Between Horseshoes and Rails

Memories of some railroad trips during childhood, or the family recreation of a maternal grandfather who worked as a telegrapher in several railroad stations in San Luis Potosi, are elements that can explain, in part, an emotional interest in the railroad theme; however, there are more reasons.The first arises from considering the railroad as a transcendent element in the past of Mexico and the world, especially in terms of the processes of development of capitalism and industrialization, from analyzing it as one of the most important parts of the historical processes that dealt with the application of capital to the technology of local and regional transportation, both of inputs and goods as well as people.The second, which arises from a confrontation from afar, and from our present, where the railroad represents a material testimony of civilization and modernity, manifested in the discourse and action of the State and society. And the last one, which originates from the observation of the cultural products before and after the railroad development; among them the architecture and the built environment from rusticity to modernity.

Autorentext

Mexican architect, historian and sociologist with more than twenty-five years of experience in the safeguarding of tangible cultural heritage, working in the public sector within the National Institute of Anthropology and History, in addition to the fields of teaching, research and dissemination, with national and international recognition.