In Mexico, as in other emerging countries, looking inward to discover our identity almost inevitably coincides with looking into the past. It is only there — whether in the distant past of our pre-Hispanic history, in traditional stories or in the ‘golden age’ of nationalist modernity — that we find the clues to our identity. The reverse movement seems almost equally inevitable: to imagine the future we have to look outward, to other places. It is there where we find an inexhaustible source of images of the future: modes of development, dazzling technologies, and global utopias. However, the combination of both movements has always left a gap that we have not been able to fill: How would other futures look like if they are imagined from within?
In this talk, I will present the results and main insights — both philosophical and methodological — of Acá Nos Tocará Vivir, a project developed by Diagonal (a research, design and futures studio based in Mexico) in collaboration with a group of families from barrios populares of Mexico City. Using ethnographic field research, co-design processes and diegetic prototypes, the project attempts to generate alternative images of everyday life in Mexico City roughly three decades into the future.
