Between 1660 and 1828, the Augustinian Recollect missionaries of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, the missionary province, spent considerable time in Mexico City on their way to the Philippines from Spain. They departed from Cádiz, Spain, and arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, after crossing the Atlantic. They then traveled overland through Mexico to reach Acapulco, and from there crossed the Pacific to the Philippines.
The Acapulco-Manila galleon made only one voyage a year, so the Recollects remained in Mexico for several months. In 1685, they built the building that can still be seen and visited today. It was then called Tacuba Street; today it is República de Guatemala Street. The Recollects stayed at their hospice until 1828, when the political situation in Mexico became very unfavorable; moreover, the Manila Galleon trade had ceased in 1815. The building then had no further purpose.
Following the Mexican Constitution of 1857 and the Reform Laws, the property was expropriated in 1861 and converted into private homes and warehouses. It was divided into three parts which, at different times, have housed the former Royal Seminary of Mines, the Embassy of the Dominican Republic, the College of Economists, the educational center for the children of the Presidential Palace workers, and the General Directorate of the Coordination of Historical and Cultural Memory of Mexico.
In 1932, the third part of the complex was declared a historical monument, a status later ratified by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). This space was restored to its original splendor for the first time in 1994, and then underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2018, when the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) assumed custody and administration of the building.
Since then it has been the SHCP Cultural Center, which has given it a tremendous life, with the main objective of fostering interest in artistic initiation for a non-specialized public, with free access from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Despite its modest size, it hosts a wide range of free activities: courses in literature, photography and art appreciation; workshops in dance, visual arts, music, body expression, film clubs; courses for children and senior citizens; book presentations, poetry and musical recitals, temporary exhibitions, plays, storytelling…
The SHCP Cultural Center shares its schedule on Instagram. For example, recently they held the roundtable discussion “Art in Dialogue” with the participation of visual artists Betsabeé Romero, José Rivelino, and Germán Venegas, and presented “Prelude to Catching a Ghost” by artist Guillermo Ceniceros.
