“Architectural Elements of the Historical Centre of Veracruz”, published by the Universidad Cristóbal Colón, is the posthumous work of the unforgotten former professor, the architect Luis Manuel Tello Deschamps (E. P. D.), for which the journalist and writer, Lic. Marcela Prado, the architect Mauricio Tello and Dr. and Fr. José Manuel Asún, Rector of the UCC, met at the headquarters of the Instituto Veracruzano de la Cultura.
This book is a compilation of 70 architectural elements of this historic centre, including railings, doors, windows and balustrades, among others. It is the result of research carried out by architect Tello Deschamps as professor and researcher, together with a group of students from the Bachelor of Architecture programme.
Father Asún recalled the historian Eusebio Leal with a parallel between what he said about Havana and Veracruz: “Five centuries is little compared to Athens, Istanbul, Cuzco, Tenochtitlán, Uxmal, but it is much for our America”. He also expressed his wish that the restoration of the historic centre of Veracruz would do justice to the symbolic value that represents so many cultural values, for example, the juice of the exiles with a León Felipe, who was librarian in Veracruz, Arq. Enrique Segarra; intellectuals, poets, musicians, Salvador Díaz Mirón, María Enriqueta Camarillo, María del Carmen Mondragón, Mario Ruiz Armengol, Toña La Negra, Agustín Lara, Francisco Gabilondo Soler, Moscovita… the danzón, the huapango and the son resound. Veracruz is the synthesis of the history of the Mexican people.
This book is an outstanding contribution, he added. “Will all the elements that the architect Deschamps catalogued at the time still be there? It is not an explosive like the one the current government is planning, nor like others that have worked half-heartedly, like the Plaza de Armas and its surroundings, or the corridor leading from Bomberos to Las Atarazanas, the IVEC, Archivo Histórico, Mar Adentro, La Plazuela de la Campana. It is not an exploding project, but a drop of fresh water in pure Tello style for an unpainted watercolour of the historic centre… This is not a book; whoever touches its pages touches a human being,” he concluded, quoting the poet Walt Whitman.
Mauricio Tello pointed out the design of the book, for which he was responsible, and how it fulfils a function of good communication, including the swing letters on the cover, the typography so that the information can be read easily, the large numbers, the arrangement of the plans and the horizontal format. The basic aim was to attract attention, so that people say, what is this, we have never seen this before. However, the function of invitation was also aimed at, so that people feel that this project belongs to them and that they are concerned with this problem and participate in it.
He recalled how Tello Deschamps, his father, said, “It is an act of civic will that citizens of all social, cultural and economic classes participate; citizens of Veracruz of all ages, because by preserving the past, we make the present richer and we cement the future of our city, the first municipality of the mainland in the New World”.
For her part, Ms Prado stressed, “It is possible to restore a historic centre, but not only the authorities; they plan; we citizens plan; we land; it is not possible without the participation of everyone so that these old stones that are falling apart regain the value they have in history. I am confident that the book will help the people of Veracruz to realise this dream”.
“Architectural Elements of the Historic Centre of Veracruz” will soon be presented at Christopher Columbus University itself as part of the Tello Deschamps Chair, which aims to continue his legacy for the harmonious and sustainable development of the city and the country through architecture.
Edmundo Gómez Martínez
Director of Institutional Communication and Image. UCC
