I made a special trip to the Historic Center just to see the Miguel Lerdo de Tejada Library. It is a government sponsored research library specializing in economics. Sounds pretty boring, right? But in fact the Lerdo de Tejada Library is a very unique place. I had heard of it. I had even walked by it on some of my many explorations of the Historic Center, but I had never gone inside. Recently I read the novel "American Dirt", and there is a scene which takes place in the library. I decided it was time to pay it a visit.
The library is located in the former church of San Felipe Neri which was constructed between 1751 and 1770. The building was the Mexico City home of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, a society of priests and lay brothers who live a contemplative life. The Congregation later moved, and the church fell into decline. Between 1857 and 1954 it was a theater, and saw such performers as Enrico Caruso. In the late 1960s, the government undertook a restoration of the building, and the library opened here in 1970.
The façade of the former church is an excellent example of Baroque architecture.
When you enter the library you are amazed to see that the walls of the reading room are covered with colorful, abstract murals.
The paintings cover more than 21,000 square feet, and are the work of Russian émigré Vladimir Viktorovich Kibalchich Rusakov, commonly known as Vlady. Vlady left the Soviet Union during the Stalin era and eventually came to Mexico in 1943. Mexico was his home until his death in 2005. The murals took ten years to complete. They are entitled "La Revolución y los Elementos". The paintings are not exactly my cup of tea, and I do not pretend to understand them. However, there is no denying that they are a remarkable work of art.
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