Mexico City
March 12 – 26, 1955
The II Pan American Games were held in the mile and a half altitude of Mexico City. The opening ceremony welcomed 2,583 athletes from 22 countries competing in 17 sports. Athletes from Canada competed for the first time. The Games events were very popular with the Mexican fans. One and a half million free tickets were offered to the general public so that people of all economic classes could attend the games. More than 6,000 crowded in to see the volleyball final in an arena designed for only 4,000. The United States sent a large contingent of more than 300 athletes even though some sports had trouble recruiting athletes because the Games were held during the school year. A number of organizations such as Time-Life, the YMCA, the Jaycees, Jewish Welfare and the Harlem Globetrotters helped raise the necessary funds. A highlight of the Games was the immensely popular athletes’ village located on the campus of University of Mexico.
The artist Rueda-Tapia designed two posters to popularize the Games. Fifty-two hundred copies of the first poster were distributed throughout the Pan-American countries for use by the respective national Olympic committees. On a black background, a wind-whipped flame burns from a stylized cauldron placed on the right side of the poster. The artist’s name is displayed vertically at the middle right edge of the poster. The name of the printer "Lito-Offset Commercial" is printed below the image on the right.