The National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico, which houses and exhibits the archaeological heritage of the country, has been awarded the Princess of Asturias of the Concord 2025. Its collection is made up of numerous archaeological pieces —7.761 on exhibition – and ethnographic – another 5,765 objects – from all of Mexico, witnesses of multiple cultural groups for hundreds of history for hundreds of history, They account for the ethnic diversity of the country. “Conceived as a space for reflection on the indigenous heritage of the Mexican nation, the MNA is considered a global reference in the study of humanity, due to its commitment to the dissemination, research and preservation of cultural heritage,” reads the press release released by the foundation that awarded the prize.
The current headquarters of the Museum – the architect’s architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez – that inhabits the heart of the Chapultepec forest in Mexico City, was inaugurated on September 17, 1964. Since then it has fulfilled the mission of investigating, conserving, exhibiting and spreading the most important archaeological and ethnographic collections in the country. It is, as its website explains, more than just a repository, “a space for reflection on the rich indigenous heritage of a multicultural country.” It has 22 rooms in more than 45,000 square meters, which makes it the largest museum in Mexico and one of the most important in America.
His star piece is the Piedra del Sol, known as Azteca calendar, A huge monolith of about 24 tons, reference of how the Mexicans measured time. You can also visit the Tula Atlante –an emblematic Toltec piece—, the Pakal mask –of the Mayan culture—or more than a dozen Olmec colossal heads.
In addition to exhibiting and conserving pieces of the multicultural Mesoamerica, their mission is to disseminate and investigate them to pay “a tribute to the indigenous peoples of Mexico today through a large collection that rescues the uses, representations, expressions, knowledge and traditions that are intangible heritage of the nation and legacy that belongs to all humanity”, is read on the website.
The princess of Asturias de la Concordia is the sixth of the eight international awards that the Princess of Asturias Foundation delivers every year and is granted, according to its website, “to the work of defense and generalization of human rights, the promotion and protection of peace, freedom, solidarity, world heritage and, in general, of the progress of humanity.”
The Museum receives the witness of the Magnum agency, winner last year. Before, in 2023, the Mary’s Meals Foundation, which battle against malnutrition in children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. And, in 2022, he fell to Shigeru Ban, Japanese architect who has dedicated half of his career to teach to build structures to accommodate to victims of natural catastrophes.