50th anniversary luctuary of Jaime Torres Bodet

The Mexican writer, poet, academic, and public official, Jaime Torres Bodet (1902-1974), held the position of Secretary of Public Education twice; during both periods, his relationship with the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) was close and decisive for its consolidation.

Upon the inauguration of the Zacatenco Professional Unit on August 17, 1964, in the presence of President Adolfo López Mateos and José Antonio Padilla Segura, the Director General of IPN, Jaime Torres Bodet delivered a poetic speech to the polytechnics, from which we recover a brief excerpt:

La Unidad Profesional que esta mañana inaugura nuestro primer magistrado es una Casa de Estudio, pero a la vez […] es un baluarte de la independencia de la República. (The Professional Unit that our first magistrate inaugurates this morning is a House of Study, but at the same time […] it is a bastion of the Republic’s independence.)

[…] Veo un símbolo promisorio en la circunstancia de que las dos centrales del pensamiento humanístico y del pensamiento técnico (la Ciudad Universitaria en el Pedregal y esta Unidad de Escuelas Superiores de Zacatenco) hayan sido construidas en los dos extremos de la gran ciudad en la que palpita el corazón potente de la República. Me parecen, de lejos, como dos alas. Dos alas de un solo cuerpo. Y habrán de extenderse fraternalmente, como dos alas, en ese vuelo incansable hacia el ideal que la historia llama progreso y que, para nosotros, es tan apremiante como la vida. ([…] I see a promising symbol in the circumstance that the two central hubs of humanistic thought and technical thought (the University City in the Pedregal and this Unit of Higher Schools of Zacatenco) have been built at the two ends of the great city where the powerful heart of the Republic beats. They seem to me, from afar, like two wings. Two wings of a single body. And they will extend fraternally, like two wings, in that tireless flight towards the ideal that history calls progress and which, for us, is as pressing as life itself.)

Teachers and students of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional: here is your new home. Strive to deserve it incessantly with your studies. Always be clean in your conduct, as your pavilions are offered to you. Always be noble in your work, as your traditions advise us. Applied to a Mexican professional, the phrases “I teach in Zacatenco” or “I study in Zacatenco” should not just be a line in your biography, but something more important and convincing: a proof of competence, a guarantee of quality, and a supreme certificate of patriotism

Jaime Torres Bodet Cultural Center

In 1981, as part of the celebrations for its 45th anniversary, the General Consultative Council approved the renaming of several cultural dissemination spaces within the Institute as follows: Zacatenco Professional Unit to Adolfo López Mateos Professional Unit; Santo Tomás Professional Unit to Lázaro Cárdenas Professional Unit; Auditorium “A” to Alejo Peralta Auditorium; Auditorium “B” to Manuel Moreno Torres Auditorium, and Honor Patio or Quadrangle to Juan de Dios Bátiz Cultural Unit, as the venue for the Polytechnic's workshops in visual arts, literature, cinema, television, theater, journalism, and artistic creation.2

Undoubtedly, the renaming of the Zacatenco Cultural Center to Jaime Torres Bodet Cultural Center stands out, leaving the poet's name as a reminder of the synergy and special relationship that the polytechnics had with the great poet and public official.

The images shown can be consulted in digital format in the IPN Historical Archive. For more information: Office of the Dean's Presidency of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, phone 5729 6000, extensions 63054 and 63057; email consultaah@ipn.mx

Ma. De los Ángeles Rodríguez, Zacatenco. A Present Name in the History of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, pp. 147,149.

IPN Triennial Report 1980-82*, pp. 76-77.

Gaceta Politécnica #1796. (May 31st, 2024). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here.