Colonia Mexico: A modernist survivor in the world of Yucatán architecture
Thriving Colonia Mexico is home to a small park of the same name, cozy cafes, and multicultural restaurants — including Italian trattorias, Brazilian steakhouses, and Mexican seafood bistros.
A neighborhood of great importance in the city, it emerged in the late 1940s, under the government of Ernesto Novelo Torres, but did not become relevant until the following decade.
It was born as a project to provide the city with an area where houses could be built for the middle and working classes. In the 1950s, an unprecedented approach to designing domestic space began in Yucatán, driven by the presence of new architecture professionals.
Colonia Mexico, along with the Alemán, represent the bases of architectural modernism in Yucatán.
In 1945, the first precast concrete plant was installed in Merida, introducing a new construction system. This allowed a change in architectural design, as space measurements were determined by the size of the prefabricated structures.
By 1949, concrete companies had already built a good number of houses in Colonia Mexico. As a result, there was a suppression of the ornamentation and variety of finishes on the walls.
In the neighborhood, home proportions tend toward horizontality. They often incorporate a lighter feel in the roof or cover of the access porch, still maintaining its clear symmetrical lines. It is common to see a decrease in the diameter of the column that supports the access, in order to leave the entrance open— a novelty canceled, to some extent, decades later.
Houses are usually built leaving part of the land in front and on the sides, thus providing a high environmental quality enriched by the vegetation. This characteristic sets apart the properties from other neighborhoods in the city, particularly up north, where construction square meters are preferred.
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In 1954, the Marista Brothers moved the Montejo School to neighboring Itzimná, which addressed a lack of educational facilities for the wealthy sector and helped to trigger the construction of residences for the wealthy class.
The new colonia began to be populated by the children of people who still lived in the old downtown neighborhoods or in areas not so far away, such as García Ginerés.
In other cases, entire families moved in, such as the Chapur family, who built several houses together so that the parents and children, who already had their own families, would be close by.
For the most part, the new residents were young married couples, already involved in the family businesses or just starting out in their professions.
At present, the Mexico neighborhood, with all its annexes, comprises some 75 blocks. Its neighbors are: to the west, Colonia Buenavista; to the north, San Antonio Cinta III; to the east, Felipe Carrillo Puerto; and to the south, Itzimná.
Many of the people who arrived in the new colony owned businesses, companies, and industries that began to emerge with the incipient diversification of the local economy after the collapse of the henequen industry.
Thus, Colonia Mexico became witness to a rapidly changing society, with an emerging bourgeois class.
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Verónica Garibay Saldaña is a Mexican columnist, communications major, and poetry enthusiast.
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