Beneath our feet lies a story of water. This is a story of community and culture. We are standing before the Centro Cultural Casa de las Bombas. This center owes its name to its origins. It once supplied water to the 13 villages of old Iztapalapa.
President Lázaro Cárdenas inaugurated wells here in 1940. These wells operated until their relocation in the 1980s. The government of Iztapalapa then signed an agreement. They ceded the land to the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana UAM. The agreement converted it into a cultural center. The center was planned as part of the UAM expansion program. It opened its doors in September 1990.
Since then Casa de las Bombas offers many artistic workshops. It also provides free educational advice. This service is for secondary school students. The Casa de las Bombas has a basement forum. It programs plays and poetry recitals. Music and dance performances also happen here. The forum holds a maximum of 80 spectators. Tickets always sell out quickly. There is also an open-air forum. It accommodates 320 people. Weekends usually host theater music and dance shows. Movie screenings also occur here.
A temporary exhibition hall hosts displays. These include painting engraving and photography. You can also find general folk art here. Perhaps the center is most famous for its book presentations. It also houses a small library. The UAM manages the library. It contains about 3000 titles. Many are especially appropriate for primary and secondary students.
The Casa de las Bombas sits on the north side of the La Purísima sports complex. The Mercado La Purísima is on the south side of the same complex. The Metro UAM-I is about a 12-minute walk away.
In the 1980s Iztapalapa delegated this land to the UAM. It was to be converted into a cultural center. The center covers 6136 square meters. Casa de las Bombas is in an area of Mexico City. It has a high concentration of residents. It also has significant deficiencies. This makes it a rare option for cultural diffusion in the region.
The Casa de las Bombas offers initiation workshops. These workshops cover music dance and visual arts. Conventional workshops are available too. You can participate in theatre piano or violin. Other options include Arabic dance Latin rhythms and martial arts. Yoga drums flamenco and Hawaiian dance are available. You might also try keyboard classical electric or bass guitar. There is also a children’s choir and ballet. The Casa teaches traditional Latin American and Mexican folk music. The Casa de las Bombas is more than just a building. It is a vibrant hub of artistic expression. It is a place where the community gathers to learn create and celebrate.