Through images and archives, this conversation with Uriel Vides Bautista explores the history of San Juan de Letrán as a symbol of urban modernity and a meeting place for identities and desires outside the norm.
San Juan de Letrán—now Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas—is one of Mexico City's most iconic avenues. Inspired by New York's Fifth Avenue, it housed skyscrapers, cinemas, theaters, and hotels that defined the economic and cultural life of the city center for much of the 20th century. However, beyond its urban and architectural significance, San Juan de Letrán was a transgressive territory where individuals and practices circulated that defied dominant social norms.
Through photographs, paintings, and various written sources, we will explore the dual history of this avenue: on the one hand, as a prototype of post-revolutionary urbanism; on the other, as a meeting place for sexually marginalized individuals who found in its sidewalks, marquees, and cinema halls a space for socialization and the expression of desire. Beneath the visible layer of progress, this presentation will reveal a dissident geography that reflected the tensions and contradictions of a city eager to be modern.
He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Art History from UNAM. His research explores the intersections of art, public space, and sexual dissidence in 20th-century Mexico. He served as a researcher at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (2019-2023), where he coordinated the mural collection and managed the donation of the first mural by a woman, Rina Lazo, to join the museum's collection. He has collaborated on curatorial and editorial projects at institutions such as the Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco and the Museo Amparo. He was an editor for La Bola, a history outreach magazine, and has published articles in journals such as Artelogie, Bitácora Arquitectura, and Terremoto. Academically, he has taught Mexican art courses in the History program at FES Acatlán and, independently, courses on art, memory, and sexual dissidence. He currently practices professionally in the fields of research, writing, teaching, and outreach.
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Arte Abierto inicia su programa de mediación y comunicación educativa 2022 con una conversación entre la investigadora y escritora Irmgard Emmelhainz y Sebastien Noel de Troika, tomando la exposición No Sound of Water como punto de partida. Abordarán los temas presentes en este proyecto, como el Antropoceno, y harán diferentes lecturas y cuestionamientos (Materialist Realism / Philosophy of Matter / Art as Image).
Irmgard Emmelhainz transmitirá en vivo desde No Sound of Water en Arte Abierto.
