Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market, Mexico City
Encyclopedia
The Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market is a traditional public market
located in the historic center
of Mexico City
, northeast of the main plaza, or Zocalo
. It was built in 1934 as a prototype for a more modern marketplace and has a number of unusual features such as day care and an auditorium. However, the markets most distinctive feature is the approximately 1,450 square meters of wall and ceiling space covered in murals. These murals were painted by students of Diego Rivera
and under his supervision. The works mostly reflect socialist themes, such as the exploitation of workers, peasants and miners, the fight against Nazism
and fascism
, and racial discrimination. Earthquakes, time, humidity and vandalism took their toll on the murals from the time they were painted until restoration began in January 2009. Restoration work is expected to take almost two years.
. The architect was Antonio Muñoz, who mixed Baroque
, Belle Époque
, Art Nouveau
and Art Deco
elements into the building. The market has an area of 12,450 square meters and is the main market for foodstuffs in this part of the city. Upon completion, it was named after the president of Mexico
who ordered the complex built. Eventually, the area around this market became known as “Abelardo.”
The Abelardo L. Rodriguez market has four large entrances on República de Venezuela, República de Colombia, Del Carmen and Rodríguez Puebla streets respectively. One unusual feature of the building is the metal roof that covers the central patio area. Its most distinctive service is the Teatro del Pueblo (Theatre of the People) auditorium, which is located on the upper floor. A number of the services and features of this market were copied in markets built as much as twenty years later, such as the markets of La Lagunilla, Tepito and La Merced.
These murals include: Los mercados by Ángel Bracho, Influencia de las vitaminas by Antonio Pujol
, Los alimentos y los problemas del obrero by Pedro Rendón, Escenas populares by Ramón Alva Guadarrama, Las labores del campo by Grace Greenwood Ames
, La minería by Marion Greenwood
, La industrialización del campo and Los mercados by Raúl Gamboa as well as the copper-plated relief called Historia de México, de Isamu Noguchi
.
The murals reflect socialist themes in part due to the policies of the Mexican government to promote the benefits of the 1910 Mexican Revolution
. They also reflect the concerns of these artists during this time period, leading to themes such as the exploitation of workers, peasants and miners, the fight against Nazism and fascism, and racial discrimination. On the upper floor, Noguchi created a wall sculpture combined with painting called La historia de Mexico, in which can be seen fists, swastikas, skeletons and Albert Einstein
’s formula E=mc2.
This mural work quickly gave the market and the neighborhood around it prominence. It has been ranked fourth in value after the murals in the Palacio de Bellas Artes
, the Secretaria de Educacion Publica
building and the National Palace
. Noguchi’s work alone has been valued at two million U.S. dollars. However, in spite of this, these murals are practically is unknown by domestic or international visitors to the city.
, humidity, the passage of time, the lack of maintenance and vandalism took their toll on the artwork. Almost all of the murals showed some level of damage with only the murals painted by Pablo O'Higgins
at the entrance located at Del Carmen and Rodriguez Puebla were in good condition. This is primarily because these works were done on the ceiling and upper portions of high walls. One of the murals in the worst condition was Influencia de las vitaminas by Angel Bracho, with over 50% of the surface area damaged, mostly by humidity. A wall that holds a work by Marion Greenwood is cracked, possibly due to the 1985 earthquake. The rest of the paintings are damaged by scratches, humidity and small cracks due to the same earthquake, with those at arms reach suffering from graffiti and other vandalism.
The lack of maintenance and protection of the murals was primarily due to disputes between government agencies such as the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and the Mexico City government as to who had the responsibility for them. In 1998, merchants in the market banded together to create an organization to restore the murals and to get the market included in the various tourism promotions of the city government. While this particular effort failed, new efforts surfaced in the 2000’s. The merchant association installed acrylic screens over a number of the murals to protect them, but the city government stated that these did not let the murals “breathe” and could cause damage, so they were removed. Until 2008, efforts by merchants had mostly consisted of not letting children play ball against the murals and not leaning merchandise or other materials against them.
Other problems for the market include the large number of wandering and informal street vendors that are on the streets outside market and nearly block passage through the four main entrances into it and block access to the murals with their merchandise. This has been a problem here for over thirty years. In addition, the crime rate in this neighborhood has caused the more than 330 merchants here have seen their sales drop by eighty percent.
. A concrete plan with a budget of 2,400,000 pesos was signed by city government, the city’s Authority of the Historic Center, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and the Cuauhtémoc borough
late in 2008. Work on restoring the murals began in January 2009. Merchants here have expressed willingness to help with restoration of the murals, with which many of them grew up. One example is Hugo León, who runs a juice business that he inherited from his father, located under the mural La elaboración del carbón by Ramón Alva Guadarrama. Work on this mural forced him to move and shut down temporarily, but he says he did so gladly. He and other merchants here have worked to clean the market and make way for the work being done, according to Leticia Ramirez, a leader of the merchants. Restoration work is scheduled to last approximately 23 months.
Traditional fixed markets in Mexico
Traditional fixed markets in Mexico go by a variety of names such as "mercados públicos" , "mercados municipales" or even more often simply "mercados"...
located in the historic center
Historic centre of Mexico city
The historic center of Mexico City is also known as the "Centro" or "Centro Histórico." This neighborhood is focused on the Zócalo or main plaza in Mexico City and extends in all directions for a number of blocks with its farthest extent being west to the Alameda Central The Zocalo is the largest...
of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, northeast of the main plaza, or Zocalo
Zócalo
The Zócalo is the main plaza or square in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square," and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución...
. It was built in 1934 as a prototype for a more modern marketplace and has a number of unusual features such as day care and an auditorium. However, the markets most distinctive feature is the approximately 1,450 square meters of wall and ceiling space covered in murals. These murals were painted by students of Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and under his supervision. The works mostly reflect socialist themes, such as the exploitation of workers, peasants and miners, the fight against Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, and racial discrimination. Earthquakes, time, humidity and vandalism took their toll on the murals from the time they were painted until restoration began in January 2009. Restoration work is expected to take almost two years.
Construction
The market was constructed in 1934 in what was part of the grounds of the San Pedro y San Pablo CollegeSan Pedro y San Pablo College (Museum of Light)
The San Pedro y San Pablo College complex has seen a lot of changes since it was built in late 16th and early 17th centuries, and today the church portion of the complex is home to the Museo de la Luz sponsored by the National Autonomous University of Mexico...
. The architect was Antonio Muñoz, who mixed Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
, Belle Époque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
, Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
elements into the building. The market has an area of 12,450 square meters and is the main market for foodstuffs in this part of the city. Upon completion, it was named after the president of Mexico
Abelardo L. Rodríguez
Abelardo Rodríguez Luján, commonly known as Abelardo L. Rodríguez was the interim president of Mexico from 1932–1934, completing the term of Pascual Ortiz after his resignation.-Early life:...
who ordered the complex built. Eventually, the area around this market became known as “Abelardo.”
Features
This market was the second major market built in Mexico City in the first decades of the 20th century, after the Dos de Abril Market built in 1912. Like its predecessor, the Abelard L. Rodriguez market was intended to be a prototype for a new, more modern popular marketplace, first for the large size of the market and second for a number of extra services offered within the building, such as day care centers, youth centers and libraries.The Abelardo L. Rodriguez market has four large entrances on República de Venezuela, República de Colombia, Del Carmen and Rodríguez Puebla streets respectively. One unusual feature of the building is the metal roof that covers the central patio area. Its most distinctive service is the Teatro del Pueblo (Theatre of the People) auditorium, which is located on the upper floor. A number of the services and features of this market were copied in markets built as much as twenty years later, such as the markets of La Lagunilla, Tepito and La Merced.
Murals
However, the markets most distinctive feature is the approximately 1,450 square meters of wall and ceiling space covering in murals. These murals were painted by students of Diego Rivera and under his direction. Six of the ten painters involved with the project were Mexican, three were American and one was Japanese, working to “bring art to the people” and paid 13.50 pesos (3.75 U.S. dollars approximately) for each square meter painted. The murals are located in the main entrances, vestibules, patios and hallways of the market.These murals include: Los mercados by Ángel Bracho, Influencia de las vitaminas by Antonio Pujol
Antonio Pujol
"Abel" Antonio Pujol Jiménez was a Mexican painter and printmaker.- Biography :...
, Los alimentos y los problemas del obrero by Pedro Rendón, Escenas populares by Ramón Alva Guadarrama, Las labores del campo by Grace Greenwood Ames
Grace Greenwood Ames
Grace Greenwood Ames was an American artist, who worked predominantly in Mexico, where she got her artistic training....
, La minería by Marion Greenwood
Marion Greenwood
Marion Greenwood was an American painter and engraver. She was the younger sister of Grace Greenwood Ames....
, La industrialización del campo and Los mercados by Raúl Gamboa as well as the copper-plated relief called Historia de México, de Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
.
The murals reflect socialist themes in part due to the policies of the Mexican government to promote the benefits of the 1910 Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. They also reflect the concerns of these artists during this time period, leading to themes such as the exploitation of workers, peasants and miners, the fight against Nazism and fascism, and racial discrimination. On the upper floor, Noguchi created a wall sculpture combined with painting called La historia de Mexico, in which can be seen fists, swastikas, skeletons and Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
’s formula E=mc2.
This mural work quickly gave the market and the neighborhood around it prominence. It has been ranked fourth in value after the murals in the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is the most important cultural center in Mexico City as well as the rest of the country of Mexico...
, the Secretaria de Educacion Publica
Secretaría de Educación Pública
The Secretaría de Educación Pública is a Mexican federal government authority with Cabinet representation and responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of national educational policy and school standards in Mexico.Additionally, it has the following responsibilities:*Creation...
building and the National Palace
National Palace (Mexico)
The National Palace, or Palacio Nacional in Spanish), was the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución...
. Noguchi’s work alone has been valued at two million U.S. dollars. However, in spite of this, these murals are practically is unknown by domestic or international visitors to the city.
Deterioration of murals and other problems
From the time the murals were painted in the 1930’s to 2009, there had been no organized effort by authorities to conserve the murals painted here. The 1985 earthquake1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
, humidity, the passage of time, the lack of maintenance and vandalism took their toll on the artwork. Almost all of the murals showed some level of damage with only the murals painted by Pablo O'Higgins
Pablo O'Higgins
Pablo Esteban O'Higgins was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator....
at the entrance located at Del Carmen and Rodriguez Puebla were in good condition. This is primarily because these works were done on the ceiling and upper portions of high walls. One of the murals in the worst condition was Influencia de las vitaminas by Angel Bracho, with over 50% of the surface area damaged, mostly by humidity. A wall that holds a work by Marion Greenwood is cracked, possibly due to the 1985 earthquake. The rest of the paintings are damaged by scratches, humidity and small cracks due to the same earthquake, with those at arms reach suffering from graffiti and other vandalism.
The lack of maintenance and protection of the murals was primarily due to disputes between government agencies such as the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and the Mexico City government as to who had the responsibility for them. In 1998, merchants in the market banded together to create an organization to restore the murals and to get the market included in the various tourism promotions of the city government. While this particular effort failed, new efforts surfaced in the 2000’s. The merchant association installed acrylic screens over a number of the murals to protect them, but the city government stated that these did not let the murals “breathe” and could cause damage, so they were removed. Until 2008, efforts by merchants had mostly consisted of not letting children play ball against the murals and not leaning merchandise or other materials against them.
Other problems for the market include the large number of wandering and informal street vendors that are on the streets outside market and nearly block passage through the four main entrances into it and block access to the murals with their merchandise. This has been a problem here for over thirty years. In addition, the crime rate in this neighborhood has caused the more than 330 merchants here have seen their sales drop by eighty percent.
Restoration of murals
With more than a thousand square meters of mural work, some of it very valuable, restoration work began in 2009. Promises by the authority for the Historic Center of Mexico City in 2008 gave merchants here hope that needed changes would be made and the market would become as prominent as it was when it opened in 1934. Both the city and the merchants expressed interest in including the market in a tourist corridor to be ready for the Bicentennial celebrations in 2010Celebration of Mexican political anniversaries in 2010
In 2010, Mexico celebrated both the 200th anniversary of its Independence and 100th anniversary of its Revolution. The entire year was proclaimed by President Felipe Calderón as "Año de la Patria", or "Year of the Nation." 16 September 1810 is the day of the "Grito de Dolores" or Miguel Hidalgo's...
. A concrete plan with a budget of 2,400,000 pesos was signed by city government, the city’s Authority of the Historic Center, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and the Cuauhtémoc borough
Cuauhtémoc, D.F.
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is one of the 16 boroughs of the Federal district of Mexico City. It consists of the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire city in the 1920s. This area is the historic and culture center of the city, although it is not the...
late in 2008. Work on restoring the murals began in January 2009. Merchants here have expressed willingness to help with restoration of the murals, with which many of them grew up. One example is Hugo León, who runs a juice business that he inherited from his father, located under the mural La elaboración del carbón by Ramón Alva Guadarrama. Work on this mural forced him to move and shut down temporarily, but he says he did so gladly. He and other merchants here have worked to clean the market and make way for the work being done, according to Leticia Ramirez, a leader of the merchants. Restoration work is scheduled to last approximately 23 months.