page_title: Casino de la Selva
section_title: Decline and abandonment (1970–2001)
hierarchical_section_title: Casino de la Selva / History / Decline and abandonment (1970–2001)
caption_attribution_description: Español: mural de renau en el casino de la selva
context_page_description: The Hotel Casino de la Selva was a hotel and casino located in the city of Cuernavaca, Mexico.
  The main building was opened in 1931 as a hotel and casino, but from 1934 it was used only as a hotel.
  Additions in the late 1950s included buildings designed by the architect Félix Candela that were roofed by reinforced concrete paraboloid shells.
  The interior was decorated with murals by well-known Mexican and Spanish artists.
  After the 1970s the hotel went into decline, and in 1994 was sold to a hotel chain that failed to pay taxes on the property.
  It was seized by the Mexican government and was auctioned off in 2001 as a site for construction of a discount store and a hypermarket.
  After demolition had begun there was a public outcry, and eventually some parts of the murals were preserved.
context_section_description: From the 1970s until his death Suárez put most of his energy into the Hotel de México (now the World Trade Center) in the Federal District, a project that grew out of control. The Casino de la Selva was neglected and used only by foreign tourists.
  Suárez died in 1987.
  After this the hotel was used as a spa, and was sometimes rented for events such as wedding celebrations and graduations.
  Cuernavaca continued to expand, but most development happened outside the city center, which had expanded to include the hotel.
  A bus station was built beside the hotel and in 1991 the Plaza Cuernavaca shopping center opened to its east.
  In 1994 Suárez's heirs sold the property to the Grupo Situr-Sidek, a hotel company.
  The deed of sale does not seem to have included any stipulation that the murals were to be preserved.
  In 1996 the group defaulted on $63.7 million of taxes it owed to the Mexican government, and the Ministry of Finance seized the property.
  The Hotel Casino de la Selva was abandoned for several years and deteriorated quickly.
  The heritage authorities chose not to evaluate the property.
  Ownership was transferred to the Fondo Bancario de Protección al Ahorro (Fobaproa: Bank Fund for the Protection of Savings).
  By 2001 the buildings had deteriorated badly, with murals crumbling from neglect, bat guano on interior walls, and litter and human excrement covering the floor of the main salon that held some of the finest murals.
  The buildings and over 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of green land were sold in 2001 for 10 million pesos, well below market value.
  The cultural wealth contained in the property was not declared.
caption: Fragment of the mural "La Hispanidad" by Josep Renau
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