Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

This excerpt from the first chapter of José Vasconcelos’s 1925 book, La raza cósmica, outlines his vision for what he calls “the cosmic race”: a comprehensive, final stage of humanity that would envelope all races in order to build a new [...]

In this letter, José Vasconcelos calls upon the youth of Colombia to lead the way in the triumph of a new, unified, utopian America. Drawing as usual on both the rhetoric of science and mysticism, Vasconcelos explains how the united America of the [...]

In two chapters from his book Indología, José Vasconcelos outlines his concept of a culturally and politically unified Latin America, discussing how Latin America’s internal conflicts and its disagreements with the United States could be resolved [...]

This article explains that only fools think culture is improvised. This is why the reconstruction plan proposed by the Secretaria de Educación Pública (SEP) [Ministry of Public Education] was based on the past with an eye on the future. The [...]

In this text, José Vasconcelos describes how since the mid-nineteenth-century forces of “panamericanismo” have generally caused Mexico and Hispanic America to incrementally suffer the loss of cultural and economic independence. His argument [...]

José Vasconcelos calls upon Mexican intellectuals to travel to the backlands to share the hardships of the poor in order to learn from the experience. His challenge extends to young and cultured teachers, writers, poets and artists. Vasconcelos also [...]

The Confederación Regional Obrera [Regional Workers Confederation] became involved in the dismissal of Vicente [Lombardo] Toledano, who was at that time Director of the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria [National Preparatory School] and a member of the [...]

In this broad essay, the educationist and philosopher José Vasconcelos reflects upon the concept of “progreso” [progress]. He asks himself what progress really is and thus provides various answers, in accordance with the times. For him, progress [...]

José Vasconcelos, the Minister of Public Education, discusses why he did not take advantage of architects or engineers for projects such as El Estadio [The Stadium] or La Escuela Benito Juárez, a model for schools not just in Mexico, albeit [...]

In this long article, José Vasconcelos explains his theory of nationalism, patriotism, and Americanism. In sum, he outlines the law of the three stages, taking only its name from Auguste Comte. The first stage is the “materialist period” in [...]

This essay, which was published in Madrid in 1925, discusses the concept of the “fifth race” in the Americas, the “melting pot” result of the blending or miscegenation of every race in the world (without distinction) to create a new [...]