María and Héctor García Foundation

The María and Héctor García Foundation is dedicated to maintaining and administering the considerable photographic archive of María and Héctor García. Opened in October 2008, the foundation makes the archive open to scholars and runs a gallery of the work of guest artists in the same facility.

The archive includes a permanent exhibition of images, objects, and documents. This includes 1.6 million images captured on 30,000 rolls of film. The collection documents and highlights social and political tensions in Mexico especially during the the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Héctor García’s relationships with personalities in the cultural life of the country are also featured as are travels through multiple countries.

• Héctor García Cobo (1923-2012) was known for his extensive photographic work portraying life in mid-20th century Mexico. A photojournalist, he worked for numerous publications and received the National Journalism Award in 1958, 1968 and 1979. He founded his own photography agency, Foto Press, in 1950.
• María García was born in Irapuato, Guanajuato. She married Héctor García and joined the Foto Press agency within a few years. Much of her work as an archivist, and as a photographer, made the foundation into what it is today. Her work was not only in preserving and protecting the images and prints, but in providing a catalog to make it accessible to researchers in the future.

The María and Héctor García Foundation is about 8-minutes walk from Metro Nativitas.

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Admission is free.