Chapala’s former town hall building reawakened from a 17-year slumber Thursday, August 27 as hundreds of guests crowded in for the glitzy grand opening of the edifice baptized as the Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia.
Chapala Mayor Joaquín Huerta welcomed Jalisco Tourism Minister Enrique Ramos Flores as guest dignitary and official representative of the state governor for the ribbon cutting, unveiling of a commemorative plaque and inaugural protocol. Together they presented a certificate of appreciation to guest of honor Miguel Miramontes Carmona, the famed 97-year-old sculptor who is the namesake for the building’s temporary art exhibition salon.
Acknowledgments were also handed out to local artist Miguel Mora de la Torre, author of the interior murals depicting the nine muses; Guadalajara painter Claudette Farah, who is showing five abstract mixed media works in the Miramontes salon; Jocotepec photographer Rey Trigueros who created a slide show for the event; José María Tirado Torres, president of Expo Chapala Artesanal who displayed ceramic pieces in the central patio and Rogelio Ochoa, who designed the stunning multi-colored sawdust and floral carpet laid out at the CCAP entrance. Emammuel Medeles, director of the CREM regional music school, and Javier Raygoza, founder and conductor of the Orquesta Típica de Chapala, were likewise recognized for contributing the musical entertainment for the big day.
The throng of local culture vultures flocking into the party expressed delight at seeing the long-abandoned building transformed into a centrally located venue for plastic and performing arts. As they toured the facility, some were overheard whispering pointed criticisms, ranging from complaints about the tedious length of the de rigueur speeches and the cheesy quality of the cocktail reception fare to disgruntlement over the building’s new name. But all in all it was a jolly gathering for a long-awaited mission accomplished.
The municipal government was forced to evacuate its headquarters in August 1998 due to structural flaws putting the main wing of building in danger of collapse. Its stability had become severely compromised by aging and primitively built foundations, aggravated by an underlying geological fault and shifts in the ground caused by Lake Chapala’s shrinking water line. Cracks in the walls and flooring worsened after a 2002 earthquake.
Renovation work planned under official guidelines for the preservation of historic sites finally got underway in 2007, with Jalisco’s Secretaria de Cultura and the municipality coughing up three million pesos to draw up preliminary blue prints and shore up the exterior façade. Bureaucratic snags put the project on hold until the current administration landed a deal with the federal and state tourism ministries to pick up the 10-million-peso tab to complete the reconstruction.
One-third of the funding was spent on solidifying the structure with 227 underground micro-piles and cement footings to prevent future damage. The rest was invested in improvements, including building the 217-seat auditorium; adding a
spiral staircase and an elevator for access to the second floor galleries; rest room facilities, plumbing and electrical upgrades and cosmetic work. The city treasury’s expense was the 500,000-peso bill for the requisite executive project plans.