International tribute to Gaudí
A photographic exhibition dedicated to Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló has opened in Mérida, Mexico, bringing a key piece of Catalan architectural heritage to audiences across the Atlantic. The display, titled Gaudí a Mérida: una altra mirada a la Casa Batlló des de Yucatán, features 36 large-format images measuring 1.20 by 1.80 metres and traces the history, restoration, and present-day reality of the iconic Barcelona building.
Inaugurated on 12 September 2026 at the Centro Cultural de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY), the exhibition forms part of the official Gaudí Year 2026 programme, marking 100 years since the architect’s death. It will remain open to the public until 7 October 2026 in the university’s historic central building at the intersection of calles 60 and 57.
Cultural dialogue between Catalonia and Yucatán
The initiative was developed through collaboration between the Delegació del Govern de Catalunya a Mèxic i Centreamèrica, the Centre Cultural Català de la Península de Yucatán, and UADY. Aran Mayola, the Catalan government’s delegate in Mexico, highlighted the role of such exhibitions in maintaining cultural ties among Catalan communities abroad and fostering academic engagement, particularly with architecture students and faculty.
The projection of Catalonia internationally is built by people and organisations working from abroad.
Arturo Campos, president of the Catalan Cultural Centre in Yucatán and an architect, described how Gaudí’s buildings transcend their physical form to become part of a city’s identity, “citizens” in their own right. During a related lecture, Campos drew parallels between Gaudí’s organic designs, created using models and imagination, and contemporary digitally generated architecture, questioning what truly constitutes innovation.
Josep Ligorred, an archaeologist and board member of the cultural centre, emphasized architecture as a tool for humanising cities and affirmed shared values between Catalan and Maya cultures in their relationship to territory and collective memory.
Architecture as living heritage
The photographs allow viewers to examine textures, forms, and details that may go unnoticed even when standing before the original building in Barcelona. By presenting the Casa Batlló from afar, the exhibition invites reflection on how heritage is perceived, preserved, and reinterpreted across continents.
Earlier stops on the tour included Mexico City, Zamora, Morelia, and Guadalajara. In Jalisco, a lecture by architect Oliver Pendragón explored connections between Mayan architectural traditions and Gaudí’s imaginative language, further deepening cross-cultural dialogue.
Visitors to the UADY cultural centre can attend the exhibition free of charge during opening hours. No registration is required.
Reported by rab.cat.
