Sala Nezahualcóyotl

The Sala Nezahualcóyotl is an important performing space and concert hall. Historically, it has been the centerpiece of the UNAM University Cultural Center since its inauguration in late 1976.

The building’s design was entrusted to architect Arcadio Artís (1946-2018). He had graduated from the UNAM Faculty of Architecture just five years earlier. The project was completed in just one year and Artís went, apparently immediately, to design the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón theaters, the Miguel Covarrubias and Carlos Chávez Halls, the Cinema Unit, as well as the bookstore and the courtyard fountain. All of them are deliberately integrated into the volcanic landscape of El Pedregal. Later, the MUAC (University Museum of Contemporary Art), by the extraordinary architect Teodoro González de León, which was inaugurated in 2008, was added to the Cultural Center space.

It has a 240-square-meter stage and is inspired by the Berlin Philharmonic, inaugurated in 1963, with a capacity for about 2,229 spectators arranged in seats on all sides of the stage. The arrangement of the sound panels or acoustic shell aims to reflect the music to all parts of the auditorium.

The hall is the residence of the UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra (OFUNAM) and the Eduardo Mata University Youth Orchestra (OJUEM). Its programming includes symphonic programs, piano concerts, international soloists, and choral festivals. The organic sound of dozens of strings, woodwinds, and percussion bounces with great fidelity on the interior coatings.

The university community makes up a central part of the audience, complemented by subscribers and visitors from the south of the city. Hall protocols usually demand strict punctuality for entry, a prohibition on taking flash photographs, using cell phones, or conversing during the concerts.

Food service is auxiliary and operates before the start of the musical program or in the fifteen-minute pauses stipulated in long concerts. The lobby has a quick institutional cafeteria and does not handle alcoholic beverage sales.

Tickets are sold at the building’s box offices or digitally. The rates maintain highly accessible prices, usually offering discounts for students, credentialed professors, and Inapam affiliates.