He was born in
Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1810. While still rather young, he enrolled at the
Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid; graduating in 1836 with a degree in architecture. He then spent some time in Paris, where he was inspired by the
Neo-Classical ideals that were prevalent at the time, as well as the latest concepts concerning structural function, and the works of contemporary architects. Family circumstances took him to Mexico in 1838, where he married Ana García Icazbalceta, elder sister of the noted historian
Joaquín García Icazbalceta. They settled in Mexico City; soon becoming a part of the intellectual and cultural circles there. He also performed construction work on several of her family's estates. He was honored by the
Academia de San Carlos, although he chose not to teach there. In terms of politics, he proved to be very adaptable, working for both President
Santa Anna and Emperor
Maximilian I. In the 1840s, during the time he worked for the president, he was commissioned by a businessman, Francisco Arbeu, to build the Gran Teatro Santa Anna, which, after several name changes, came to be known as the
Gran Teatro Nacional. In that same period, he built the market at the , and worked on a project to create a monument to the heroes of
Mexican Independence, to be placed in the
Plaza de la Constitución. The project was never completed. Later, during the short-lived
Second Mexican Empire, he was named , and worked on several more projects that were never brought to fruition, due to the unstable political situation. In 1872, he died in
Mexico City. His works have not fared well. The Gran Teatro Nacional was demolished in 1901 to extend and widen the , and the Plaza de Volador was destroyed by a fire in 1870. The current
Tampico Cathedral is a restoration. The central
nave of his original structure collapsed in 1917, and one of its towers was destroyed by lightning in 1922. An aqueduct in
Puebla survived until the
earthquake of 2017. One of his few remaining original works is the
cupola at
Santa Teresa la Antigua, a former convent which is now an art center. It was a replacement for the original, which had been toppled by an earthquake in 1845. == References ==