The Heritage of Modernity in Guadalajara

Abstract

Today Guadalajara is the center of one of the 56 metropolitan areas of the Mexican Republic due to its population and economic growth. Currently, the process of metropolization that the city is experiencing, comes with a great movement of citizen participation, which is a very positive fact. Like many cities from the Spanish colony, Guadalajara was founded in the Sixteenth Century, but it has not particularly been an extreme defender of their colonial architectural heritage, as other cities like Puebla or Queretaro. Rather, it has defined itself as forever modern, constantly innovating. The modern heritage of Guadalajara is made by very significant works in the national context and urban proposals that have given identity to the western region of the country representing the rupture, innovation and progress of modernity. This article describes the characterization of a part of the expression of modernity in Guadalajara and the challenges that arise for the preservation of this heritage and what might be positive to find a new perspective on the practice of preservation in wider terms.