Two Stops: O’Gorman’s House and the UNAM Library

We visited the O’Higgins–Rivera workshop, where the Day of the Dead ofrendas were set up throughout the house—each dedicated to the three artists who lived and worked there. The place still looks like a working space, and seeing how Pablo O’Higgins and Diego Rivera shared that environment adds to the history of the building. 

The place still looks like a working space, and seeing how Pablo O’Higgins and Diego Rivera shared that environment added to the history of the building. 

O’Higgins’ home and studio were built in a stripped-down, utilitarian style that reflected both his politics and his practical personality. He used just simple forms, exposed materials, and a layout meant for work, collaboration, and daily life. It followed the same spirit as the early functionalist movement in Mexico: architecture as a tool, not a luxury. The house was meant to serve artists and activists who came through its doors, not to impress anyone from the street.

After that, we headed to the UNAM campus, stopped to see Rivera’s mural on the Central Library, and happened to catch a graduation ceremony spilling out across the walkways. 

Rivera painted an important mural right next door in the Rectoria building, where he depicted Mexico’s struggle for freedom and culture. 

The Central Library at UNAM is covered in huge mosaic murals by Juan O’Gorman, done very much in the spirit of Diego Rivera. Each side of the building tells a different chapter of Mexican history — pre-Hispanic life, the colonial period, modern Mexico, and the story of the university itself. Rivera didn’t create these mosaics, but his influence is all over them: the focus on Indigenous culture, a look at colonization, and the celebration of workers, science, and education. 

Together, the murals on the library and Rectoria form one of the strongest public-art statements in the country.

We made our way from the library to MUAC through the theatre district. The museum itself was excellent. The standout was a “womb” installation built from compacted earth it was quiet, dim, and very  immersive, it was like stepping into a geological exhibit.