Mexico participates in the Revelations Biennial of Art and Creative Crafts

Eirinet Gómez

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, p. 5

Mexico is participating for the first time in the Revelations International Biennial of Art and Creative Crafts, the most important event of its kind in the world. It will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris from today through Sunday. Through the Iberartesanías cooperation program, the country is sharing space with five other countries in the region (Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, and Peru) in an exhibition that celebrates the cultural richness, creativity, and innovation of folk art.

Occupying the central corridor of the venue, as Ibero-American crafts will do, is an enormous privilege and an opportunity to project ourselves as a region to the world , said Enrique Vargas, coordinator of the Ibero-American Space of the Ibero-American General Secretariat of Culture (Segib), in an interview with La Jornada .

Ten regions around the world are invited to the seventh edition of Revelations, ranging from the French overseas territories to Bangladesh, Brazil, and Burundi. Italy is the special guest country, and the biennial also offers an immersion in the artisanal trades of Georgia, Ireland, and Malaysia.

In an international environment where narratives of cultural hegemony persist, Vargas emphasized that the Ibero-American presence takes on a political and symbolic dimension: "This group of countries, and Mexico in particular, is characterized by its cultural diversity. This exhibition is a way to counteract hegemony and promote diversity ."

Mexico is participating with four pieces by two master artisans: Marlen Martínez Cenobio, recognized for her mastery of Mazahua textiles, and Gabriela Ziranda Velázquez, honored for her work in hammered copper. Both won the 2024 National Popular Art Award.

Among the pieces, a fine-knit Mazahua tapestry, embroidered with cotton thread, stands out. Its geometric design is organized in concentric bands that branch out from a dense and colorful central floral motif. It also features a hammered copper centerpiece with a hemispherical base that rises to a thin, slightly flared neck.

The message we want to convey with this curatorship is very clear: the dignity of indigenous peoples, respect for nature, and the creative capacity of our folk artists , Vargas explained. “Mexican folk art—and that of the other five countries—not only tells the story of a community, it also innovates, engages in dialogue with the present and with other cultures.”

In addition to promoting artisanal creations, another goal is to curb cultural misappropriation. Mexico has been a pioneer in highlighting the unauthorized use of indigenous symbols by design houses. Investing in collective branding and spaces like this helps protect and recognize cultural property , he noted.

Any space where folk art pieces are displayed carries with it this message of respect for the work and the legacy it represents. These are traditions passed down from parents to children.

In the face of cultural appropriation, Vargas emphasized the importance of strengthening the presence of popular art in international cultural and commercial circles.

We want these pieces to sell, to be purchased by collectors, museums, and the general public. We want to value what lies behind each work: generations of knowledge, inherited techniques, and community stories , he emphasized. What each piece tells, the story behind it, allows them to be presented with dignity at many fairs , he added.

He mentioned the Santa Fe Art Fair in New Mexico as an example, where Mexican art has a strong presence. He also highlighted the creation of the Ibero-American Popular Art Prize—established last year—as a key tool for promoting the international circulation of these works.

In September, the Ibero-American Cultural Space will participate as a bloc in the upcoming World Conference on Culture (Mondiacult) in Barcelona, ​​with the goal of continuing to position the region as a cultural powerhouse.

We represent 8 percent of the world's population. Our cultural diversity, languages, and artistic expressions make us unique, and events like this allow us to remind the world of that , he concluded.

Alfredo Valadez Rodríguez

Correspondent

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, p. 5

Zacatecas. The Ramón López Velarde Zacatecas Institute of Culture held a posthumous tribute yesterday to the artist Ismael Guardado—who died last Friday—in the lobby of the State Congress, where remembrances were held of his fellow painters, sculptors, and musicians in Zacatecas and Aguascalientes.

María de Jesús Muñoz Reyes, head of the Zacatecas Institute of Culture (IZC), on behalf of the state government, welcomed the more than 200 people gathered in the legislative building. The event was also attended by the university folk music group Huayrapamuska, from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, which Ismael Guardado helped found in the 1960s. Also present were authorities from the Ministry of Education, as well as several local deputies.

For the government and people of Zacatecas, Muñoz Reyes stated, "it is essential to recognize those who have magnified the name of our land, that is why we are here. We are brought together by the deep pain of loss, but also by the duty of memory and gratitude toward maestro Ismael Guardado.

Today, Zacatecas bows before one of its most lucid, upright, and committed sons of the essence of our cultural identity. Guardado was a creator in the broadest sense of the term. His firm, thoughtful, and deeply symbolic art knew how to engage with his roots, his future, and the imprint of his land.

The director of the ICZ also praised him for his creative universe, as vast as his career, consolidated over almost six decades of tireless artistic production .

Guardado was one of Mexico's most prolific and versatile visual artists, with more than 130 solo exhibitions and over 70 national and international awards.

Another of those attending the tribute was the maestro Esaúl Arteaga Domínguez, contemporary and personal friend of the plastic artist –also a musician–, who in his speech referred to the Ismael who loved traditional Mexican music since his early childhood, thanks to the influence of his mother, the composer Isidora Guardado, who created and sang songs, corridos, boleros, and who surely lulled the future artist with her songs since he was little .

Ismael Guardado, Esaúl Arteaga Domínguez concluded, had a loving nature that is exemplary for many university students in these dark and threatening times in the political life of the university.

Alonso Urrutia and Emir Olivares

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, p. 5

The possibility of France returning two important indigenous codices to Mexico through a legal reform promoted by the French left would be very important to materialize this year, when we are celebrating seven centuries of cultural greatness of Mexico-Tenochtitlan , considered the specialist and political advisor to the Presidency, José Alfonso Suárez de Real, who emphasized that Mexico has requested their return since the 19th century.

During the presidential conference, Suárez del Real stated that the initiative of seven French congressmen proposes returning one of the codices because it contains the Lunar and Solar Calendars, as well as the process of using them for the Divinatory Calendar. It was removed from the country in 1826, despite the fact that Article 50, Section I, of the Mexican Constitution of 1824, already expressly prohibited the removal of these cultural assets from the national territory.

The other document of great interest to Mexico is the Codex Azcatitlan, which narrates the departure from Aztlán until practically the events of the late 16th century, that is, after the Conquest, and recognizes the indigenous governors of the four neighborhoods conquered by the Spanish.

The official explained that Mexico has now made three requests to France throughout history: the first in the 19th century; the second was made in 1982, a promotion by Miguel León Portilla; and, during a visit by Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller in 2020, a letter from the President of the Republic requesting restitution was delivered.