlements in the Yucatán Peninsula. The initia- and Xocnaceh, all of which are cities that have ceremonial tive directs funding to multidisciplinary teams of experts centers marked by impressive building ensembles. Tem- working at various sites, and couples “best practice” con- ple pyramids, palaces, plazas, and structures such as rit- servation measures with ongoing and new archaeological ual ball courts and arches remain as testaments to the investigations. The overall program objectives, already technical ingenuity and aesthetic acuity of the Maya. completed at Aké and Kabah, include documentation of These sites have been compromised over time by ex- exposed monuments, as well as treatment of monuments posure to the elements, which has deteriorated the stone in poor condition and the removal of unsympathetic re- and mortar and destabilized the monuments. The struc- pairs. The final phase of conservation and archaeological tural integrity of many of the buildings has been further research work at Xocnaceh and Chichén Itza is under way compromised by inappropriate repairs implemented in and will be completed in 2014. 4 Mexico City Historic Center The earliest buildings in the historic center of Mexico were In 2005, World Monuments Fund and the Fundación constructed in the sixteenth century by the Spanish on the Centro Histórico—sponsored by Carlos Slim—agreed to ruins of Tenochtitlán, the old Aztec capital built on several take on a program in the historic center with the objective islands within Lake Texcoco. Tenochtitlán flourished un- of promoting conservation while encouraging economic til 1521, when Hernán Cortes and his army captured the growth and community development. A key component city. In 1524, the Spanish conquerors founded Mexico City of this initiative is adapting the remnants of the Rule and started the process of draining the lake and building Building—a Neoclassical, early twentieth structure badly a colonial city that was to be the gateway to America; damaged in the 1985 earthquake—and the nearby open first constructions included the Zócalo and the Metropol- space—formerly occupied by the cloister of San Francis- itan Cathedral, the largest church on the continent. The co—for use as a meeting place, a starting point for tour- eighteenth century saw the construction of great stone ists, and an education and interpretation center for visitors palaces for wealthy merchants, and in the nineteenth and residents alike. The first phase of construction and the century the city was transformed by urban expansion preliminary designs for the visitor center were completed and the expropriation of religious property. The city was in mid-2011, and the virtual visitor center of the City of modernized in the twentieth century with the introduc- Mexico was completed in 2012 and is available on WMF’s tion of public works, transportation systems, and grand website. The virtual site offers the opportunity to access public buildings such as the Palace of Fine Arts. Mexico’s many databases containing tourism information related historic center has been an epicenter of politics, finance, to the City of Mexico, to create and print personalized and religion since the pre-Hispanic era, and a UNESCO itineraries, and it also incorporates the Historic Resources World Heritage site since 1987. In the 1960s, the historic database created as part of the World Monuments Fund center of Mexico City began to decline, losing a third of Historic Center of Mexico Documentation project devel- its population, while being subject to architectural dete- oped between 2005 and 2010. The building is currently rioration, pollution, and increased crime. In 1985, the city under the control of the Secretary of Culture of the City was hit by two devastating earthquakes that destroyed a of Mexico who financed the second phase of construction large number of historic buildings and had a tremendous completed in mid-2012. In December 2012 a new Mayor death toll. As a result of the draining of the lakes in the was elected, and World Monuments Fund and the Fun- area by the Spanish several hundred years prior, the clay dación Centro Histórico have been negotiating with the that had formed on the basin lost its water content and new City Government on the completion of construction shrunk, which in turn caused the city to sink, in large part work at the Rule Building and the establishment of a suit- due to the excessive pumping of water from the hundreds able mechanism for the management and operation of of wells located just below the surface. the visitor center. 5 Ruta de la Amistad MEXICO CITY Ruta de la Amistad, or the Route of Friendship, consists of struction of an elevated highway. WMF, supported by a 22 large-scale sculptures that were commissioned ahead grant from American Express, was able to support the of the 1968 Summer Olympics to serve as permanent conservation of the Muro Articulado (by Herbert Bayer), markers of the event in the landscape of Mexico City. The Janus (by Clement Meadmore), Station #9 (by Todd Wil- sculptures were designed by artists of international re- liams) and Reloj Solar (by Gregorz Kowalski) sculptures, nown hailing from five continents and were primarily con- and the rehabilitation of their natural landscape by ex- structed of concrete and steel. Nineteen of the sculptures posing the lava outcroppings and returning the native were spread along a 17-kilometer route that united distant vegetation of the area known as El Pedregal. WMF also Olympic venues, and which has since developed into a collaborated with the Patronato on the organization of major highway around Mexico City, the Periférico Sur. The many public activities such as bicycle tours, poster cam- ensemble was completed by three special commissions paigns, film festivals, art installations, and an exhibition at that were installed near the route. the Museum of Modern Art of Mexico, with the objective Threatened by demolition after the conclusion of the of bringing back the forgotten Ruta de la Amistad into games, the sculptures were neglected for many years, the imaginations of the citizens of Mexico, and especially and they faded into obscurity as their immediate con- young people.

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