Mexican Architecture Through the 20th Century Periodicals

Abstract

Mexican architecture is not at its best moment, but it has achieved a great improvement. As the lack of bibliographical volume can show, an aletrnative approach can occur through architecture magazines published throughout the 20^th century. The pioneeer is 1899's El arte y la ciencia, which got engineers and architects closer. During the thirties the commercial magazine Cemento was published. For over 40 years, between 1938 and 1979, Arquitectura/México was written, the most long-lived and a must reference to know Mexican architecture. By mid century, Arquitectos de México was founded, it reviewed architecture main works. Between 1960 and 1974 Calli arises, under supervision of the Mexican Colegio de Arquietctos (School of Architects). By that same time INBA's Architecture Headship published Cuadernos de arquitectura, in which we find texts by Villagrán García, Enrique del Moral and Félix Candela. From 1979 to 1985, this publication continuity reappeared under the name of Cuadernos de arquitectura y conservación del patrimonio artístico. From 2001 this publication returned with the intention of making accessible outstanding texts. 1973's Obras magazine strikes for being a publication that gets both engineering and architecture closer together. Between 1979 and 1987, the Colegio de Arquitectos de México (Mexican Architects Association) and the Sociedad de Arquitectos Mexicanos (Mexican Architects Society) joined to publish arquitectura y sociedad, whose numbers are monographically organized. In recent dates the same institution has recovered the contact with its guild through  El arquitecto magazine, using it as an informative organ. With a very short life, Entorno magazine (1982-1984), shinned for its quality of the published materials and critical articles. During the nineties, Enlace, Arquitectura nad Arquine magazines were released. Another field of architecture magazines is the one of educative institutions, whose intention is to present academic investigations. Particularly UNAM (Universidad Nacional autónoma de México, National Autonomous University of Mexico) has published Cuadernos de arquitectura, Docencia, Arquitectura mexicana, Arquitectura mesoamericana y virreinal and recently Bitácora, with 18 units up-to-date. On the other hand UAM (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Metropolitan Autonomous University) issues Diseño y sociedad and En síntesis, as well as other institutions along the country. There is merit in the effort of some newspapers to approach nonspecialized public through its supplements: Excélsior, Unomásuno, Novedades, La jornada, Reforma, Guadalajara Siglo XXI, etcetera. These periodicals have been gathered in Raices digital published by UNAM. With this brief revision, we can conclude that in mexican architecture historiographyhas to be supported by architecture magazines as a base of knowledge and analysis.