The most important thing you may not know about Mexico is that while the population is a mix of European and indigenous, the indigenous has formed the basis for national identity for a very long time. Look at this painting detail... 1/
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I know you speak Spanish and thought you might enjoy this talk with an evidence based alternative view of the Spanish conquest of Hispanoamérica... https://youtu.be/TkhSttolVdY?si=UE_E-x2lnrHG1pS9
It's the central part "The Torture of Cuauhtémoc" by Leandro Izaguirre. 1893. It shows the last leader of the Aztecs (a.k.a. Mexicas) and after his captivity being tortured by the Spaniards, along with one of his associates. 2/
It's very obvious who we are meant to identify with here. Numerous representations of the torture of Christ may also come to mind, in the flat banality of the torturers compared to the rich humanity of their victims. 3/
Walking through the 19th and 20th century collection of the national museum of art in Mexico City, I saw this centering of the indigenous practically every canvas. That of course, is the post revolutionary period When Mexico had every reason define itself as separate from Spain. 4/
You can ask more hard questions about this 1893 canvas. Do Cuauhtémoc and his friend really look indigenous, or have they been Europeanized for Catholic eyes because that was necessary to make them sympathetic in 1893? 5/
But there's no getting away from the meaning of this famous image. Here is another version of the same thing, a relief and plaster by Gabriel Guerra circa 1885. The two pieces are facing each other in the museum. 6/
Here are a few other amazing paintings from Mexico's National Museum of Art
The first thing you see when you enter is "the Walker" by Francisco de la Torre,1910. I spent about 10 minutes with it. So much about Mexico is here... 7/
This is a great thread, but ideas about “La Raza” remain as problematic today as they were 100 years ago because they trivialize the large and diverse proportion (at least 10%) of Mexico that considers itself solely indigenous. They are not Mexico’s past - they continue to be its present.
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The first thing you see when you enter is "the Walker" by Francisco de la Torre,1910. I spent about 10 minutes with it. So much about Mexico is here... 7/