Casino de la Selva

The Hotel Casino de la Selva (Jungle Casino Hotel) 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. Cuernavaca in the early 1930s held the homes of several former generals who later became presidents, Plutarco Elías Calles, Lázaro Cárdenas and Manuel Ávila Camacho. It was also often visited by foreigners, particularly Anglo-Saxons. The first constitutional governor of Morelos state, Vicente Estrada Cajigal(es), authorized construction of a casino complex in Cuernavaca by the Compañía Hispanoamericana de Hoteles. This was a consortium of Mexican businessmen backed by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez. Manuel Suárez y Suárez, an Asturian entrepreneur, was the building contractor. The Casino de la Selva was inaugurated in 1931 near the train station. The layout was relatively simple. There was a large fountain at the entrance, then a main driveway between two blocks of rooms, one on each side. The drive led to the main hall, used as the gaming room. There was also an Olympic swimming pool, a pediment and some other facilities. The grounds contained bungalows set within the surrounding Amanalco Forest. Hundreds of the trees were at least 100 years old. Two of them were estimated to be over 1,000 years old. The site held springs and a wide variety of plant species. There was evidence of pre-Hispanic culture that could have been over 1500 years old.