About Mexican Architecture.org
About Charlotte Ekland, PhD
Charlotte Ekland Ph.D. teaches Latin American Studies at California State University, Chico. She visits Mexico frequently to further her academic interests. Speaking fluent Spanish, she has explored many parts of rural Mexico, photographing sites that are often well off the tourist route.
A brief history of this website, by Dr. Charlotte Ekland
This website arose from my experience in teaching a Latin American Studies class entitled Art, Music and Literature of Mexico. The course covers material from Mexico's early pre-Columbian antecedents down to its contemporary culture. The art unit for the colonial period (1521-1821) concentrates on the architecture of New Spain.
In the summer of 2004, I traveled to the Mexican states of Guanajuato and Michoacán where I photographed Colonial buildings to supplement the slides I use in class. Each succeeding year, I have expanded my photo archive.
As my work progressed, I saw the potential to create a comprehensive website on the architecture of New Spain. The resulting project permits users to access photographs of colonial architecture from a number of different perspectives:
- by geographic location
- by the period of construction
- by the style of architecture
- by the presence of identifiable indigenous elements
- by historical use
The interactive, illustrated glossary that links to the buildings on the site aids students with architectural terminology and identifies different architectural elements in the buildings of various styles and periods.
This site is intended to serve:
- Students of Mexican architecture
- Individuals involved in academic research on colonial Mexico
- People and institutions dedicated to the cultural heritage of Mexico
- Those who promote educational tourism in the region.