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Latin America Memorial
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Latin America Memorial
The Latin America Memorial (Portuguese: Memorial da América Latina) is a cultural, political and leisure complex, inaugurated on March 18, 1989, in São Paulo, Brazil. The architectural setting, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is a monument to the cultural, political, social and economic integration of Latin America, spanning an area of 84,482 m2 (909,360 sq ft). Its cultural project was developed by Brazilian anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro. It is a public foundation, financially and administratively autonomous, maintained by the state government.
The architectural complex consists of several buildings arranged around two squares, with a total built area of 25,210 m2 (271,400 sq ft). It comprises: Salão de Atos Tiradentes (Tiradentes "hall of acts"), the Victor Civita Latin American Library, the Brazilian Center of Latin American Studies, the Marta Traba Gallery of Latin American Art, the Pavilhão da Criatividade ("creativity pavilion") and the Símon Bolívar Auditorium. In the main square (Praça Cívica), there is a large concrete sculpture, also designed by Oscar Niemeyer, representing an open hand in vertical position, with the map of Latin America painted in red. It's a symbol of Latin America's past of oppression and its battles for freedom, with the red map as a reminder of the blood from the sacrifices that were made.
The Memorial has a permanent collection of works of art, on display in indoor and outdoor areas, as well as a large assemblage of Latin American folk art, housed in the Pavilhão da Criatividade. The library comprises 30,000 titles, besides music and image departments. The Memorial promotes exhibitions, conferences, debates, video sessions, theater, dance and music performances. It also has a research center specializing in Latin American issues and keeps an active bibliographic production. From 1989 to 2007, the Memorial also served as a host to the Latin American Parliament (currently located in Panama City).
The idea of creating an institution devoted to improving Latin American political, social, economic and cultural relations in São Paulo dates back to the André Franco Montoro government, which took place in the mid-1980s, in a cultural context defined by democratic advances across the continent and by a greater alignment of interests between Brazil and other Latin American countries, notably Argentina. In 1985, Brazil and Argentina signed the Iguaçu Declaration in 1985, the founding agreement for the future emergence of Mercosur. During his term in the São Paulo state government, Franco Montoro created the Latin American Institute (ILAM) as an effort to expand cultural exchange among the countries of the region. ILAM would organize a bibliographic collection of around 10,000 items, in addition to photographs, videos and other materials related to Latin American culture, which would later serve as the primary collection for the Memorial's library.
However, the actual construction of the Memorial and the conception of its cultural program would only begin during the Orestes Quércia government, who intended to build in São Paulo "the most important cultural center of the Latin American continent". The architect Oscar Niemeyer was then commissioned by Quércia to design a monumental complex, to be built on a public site of around 90,000 m2 (970,000 sq ft) in the Barra Funda neighborhood. Niemeyer designed a complex made up of six buildings spread across two plazas joined by a walkway: the library, the Salão de Atos, the restaurant (now the Marta Traba Gallery), the Creativity Pavilion, the auditorium and the study center. The headquarters building of the Latin American Parliament was added later on. The architect envisioned the complex as an "architectural island", with bold, white forms, that would also serve to revitalize the surrounding urban fabric. The theme appealed to him, as he would later declare:
Few themes gave me as much joy to design as the Latin America Memorial. First, because of the political meaning it represented. Bringing together the peoples of this continent to discuss their problems together, exchanging experiences, fighting for the rights of this Latin America, so exploited and offended. Then, because it was a set of buildings that, if well designed, could create what in architecture we call an architectural spectacle.
— Oscar Niemeyer
At Niemeyer's suggestion, the anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro was invited to develop the cultural project for the memorial, also collaborating in defining the elements needed for the architectural complex. Chief of the Civil House during the presidency of João Goulart, Darcy Ribeiro had his political rights revoked after the 1964 military coup, living from then on in exile in several Latin American countries (he worked in Uruguay, Venezuela and Mexico and was an adviser to Salvador Allende in Chile and to Velasco Alvarado in Peru), thus having a great affinity with the project's theme. Ribeiro had also previously collaborated with Niemeyer on the design of the Integrated Centers of Public Education (CIEPs), another reason that led the architect to recommend him for the role.
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Latin America Memorial
The Latin America Memorial (Portuguese: Memorial da América Latina) is a cultural, political and leisure complex, inaugurated on March 18, 1989, in São Paulo, Brazil. The architectural setting, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is a monument to the cultural, political, social and economic integration of Latin America, spanning an area of 84,482 m2 (909,360 sq ft). Its cultural project was developed by Brazilian anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro. It is a public foundation, financially and administratively autonomous, maintained by the state government.
The architectural complex consists of several buildings arranged around two squares, with a total built area of 25,210 m2 (271,400 sq ft). It comprises: Salão de Atos Tiradentes (Tiradentes "hall of acts"), the Victor Civita Latin American Library, the Brazilian Center of Latin American Studies, the Marta Traba Gallery of Latin American Art, the Pavilhão da Criatividade ("creativity pavilion") and the Símon Bolívar Auditorium. In the main square (Praça Cívica), there is a large concrete sculpture, also designed by Oscar Niemeyer, representing an open hand in vertical position, with the map of Latin America painted in red. It's a symbol of Latin America's past of oppression and its battles for freedom, with the red map as a reminder of the blood from the sacrifices that were made.
The Memorial has a permanent collection of works of art, on display in indoor and outdoor areas, as well as a large assemblage of Latin American folk art, housed in the Pavilhão da Criatividade. The library comprises 30,000 titles, besides music and image departments. The Memorial promotes exhibitions, conferences, debates, video sessions, theater, dance and music performances. It also has a research center specializing in Latin American issues and keeps an active bibliographic production. From 1989 to 2007, the Memorial also served as a host to the Latin American Parliament (currently located in Panama City).
The idea of creating an institution devoted to improving Latin American political, social, economic and cultural relations in São Paulo dates back to the André Franco Montoro government, which took place in the mid-1980s, in a cultural context defined by democratic advances across the continent and by a greater alignment of interests between Brazil and other Latin American countries, notably Argentina. In 1985, Brazil and Argentina signed the Iguaçu Declaration in 1985, the founding agreement for the future emergence of Mercosur. During his term in the São Paulo state government, Franco Montoro created the Latin American Institute (ILAM) as an effort to expand cultural exchange among the countries of the region. ILAM would organize a bibliographic collection of around 10,000 items, in addition to photographs, videos and other materials related to Latin American culture, which would later serve as the primary collection for the Memorial's library.
However, the actual construction of the Memorial and the conception of its cultural program would only begin during the Orestes Quércia government, who intended to build in São Paulo "the most important cultural center of the Latin American continent". The architect Oscar Niemeyer was then commissioned by Quércia to design a monumental complex, to be built on a public site of around 90,000 m2 (970,000 sq ft) in the Barra Funda neighborhood. Niemeyer designed a complex made up of six buildings spread across two plazas joined by a walkway: the library, the Salão de Atos, the restaurant (now the Marta Traba Gallery), the Creativity Pavilion, the auditorium and the study center. The headquarters building of the Latin American Parliament was added later on. The architect envisioned the complex as an "architectural island", with bold, white forms, that would also serve to revitalize the surrounding urban fabric. The theme appealed to him, as he would later declare:
Few themes gave me as much joy to design as the Latin America Memorial. First, because of the political meaning it represented. Bringing together the peoples of this continent to discuss their problems together, exchanging experiences, fighting for the rights of this Latin America, so exploited and offended. Then, because it was a set of buildings that, if well designed, could create what in architecture we call an architectural spectacle.
— Oscar Niemeyer
At Niemeyer's suggestion, the anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro was invited to develop the cultural project for the memorial, also collaborating in defining the elements needed for the architectural complex. Chief of the Civil House during the presidency of João Goulart, Darcy Ribeiro had his political rights revoked after the 1964 military coup, living from then on in exile in several Latin American countries (he worked in Uruguay, Venezuela and Mexico and was an adviser to Salvador Allende in Chile and to Velasco Alvarado in Peru), thus having a great affinity with the project's theme. Ribeiro had also previously collaborated with Niemeyer on the design of the Integrated Centers of Public Education (CIEPs), another reason that led the architect to recommend him for the role.
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