Last updated on .
The Museum of the Revolution in the Borderland (Museo de la Revolución en la Frontera), or MUREF for short, is a history museum in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. We stopped by while exploring the city on a day trip from El Paso, Texas.
Building
MUREF is housed in the former Border Customs (Aduana Fronteriza) building, which has seen its fair share of historic events. The building was designed by American architect George King and built by engineer Manuel Garfias. Construction started in 1885 and it opened on September 10, 1889.
The building hosted the historic meeting between Presidents Porfirio Díaz of Mexico and William Howard Taft of the United States on October 16, 1909. In May 1911, Mexican revolutionary Francisco Madero (1873-1913) began to use it as the offices of the provisional presidency while he served as the 37th President of Mexico until his assassination.
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (1878-1923) used it as his headquarters in 1913. In 1914, it again became the offices of the provisional presidency under the revolutionary government of Venustiano Carranza (1859-1920).
After several years of neglect, on November 22, 1975, it was decided that the building would be redeveloped as a museum. The museum was inaugurated on July 18, 1990.
Visiting
MUREF is located a short walk from the border in the historic city center. It’s a straight shot down Avenida Benito Juárez after crossing the bridge. Admission is free (as of August 2023) and it’s open daily except Mondays from 9am to 5pm.
Exhibitions
The museum has both permanent and temporary exhibitions. They include plenty of original artifacts, photographs, and multimedia displays. During my visit, all information was in Spanish, but it seems like English translations have been added.
The permanent exhibitions are broken down into nine sections: Nationalism on the Border (El Nacionalismo en la Frontera); The Organizing Board of the Mexican Liberal Party and its transition to Anarchism (La Junta Organizadora del Partido Liberal Mexicano y su transición al Anarquismo); The Triumph of Maderism in Ciudad Juárez (El Triunfo del Maderismo en Ciudad Juárez); The Radicalization of the Struggle (La Radicalización de la Lucha); Pancho Villa; The Revolution of the Gaze (La Revolución de la Mirada); The Border as a Stage (La Frontera como Escenario); Imaginaries (Imaginarios); and Border Customs (La Aduana Fronteriza).
Pancho Villa
Two sections of the museum stood out to me. The first was on Pancho Villa. In addition to authentic artifacts and photos, there were wanted posters, advertisements for Americans to join him, and government-issued documents of his family members.
Also on display were the chairs from the National Palace (Palacio Nacional) used by Villa and Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) after they captured Mexico City in December 1914. The famous photograph of that event sits behind the chairs.
Taft and Díaz
The other section most interesting to me covered the meeting between Presidents Porfirio Díaz of Mexico and William Howard Taft of the United States. On display were the clothes worn by each leader, Díaz’s trunk, and the menus from dinner and breakfast.
Conclusion
Overall, MUREF is a good museum to visit for anyone interested in the Mexican Revolution. I found the exhibits to be informative and interesting. I would like to have dedicated more time to go through the museum, but we were in a bit of a rush. It was also nice to see the beautiful building from the inside.
