David Alfaro Siqueiros murals on the National Autonomous University of Mexico's campus

Recently I was in Mexico City leading one of my tours and our visit to the the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) was inspiring.  The library designed by Juan O'Gorman was simply magnificent and the murals by David Alfaro Siqueros were an extra bonus to see.  (There are actually three murals but I only captured images of two of them).

The Mexican Muralist Movement started in the early 1920s in which the Mexican government commissioned artists to make art that would educate the mostly illiterate population about the country’s history and present a powerful vision of its future. The movement followed the Mexican Revolution.  Inspired by the idealism of the Revolution, artists created epic, politically charged public murals that stressed Mexico’s pre-colonial history and culture and that depicted peasants, workers, and people of mixed Indian-European heritage as the heroes who would forge its future. The murals were executed in techniques including fresco, encaustic, mosaic, and relief.  David Alfaro Siqueiros along with José Clemente Orozco and  Diego Rivera were considered the leaders of the Mexican Muralism.

 

The Rectory Tower is a Modernist architectural triumph and heavily influenced by Le Corbusier.  A prism of glass facades, it is built merely of reinforced concrete columns and slabs.  The building is the work of  Mario Pani , Enrique del Moral and Salvador Ortega Flores.   (The lower left are two friends that were on my tour).

Las Fechas de La Historia de Mexico o El Derecho a La Cultura

The mural depicts an extended arm with two hands with interlaced fingers and a third that sticks out with a pencil pointing to an open book.   The book has some of the county's important dates on it:  1520 - 1810 and 1857 - 1910.  These dates represent significant historical dates, such as the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire in 1520 and the defeat of the Spanish troops by insurgent forces in 1810.  The Constitution of 1857 established individual rights and 1910 was the start of the Mexican Revolution.

  Nuevo Símbolo de la Universidad ~ New Symbol of the University

One can see a Great Condor and Golden Eagle biting into a vibrant sun, which represents truth and knowledge.  Note how the wings of the birds wrap around the edges of the walls continuing into the building.

What a treat not only to see the magnificent library but to see these powerful murals!