Colonia San Rafael is a colonia of the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, just west of the historic city center. It was established in the late 19th century as one of the first formal neighborhoods outside of the city center and initially catered to the wealthy of the Porfirio Díaz era. These early residents built large mansions, many with French influence, and many still remain. Middle class residents moved in soon afterwards, and building and rebuilding over the 20th century has introduced a number of architectural styles. These buildings include some of the first works by Luis Barragán and today 383 are classified as having historic value.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the area was home to a number of important theatrical and movie theaters. Most of the movie theaters have since closed, but ten important stage theaters remain, and have performances seven days a week. The colonia is still home to the Jardín del Arte Sunday art market, which has inspired other such market such as the one in the San Ángel neighborhood in the south of the city. the colonia had been in decline with the abandonment of mansions as wealthier residents left. However, more recently the colonia has seen an upswing in development as young artists and galleries have moved into the area. Many artists have found Colonia San Rafael less expensive, accessible and more dynamic than trendy Colonia Condesa or Colonia Roma.
Location The boundaries of the colonia are formed by the following streets: Sullivan and Parque Via on the south, Ribera de San Cosme to the north, Avenida Insurgentes on the east and Circuito Interior Melchor Ocampo on the west. The colonia covers 53 city blocks and 105.32 hectares with approximately 24,000 inhabitants. The colonia is considered highly susceptible to earthquake damage. All these streets join with the Ribera de San Cosme, a hectic corridor that forms the area's northern border.
Architecture and landmarks
Much of the development of the colonia occurred during the Porfirio Díaz period (1870s to 1910), when a number of architectural styles were used and mixed. The earliest constructions consisted of elegant private homes of wealthy Mexico City residents. Most of the remaining homes of this type can be found on streets such as Sadi Carnot, Sarapio Rendon, and Rosas Moreno. Many of these are French style mansions, similar to those found in Colonia Roma . Subsequent development and redevelopment has added just about all of the remaining architectural influences of the 20th century. There are houses from the 1920s with geometric decorative features such as that on F. Pimental as well as Art Deco from the 1930s and 1940s on A. del Castillo Street and more modern styles from the 1950s. There are also modern apartment buildings, traditional businesses such as corner stores, Chinese-Mexican cafes, bars and cantinas. Some of the first works by Luis Barragán were realized here. 383 of its buildings have been catalogued for their historic value.
There are three churches in the colonia with the most important being the San Cosme Church, which was founded in 1575 by Juan de Zumárraga over the ruins of an earlier hermitage dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian. This hermitage was built on what is now the Ribera de San Cosme but then was the country road that connected Mexico City with then-independent city of Tacuba. The church's original purpose was evangelization of the natives of the area, and had a hospital for them. In 1669, the Franciscans converted the site into a charity collection center with the name of Santa María de la Consolación. The first stone of the current church was placed three years later in 1672 with a monastery constructed next door. The work was completed in 1675. Later, it became a parish church, as the monks handed both the church and monastery to regular clergy in 1854. This hospital was secularized to a military hospital, but these facilities were soon moved to the old San Pedro and San Pablo College in 1861. The parish church as a large collection of religious and colonial era art and has a Churrigueresque altarpiece from the 18th century. It was declared a national monument in 1931.
The Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church was built in 1952 in a modern design by architect Francisco J. Serrano. He also built the Teresay Encanto Cinemas on S. Rendon Street, but it was destroyed by an earthquake. Another church is located on San Rafael Street. It has a large radial window and balconies but no towers.
The Jardin del Arte, or Art Garden, is a non-profit organization that sponsors the Sunday outdoor art market on Sullivan Street. The association has its own formal rules, such as the one prohibiting the sale of copies of other works. All works sold by participating artists must be originals. The weekly event and organization was founded in 1955, and has spurred other similar market such as the weekend art market in Plaza de El Carmen in the San Ángel colonia. Currently, the association has as members about 700 painters who exhibit and sell their works. The market takes place on a small park located next to the Monumento a la Madre. Despite the market, the park has suffered serious deterioration over the past 20 years due to crime, nearby prostitution and the proliferation of non-art street vendors. While the homeless and other vendors clear out for the Sunday market, they dominate the park for the rest of the week. The result has been graffiti, garbage, dog waste and playgrounds in poor conditions. In fact, by Sunday, the smell can be strong enough that art vendors need to clean with detergent and pine cleaner before setting up. The Cuauhtémoc borough invested 5 million pesos for cleaning, repairs and the improvement of drainage and lighting, and the homeless were expelled from the park in 2005, but area residents complain that the problems have returned.
The colonia is home to two cemeteries, which were built for foreigners. The English cemetery was built in 1824 for Protestants, who were not accepted into Catholic cemeteries. This cemetery was the first of its kind in the country, it was closed in 1926. In 1980, the rest of the remains here were exhumed in order to transform the area into the Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Cultural Center, conserving the neo colonial chapel by Charles Hall built in 1909 called the Capilla Britannica. The exhumed remains were moved to the Nuevo Panteón Inglés. The area is the colonia's only true park space, with the open air theater housing concerts and art exhibits. Next to the English cemetery is the American cemetery, which contains the remains of U.S. soldiers who died during the invasion of Mexico City during the Mexican American War, especially from the Battle of Molino del Rey and the Battle of Chapultepec . Although it is also closed, each morning, there is a ceremony honoring the unknown soldier. This cemetery is also closed to new burials. Both cemeteries were reduced in size when the Consulado River was encased and the Circuito Interior built.
The Universidad del Valle de México building was a mansion built in 1901 in French style and initially used as a family residence when the area was still the Los Arquitectos colonia. After this family moved out, it became the site of the Junta Central de Conciliacion y Arbitraje in the 1940s. In the 1960s, it began to be rented by the Instituto Harvard, today the Universiad del Valle de Mexico. While much of its interior and facade has suffered changes over the years, the building is considered in good condition.
A site on Sullivan Street was most recently the home of the Foro Isabelino, but it hosted several artistic venues. In 1953, German artist Mathias Goeritz established here the experimental museum called “El Eco,” which was designed as a space “dedicated to emotional culture.) However, two years later the building was converted into a bar due to financial reasons. In the 1960s, it was reopened as the Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT or University Center of Theatre). The building was demolished in 1967, and in its place, the Lope de Vega Hall, better known as the Foro Isabelino took over for the old CUT. In 1973, it became the site of a university student takeover, by non-theater students demanding space to realize their own productions. When the students succeeded in their demands, they founded two theatrical companies that performed here. The building has since been catalogued as a heritage site by INBA, but theatrical operations were closed down in 1997. Today, the building is abandoned.
On Miguel E. Schultz Street is a building that was once a federal jail, which briefly held Fidel Castro and Che Cuevara in 1956 after the Mexican government found out they were preparing to militarily confront the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba from Mexican soil. This prison ceased operating sometime in the 1980s. Another abandoned landmark is the mansion located on the corner of Rosas Moreno and Antonio Caso, which used to be the Russian embassy. In the 1980s, it was abandoned then suffered a fire. Today it is a shell with much of its roof caved in. All that remains intact is the pink stone decorative features on its facade. Other important sites in the neighborhood include the Hilario Galguera gallery on Francisco Pimentel Street, the Hotel Plaza on Sullivan Street (built in 1945 by Mario Pani), the Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte (MUCA) on Circuito Interior and the Valle de Mexico Masonic Lodge, established in 1945 and currently has 5,000 members.
Socioeconomics From its beginning, the colonia has been home to a mix of socioeconomic classes, with small businesses owned by the lower middle class located in grand buildings, which mostly now hold cultural or large business institutions. It is a mix of traditional and modern architecture as the area is in transition. It is a traditional neighborhood filled with mom-and-pop stores, workshops to repair anything from electronics to shoes, small eateries, many cantinas, shops that sell only fresh chicken, Chinese-Mexican cafes, and even men who come around to sharpen knives and collect scrap iron and newspapers. In a number of sections, its streets are filled with people during the day and neighbors can often be seen chatting on sidewalks and in local markets. The main festival of the year has been that of Saints Cosmas and Damian since the beginning of the neighborhood and is celebrated each year on 27 September. It is celebrated with music, fireworks and foods such as pozole, enchiladas with mole sauce, quesadillas with squash flowers and atole. Here rich and poor alike eat and enjoy the events in the same space. Many of the interiors of the old mansions have been remodeled into apartments that average about 90m2 in size with two bedrooms, conserving the original facade. Most, including many artists, who live here are attracted by the area's past charm, reasonable prices and do not want to live far from the city center.