Space and Place in the Mexican Landscape

The Evolution of a Colonial City

By Fernando Núñez, Carlos Arvizu and Ramón Abonce; Edited by Malcolm Malcolm Quantrill

Publication Year: 2007

Metaphysical conceptions have always influenced how human societies create the built environment. Mexico—with its rich culture, full of symbol and myth, its beautiful cities, and its evocative ruins—is an excellent place to study the interplay of influences on space and place. In this volume, the authors consider the ideas and views that give the constructed spaces and buildings of Mexico—especially, of Querétaro—their particular ambience. They explore the ways the built world helps people find meaning and establish order for their earthly existence by mirroring their metaphysical assumptions, and they guide readers through time to see how the transformation of worldviews affects the urban evolution of a Mexican city. The authors, then, construct a “metaphysical archeology” of space and place in the built landscape of Mexico. In the process, they identify the intangible, spiritual aspects of this land. Not only scholars of architecture, but also archeologists and anthropologists—particularly those interested in Mexican backgrounds and culture—will appreciate the authors’ approach and conclusions.

Published by: Texas A&M University Press

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We are especially grateful to Malcolm Quantrill, who encouraged this project from the very beginning, when part of it was only a doctoral dissertation, and devoted countless hours in College Station and Queretaro to guiding it to completion. We thank him also for the academic exchanges he has promoted between our institutions, ...

Introduction

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pp. ix-x

Mexico’s colonial cities retain many influences stemming from their pre-Hispanic and viceregal origins. These metropolitan centers are looking for ways to balance their historical heritage with modern themes of industrialization on a global scale and growth that, left unchecked, could destroy what is valuable from the past. ...

Chapter 1. The Interaction of Space and Place: The Mexican Mixture

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pp. 1-73

Historically, Mexico is the result of a combination of and symbiosis between two major cultures: the pre-Hispanic and the Spanish. The old cultures that flourished in ancient Mexico—Toltec, Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and others—occupied Mesoamerica as far back as several centuries B.C., and many ...

Chapter 2. The Urban Evolution of the Colonial City: Queretaro, 1531–191

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pp. 74-105

In the four hundred years from its sixteenth-century founding to the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, the city of Queretaro’s urban structure, like that of other Mexican colonial cities, evolved significantly in terms of both physical space and morphology (type of urban layout, circulation, constructed elements, ...

Chapter 3. From Revolution to Industrial Society: Queretaro, 1910 to the Modern Age

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pp. 106-156

Just when the city of Queretaro was going through a cycle of apparent urban improvement, the Porfirian era came to a sudden halt. Governor Gonz�lez de Cosio resigned on March 31, 1911, as a result of an interview with Porfirio D�az in Mexico City only a few days earlier. His resignation brought to light many ...

Notes

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pp. 157-162

Bibliography

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pp. 163-170

Index

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pp. 171-182

Studies in Architecture and Culture

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pp. 183-

E-ISBN-13: 9781603445085
E-ISBN-10: 1603445080
Print-ISBN-13: 9781585445837
Print-ISBN-10: 1585445835

Page Count: 200
Illustrations: 53 b&w photos. 6 illus. 61 maps. 32 figs.
Publication Year: 2007