The Carso Center for the Study of Mexican History (in Spanish: Centro de Estudios de Historia de México Carso, CEHM-Carso) is a Mexican

cultural institution A cultural institution or cultural organization is an organization within a culture or subculture that works for the Preservation (library and archive), preservation or promotion of culture. The term is especially used of public and charitable org ...

devoted to the

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

and

dissemination To disseminate (from Latin, lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional ...

of Mexico's historical prints and documents from the 18th century to the 20th century. It is owned by the

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business oligarch, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from his e ...

Foundation (Fundación Carlos Slim), located in Chimalistac, south of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. It was founded in 1965 by Condumex. The center is one of the founding members of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

. Its archives contain 700 documentary resources – about 2 million pages – and its library has 80,554 books (18

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

). The center has approximately 800,000 items.

History

The center was founded by Conductores Mexicanos (Condumex). Its purpose was to rescue historically valuable resources –both bibliographical and documentary– to avoid their destruction because of the lack of preservation and prevent them from being sold to libraries and archives abroad. This center was inaugurated in 1965 by Ricardo García Sáinz. The first acquisition of the center was a private collection of 10,000 books from the 19th century, which included resources from the Diocese of Guadalajara and correspondence amongst several characters involved in the

Independence of Mexico Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. The first

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

was composed of intellectuals such as

Jesús Reyes Heroles Jesús Reyes Heroles (3 April 1921 – 19 March 1985) was a Mexican politician, jurist, historian and academic affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The party acknowledges him as one of its leading ideologues. Professional ...

Ignacio Bernal Ignacio Bernal (February 13, 1910 in Paris - January 24, 1992 in Mexico City) was an eminent Mexican anthropologist and archaeologist. Bernal excavated much of Monte Albán, originally starting as a student of Alfonso Caso, and later led major a ...

Silvio Zavala Silvio Arturo Zavala Vallado (February 7, 1909 – December 4, 2014) was a Mexican historian who was considered to be a pioneer in law history studies and Mexico’s institutions. Biography Early life Silvio Zavala was born on February 7, 1909, ...

, Antonio Martínez Baez, and Alfonso Noriega. Some of the center's collection items have been handed to the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

, such as the 1917 Mexican Constitution's promulgation letter, signed by

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

, or the diary of the Mexican politician and historian

Carlos María de Bustamante Carlos María de Bustamante Merecilla (4 November 1774 – 29 September 1848) was a Mexican statesman, historian, journalist who played a political and intellectual role in support of Mexican independence, both before and during the Mexican Wa ...

. In 1976, the center received its first interns from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

: Josefina Moguel and María de Lourdes Martinez (nowadays, two prominent researchers). After Dolores del Río's death, her photo archive was given to the center by Lewis Riley.

Notes

External links

Official Centro de Estudios de Historia de México Carso website
{{authority control Archives in Mexico World Digital Library partners Organizations based in Mexico City Organizations established in 1965 Carlos Slim

History

See also

Notes

External links