Reed, Drew. “Manaus’ Opulent Amazon Theatre.” The Guardian. [UK]. Guardian News and Media Limited, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/14/manaus-amazon-theatre-brazil-history-cities-50-buildings>.

The story of the Amazon Theatre follows the ups and downs of the export boom and modernization in Manaus, demonstrating common trends present in Latin America during this time.  Funded by the rubber boom, the opera house was lavishly designed with the hopes of achieving a modern European elegance, its architecture mirroring popular European styles.  This trend of mimicking Europe to attain modernity was characteristic in Latin America during this era.

Furthermore, the theatre catered to Manaus’ elites, and visiting Europeans and businesspeople.  Excluding the impoverished and marginalized of Manaus’ population (indeed the majority), the theatre shows how the export boom and its results generally benefitted select few.  With its business directly connected to the rubber barons of Manaus, losses in the city’s rubber industry due to the development of cheaper plantations in Southeast Asia resulted in losses for the opera house, which closed in 1924.  This demonstrates a major downfall of having an export economy supported by just one commodity – a common feature of Latin American economies of this time.

This article is significant to our project because numerous characteristics of Latin America during the age of exports and modernization are prominent in the story of the opera house.

 

Leroy, Gregory. “Mexico in Colour by William Henry Jackson, 1884-1885.” Online posting. Early Latin American Photography. Early Latin America. WordPress, 23 May 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

<https://earlylatinamerica.wordpress.com/category/mexico/>.

My second source shows photographs of Mexico taken from 1884-1885 by William Jackson.  Unlike photographs in Dawson’s textbook, Jackson photographs cities and buildings rather than taking portraits of people.  This provides a fascinating glimpse at new modern architecture, infrastructure, and technologies, clearly displaying modernization.

For example, Jackson photographed many Mexican cathedrals built in European styles.  Roads and walkways paved with cobbles are also visible in some photos, showing how simple infrastructure from Europe was adopted in Mexico as the country modernized.

In photos of smaller towns, there is a distinct lack of European infrastructure and architecture; this contrasts the presence of these features in more developed, modern cities, suggesting that modernization was not uniform – it came first to large urban centres and spread slowly towards smaller, progressively rural areas.

The photography method Jackson used is in itself a feat of modernity.  His photos were developed using a photomechanical process that made them look like colour photographs.  The use of such a technique, which originated in Switzerland, shows how technological advancements were also adopted by Latin American countries as modernization swept the region.

This source is significant to our project because it provides visual proof of how modernity effected and changed Latin America.