John: Architecture Dominican style

TW- I'm sorry to say that this time it's you who are wrong. I am Dominican but lived in Mexico City for two years, in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood near Boulevard Virreyes. Not too far from there, continuing along Paseo de la Reforma, is the neighborhood called Santa Fe which contains all the buildings that the other poster was referring to. The area was originally a poor neighborhood but has been transformed into one of the metropolitan area's (it's not in the Distrito Federal, but in the Estado de Mexico) newest upscale places to live and work. There are some very elegant residential buildings, the city's best mall, several corporate campuses (including Televisa), a Sheraton hotel, and the Jesuit-run Universidad Iberoamericana. The architecture there is truly innovative. While I think that the other poster's attitude leaves much to be desired, I can attest to the fact that this time around he is right and you are wrong about the Santa Fe that he's talking about. He DOES NOT mean Santa Fe, New Mexico. Furthermore, I am surprised to hear anyone defending Dominican architecture since it was just recently that I posted a message stating my indignation at plans to knock down the Teatro de Agua y Luz in Santo Domingo and so many people responded that it was ugly, had no historical value and should be destroyed to make way for something else. I argued that it not only had historical value but was part of a Dominican architectural style that has slowly been falling victim to the wrecker's ball and no one has cared. Dominicans have to realize that there is indeed good architecture in the country that is worth saving and that not all of it has to do with the Spaniards and colonial days. I will again use a quote that I used in that previous posting: "History judges men not by the monuments they build, but by the ones that they destroy". If you're going to be so proud of good Dominican architecture, then do something about saving what little is left.

Well, santiago i am a dominican defendant, but in this case we cant really talk about dominican architecture, it doesnt exist. We had a good architecture back in the 50's in Gazcue, Centro de los Heroes, etc. I like Guillermo Gonzalez. his modern architecture is still there. but what else do we have? those ugly buildings around Anacaona Ave.? you can find hundreds of them in mexico anywhere and nobody will even pay attention to them. you know what i mean, if you live in Lomas. I used to work a lot in that area and around Bosque de las Lomas. I left mexico in '95 when the economic when down. at that moment Santa Fe was just starting, there were few buildings with the greatest architecture i ever seem in a latin country.
I used to live in Polanco, just behind amphitheather Angela Peralta. !what an architecture! what do you think?
i did the landscaping architecture for Zona Rosa back in '93, how it looks right now? i did a lot of changes in Copenhague street, it wasnt pedestrian before. What a class in that street, el perro andaluz, el perro del enfrente. fridays, etc.
what about Coyoacán? do they still have those Sundays? what about saturdays in San Angel? that's art, culture.
I really miss them, those Chiles in Nogadas in La Hacienda de Los Morales, uhmm. I feel like i will like to take the first plane to mexico now, but i cant, so much work. i will be there for sure in February.
Do you know which are the best clubs to hang out now? i used to love those clubs-cafe around centro historico. !what atmosphere! are there still good?
had you been to La casa de los Azulejos. that's architecture.

Gentlemen: I believe both of you have taken this discussion totally out of the context I meant to take it. This has nothing to do with Mexico City or Mexican architecture. It has to do with the fact that John stated, and I QUOTE" that Ricardo Legorreta does not build a house for anybody who does not deserve it", meaning that if someone, you or me, or anybody can come up with the stated figure of US$1,000,000 and commissioned this mexican architect to build you a house, he would turn you down, unless you were perhaps a celebrity or a king. In others words he does not build houses just for money, but for posterity and history!!!

Well, I begged to differ with John and still do, and presented the proof by indicating that Legorreta builds middle income housing for anybody regardless of their social status, and that all it takes is to come up with $US$200,000 to own a normal condo in a small little village of 65,000 people called Santa Fe, New Mexico with the Legorreta logo from his company ZOCALO. Is that so hard to understand?????

Wether by coincidence, or not the fact that he built a golden palace with diamonds in a Santa Fe neighborhood in glorious Mexico City costing billions or whatever price you want to peg on it(a little cynicism here), does not deny the fact that Legorreta has just finished a project for middle income buyers in the middle of a desert little town called Santa Fe, which is in New Mexico(Not Mexico City)on US highway 285 in the United States.(Is any more proof needed?) They even send you a prospectus if you request it and even worse, they have a web page that has fastidious pop-ups announcing the project, which are very un-Legorreta-like. Is that also hard to understand?????

And John, let me say that I lived for 9 years in Chicago and 10 years in New York City, two of the largest cities in America. The name of Philip Johnson to me is as common as Sammy Sosa. Anyone who lives in great cities is accustomed to passing by and even walking inside Johnson works of art as if nothing ever happened. I used to drive almost weekly thru the Evanston and Glencoe communities(Chicago suburbs), homes of various Frank LLoyd Wright famous houses and imitations around them. To me, seeing great architecture is commonplace. I am not like your typical Dominican who walks around without noticing history around them. But I just take it for granted because I lived there. I have seen works of art hardly any Dominicans have seen, like Guernica at the Museum of Modern Art and most rare even, Andy Warhol giant depiction of Chairman Mao Tse Tung. I am not easily impressed. I was at the last Barnett Newman exhibition after he committed suicide, a rare display of black and gray toned paintings called "The Stations of the Cross" in New York that marked the end of an era of giants like him and Mark Rothko(who also committed suicide) I have yet to see anyone I know who saw this exhibition and even books are hard to find on it. So, am I impressed?? No sir. But I stick to what I said. Legorreta will build not only for a million...he will do it for even $200,000.

So Mister TW,You are not like your "typical" Dominican? Some people can,t see the "Forest for the Trees"! You ARE a "typical" Dominican! You are an "American Wanabe"! You live here only because in the US "everyone" can "see-through" your phony act.Here, you are a "Big Fish,in a Little Pond"!You are impressed with Tony Romas? and OutBack SteakHouse?,(should be "Out House!)and Fridays?,and Tommy Hilfigers "fashions"? This is "Fast Food", and "Fast Clothes"! This Mr Chris Colon was right you don,t know "Drek!" Herwin Khan

Mr. Agha Khan(aka) Criss Colon:

Your Southern Illinois demeanor just came thru. Now I know who is Mr. Hyde from the two of you.

TW
Your all American Dominican, and Bill Clinton(lover boy) admirer(best President of the USA ever). TW the man that can eat just as well at Asti,s in the Village as in fast food Tony Romas. Its all part of the American culture. Love hot dogs at the ballpark too. By the way I swear my allegiance to Hans Hertell, not to Hipolito.

Mr. Agha Khan:

Just a reminder:

1)Do not capitalize letters in the middle of a sentence(even if it is your typical Khan run-on type)unless they are proper names.

2)The word you meant was wannabe not wanabe. Although this is a slang type word, it comes from wanting to be and it has always been written as wanna.

3)Titles do not have commas in the middle("A Big Fish, in A Little Pond")

4)One of your questions should read "Are you impressed with Tony Romas?" not "You are impressed with Tony Romas?". We all believe you were making a statement but you posed a question.

5)Always be sure to place your capital letters in the right place. Even your software can do that for you.

6)Do not correct other people in areas where you are not profoundly professional at, or else your glass house will be broken.

TW