The theatres of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City

Abstract

The theatres of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (the Mexican Institute of Social Security, IMSS) were built during the second half of the Twentieth Century in Mexico City, when the country was going through one of its most prolific stages of economic development: the great program of social progress established by former president Adolfo López Mateos. The IMSS launched its own social program, called the Proyecto Integral de Seguridad Social, which oversaw the construction of facilities to satisfy the sporting, recreational, health and cultural needs of the society it served. Theatrical activity was included in this ample project, and seven theatres were built which, along with other four pre existing auditoriums, created a vast cultural network for the benefit of the general public. Built between 1959 and 1963, these seven theatres (Tepeyac, Legaria, Xola and Morelos by Luis Zedillo Castillo, and Independencia, Hidalgo and Cuahutémoc by Alejandro Prieto), contributed to create a link between health and culture and, through their architecture, in defining the IMSS’s institutional image. All of its buildings went hand in hand with the fundamental principles of the institution, based on the Mexican Revolution ideals of social justice. This particular line of design was conceived by Benito Croquet, former IMSS director, who believed that formal elegance and prime quality materials where the basis of optimum service. Through their volumetric themes, their use of laminated stone and their integration of decorative elements recalling pre Hispanic motifs, these theatres are a clear example of nationalistic architecture, which brought conceptual unity and an institutional image to one of Mexico’s greatest public institutions.