José Vasconcelos

“Por mi raza hablará el espíritu” is the motto of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). José Vasconcelos coined it in 1921, while he was rector of the university.

Vasconcelos was a philosopher and writer, author of “La raza cósmica,” and later became Mexico’s first Secretary of Public Education, launching famous literacy and mural campaigns. Do not confuse him with Justo Sierra, who founded the modern National University in 1910 but is not the author of the motto.