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Guide to the Mexican photograph album documenting the American Seminar on Relations with Mexico [graphic], 1927
BANC PIC 2000.070--ALB
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Collection Title: Mexican photograph album documenting the American Seminar on Relations with Mexico [graphic],
Date (single): 1927
Collection Number: BANC PIC 2000.070--ALB
Extent:
1 album (133 photographic prints) : b&w; album 23 x 31 cm
Repository: The
Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Snapshots of the visit of members of the American Seminar on Relations with Mexico to Mexico City, Xochimilco, San Juan Teotihuacan,
Toluca, and rural areas like Acolman (in the state of Mexico), and the ejido Tlahuac. Images reflect concerns with rural development
and education and they document visits to historical sites, archaeological sites, and churches. Many snapshots include government
officials and dignitaries such as President Plutarco Elias Calles and Governor Carlos Riva Palacio (the younger).
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Mexican photograph album documenting the American Seminar on Relations with Mexico [graphic], BANC
PIC 2000.070--ALB, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
In 1927 the American Seminar on Relations with Mexico made a trip to the central area of this country. They visited Mexico
City, Xochimilco, San Juan Teotihuacan, Toluca, and rural areas like Acolman (in the state of Mexico), and the ejido Tlahuac
(close to Xochimilco).
This collection of photographs is a noteworthy testimony of early 20th century Mexico in several senses. It is a portrait
of rural Mexico, of its landscapes, of its people, during the times of the reconstruction of the country after the Revolution.
It also offers a comparison between the material resources and social projects in two cities (Mexico City and Toluca) and
the daily activities in other areas. This collection is also a visual proof of the perception that the members of the American
Seminar had about Mexican past and present. Their selection of places to visit, their interviews with the higher political
and educative authorities speak about their interest in the social problems and governmental social policies during the 1920s.
The agenda of the members of this Seminar placed the visit to the archeological site of San Juan Teotihuacan, the convent
and chapel of Acolman, and some colonial buildings in Mexico City at the beginning of this trip. Besides this interest in
Mexican antiquities, the Seminar focused on the situation of Indian people both in the cities and in the countryside. Thus,
most of the plates of this collection are devoted to the influence of the Mexican government in areas like education of Indian
boys and rural development.
Curatorial notes on specific images
- Image 7 (pg. 4):
- Interior of the chapel of the convent of Acolman, in the state of Mexico. This chapel was an annex of the Augustinian convent built in the mid 16th century. It was built and decorated in a plateresque style; the presbytery has a series of paintings in fresco representing the hierarchy of the Catholic Church: prophets, bishops, and friars.
- Image 52 (pg. 15):
- The education of Indian boys after the Mexican Revolution was oriented toward the learning of Spanish language, and the acquisition of some industrial skills and knowledge. This was the case, at least, in central Mexico, where this kind of industrial school received support from the national government.
- Image 101 (pg. 16):
- The Mexican government tried to gather Mexican peasants in official unions like the CROM (Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana), founded during the presidency of Plutarco Elias Calles. This photograph shows the relation between this union and the peasants of Tlahuac, a small ejido close to Xochimilco. The comments written at the bottom of the photograph show the favorable opinion of the American Seminar about this relationship.