Casa del Mayorazgo Museum Opens

Citibanamex, the National Bank of Mexico, announced the reopening of the Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal, which now have new exhibition halls and offer free cultural activities that will benefit the public of the Bajío and national and international tourism in the region.

Published November 25, 2022 (sp)

Starting now, in the entire space of the House, temporary exhibitions will be presented, workshops and educational services will be given, and there will be a permanent room that will publicize the historical and cultural importance of the Bajío and San Miguel de Allende, as well as the Canal family over time.

“This new effort that the National Bank of Mexico makes in San Miguel de Allende is a great opportunity to offer a greater cultural offer that will benefit this beautiful city and its visitors. We always seek that our work is reflected in the integral development, well-being and quality of life of the communities we serve,” said Andrés Albo, director of Citibanamex Social Commitment.

The Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal will be open from November 24 with nine rooms that will house five exhibitions, one permanent and four temporary:

A villa and its palace. Permanent exhibition

Through videos, photographs and texts, this room will introduce the public to the historical context of the Bajío, the city of San Miguel de Allende and the family of Don Manuel Tomás de la Canal, who towards the middle of the eighteenth century ordered the construction of this house, which witnessed important events in the history of Mexico, especially during the period of Independence. The curatorship of this permanent room was in charge of Héctor Sansón, with the academic advice of Guadalupe Jiménez Codinach.

Children of yesterday… For today’s children

This exhibition, aimed especially at children, presents a selection of works from the collection of the National Bank of Mexico, including artists such as Diego Rivera, Luis Nishizawa, Lauro López, Jesús Guerrero Galván, Carlos Orozco Romero and Chucho Reyes. The curatorship was in charge of Katy Cárdenas.

Graciela Iturbide. When the light speaks

The exhibition presents 46 images of the greatest exponent of photography in Mexico: Graciela Iturbide. The exhibition covers five decades of experience and addresses the aesthetic concerns of the photographer, raised by curator Juan Rafael Coronel Rivera, who received the support and direct advice of the author herself.

Great Masters of Mexican Popular Art: Success Stories

This innovative exhibition showcases the success stories of seven Great Masters of Mexican Popular Art, with the positive impact for them, their families and communities, as well as magnificent examples of their creations. All of them have been beneficiaries of the Support Program for Popular Art of Fomento Cultural Citibanamex, created in 1996.

Under the curatorship of Cándida Fernández de Calderón, 37 sets of pieces created by Juana Gómez, Hilario Alejos Madrigal, Óscar Soteno, Manuel Jerónimo, Belem Segura, Efrén Nava, Sergio Adrián Sandoval, Esteban Abad and Agustín Cruz Tinoco are included in the exhibition.

Architectural heritage of the National Bank of Mexico

Through models, videos and interactive screens, this room exhibits the conservation, preservation, dissemination and good use that the National Bank of Mexico has given to its architectural heritage in 138 years of history. Included are the five Palaces and Manor Houses that the bank has restored and opened to the public with free and permanent cultural activities throughout the country: Palacio de Iturbide and Foro Valparaíso in Mexico City; Casa Montejo Museum in Merida; Palacio del Conde del Valle de Súchil in Durango and Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal in San Miguel de Allende. It also includes the contemporary buildings with artistic value that house the offices and financial centers of the bank, built by important firms of Mexican architects Ricardo Legorreta, Teodoro González de León, Abraham Zabludovsky, Francisco Serrano and Andrés Casillas de Alba.

The tour and the permanent activities that the Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal will present also incorporate a multipurpose room, as well as a reading area and library, in which the public can consult some of the most important titles of the editorial collection of Fomento Cultural Citibanamex.

The Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal is one of the best examples of New Spanish civil architecture in the Bajío. In addition to being an architectural jewel, it has witnessed important political and social events in the history of Mexico. In 1981 the National Bank of Mexico acquired the building and restored it in three periods: 1981–1985, 1997–1998, and the façade in 2020–2022. It should be noted that all interventions have always been made with respect to the original architecture and according to the guidelines of the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Between 2009 and 2010, after a laborious process of rehabilitation, adaptation, cleaning and restoration of the spaces corresponding to the main courtyard, it opened its doors to the public as Casa de Cultura Citibanamex. For 12 years, Fomento Cultural Citibanamex has presented, uninterruptedly and free of charge, exhibitions and artistic and cultural activities, in addition to having a bookstore.

The Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal is located on Canal Street no. 4 in the Historic Center of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The exhibitions will be open until May 2023 free of charge, from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free guided tours are offered at 12:00, 13:00 and 16:00.