More academic and cultural activities are in store for San Miguel de Allende if an accord signed by two universities should bear fruit.

The chancellors of the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM) and the University of Guanajuato (UG) signed an agreement that both institutions will conduct activities that give new life to the Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante” Cultural Center, located in the Guanajuato city and known locally as Bellas Artes.

The signing took place during the bicentennial ceremony of the birth of Ramírez, a San Miguel lawmaker and writer who wrote under the pen name “El Nigromante.”

The agreement also calls for collaboration in academic, continuing education and research activities, and artistic and cultural promotion.

Speaking at the Ángela Peralta theater yesterday, UNAM chancellor Enrique Graue remarked that Ramírez was strongly critical of conservatism and a champion of education for the people and for women.

“It is important to highlight his courage in the times we’re living in. You can count on the full willingness of the National University to collaborate in any kind of cultural activity,” he said.

Chancellor Luis Felipe Guerrero of the University of Guanajuato observed that Ramírez was a promoter of education, and that his legacy mandates that universities continue to strive to become transformational spaces for the betterment of society.

The agreement with UNAM is more than a great cultural project, he said. Both institutions must collaborate in giving life to the values the liberal Ramírez fought for: fighting against inequality and exclusion, seeking a true separation of the powers of the state, fighting for women’s rights and striving for higher ethics in the public service.

The center at the heart of the new agreement was built in the mid-18th century as the cloister area of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception.

Mexico News Daily