- 1 This paper is based on the Master TPTI thesis called “Sugar mills in Morelos Mexico. Cuahuixtla: or (...)
1During almost three centuries the sugar cane cultivation and its process were one of the most important economic activities in the viceroyalty of New Spain1. The mining extraction in the central and northern areas, the hacienda system and the sugar production in the central zone were the pillars of pre-industrial activities which demanded a lot of manpower and natural resources.
- 2 In the “new continent”, the encomienda was an institution with different contents according to the (...)
2After the Spanish Conquest a land repartition system known as encomienda2 took place, which was a royal gift to the people as a reward to help in the process of establishing the towns. The encomiendas consisted in the grant of the land and its people as well. The original settled villages were accustomed to pay tributes to the Azteca Empire, this way they had to pay tributes to Spaniards with their work then. This conquest had two different “battle fronts”, the military and the religious one, that meant that priests had to evangelize the already subjected indigenous people on the other battle camp. The catholic orders were therefore the first that subdivided the original territory for their purposes. The current Morelos state belonged at that time to the Provincia del Santo Evangelio (Saint Gospel Province), governed by the Franciscans; later, the Dominicans settled and finally the Agustinians. The catholic orders had such power that they possessed great extensions of lands for their own benefit, establishing haciendas which were agricultural organizations.
- 3 Trapiche is a mill in which animal or even human force was implemented, although today the same nam (...)
3In the 16th century, the Imperial Convento de Santo Domingo (Imperial Saint Domingo Convent) built a small trapiche3 near Cuautla to begin their sugar production. This former sugar refinery is called San Pedro Martir Cuahuixtla and has an enormous value as an industrial heritage site and it is the object of this research. The aim for its valorization poses the exercise of studying sugar production as a whole concept, its history in the region of Morelos, the steps of sugar production and the physical testimonies related with sugar production.
4The first part focuses on how the sugar cane was cultivated in different regions in America where its production was quite important. Also considered are the different steps of sugar industry development in this continent and how it was an important piece of local economies for many centuries. On the second part of this paper, we will focus on Morelos, a central Mexican state which has, historically, the most important sugar production establishments because of its weather, manpower availability and its strategical location. I have analyzed the Cuahuixtla ex-refinery as the main protagonist of this research project; included is its description, its chronology and a functional hypothesis regarding its vestiges.
5This paper forms part of a research project that proposes the criteria for its valorization as a patrimonial site, starting from a series of arguments. Based on The Nizhny Tagil Charter for the Industrial Heritage, the arguments are: the continuity of this site as sugar refinery, its technical and aesthetic achievements, interior landscape and ruins fascination, the historical events happened there or in the surrounding area and the popular expressions that can be considered as immaterial heritage. Lastly, I will mention the potential for the rehabilitation of the site, based in two parallel criteria, the real necessities of the zone as a result of a diagnostic (with the participation of the people of and local authorities as well) and the architectonic criteria based in the current conservation state and how to transform the pre-existence in order to preserve it as an important material source and historic good. This site can be re-qualified involving the whole urban zone as an opportunity to detonate local development.
Fig.1. Panoramic view of the hacienda
Jorge Paez Vieyra
- 4 This kind of sugar cane has very soft fibers and thus little resistance to early wood mills.
6At the beginnings of 16th century, the Portuguese introduced sugar to Brazil, where the soil received quite well the new plant. Brazil became then an important sugar producer during the 16th century and the first four decades of the 17th century. Our case study: New Spain (current Mexico) was the main Spanish continental colony, who enjoyed very important weather and soil assets which allowed a good cultivation of sugar cane. Hernan Cortes had introduced sugar cane into New Spain Viceroyalty in 1523 with Crown Delivery seeds; this type of breed was known as Criolla.4 As well as in other Caribbean islands, mining was the main economic activity and sugar production struggled to gain importance as an activity, at least at the beginning. Thus, New Spain´s first sugar ingenio (former refinery) was built in the Tuxtlas region in Veracruz, perhaps because Spaniards found it very similar to Cuba’s coastlines.
7Unlike other places, New Spain did not face manpower issues because native people were not exterminated at all and thus became the main source of the labor force. According with Alexander von Humboldt (Von Humboldt 1822), pre-Hispanic people didn’t know sugar cane, which reinforces the statement that Spaniards brought it to New World :
“We have already observed that the ancient Mexicans were only acquainted with the syrup of honey, that of the metl (agave) and the sugar of maize cane.”
8In combining honey with certain seeds, they prepared candies, such as today’s alegría (alegría is a Mexican candy made from seeds of amaranth and honey or sugar that is produced mainly in the town of Santiago Tulyehualco in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City.) Their drinks were sweetened with honey and fruits. Moreover pre-Hispanic chocolate was made with corn dough atole, milled cacao, vanilla and wasp honey.
9Since the beginning, the production units where sugar cane was processed were the haciendas azucareras, enormous rural properties with all commodities not only to make sugar, but also to lodge landowners during their holidays, accommodate workers and employees, and manage sugar storage as well as its loading. The sugar industry grew because its consumption also grew within New Spain, thus businessmen took advantage of that fact to produce and commercialize sugar and so earn great amounts of money until the Independence war (1810-1821).
- 5 To illustrate the technological lag of the Morelos sugar estates in 1870, we can consider and compa (...)
10During the mid-18th century, Europe experienced the development of the Industrial Revolution, while Mexico remained under the dominion of the Spanish crown. While the Industrial Revolution was developing in Europe in the mid-18th century, Mexico was still a colony of the Spanish crown. It wasn't until almost a century later that the influence of the Industrial Revolution was felt in Mexico. However, this happened during the gestation period of the Mexican Revolution which made it harder to implement. Although the first steam engines began to operate in 1850 with the installation of the first railroad, the industry in general and the sugar industry in particular had to wait for the Mexican revolution to end at the beginning of the 20th century5.
11The process of sugar cane is closely linked to its cultivation and harvesting since it is an agro-industrial product; this way this chapter includes both cultivation and indoor processes. This part is about colonial methods as the one used in Cuahuixtla hacienda. I will study this case because of the richness of the sources I have found. Even though sugar production was an important economic activity during the colony, there is a lack of documental information about the cultivation and processing of sugar-cane. Sugar ingenios in New Spain constituted, beside wheat mills, the very first agricultural industries. The sequence of processes used by the Sugar Masters who came from Canary Islands or Antilles, was the foundation of the manufacture method born in New Spain.
- 6 Pioneer studies of colonial sugar production such as Felipe Ruiz de Velasco, Historia y evoluciones (...)
- 7 Refers to the former system used since Hernan Cortes founded the first sugar ingenio in Morelos aro (...)
12The knowledge applied was determined by the technology at the time, and moreover the same methods were used until the beginning of the 19th century. The original sources6 about sugar production, point out that in Mexico the Cortesian7 system was used in ingenios until the Porfiriato period, when manufacture became an industrial process. The main steps to obtain granulated sugar starting from sugar cane stalks were the following :
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Soil preparation (fallow and furrow)
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Sowing and watering
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Harvesting and carrying
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Crushing
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Boiling and crystallization
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Purging and whitening
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Drying and packaging
13All steps required specific spaces to lodge them properly, thus colonial industrial architecture should resolve each necessity. As the processes modernized, also the preexistent architecture had to be adapted or even enlarged in order to accommodate the new technology.
14In Latin America, the steam engine was gradually introduced to various local industries, starting with Brazil in 1810, followed by Mexico in 1818, and Venezuela around 1826, as can be seen in the table below, which is a comparison of the arrival of the steam engine in different European and American countries (table 1). In Mexico. The introduction of the steam engine in Mexico is particularly well-documented due to a Royal Order issued on August 9, 1818. It was recommended to be used in mines based on the success of the Real de Santa Rosa mine in Yauricocha, Peru. The Royal Order also included a special incentive, La Cruz de Isabel la Católica, for the first mining entrepreneur to implement the technology.
- 8 Following the great scholar of the nineteenth century, John Taylor who in 1824 published a comprehe (...)
15Specific references indicate that a steam engine was already in operation in Real de Catorce in 1819, having been installed by an English miner, Robert Philips, to drain the mine. These precise details, including the dates, are drawn from a text published in 1824 by John Taylor in which he explores the climate, inhabitants, and mining production in Mexico8.
Table 1. Comparative table of the implementation of the ssteam engine (by country)
Created based on information taken from Cartay, Rafael (1995) “La energía del vapor: una avanzada del progreso” Espacios magazine vol. 16 (3)
Author: Jorge Paez Vieyra
16On the other hand, the Mexican sugar industry experienced a technological modernization that enhanced its efficiency. For example, with the acquisition and installation of five-roller vertical mills, the sugar cane grinding process was optimized. Furthermore, the centrifugal purging system was also adopted which allowed to accelerate the crystallization of sucrose in just a few minutes. These advancements helped the industry to optimize its production process and increase its output.
17Sugar haciendas were countryside establishments which take root in the early Spanish olive-oil haciendas regarding their physical conformation. These properties were a mix of production buildings and dwellings sharing the same space. The hacienda’s hull was frequently contained within a perimeter wall to avoid both non-authorized visits and product robberies.
18Doubtless to say, sugar haciendas were the most valuable symbols of agro-industrial built heritage within Latin America during four centuries. This kind of architecture reflects, even nowadays, the flourishing of an industry which persisted so long in time. Sugar ingenios and haciendas industrial architecture should adapt themselves not only to the constant technology changes but also to the political and economic troubles. These production complexes were projected to last forever, both in the aesthetic and structure sense. Thus they employed the best engineers and constructors of that period to build them.
- 9 In fact, sugar hacienda was the group of buildings in continental places such as New Spain (Mexico) (...)
19There is not enough information to determine the learning processes on which the construction based their knowledge to build the sugar refineries. It can be inferred that this specialized knowledge was transmitted from Spanish technicians already trained in this field. For those places with Spanish influence, sugar properties were built with little variation, depending on which country had colonized the place or the cultural influences of native people, all sugar ingenios have the same scheme and basically the same shape. Without taking in consideration the size, every single sugar hacienda9 was composed of an enormous extension of land and a complex ; all agricultural activities or those related to livestock or firewood recollection were carried out in these lands. The complex (casco) lodged all production, housing, social and religious activities. In fact, the majority of the sugar ingenios had a chapel, workers dwelling (calpanería), proprietors’ house (Casa Grande) and even schools. A kind of rampart surrounded all the buildings which had only one or two gates for the access control.
- 10 Historians like François Chevalier, Friedrich Katz and Maria Teresa Jarquín have described them as (...)
20The Casa Grande was a very important place within the haciendas as it was the proprietor’s residence. This imposing dwelling had many rooms for all the family and guests ; sumptuous living and dining rooms were also projected for their comfort. Spaces such as kitchens and bathrooms needed special facilities which had been well planned ahead. The chapel became indispensable in the haciendas, it was the place where natives’ evangelization was carried out ; these spiritual places were used also as crucible for both landowners and workers social events. Its architecture was rich in shapes and ornaments, which contrasted with its materials’ strength. The Tienda de raya appeared up until the XIXth century as the store where workers bought in disadvantageous conditions10. There existed a great quantity of commodities, from food products and clothing to luxury articles as fabrics and perfumes. As time passed, sugar haciendas evolved in order to adapt to technical changes.
21According to Manuel Fraginals, there are four main types of sugar production units starting from the trapiches, which were, in fact little sugar workshops where one could find between five and ten workers. The trapiches produced raw sugar only for poor people ; the following kind of sugar production units were the animal-powered ingenios, which produced more refined sugar as they possessed more developed machinery ; the semi-mechanized ingenio replaced animal power with steam powered machines. This kind of sugar production unit saves manpower, as they already knew how to boil several caldrons with the same fire (tren jamaiquino). The last kind of unit is called mechanized ingenio, which is an example of how the Industrial Revolution had a presence in Latin America. Its implementation provoked the separation between land ambit and factory ambit. The last three kinds co-existed during the XIXth century and they all constitute the closest precedent of modern sugar refineries (Moreno Fraginals 1978).
22Throughout the years buildings with production purposes were very similar, especially when processes did not need extraordinary spaces or facilities. Pre-industrial process units in both Europe and in America adopted the classical factory typology, which is a rectangular plan structure with a gable roof and arched windows in rows. In accordance with technical advances, these basic morphologies also changed with the influence of architectonic styles and precepts. Former sugar elaboration establishments in Canary Islands were built very austere because of the rusticity of natural environment, such as cliffs and rocks, thus constructors took advantage of this and used rock and wood for their factories. It is difficult to recognize some identity elements to infer what was produced inside of the building ; unlike New Spain haciendas, which have assembled particular identity signs.
- 11 The architect as a profession does not appear until the 18th century. Albañil was the man who desig (...)
23These particular Mexican industrial samples began with defensive architecture elements defined by the use of battlements on the top and the absence of windows facing outside the complex. Further constructors began to organize their crafts, this way there was the tetzotzonque (flintstone-cutters), the carpenters or the brick-madders guilds ; therefore, their work improved (Teran Bonilla 1996). The work master or Albañil11 still employed the classical nave typology with frontispieces or gables and pitched roofs, but as time passed, they put more effort in the details. Frontispieces had all rose windows as the Romanic temples did, they used to put belfries instead of bell towers in hacienda’s churches and there always existed the presence of chimneys (chacoacos) as vertical elements.
24The complex is in a general ruinous state; nevertheless, there are some spaces which can be restored with the help of public or private funding and the guidance of several professionals in this field. It is important to check the conservation state of each structure according to the casco’s description already mentioned (fig.2).
Fig.2. Functional hypothesis of the hacienda
Author: Jorge Paez Vieyra
25To better define the construction stages of the Cuahuixtla hacienda it is necessary to resort to three important aspects that have been mentioned before. Firstly, the sugar production process description and distribution of the water supply. Secondly, historical data on sugar production as well as the introduction of infrastructure and technology from the 16th to the 19th century. Lastly, identification of the current state of the architectural spaces in the hull. By utilizing both quantitative and qualitative analysis, the methodology process presents a clear understanding of determining each stage of the farm's construction.
26The Coahuixtla hacienda had its humble, pre industrial beginnings in 1580 when it was founded by the Dominican friars. One of the friars, Alberto Garnica, built the first sugar mill on the hacienda, which was one of the earliest sugar mills during the artisanal sugar production era. This mill was operated using animal power by a team of 9 to 10 people. However, from 1790 to 1870, the hacienda experienced significant territorial growth under the leadership of its owner, Francisco de Rivas. During this period, the techniques and the production of sweets significantly increased, and the workforce grew to include up to 512 workers. In total, the hacienda produced 398 tons of sugar and 770 tons of honey. All of which had a significant impact on the economic and social levels of the region (Von Mentz 1997).
27The pre-industrial stage of Cuahuixtla was able to achieve such remarkable growth and impact due to the abundance of natural resources in the region, such as the river and the topographic landscape of Cuautla, formerly known as “Cuautla de Amilpas”. The availability of these resources, along with the implementation of better infrastructure and work techniques, made it possible to speed up the production of sugar and honey. Some of the notable infrastructure from this period included the hydraulic power mill, which was used to extract juice from sugar cane, and the aqueduct, which was constructed in the first stage. Additionally, the boiler houses were constructed with water channels to facilitate the boiling of water in the boilers and complete the process of crystallization of the candy. The thumb was a designated space where clay lasts were placed on a container called a shed and left to rest for one to two days. Repair workshops and homes were also established, and they served as simple spaces for working and living simultaneously (Avila Sanchez 2001).
28It is currently impossible to physically identify the architectural remnants of this stage. According to experts, the constant growth of the hacienda's production led to the replacement of spaces with newer ones. In some cases, work areas were expanded by demolishing spaces, while in others, the objects were recycled or replaced to create new ones. Despite this, it's worth noting that the hacienda's infrastructure development began with the construction of the water supply system, given that without this resource, meeting large productive demands for sweets was impossible. Hence, it is estimated that some ruined spaces still exist or were antecedents to the ones that are still physically standing today, as described in table 1 in the "current physical infrastructure of the hull" box. (Table 2)
Table 2. Stage one: Pre-Industrialization
Created based on information taken from : Hernandez Basave, Shantal (2019), Patrimonio industrial en Coahuixtla :una metodología para su conservación
Author : Jorge Paez Vieyra
29The industrialization of Cuahuixtla was a significant turning point in its history, bringing about advancements in infrastructure and technology, as well as economic growth and a surge in sugar production. The industrial stage of the hacienda was divided into two periods, each with its own owner and distinct developments. The first period, from 1874 to 1887, was under the ownership of Manuel Cortina Mendoza. During this time, the introduction of the steam engine led to a semi-mechanized mill that produced 891.43 tons of sugar and 724.50 tons of honey. The traditional animal power was replaced by the steam engine, and a Jamaican train process was used to provide heat through a single furnace with several boilers.
30Furthermore, existing spaces such as the main patio, the aqueduct, workshops, and homes were utilized more extensively. In the second period, from 1889 to 1900, the Araoz brothers became owners of the hacienda. They introduced a fully mechanized sugar mill, which increased sugar production to 3,000 tons. The owners also constructed five kilometers of exclusive railway tracks to transport the sugar directly to the center of the country (Von Mentz 1997). This period was marked by significant growth and development, and the hacienda's status was elevated to one of the most important haciendas in the country, importing and exporting its products.
31The installation of the mechanized mill required a complete overhaul of the previous mills. To make room for the new machinery, all existing elements in the mill area and boiler house had to be demolished. The new machinery replaced the work previously done in these spaces, and at the same time allowed for a seamless integration of all. Additionally, new spaces and elements had to be built to meet the increased demand for production, including chacoacos or tall chimneys. In addition to the mill, the administration, living area, and liquor house were also constructed during this period.
32The administration consisted of several simple rooms designed to serve three functions. The first function was to provide housing for the administrator and trusted workers, such as the people in charge of the cauldron and the purge. The second function was the main house, which was used by the owner during the final stages of sugar production. The final function was to provide storage space for the finished product, ensuring greater security control. Materials used for the construction of the main/administration house were of higher quality, with aesthetic finishes and spaces that distinguished them from the rest of the mill.
33The living area for workers consisted of simple rooms located away from the sugar storage warehouses but close to the stables and work area. Finally, the distilled liquor factory was constructed to produce alcohol from the honey that came out of the sugar process. The distillation process was simple but required a greater number of workers and tools. The only elements incorporated were spirals and sleepers placed on top of small tanks. The honey was evaporated to produce alcohol, which was then conveyed through long wooden channels, and stored in wooden barrels (Sharrer 1997).
34The existing architectural spaces of the hacienda mainly date back to this last stage of development, which saw the most growth in infrastructure. Today, the remaining ruins include the mill areas, the main house or administration, and the cavalry arches. These structures were built using irregular stone masonry sourced from ball rock from the region, with a mix of pieces of brick masonry and lime-sand mortar, as well as regular red brick annealing measuring 40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm with lime-sand mortar. Other notable features include the ironwork on the balconies and steel beams on the roofs of the Catalan-type vaults. For more information on the current physical infrastructure of the hull, please refer to Table 3.
Table 3. Stage II : Industrialization
Created based on information taken from : Hernández Basave, Shantal (2019) Patrimonio industrial en Coahuixtla : una metodología para su conservación
Author : Jorge Paez Vieyra
35Cuahuixtla experienced its final stage of sugar production after the revolution, during which owners Manuel and Joaquín Araoz oversaw the production of 2,136 tons of sugar. However, the hacienda's productivity plummeted after 1910 due to the revolutionary movements and political and economic instability in Morelos and throughout the country. Eventually, in 1921, the hacienda system officially came to an end throughout the country, Cuahuixtla included. Which meant the estate lost all of its territorial extensions as a result of the agrarian reforms. Today, only the ruins of the hacienda remain. (Table 4).
Table 4. Stage III : Post-Revolutionary
Created based on information taken from : Hernández Basave, Shantal (2019) Patrimonio industrial en Coahuixtla : una metodología para su conservación
Author : Jorge Paez Vieyra
36As the industrial zone, this area was logically transformed to allow technological changes. One of its façades still has the engraving saying 1895; its high walls have plenty of oval windows which show the damages of violence and abandonment. Some steel elements fastened to walls allow inferring that they carried industrial artifacts. The warehouses’ façade is much transformed as most of its arches have been walled in. The first floor has only the starting of walls forming parapets. There are cornices with neoclassical language very usual during the 19th century; thus, this building has been remodeled over the original older one. The northern part of Casa Grande is in very bad condition since some of the structural elements, such as vaults as well as the frontal façade are lacking. The ground floor of the same building is also destructed because there have been holes opened in the Ox-eyes searching to ventilate spaces. Despite its current state, it is possible to restore it with certain potential.
37This area is better conserved than the rest although the buildings have lost their roofing. Unlike group E, walls remain in their totality with original heights. A consequence of its abandonment, injurious plants have grown in some walls and floorings.
38A group of arcades remain, and they are very attractive, although they have lost all their roofing (fig.3).
Fig.3. Photo of the arches of the cattle area
Author: Jorge Paez Vieyra
39People have built their houses attached to the interior face of the perimetrical wall.
40This services zone is undoubtedly the worst conserved in all the complex. With the exception of a pair of walls still standing, the rest seem to conserve the foundation of the walls with one and one and a half meters high.
- 12 There are many movies which have been shot here, for instance Felipe Cazals’ Emiliano Zapata (1970) (...)
41The current state of abandonment of the sugar refinery of S.P.M. Cuahuixtla is notorious but it has not always been this way: it was, in its flourishing time, the very symbol of industrial efficiency and economic power. Since its birth in the 16th century this site has been active because of its continuous enlargements forced by technological necessities of every time period. Even today, despite its ruinous appearance, Cuahuixtla attracts many because of its majestic look : it has been a useful cinematographic set in films that deal with themes such as the Mexican Revolution12.
- 13 The Criteria above mentioned has been taken from Nizhny Tagil Charter: Values of Industrial Heritag (...)
42A parallel goal of this paper is to urge authorities and researchers to regard with care and interest this magnificent site. I think this place deserves its revaluation in order to protect it against destruction and oblivion. I have chosen three criteria13 through which I will analyze the different values of S.P.M. Cuahuixtla Site: its continuity as a sugar refinery, its aesthetic achievements and the historical events that happened in Cuahuixtla and its surroundings.
- 14 Two different documents were consulted, the first one is the Libro cuarto de recibo y gasto semanar (...)
43During the long time that it belonged to the church14, the sugar refinery had several enlargements provoked by technical changes; they had the guidance of the best engineers and constructors at that period of time, as the buildings show. They surely requested the operation of many modern facilities such as telephone and telegraph services, and the railway lines. The Dominican administration ended with the Mexican Liberalism Movement with Benito Juárez at its front, who promulgated a law in 1855 which abolished the ecclesiastical privilege, then, in 1856 the Ley Lerdo, which disentailed all the rural and urban ecclesiastical fincas, and lastly in 1859 the Leyes de Reforma, which definitely separated church and State.
- 15 Nizhny Tagil Charter for Industrial Heritage, 2. Values of industrial heritage, point IV: Rarity, i (...)
44The fact that the same production center has maintained uninterrupted operations for almost 300 years has a value that is important to highlight because in that amount of time a series of all kinds of events occur that could hinder the industrial operation of the mill. Situations such as a shortage of raw materials, workers' disagreements, owners' illness, legal difficulties, wars, plagues, etc. have had to be surpassed by this refinery and that is why I consider it important to highlight this continuity as an emblematic value that reinforces its status as industrial heritage in Mexico15.
- 16 Nizhny Tagil Charter for Industrial Heritage, 2. Values of industrial heritage, point II: The indus (...)
45Every building has its own value since it is a singular achievement; unlike repeated objects constructed according to a modular system in which they have its particular value analyzed from another criteria. The Cuahuixtla sugar hacienda shares many characteristics with other similar ingenios, these gave them a particular essence and identity; in addition, the Cuahuixtla industrial site possesses several elements which give its particular personality as we will describe in the following part.
46The S.P.M. Cuahuixtla hacienda was originated, as mentioned above, during the 16th century, and there are practically no remaining visible ruins of what was built by the Dominican friars; however, there might be a possibility that remains of old foundations lie in the subsoil. Its whole construction, like many other haciendas, has been the target of constant modifications. Expansions were made as the machinery demands grew and as there was a need to house a greater number of workers and technicians that were required to keep the sugar mill going.
47It is difficult to define stylistically and chronologically the constructive stages of the site, precisely because of the constant interventions that in some cases totally eliminated the ruins of the construction from the 16th and the 17th centuries. In other cases, they extended vertically the dimensions of the preexisting construction and covered everything with a unifying finish, which subordinated the previous construction to a new directing style.
- 17 Useful information was obtained from Claudia Uzeta Chávez, “Restauración de la Hacienda de San Anto (...)
48The austere-fortress style of the 17th century may be appreciated in the buildings’ plinths of the Casa Grande and Warehouses through the thick dimensions of their walls, the structure of the stone slab denotes a limited technical skill, in other words it is simply constructed with single continuous barrel vaults or groined vaults. The façades of these show the use of 6 reduced arches, some of which have been walled in, and stonework pilasters which protrude from the line of the facade17.
49Between the mill and the warehouses, one finds a construction that stands out in the complex because of its stone façade and the composition of its bays using bull’s eyes and a half point arch like portico. In the interior of this space, that has lost the totality of its roofing, one discovers a series of spaces established by a sequence of arches arranged one above the other, forming rows.
50If one speaks in technical terms, the perfect balance in the use of the stone and clay bricks allows one to assume that it was built at the end of the 18th century, which coincides with the period in which the hacienda had its first great expansion, around 1790 when the hacienda had 512 occupants.
51Stylistically, a great area of the whole hacienda structure relies on ornamental elements such as cornices, pilasters and jambs, which pertain to the 19th century neoclassical style. Both the Casa Grande, as well as the Warehouses construction were extended leaning on the preexisting walls and vaults of the 17th century. Perhaps, the last structural arrangement had taken place at the end of the 19th century as shown by the engraving of one of the mill’s façades where one may clearly appreciate the date: 1895 (fig.4). This area, evidently industrial, is formed by gigantic walls that still stand and where some steel elements appeared that were used in their time as a structural base to support machinery.
Fig.4. Construction date engraving
Author: Jorge Paez Vieyra
52In addition, it is important to mention the chacoacos, elements related to combustion processes made with clay bricks in a shape of pyramidal prisms that were up to 30 meters high (98.4 feet). Since they are support elements (such as a chimney), builders were very careful in their appearance : the chimneys were projected with an outer molding located in the first tenth of their height and a crest at the end (Paez Vieyra 2004) ; further some were decorated with diagonally painted strips, alternating the colors orange, yellow and white which have been discolored due to time and the weather’s inclement.
53The open spaces also deserve a separate note which by their dimensions, finishing, shapes, and unevenness manage to provide order and balance to a complex that was never as such and whose design does not show evident composition lines. Operational patios where the sugar cane was delivered, like open internal “patios”, garages and gardens waved a net in a period of splendor that constituted a true natural and artificial landscape. These elements have survived the passing of years and the erosion which has become today the main virtue of the designers and builders, allowing them to boast their ability and sensitivity to direct the structure of open spaces. From my own point of view, there are at least two factors that influence the S.P.M. Cuahuixtla complex current look : the strong ascendant slope and its ruinous condition (fig.5)
Fig.5. A general view of the refinery house
Author: Fernanda Lira
54The first one is definitely and objectively the element that compelled constructors to compensate the strong slope in order to adapt different levels to it; thus, constructors must create stone retaining walls in order to have terraces and steps; outer spaces were very important to haciendas to make strolls and allow Nature to live alongside buildings and people. This was probably involuntary, because colonial builders modeled the basement plane as land-artists do nowadays. Furthermore, an almost subjective matter is the time passing marks : the S.P.M. Cuahuixtla sugar refinery is now an object of fascination in its ruinous condition. It’s still standing walls make one remember its will of ascent and also its verticality.
- 18 Georg Simmel was a German philosopher and sociologist. He wrote several essays of aesthetic subject (...)
- 19 Palenque is an important Mayan site in Mexico. It was built between the years 600 and 950. Its ruin (...)
55According to Simmel18, a ruin loses its charm when destruction is so that they have erased its edification force traces. What remains attracts, such as in the case of Palenque’s19 ruins that fascinated explorers. These remains are, in a good way, research material sources that can bring clues from its past, but also hints for its future. They contain a story to tell in each scar and crack, because in the very moment of its appearance (or disappearance) there was a protagonist agent : a storm, a snowfall, a drought or a kid kicking a ball who reduced into pieces a big crystal window. Nevertheless, it has aged so well and with such dignity that it still causes the visitor’s admiration (fig.6).
Fig.6. The ruins’ charm
Author: Jorge Paez Vieyra
- 20 Nizhny Tagil Charter for Industrial Heritage, 2. Values of industrial heritage, point I: The indust (...)
- 21 The State has its name in Morelos’ honor, since this battle was his most famous one; in fact this c (...)
56This geographical zone has played a very important role in Mexico’s history, starting with El Sitio de Cuautla, (Cuautla Besiege) in times of the Independence War. José María Morelos21 y Pavón had achieved many victories against the Viceroyalty Army, thus he decided in December of 1811 to make Cuautla his main headquarters before attacking Mexico City. Morelos decided then to leave Cuautla not without first entrusting the headquarters to Leonardo Bravo. Morelos returned on the 7th February of 1812 and prepared his army for a battle against the Viceroyalty Army led by Gral. Calleja. Morelos and his troops resisted a besiege commanded by Calleja during almost two months. Cuautla was bombarded by Calleja and the place turned into ruins, but finally Morelos and his insurgent troops ended the besiege the 2nd of May of 1812 thus defeating Calleja.
57In the early 1900s, the haciendas in Morelos played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution. Following one of the dictates of the industrial heritage of the “Nizhny Tagil Charter,” such estates were seen as a symbol of victory and even a trophy for the revolutionaries, since they represented the overthrow of the exploitative landowners who had abused their power to usurp lands and resources. Consequently, the haciendas were given a new social value and they became both, a record of the lives of ordinary people, and a source of identity for the local community. This was particularly evident in Morelos, where many of the battles of the revolution were fought on the haciendas, and they eventually became trophies of the revolutionary war.
58Almost a hundred years later, alongside the sugar haciendas’ second flourishing, the Revolutionary Movement arrived in the region in 1910. Firstly, commanded by Gral. Pablo Torres who began a revolt in March 1911, but after his early death, troops elected Emiliano Zapata as their new leader. Zapata fought with the idea that government should give back to the people their lands and properties. His general, Otilio Montaño Sánchez wrote the famous Plan de Ayala according to Zapata´s ideals, which was enacted on the 28th of November of 1911.
59After the closure of the S.P.M. mill in Cuahuixtla, the workers who were suddenly unemployed decided to establish their homes around the center of the hacienda. They were familiar with the area and its surroundings, and this provided them with a sense of security and stability. This marked the beginning of the town of San Pedro Apatlaco, which was built on the foundations of the old hacienda. Today, the town is a thriving community, with a rich history and cultural heritage that is deeply rooted in the struggles of the Mexican Revolution.
60A site with such rich history and so many inhabitants and workers, generates not only physical remains as material heritage but also intangible heritage in the form of memories and stories. Man as a social being, modifies his natural environment materializing buildings and urban works ; man creates, designs and produces material goods which are tangible and concrete. These expressions acquire a more complete sense only when it is revealed, beyond the object itself, its adjacent value. Man builds also another kind of cultural manifestations to which he grants a particular significance, those that are expressed immaterially23. These goods reflect a deep identity related with the past, with the present memory. These manifestations have been reinterpreted generation after generation, and are mostly related with daily knowledge, familiar practices or social networks. Nevertheless, sometimes they are also linked with beliefs or superstitions. Intangible Heritage impregnates every aspect of an individual’s life and it is present in every good that constitutes the Cultural Heritage : monuments, objects, machines, landscapes and sites.
61In Mexico, each Municipality must design its Master Plan (Plan Municipal de Desarrollo) according to the law. The Municipality Structure is led by a President who stays in charge for three years ; thus, Master Plans should be designed with the same frequency. Although these Master Plans have different leaders, the State must seek for its continuity. These official plans begin with a sort of diagnostic of the current state on a particular matter, for instance population, health, education, culture, security, etc. During the research stages of this paper, I found that the current Master Plan for Plan the Ayala Municipality, where Cuahuixtla is located, is located in the document called Plan Municipal de Desarrollo 2007-2009, Municipio de Ayala, Morelos. After reading it I realize there are some nouvelle uses for Cuahuixtla which are compatible with those proposed in the Master Plan. A short extract of the document verifies the coincidences.
62The current Municipality President indicates that this Master Plan will rule all governing actions during his three years period. Concrete objectives are established and also concrete actions to achieve them. The plan’s main objectives seek to increase the zone development since it looks to create new jobs, promote external investments and stimulate internal production. The total population of Plan de Ayala is 70 023 inhabitants, of which 33 428 are men and 36 595 are women. The population of San Pedro Apatlaco is 12 096 inhabitants, wherein 5 818 are men and 6 278 women ; therefore, the gender tendency is the increase of women proportional presence since 1950. The percentage of the alphabetized population that are at least 5 years old is 86.6 % (according to 2005 Census), but there are only six Preparatorias (high schools) and only one school for higher learning.
- 24 Plan Municipal de Desarrollo 2007-2009 (Municipio de Ayala, Morelos 2007), 14-16, 19.
63According to statistical data, San Pedro Apatlaco town is considered one of the regions of Ayala that has a growth tendency from now to 2024 according with growing projections ; this town has 92.22 has. of suitable growing areas called UE1 (special usages with low population density, dwelling, regional facilities such as sport camps or cultural centers. The growing tendency is planned to be located towards western part of the town. San Pedro Apatlaco has the largest surface within Ayala except popular quarters24.
64The importance of this item is based on the existence of an industrial park which is the second most important within Morelos State, Parque Industrial Cuautla. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate communication mediums towards the southern part of the park has provoked a difficulty for workers to arrive there. There exists an important deterioration of traditional architecture within the municipality because of the inadequate means of modern construction materials such as concrete and light bricks and the proliferation of buildings with two or more levels.
65The mixture in the building usage (dwelling and commerce) also weighs down the problem. Due to this there exists a deterioration of the traditional image in the zone that affect the loss of town identity and therefore touristic activities25. Ayala Municipality has some touristic attractions such as archaeological ruins of Olintepec or Tenextepango ; Cuahuixtla former sugar hacienda ; San José in Ayala and San Miguel Anenecuilco parishes. Ayala also has two main local museums, Casa-museo de Emiliano Zapata and Ex-hacienda de Chinameca ; both centers have very humble facilities that deserve their improvement.
66The Master Plan proposes several activities according to previous diagnostic of the zone; an interesting opinion project has been done within Ayala people from November to December 2006; the town that showed more interest was San Pedro Apatlaco with 114 participants. They surveyed different aspects concerning their town, for instance social well-being and tourism ; the priorities list was as follows26 :
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Disease prevention campaign ;
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Health center enlargement ;
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The improvement of touristic attractions diffusion ;
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Investment in touristic infrastructure ;
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San Pedro Martir Cuahuixtla ex hacienda restoration.
67The results concerning education, culture and recreation topics were the following27:
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Sport promotion ;
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Educational establishments maintenance ;
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A cultural center ;
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The construction of a multi-sports field.
68In using the last results and the necessary projects, this Master Plan proposes specific actions for different topics. Concerning Human and Social Development, the Ayala Municipality has planned the strategy with the aim to strengthen population cultural values : to promote the participation of educative institutions in cultural and civic events ; to develop cultural programs within towns in promoting movies, shows, workshops and artistic exhibitions ; to create a program to publish gazettes and pamphlets with the aim of promoting zone history and culture values as well.
69Moreover, the strategy concerning the Cultural Heritage Protection has three main branches : the rescue of archaeological sites within Ayala zone ; to restore its artistic monuments and to create communitarian museums in the zone28. Lastly in touristic agenda the strategy seeks to propitiate the conditions for Ayala’s quality services offering ; to involve private investment in the rescue and profit of cultural demand ; to encourage the restoration of haciendas and convents and to promote Zapata´s Road Project.
70With all of this in consideration, the Cuahuixtla’s ex-hacienda may be transformed into an archaeological park with a cultural annex. As the site has a very interesting ruinous part related to its last enlargement, it can be protected against destruction of natural agents ; and a pedestrian route can also be arranged with an independent metallic structure to allow the access into the main production building without current danger because of its conservation state. Still covered spaces can be restored and adapted into a cultural center to lodge artistic manifestations of local inhabitants as well as academic and cultural events.
71An interpretation center should be integrated with the aim to gain significance to the industrial site. This last is a basic opportunity to set a space where it can be explained with available documents, pictures and images how sugar was made during colonial times in Morelos ; therefore, part of the ruinous structures can be integrated as a material source to explain the process’ steps of sugar making. Open spaces should be arranged to become thematic gardens and plazas, taking advantage of the site labyrinthic condition ; a botanic garden can be set containing the great variety of local flora species.
72The only added element would be an observation tower strategically located from where a panoramic view can be experienced ; Verticality and Slenderness concepts always present in this industrial complex, may be replayed with contemporary material criteria in order to allow a respectful dialogue between historical and contemporary architecture.
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