Vernacular Architecture in the Lower Rio Bobos 
Fotografía: Cortesía del Arq. Diego Adrian Juárez Olmedo. Depto de Obras públicas H. Ayuntamiento Constitucional de San Rafael Ver. Necesidad de identificación e inventario de la Arquitectura Vernácula en la Cuenca baja del Río Bobos y su potencial to trigger local economic development, from cultural tourism. Arch Humberto Torres Guevara (*)
MSc. in DI Álvaro Hernández Santiago (**)
article aims to draw the attention of academic and professional community of the presence of architecture, still alive, a cultural tradition parallel to the secular traditions of Mexico.
refers to the product architecture and materials developed by French immigrants who arrived in the Lower Rio
Bobos in the municipalities of Nautla and San Rafael in the state of Veracruz, in the mid-nineteenth century. Cultural syncretism is present in this region and favoring an estate built with particular characteristics that must be safeguarded and further, to value, for use as trigger chain cornerstone of local economic development based on cultural tourism and adventure.
The Lower Rio
Bobos, located in central Veracruz state, less than 45 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the most interesting cultural areas of this state. On a lush territory is no evidence of human presence from Jicaltepec archaeological remains on the south bank of the Bobos River, where it was located settlement in the sixteenth century from indigenous peoples and Cempoala Quiahuixtlan, who emigrated to avoid contracting smallpox brought by the English.
Emphasizes the emergence in the nineteenth century the first stream of European immigrants, specifically French, who over 150 years have contributed their work and ways of life to shape a distinctive culture, whose architecture stresses physical manifestations. It is precisely the reason the built heritage of this work, mainly in the municipalities of San Rafael and Nautla, because they are seen in buildings in which you can see the architectural influence of the French countryside, adapted to the conditions the humid tropics of Veracruz.
highlight, among other things, the presence of high penthouses in a region devoid of snow, which have syncretized with frames forming what the people of the region called bird's wing
roofs, dormers and shutters protecting the dwelling from the cold but the tropical storm.
roofs covered with shingles whose first specimens came from the Alsace region and were the ballast of ships, having left the port of Le Havre, arriving at and departing Nautla loaded with agricultural products did prosper the colony.
In this context, emerged and flourished in the so-called settlements based plantation economy of neocolonialism flagship model. Since the time of the colonial system dates the dedication of certain areas of the world agriculture and mining and raw materials, through a system of productive specialization seeking comparative advantages. Depending on the success of agriculture and the emerging agro-industrial activity, the resettlement of immigrants prospered and diversified into different parts of the lower river basin
Bobos, giving rise to towns such as Mentidero, San Rafael and El Ojito, among others. The degree of consolidation has depended on three main factors: 1) soil fertility and its potential for diversification of applications, 2) the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants and their descendants, and 3) international prices of raw materials.
The configuration on the territory of this system of sites has been formed from the axis which is the river itself as well as road-Nautla Teziutlán, which runs parallel to the riverbed.
This system has been successful based on the idiosyncrasies of its inhabitants, who have successfully adapted to changing national and international market for agricultural products and have diversified their activities towards the tertiary sector. But prosperity is polarized, since 75% of the population have incomes of less than 2 times the minimum wage and in remote locations of the basin remain endemic problems in the Mexican countryside.
While growth has been based on the export of raw materials produced in the study area (agriculture), they do not compromise the use of labor broadly, on the contrary, their activities have a strong support capital intensive. On the basis of some theories, you can set it so that the fruits of growth reach the poorest and rural areas, you need to generate more employment in place. In this perspective, activities such as agribusiness and tourism have been identified not only in generating employment and require little investment.
In this regard, it should reassess the tourism as a lever for development:
"With the creation in 1975 of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this becomes l executing agency of the United Nations Programme for Development (PNDU) and consequently takes the responsibility for an activity responsible tourism, sustainable and universally accessible to contribute to the development of people and improving their quality of life. " In most cases, European immigrants were absorbed by the policies of the Mexican state, if efforts to safeguard national sovereignty from the strengthening of an emerging national identity permanently at risk.
For this reason, there is minimal cultural contribution they could make the most of immigrants on the architecture of your home country (the stylistic influences of the nineteenth century are the result of processes of dependence of European cities who implanted their architectural trends. It is not the case of buildings presented in this article.
built heritage of the region is unique and is the result of how humans facing new environments making use of secular tradition but also adapting to new environmental and cultural contexts.
This rich heritage is threatened by contemporary cultural patterns that threaten the traditional architecture which, with all its advantages, traditionally loses the battle against materials and industrial technologies. His appreciation and value offered to study area communities an opportunity to trigger economic development chains arising from their own localities to become an engine to achieve improved quality of life of people
With integrated vision of reality cultural de la región, es necesario identificar los ejemplos que subsisten de la arquitectura vernácula franco-mexicana en la cuenca baja del río Bobos e inventariar los ejemplares localizados en la comunidad de Mentidero, municipio de San Rafael, resaltando las posibilidades que su preservación, restauración y puesta en valor, para detonar un desarrollo económico a partir del turismo, generando empleo local y la creando capital social en la comunidad.
En este contexto es importante, a partir del trabajo colegiado de las escuelas de Arquitectura del estado de Veracruz, dar los primeros pasos de un recorrido que tiene como destino final la puesta en valor de este patrimonio arquitectónico como palanca de un desarrollo local economic diversification of the productive activity into new niches of opportunity in which to engage the inhabitants of this region. For this purpose the following objectives:
• Identify regional level (Lower Rio Bobos) settlements with traditional architecture product of the various stages of French immigration to Mexico from the nineteenth century and their descendants to form a polygonal to delimit this cultural event on the territory.
• Locate on maps by economic nuclei at this stage, a photographic inventory of the same intervention areas for further work.
• Delimitar el ámbito patrimonial de la localidad de Mentidero como modelo para el inventario arquitectónico y catalogación.
• Realizar fichas patrimoniales de las edificaciones con valor histórico para conformar un catalogo.
• Identificar un lenguaje de patrones presentes en la arquitectura del lugar que posteriormente servirá como base para los reglamentos de reconstrucción en casas con valor patrimonial y construcción de arquitectura contextual así como en proyectos de regeneración urbana
• Realizar proyectos de Diseño urbano y de paisaje en las localidades de que cuentan con patrimonio edificado como un instrumento de gestión de recursos para el mejoramiento paulatino de these settlements.
Epilogue: scholars of architecture, we must note the presence of beauty where no one seems to perceive it. Our students should be the first tasters and supporters of heritage and its undeniable beauty. This value is often marred by the materialistic outlook of modern society. This is not a romantic view and anoint invite our built heritage, by contrast, is a statement about their value and potential for economically depressed communities may, in the hands of the university, develop strategies to harness the potential of our history and identity as the engine that drives development.
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(*): Subject Teacher, Friend of the academic body, "Formation of Architectural and Urban Space." Faculty of Architecture, Universidad Veracruzana, Poza Rica Region - Tuxpan. (**):
Full time professor, member of core academic body, "Formation of Architectural and Urban Space." Faculty of Architecture, Universidad Veracruzana, Poza Rica Region - Tuxpan.
