Treinta años en Bélgica. Aniversario del Centro de Estudios Mexicanos de la Universidad de Amberes

The Interfaculty Center for Mexican Studies (CIEM, Spanish initials) of the University of Antwerp is the oldest Center for Mexican Studies in Europe, and its Mexican Library is the largest in the continent. CIEM was founded on February 2, 1990, following a request from Mexican Ambassador to Belgium at that time, Alfredo del Mazo, to the then Rector of the University Faculties of St. Ignatius (UFSIA), Jean Van Houtte, to receive the library of the Antwerp Consulate, which would disappear to concentrate activities at the Mexican Embassy in Brussels. Thanks to the intervention of Guy Posson, a Belgian literary critic and translator, these two bodies were able to join forces and the CIEM was created. Its 30^th anniversary happened on February 2, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 crisis, the commemoration event would be held on May 16^th and 17^th, 2022.

During the first day of the celebration, an opening ceremony was held at the Grauwzusters Cloister of the University of Antwerp, consisting of brief speeches by representatives of the three institutions sponsoring CIEM: UNAM, represented by Dr. Francisco Trigo Tavera, who participated with a previously recorded video message; the University of Antwerp, represented by its vice-rector, Dr. Filip Lardon, and the Government of Flanders, represented by Mr. Wouter Nachtergaele, head of the International Cooperation Department. The Mexican Ambassador to Belgium, His Excellency Rogelio Granguillhome, also addressed the ceremony, as did Dr. Philippe Meers, president of CIEM. 

Dr. Rita de Maeseneer, vice-president of CIEM, acted as a master of ceremonies and introduced after the speeches, Dr. Patrick Johansson, an academic from UNAM, who gave a keynote lecture entitled “Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Dawn and Twilight”, in which he addressed the founding paradigms of the Aztec capital, the important moments that culminated with the establishment of its hegemony and, being at its zenithal peak, the apocalyptic end of an empire and a world.

The keynote speech was followed by the opening of the exhibition Buscando pertenecer (Seeking to Belong), by Mexican artist Marisa Polin, and a reception with live mariachis. In addition to the general public and the aforementioned guests, the first day of the celebration was also attended by the directors of UNAM’s Offices in Europe, with which CIEM has maintained a close relationship for several years. Dr. Federico Fernández Christlieb, director of UNAM-France; Dr. Ana Elena González Treviño, director of UNAM-United Kingdom; Dr. Alejandro Velázquez Montes, director of UNAM-Germany (who participated remotely), and Dr. Jorge Volpi Escalante, director of UNAM-Spain, joined us at the event.

Before the opening ceremony, a closed-doors meeting was held with UNAM’s Offices directors to discuss the new possibilities of collaboration between the UNAM representatives in Europe. Several projects emerged from this meeting, including the organization of a conferences cycle between the five offices (Antwerp, Berlin, London, Madrid, and Paris), and a fixed annual donation agreement for the CIEM’s Mexican Library, which currently has about 23 thousand titles, and has been nourished largely by generous donations from various UNAM’s academic entities.

The second day of the celebration consisted of the colloquium Urban History: The Reconfiguration of Mexico City from Pre-Hispanic Times to the 21^st Century. Before formally opening the colloquium, Philippe Meers presented a video message from Dr. Silvia Giorguli, president of El Colegio de México, on a project of the Mexican embassy in Belgium: to publish A New Compact History of Mexico in Dutch, which is in its initial stage and is supported by the CIEM. After Giorguli’s message, Dr. Cristóbal Jácome Moreno, guest researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Nantes, France, participated in the lecture “Production of The Replica. The Modern City Restores its Past: 1940-1952”. The floor was then given to Dr. Diana Castilleja, professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Saint-Louis in Brussels, who intervened with the lecture “Narrative Edifications of Mexico City”. After a questions-and-answers period, the colloquium and the celebrations of CIEM’s thirtieth anniversary were concluded.

It would have been impossible for CIEM to complete thirty years of work without the support it receives from UNAM and the close collaboration it maintains with its international offices. Since its early years, CIEM has paid special attention to academics and researchers from UNAM. CIEM’s Chair of Mexican Studies was inaugurated by none other than Dr. Miguel León Portilla. Since then, CIEM Chair proudly bears his name, who was followed by many other famous UNAM figures: Carlos Fuentes, Guillermo Sheridan, Margo Glantz, Adolfo Castañón, José Agustín, Concepción Company, Patrick Johansson, Jorge Volpi, and many others.

In addition, the close relationship between CIEM and UNAM consists of an academic exchange agreement and intense participation of UNAM academics, researchers, and specialists in the Mexican Studies Chair. Since 2016, CIEM has had the annual participation of at least five academics from UNAM. On our thirtieth anniversary, we reiterate our deep gratitude to UNAM, to its Rector, Dr. Enrique Graue Wiechers, to the head of UNAM’s International Head Office, Dr. Francisco Trigo Tavera, and to all the staff of the academic agencies and entities that have supported us for so many years.

---