Old School

As I said in my last post that on Wednesday I visited one of the most important examples of colonial architecture in Mexico City.  However, it is not well known to visitors because its doors are open to the public only at noon on Wednesdays when a guided tour of the building is given.

The building is "el Colegio de las Viscaínas" (the School of Basque Women).  Founded 251 years ago, it is the oldest continuously operating educational institution in Mexico.

Like so many buildings in Mexico City, the structure has suffered damage from earthquakes, and floods.  Along the side of the building you can clearly see how it has sunken unevenly into the spongy soil.

The "Colegio" was one of the largest buildings in colonial Mexico City.  It takes up one entire city block.  It surface area is larger than the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico, and its main courtyard rivals the courtyard of the National Palace in size.  

  

A model of the building

The school was founded in 1767 by a group of men from the Basque provinces of Spain with the purpose of housing, educating and caring for orphans, destitute maidens, and widows who were of Basque, or at least of Spanish, birth.  Unlike other institutions of the time, the "Colegio" was not administered by a religious order.  Although it was a private, lay school, the young girls here did receive catechism and religious education. and its original name was "el Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Viscaínas" (in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola who was a Basque).

Within the building there is a richly ornamented chapel in the ornate Churrigueresque style.

The image of St. Ignatius of Loyola on the main altar

In the 1800s, with the passage of laws restricting religious education, the chapel was abandoned.  In the 1990s it was restored and reopened.

The students here learned to read and write as well as the skills a woman was expected to know... cooking, sewing and embroidery. The women here could leave the "Colegio" only if they chose to marry, or if they chose to join a religious order.  There was one room where they could meet with suitors in the company of chaperones.  The school was considered rather progressive for its era.  If a woman chose to remain in the "Colegio" she could learn a trade so that she could achieve a degree of financial independence.

When Mexico gained its independence, admission to the school was opened to girls who were not of Spanish birth.  When President Benito Juárez closed all church-run schools as a part of his Reform Laws, the "Colegio" remained open since it was not run by a religious order.  However, Juárez did insist that the school drop "St. Ignatius" from its name.  Throughout the 19th and 20th century the institution gained a reputation for being the most advanced girls' school as science courses and foreign languages were added to the curriculum.  Today, the school is co-educational and provides education from kindergarten through high school.  

In the 1990s a small portion of the building was converted into a private museum open to the public only once a week.  The corner of the "Colegio" which housed the chaplain's quarters in colonial times now has galleries displaying the school's collection of religious art.

The building also had rooms facing the street which did not have access to the school.  These spaces were rented out to be used as workshops, stores and apartments and provided the "Colegio" with income.  One of those apartments has been furnished with period furniture as a part of the museum.

The tour of the building lasted more than two hours.  Beside the chapel and the museum rooms, we were taken through several of the courtyards.  I am not sure if this was part of the normal tour, but it is summer vacation, and there were no students present.

The area around this courtyard suffered heavy damage during the 1985 earthquake, and it was off-limits until repairs could be made.  The pavement is still very uneven as a result of the quake.  After the Mexican American War troops from the occupying U.S. army camped in this courtyard.

The young man at the left was our guide.  He was very knowledgeable.  After our two hour tour, I wanted to give him a tip... he certainly deserved it... but he would not accept it.

It was certainly a very worthwhile visit to a place not many visitors get to see.