BECAUSE THIS CITY WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE EARTHQUAKES
After the earthquake emergency of September 2017, I inferred that the Government of Mexico City would propose to build a Memorial commemorating the tragedy, so I preemptively began to publish articles in local newspapers which sought to orient memory concerns towards an exemplary democratic process. However, in March 2018, a conceptually flawed bid calling for memorial designs was made public without the participation of earthquake victims, thus pointing towards the prioritization of political and electoral gain.
In response, I invited victims, architects (Gabriela Carrillo, TO Workshop, Jimena Hogrebe and LANZA Atelier), neighbors, civil organizations and journalists to co-create a media campaign with the aim of positioning the need to completely rethink the bid’s agenda. This effort, called “NuestroMemorial19s”, required attending dozens of interviews on television, radio and print and digital media, culminating in the delivery of a counter proposal to the contest.
Our efforts were successful: in September 2018, the Government of Mexico City officially postponed the contest. I currently maintain a close relationship with the Mexico City Reconstruction Commission, specifically with its Memory Subcommittee, to advise and conduct the creation of the Memorial19s once the reconstruction of victim’s homes is successfully completed.
We held several protests, press conferences and cultural activities to spread our message.
These are some of the videos I created to spread key messages through social media, especially the campaign's Twitter handle.
This is the counter-proposal we submitted, which is highly critical of the contest itself, its organizers, its jury, and points as the government having main responsibilities in making Mexico City more vulnerable to earthquakes.
In September 2018, and after 5 months of intense campaigning, the Mexico City Government officially suspended the construction of the Memorial, effectively opening avenues to reset the bid process so that victims and citizens may participate in its design and construction.
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Ciudadanía19s, Gabriela Carrillo, LANZA Atelier, Jimena Hogrebe, Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Vitoria, 06600 Plataforma Vecinal, Suma Urbana,
Special Thanks to: Miguel Ángel Ángeles, Mario Ballesteros, Emilio Ades, Damnificados Multifamiliar Tlalpan, Damnificados Unidos CDMX, CENCOS