We love our employees

The photographs included in this book are part of the archive of photographer Alberto Flores Varela. Most of them were taken on commission from the Sociedad de Cuauhtémoc y Famosa (SCyF), an institution established in 1918 for Cervecería Cuauhtémoc (Cuauhtémoc Brewing Company), a company that laid the foundations of modern Monterrey. It is worth noting that the context of those years was one of revolution. The business elite felt threatened by labor rights included in the new constitution of 1917, which included the right to strike. Thus, the “fortunate” workers of modern Monterrey were domesticated. In this way, freedom of expression, free association, and democratic representation of workers, among other rights, were sacrificed in exchange for maintaining employment within “the company.” This book describes the first glimmer of contained disillusionment: “always loyal.” These images represent the germ of the social order that was established in many industrial cities around the world.