Cruz Azul and Tolteca: Cement Standardization and Biopolitics in Post-Revolutionary Advertising

Abstract

This article examines the biopolitical iconography of cement through Cruz Azul
and Tolteca advertisements from the 1930s. Despite their artistic differences,
the designers for both brands codified the biopolitical power of cement through
the concept of the standardization of modern urbanism. This representation
made cement a material capable of uniting the physical and ideological construction
of buildings, cities, environments and the bodies of citizens. This visual
discourse is analyzed with a focus on urban standardization and the democratic
consumption of cement.