As you drive (or walk) around Guadalajara you may be surprised to learn that some of its most iconic modern monuments have been created by a single man: Fernando Gonzalez Gortazar.
And in recognition of his life’s work, Guadalajara-based architect Gonzalez was awarded the prestigious National Fine Arts Prize at Mexico’s 2012 National Sciences and Arts Awards last month.
The prize “should involve a commitment by governments at all levels to support good architecture,” Gonzalez said upon being presented with the award by outgoing President Felipe Calderon. “I want to take this as belated recognition by the authorities at all levels that architecture is capable of improving the quality of life for millions of people,” he added.Born in Mexico City in 1942, Gonzalez moved to Guadalajara at the age of four and gained his degree in architecture from the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in 1966.
Now an acclaimed architect, urban planner and sculptor, he is best known for his works in Guadalajara, such as the Los Cubos monument which stands beside Avenida Vallarta at the intersection with Lazaro Cardenas and Manuel Clouthier, and the Fuente de la Hermana Agua at Lopez Mateos and Avenida Las Rosas. The latter fountain has run dry for several years, but Gonzalez recently revealed that private patrons have put forward the money for its water flow to be restored.
Gonzalez also designed Guadalajara’s Parque Gonzalez Gallo and La Gran Puerta in Jardines Alcalde, along with other public sculptures and monuments in Monterrey, Mexico City and the Spanish capital of Madrid.
“The city is the greatest invention of mankind. It is the most inexhaustible, the richest, the most diverse ... the most original, the most extravagant and the most radical thing humans have ever done,” Gonzalez said in a recent interview with El Universal. Revealing the purpose of his work, he explained, “getting the public to reclaim possession of the city, so that it becomes an extension of their living room, is what we should aspire to.”
Gonzalez was previously awarded the Jose Clemente Orozco medal by the Jalisco state government, but at the age of 70 his drive and enthusiasm remains undiminished. He currently teaches at the UdeG and ITESO and is still working on a long-term project in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon.
Architecture “becomes our second skin and accompanies us from the cradle to the grave,” he remarked fittingly, upon receiving his latest honor.