Hotel Reforma/Hotel Victoria: Questionable uses of the architectural heritage of the twentieth century

The Reforma Hotel, the first considered modern in Mexico City, the work of Carlos Obregón Santacilia and Mario Pani, was a pioneer in its type for the quality and luxury of the services offered. In recent years – as with several buildings considered heritage of the twentieth century that to "make a living" adopt new uses − has been dressed in neon and used as an advertising strategy to promote beer victory on the day of the dead. Where to draw the line between use and exploitation of historical buildings? These and other concerns arise from the following story.

 

For a couple of years, the Victoria brewery decided, as a marketing strategy, to offer the inhabitants of Mexico City an attraction that, according to the brand, rather than sell, sought to entertain and connect with consumers, while trying to Rescuing Mexican traditions. The season chosen to carry out this project was the one that corresponded to the celebrations of days of the dead because, according to the brewing Company, "the Mexican traditions have lost importance, interest and brilliance among the young people who today prefer to celebrate Customs like Halloween. That is why Victoria, in its eagerness to promote Mexican history and folklore, has been adopting a date as symbolic as day of death to reinvent it, making it more innovative and attractive for this segment, and being able to transmit it in an original way. "

It was noted that the main objective of this campaign was "to offer society in general knowledge of our history and Mexican roots. It also seeks to have the support of the brand's followers to continue to promote these kinds of celebrations that characterize us as a country. " But to all this what was the attraction that implemented this brand of the model group and that for its success continues to be carried out this year? Neither more nor less than the creation of the so-called Hotel Victoria, a place where the public enjoys the staging of well-known Mexican legends such as the weeping, the hanging or the lady in red.

Although the dynamics of attraction has changed a little over the years, the basis of this is the transfer of visitors through several interactive rooms that make — like the horror houses of any amusement park — , people feel part of the staging. "Seventy actors and a crew responsible for the sounds, scenery and lighting are in charge of the people living a sensory and immersive experience i[¿?esta palabra no figura en el diccionario]n these stories that are part of the collective imaginary of the Mexican people." So the explanation of the creators and developers of the idea. Tickets to attend can be purchased through ticket master and last year had a cost of 420 pesos per person. So far harmless. However, the thing changes when we look at the direction given by the promoters for the appointment with terror to "a la Mexicana": the number 109 of Paseo de la Reforma corner with the street of Paris.

This corner of the city, houses one of the most important buildings in the capital and I would even venture to say that of the country. It is the settlement of the Hotel Reforma, the first considered modern of Mexico City, the work of the architects Carlos Obregón Santacilia — at first — and Mario Pani — in a second stage — and financed by his uncle, the engineer, official and entrepreneur Alberto J. Pani. Through the company Edificios Modernes S.A., the Reforma Hotel was part of a tourist development plan that contemplated from the creation of good lodging sites, to the planning of modern roads and renovation works of buildings that will be attractive to foreign visitors.

The Hotel Reforma was a pioneer of its kind because of the quality and luxury of the services offered, it certainly matched the best hosting sites in other countries. It offered 250 rooms and 250 bathrooms, the first lodging site in Mexico City. With a bathroom per room. Within the project, special interest was given to interiors, which were carefully designed to provide the touch of mexicanity and modernity so demanded by architects, entrepreneurs and the general public. One element that distinguished it was also the incorporation of the roof garden, which managed to integrate the project into the canons of internationalism and, of course, to modernity. It was a novelty in Mexican architecture not only because of its structure, but also for its facilities because it was the first one that used copper pipe for drinking water and molten iron for sewage.

The Hotel Reforma was also the first to house the murals of Diego Rivera in their facilities, which were quite controversial because of the type of message that the painter decided to give his work in a critical tone to the same tourism activity promoted by Pani , so the work had to be removed from the place for which it was originally planned. The mural titled The Carnival of Mexican life today can be seen in the Palace of Fine arts but incomplete. This and other episodes related to financing, the lack of money to support the project, the banking pressures, the lack of partners that supported him, the expenses of his own pocket and others, caused Pani to see a reduced health considerably, to the point of To leave his beloved project in the hands of others in order to recover.

The Reforma Hotel is a beautiful and exciting episode of the architectural, business, artistic and tourist history of Mexico, in perfect condition to be used with cultural objectives or perhaps, yes with commercial intentions but from other points of View. Generally desolate, the days of the dead is illuminated with neon colors, it hangs a luminous sign that covers the famous R that characterized it and its corridors traveled by hundreds of people that although perhaps they are interested in the typical and Choteadas Mexican legends, they have no idea that the building they travel is a palpable sample of the architecture and contemporary culture of their country.

by Paulina Martínez Figueroa