El Palomar monument, Guadalajara © Paul Hudson 2023

Luis Barragán’s architectural legacy in Guadalajara

In March 2023 the city of Guadalajara dedicated a new monument to world-renowned engineer-architect Luis Barragán. The monument, El Palomar, was originally designed by Barragán in the 1970s but did not come to fruition until many years after his death. Barragán’s career has been extensively documented. However, the emphasis has usually been  on his later […]

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Burton-If Walls Could Talk

If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants

Tony Burton’s thoroughly researched and utterly fascinating book If Walls Could Talk, published by Sombrero Books, takes us through the surprising and richly textured history of Chapala’s past from the mid-eighteen hundreds onwards. I had no idea that this laid back, seemingly staid resort town on the shores of Jalisco’s Lake Chapala could have had […]

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Riding the cart to the train, near Ixhuatan, Oaxaca © Tony Burton 1985

Did you know? Mexico has many “Est”raordinary railway places

An earlier column, “Microwaves (with a view)”, examined the scenic delights to be found by following the “Microondas” road signs that puzzle many first-time visitors. That column probably didn’t appeal to any passing historians, but another road-sign abbreviation, “EST”, could easily have been invented just for them. EST stands for Estación. In some contexts, this would […]

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Lower part of Pátzcuaro Library mural (copyright of photo unknown)

Did You Know? The centenary of the birth of artist Juan O’Gorman

Juan O’Gorman was born on July 6, 1905, in Coyoacán, Mexico City. His father, Cecil Crawford O’Gorman, was a mining engineer and artist of Irish origin; his mother was Mexican. Juan was educated at the National University (UNAM), and became a well known architect. A follower of the Franco-German rationalism school, he was one of […]

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Tupátaro church

Did you know? The Sistine Chapel of Mexico

A small church with a rather nondescript exterior in a tiny village (Tupátaro) just off the main highway between Morelia and Pátzcuaro hardly sounds like the kind of place where you’re likely to find one of Latin America’s artistic masterpieces, but initial appearances can be very deceiving. The whitewashed exterior of Tupátaro’s church may be […]

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Mexicasa: The Enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico by Gina Hyams and Melba Levick

Cogan’s Reviews I’ve been heard a couple of times lately saying out loud: “What an absolutely amazing country this is!” We were in Patzcuaro a short time ago one Sunday morning when the town’s market was in full swing. An incredible variety of goods were on display. And with all that colorful activity around us, […]

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Architecture of Mexico: the houses of Luis Barragan

Architecture of Mexico: the houses of Luis Barragan

From the book “CASA MEXICANA” ©1989 Tim Street-Porter, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York. Reproduced by special permission of the publisher and author. Photographs by Tim Street-Porter © Barragan Foundation, Switzerland / ProLitteris, Zurich, Switzerland Luis Barragán was born in Guadalajara in 1902 of a prosperous, aristocratic family, and grew up on a large […]

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The Coastal Architecture of Mexico:

Architecture of Mexico: coastal architecture

From the book “CASA MEXICANA” ©1989 Tim Street-Porter, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York. Reproduced by special permission of the publisher and author. The climatic contrast between Mexico’s high-altitude cities on the Central Plateau and the coastal resorts which line the Pacific Coast is dramatic. A quick thirty minute flight on Mexicana transports the […]

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