National Museum of History celebrates 80 years with book presentation

The National Museum of History (MNH), located in the emblematic Chapultepec Castle, celebrated eight decades of life this Friday with the presentation of the book 80 years, 80 pieces (1944-2024)a work that summarizes the splendor of its vast collection.

The Siqueiros room was the setting where this commemorative event took place, led by Salvador Rueda Smithers, director of the museum, who read the speech titled The weight of the symbol.

In his speech, Rueda Smithers recalled the morning of September 27, 1944, the day when the esplanade of Chapultepec Castle reverberated with the sounds of military trumpets and drums. It was not a war occasion, but a civic celebration that marked the opening of the MNH, an event presided over by the then president Manuel Ávila Camacho.

The atmosphere was charged with solemnity and expectation, with students, officials and artists who gathered to witness the birth of a space that would seek to protect the memory of the nation.

However, that day was not entirely festive. Luis Castillo Ledón, first director of the museum and responsible for its creation, was unable to attend the ceremony due to illness. He passed away ten days after the inauguration, leaving a legacy that his team would continue with dedication.

Over the course of 80 years, the museum has passed through the hands of 15 directors, who have been accompanied by a team of experts in various disciplines: history, museography, restoration, dissemination, and more. All of them have dedicated their efforts to maintaining and expanding the museum’s collection, which has grown from the original 56 thousand pieces to more than 100 thousand today.

The MNH, more than a static institution, has been an engine of knowledge and reflection. As Rueda Smithers mentioned, far from being an “incompetent encyclopedia”, the museum has acted as a ‘useful thinking machine’ (paraphrasing Jorge Luis Borges and Alfonso Reyes).

“This space has served as a crucible where the historical narratives of Mexico meet plastic art, particularly through the murals that adorn its walls. Among them, those of José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Juan O’Gorman and Jorge González Camarena, as well as the works of more recent artists such as Arnold Belkin and Karla de Lara, who have known how to capture the spirit of the various eras that have marked the development of Mexico.

Sponsored by the federal Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the book 80 years, 80 pieces (1944-2024) It will be presented on a date to be defined in the Night of Museums initiative.