Resumo

GOMEZ SERRANO, Jesús. “Refuges of fantasy.” Gardens andwater management in Aguascalientes, 1855-1914. Hist. mex. [online]. 2015, vol.64, n.3, pp.1001-1097. ISSN 2448-6531.

As in many other places, gardens were a key part of the urban landscape in Aguascalientes during the colonial era, the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century. This article summarizes the origins of the city's gardens, concentrating its analysis on the second half of the 19th Century, their epoch of greatest splendor, when they made Aguascalientes “the city of flowers, fruit and water.” From the Planoprepared by Isidoro Epstein in 1855 to the reconstruction proposed by Eduardo J. Correa in his book Un Viaje a Termápolis, the importance of gardens in the city is studied, along with their distribution throughout the city's neighborhoods, the management of the irrigation system, the extent to which they defined the urban process and certain myths surrounding wine production. While more studies need to be conducted, with 459 gardens with irrigation rights in 1883, the city of Aguascalientes seems to be a unique case, representing one of the most important examples of urban horticulture in Mexico. In conclusion, this article reflects on the liquidation of the garden system in the context of the city's industrialization, its accelerated expansion, the emergence of new cleanliness habits and the demographic explosion.

Palavras-chave : Mexico; Aguascalientes; Gardens; water management; 19thCentury; 20th Century.