Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, and Utopia by Luis E. Carranza, Fernando L. Lara

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS St. Augustine, Richmond, and Atlanta. Savannah, Charleston, Natchez, and New Orleans were mentioned in passing as not :fitting within the model ofNew South urban revision during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but there is more to the urban South than just the cities identified-all of which were inthe eastern halfofthe South. For example, there is no mention of Memphis or Galveston, among others that could have been investigated. The whole ofDixie, as the author sets out to study, is missing. African Americans are discussed throughout, but in passing regarding the roles they were expected to play under Jim Crow-there is very little analysis ofthem in their own right. Nonetheless, for those interested in learning more about how St. Augustine, Richmond, and Atlanta were evolving physically and socially in the New South, this is a great resource, especially for those taking an upper level class or wanting to know about the subject. Barry L. Stiefel College of Charleston Carranza, Luis E. and Fernando L. Lara. Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, and Utopia. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-292-76297-8 Paperback: 464 pages Luis E. Carranza and Fernando L. Lara's bookModernArchitecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, and Utopia is an ambitious project that captures the architectural production and thought of a vast region during the twentieth century. Carranza and Lara are two educators who teach seminars focused on the architecture ofLatin America, and understood the need for a collection ofreadings and projects appropriate for such as course. I tested ModernArchitecture in LatinAmerica as a textbook for a seminar I conducted on the subject in Mexico City during the summer of2015. I can report that the book performs this task admirably-the discrete essaysdescribing not only buildings and urban plans, but related political and cultural moments as well-are perfect companions to classroom lectures. The chronological arrangement of significant episodes is an excellent way of organizing so much diverse material. It starts in 1903 with Francisco Pereira Passos' Haussmannian plan for Rio de Janeiro, and ends in 2002 with the masterful Parque Independencia pavilions in Rosario, Argentina, by Rafael Iglesia. In between, the book contains 107 essays (about one per year) with long titles such as: "Jesus T. Acevedo and 70 Federico Mariscal Lecture in Mexico on the Character, Importance , and Role ofthe Spanish Colonial Legacy (1914)"; "The Columbus Memorial Lighthouse Competition Sparks an Investigation into WhatArchitecture for Latin America Should Be Like (1928)"; "Getulio Vargas Takes Power in Brazil and Appoints Twenty-eight-year-old Lucio Costa as Director ofthe Ecola Nacional de Belas Artes (1930)"; "Wladimiro Acosta's Vivienday Ciudad Highlightsthe Relationship Between Ecology, New Forms of Leisure, the House, and the City (1937)"; "PREVI: Two Opposing Governments in Peru Bring the Best Architects in the World to Address Squatter Settlements (1969)"; or, ''Angelo Bucci and Alvaro Puntoni Win the Competition for the Brazilian Pavilion at Seville Expo 1992, Markingthe End ofthe Postmodern Reign and the Beginning ofNeomodernism (1991)". Carranza and Lara's book contains fifty-three chronological chapters and fifty-four case studies, a foreword by Jorge Francisco Liernur, an introduction, and a conclusion, which makes it 110 chapters, discussing :fifteen countries. While references to Brazil and Mexico dominate the book, there is plenty of material on Argentina. Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay are mentioned in several chapters, while Cuba and Peru are noted in a few. The book also includes buildings from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, making it extremely comprehensive. While the format is well suited for a textbook, as the contents listed above suggest, this is far from a superficial survey of the subject. It is a book that I would recommend to anyone with a serious interest in the development of modernism. As the introduction makes clear, Modern Architecture in Latin America is a valiant attempt to frame coherently the twentieth century architecture and urbanism of an immense geographic region comprised of more than two dozen countries whose shared roots in the Iberian Peninsulahave considerably diverged through the years. The discrete episodes capture well the fragmented character ofcultural dialogues that were more frequent with intellectual centers across...