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Landmark Events in Mexican and Latino Historic Preservation
January 2017
By Maria E Curry
 Gabriel Rivera Delgado, historian and librarian, presenting one of his books at the Book Fair in Tijuana. Courtesy Archivo Histórico de Tijuana |
 Fifty historic preservationists shared their work and battles to preserve Latino heritage in their communities at the second annual conference of Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC). Courtesy Josephine Talamantez |
 The old Municipal Palace now houses the historial archives of Tijuana, which marked its 15th anniversary in 2016. Courtesy Archivo Histórico de Tijuana |
Preservation of Mexican and American Latino history and culture marked important strides in November 2016. The Tijuana Historical Archive marked its 15th anniversary in a ceremony attended by political officials and members of the cultural community; and Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC) held their second annual conference in Houston.
The Tijuana archive is considered among the five best in Mexico and contains important information for understanding the shared history of Tijuana and San Diego. Similarly, Latino preservationists are organizing in the U.S. to highlight and preserve their history, which in many instances starts in border cities.
The archive started as a personal endeavor of historian Gabriel Rivera Delgado, a librarian with a modest budget. He approached old Tijuana families to gather historic information, including old newspapers, magazines, postcards, books, etc. This effort inspired the cultural community and the local government to support the creation of an archive, which today has more than 20,000 photos in 150 collections and newspapers from the beginning of the 20th century to present. Its purpose is the rescue, preservation, and diffusion of the history of Tijuana.
Gabriel also wrote numerous weekly articles for El Mexicano for many years about the history of old buildings and events in the city. He has published books coauthored with other historians about Tijuana history and coordinates the archive to this day.
The material in the growing archive continues to come from personal donations as well as institutions, including several universities in the region. It is housed in a building known as the Cultural Palace on Calle Segunda and Avenida Constitución in downtown Tijuana. The edifice was built in the 1920s in the neoclassical style and remodeled 10 years ago. It is also home to the Tijuana History Museum and the offices of the Municipal Institute of Art and Culture (IMAC). The archive is free and open to the public and organizes monthly events.
Also in November, I had the privilege of attending the second LHC conference with 50 other historic preservationists who shared their work and battles to preserve Latino heritage in their communities. They included professors, heritage conservation professionals, grassroots activists, and historic preservation students. Josephine Talamantez, who received a SOHO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 as a member of the Chicano Park Steering Committee, was among the civil rights activists there.
LHC was created in 2014 as a national network of professional educators and advocates to preserve Latino heritage in the U.S. As the co-chairs Laura Domingues and Desiree Smith noted, "This reunión—Spanish word for conference—represented the latest milestone in our work to center historic Latino places and stories within a more inclusive, truer American narrative."
The event took place just ten days after a presidential election in which Latinos and Mexicans were subjected to racist accusations and the gathering brought hope for the future to all attendees. We are confident that with organization and advocacy in historic preservation, we can bring healing and prosperity to our communities. This growing volunteer organization is becoming stronger and is determined to face more challenges in the coming years to preserve our history, our traditions, and our historic places in this country.
With great joy, we celebrated the anticipated listing in 2017 of four new National Historic Landmarks that are significant to American Latino heritage. They are Chicano Park and its monumental murals in Barrio Logan, Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Chapel (McDonnell Hall) in San Jose, Casa Navarro in San Antonio, Texas, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City.
Both the ongoing progress with the Archivo Historico in Tijuana and the growing movement of Latino preservationists in the United States are proof that knowing and understanding our history is a way to improve not only our communities but also our world.
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