Emblems of progress: Colon theater and the palace of fine arts in the construction of the nation, Argentina and Mexico, 1880-1910 [Emblemas del progreso: El teatro colón y el palacio de bellas artes en la construcción de la nación, Argentina y México, 1880-1910]

In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, two generations of politicians and intellectuals arrived in Argentina and Mexico, the Generación del 80 and Los Científicos. They were influenced by the ideas of liberalism and positivism, from which they took their principles to implement a political project for the construction and consolidation of the State, as a fundamental requirement for turning their countries into modern nations. To do so, both groups of power conducted an ambitious constructive program of opulent and monumental public architecture to endow their countries with buildings worthy of their idea of a nation. The opera and opera theaters in Europe were highly prestigious and famous in Latin America, so the groups of power in Argentina and Mexico sought to build new opera theaters in their respective capitals: Colón Theater and the Fine Arts Palace. These buildings should reflect the idea of nation they had -modern, civilized, wealthy and cosmopolitan-, and also, they should legitimize the regime and promote their political projects. © 2020 Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana. All rights reserved.

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