Casa Rafael Galván

The Casa Rafael Galván is an important outpost of the UAM network of museums and cultural centers. Fulfilling the mandate of continuing education and cultural outreach of the university, this one ends up being of the most heavily attended. The center boasts two auditoriums, an exhibitions gallery for exhibitions, and facilities for seminars, colloquiums, book presentations, conferences and workshops. The center ends up hosting academics and students from all of the five UAM campuses.

The building was a private home since the time of its construction in 1912 until it was finally sold in 1971. It was bought by the a powerful labor union of the time, the Corriente Democrática del Sindicato de Trabajadores Electricistas de la República Mexicana. It soon became the center of their struggle against the state-sponsored labor unions of that era.

• Rafael Galván Maldonado (1919-1980) was born in Uruapan, Michocan. His father may have been a Revolutionary-era Military leader, but he dedicated himself to the revolutionary struggle from an early age. At just 15 years old, he worked at Radio Revolución. He later studied mechanical engineering at the National Polytechnic (IPN) and economics at UNAM. He spent much of his life with the union of radio industry workers, and became their general secretary in 1943. By the 1950s he was involved in trying to wrest control of this union and others from parties and governments. As the union movement consolidated, and Galván died, the powerful Electricians Union headquarters was converted to the Instituto de Estudios Obreros, the Institute for Workers Studies.

The former home survived as the Institute until the union members donated the building to the UAM in 2005. It was reopened as a cultural center in 2009 after an extensive renovation. In 2002, the focus was shifted to provide cultural production and collaborative experimentation. The Media LAB has offered hackathons, audio and multimedia experimental laboratories, and transdisciplinary artistic productions.

Just a few steps from the Plaza Luis Cabrera, the Casa Rafael Galván is an important part of the cultural life of the neighborhood, the university, and the City overall.

Hours: Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.