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At the beginning of
the 15th century,
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this vast pyramid was
the largest monument in the world.
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It was the heart of the powerful
Mesoamerican city-state of Cholula.
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But in the space of a day, in 1510,
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a force of Spanish conquistadors
swept through,
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destroying temples
and looting treasures.
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Thousands were slain
in a matter of hours.
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The great regional force of Cholula
was toppled.
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And to emphasise their dominance,
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the Spanish built a church
on top of the ancient pyramid.
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Abrupt and radical change
flows through the history of Mexico,
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a nation propelled by
three main forces...
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The struggle for power which has
defined this country over millennia.
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Land and nature,
which have been the source of life
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and the cause of conflict and death
since the earliest times.
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And faith.
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In Mesoamerican gods
and Christian iconography,
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which has been ever-present
throughout its existence.
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These are the beats, rhythms
and currents of Mexico,
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and they run through my blood.
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As an artist born here, and with
roots stretching back generations,
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I want to take you on a journey
through these three great stories
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which have shaped not just
Mexican art, but Mexico itself.
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Throughout world history,
art has always been used
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as a tool by those in power.
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But for me, Mexico differs in
how this incredible relationship
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between art and power
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can be seen so clearly
across the millennia.
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In this programme,
I'm going to explore
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how the artists of this land
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didn't only project the power of
ancient civilisations,
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they also become powerful authors
of Mexico's history.
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And they continue to give
Mexican identity voice and power.
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In 1910, on the centenary
of independence from Spain,
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the foundation stone was laid
on what was to be, at 200 feet,
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one of the largest ceremonial arches
in the world.
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It was meant to express
the unassailable power
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of the most durable dictatorship
in Mexico's history.
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Porfirio Diaz had ruled here
for over 30 years with an iron fist,
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the strongest government Mexico
had experienced since independence.
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Yet less than a year after
this stone was laid,
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a revolutionary war began
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that would leave
the Diaz regime in ruins.
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And when this arch was completed
years later,
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it was christened
The Monument To The Revolution.
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In the 10-year revolutionary war,
over a million people died
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and the old colonial order
was completely overturned.
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Mexican civil society was shattered
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and traditional power structures
eviscerated.
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When the shooting stopped in 1920,
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a fragile, uncertain
new Mexico emerged,
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a country that desperately needed
a uniting force.
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A new national story.
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The power to achieve this
lay with art.
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There was one kind of art
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that dominated in the projection
of this message -
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muralism.
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Murals were works of art
making a public statement.
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They told stories in epic scale,
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containing vast sweeps
of Mexico's history,
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from its ancient past
to its revolutionary present.
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And they also projected its future.
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But the power of murals
wasn't simply in what they depicted,
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it was in their permanence.
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What I love about muralism
is that it can't be extracted
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from the place where it was made.
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It can't be removed
from the context of its origin.
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The space can change function,
depending on who's looking after it,
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but since 1922,
this has remained the same.
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And that's so different
to works on canvas
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that we see in museums in Europe.
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Mexico's most famous muralists
were know as Los Tres Grandes.
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David Alfaro Siqueiros,
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Jose Clemente Orozco
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and Diego Rivera.
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Together, they made an indelible
mark on Mexican history
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by explaining its power struggles
to the people
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and providing a vision
for everyone to share.
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Where the muralists painted
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was just as symbolically important
as what they painted.
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Here in my hometown of Mexico City
are the Colegio de San Ildefonso.
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Murals implanted a potent message
in the keen minds of young people
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who walked these corridors
every day.
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For 400 years,
this building was a school.
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I feel very connected to it because
my father went to school here,
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so he would often bring us
when we were children
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and tell us about what it was like
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to go to school
in such a historical place,
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surrounded by these murals.
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They would walk past them
on the way to classes
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and sometimes, he said, you know,
they would stop and look
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and sometimes they would walk past
them just like you would any wall
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that you see every day.
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So I find it particularly
interesting to think that
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these works of art were actually
part of a centre of learning
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and what effect,
consciously or subconsciously,
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they had on the students
that walked past them every day.
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What my father and countless other
people saw painted on these walls
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was a defining event
of Mexico's past...
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..when the Spanish colonisers
arrived in the 16th century
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and conquered the indigenous people
of Mexico.
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Millions died,
victims of violence and disease.
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Rich and complex civilisations,
including the Aztecs,
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were decimated by a power intent
on plunder...
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and fired by religious zeal.
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The indigenous survivors
of the conquest
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would be subservient in their own
lands for the next 300 years.
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This mural was painted in 1926
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by Jose Clemente Orozco,
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and it contains the story of a woman
whose personal experience
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lies at the heart
of Mexican identity.
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She's known as La Malinche,
and Orozco painted her
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sat next to the leader
of the Spanish conquistadors,
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Hernan Cortes.
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She was a slave gifted to Cortes
by the Tlaxcalan people,
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who allied themselves with
the Spanish against the Aztecs.
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La Malinche was his interpreter
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and, to this day, is reviled by many
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for helping the conquerors
defeat her indigenous brethren.
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But the relationship
had another profound result.
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They had a son.
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And the mix of Spanish
and indigenous blood
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created a new ethnicity -
the mestizos.
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Professor Renato Mello
is a leading expert on Orozco
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and has studied his work
for 30 years.
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This mural has always
caught my attention
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because in so many of others,
the indigenous woman
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is folded down, she's bent down.
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And this one's more complicated
than that, isn't it?
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Because she is submissive,
passive, dominated,
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but equally, for 1926,
it was quite radical
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to give an indigenous woman
equal stature like this.
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This is a monumental Indian figure
appearing on the public building,
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and that was just unthinkable
20 years before.
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I would say that there are
no previous indigenous women
representations
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that are as strong as this one.
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In this mural, Cortes looks like
he's been sculpted out of stone
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and he's quite...stoic
and lifeless and cold.
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And she seems to be full of life.
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She's fleshy and warm.
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Yes, because it is a system of,
er...of contraries,
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of opposing, er...categories.
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So you have the male and the female,
but also life and death.
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Representing both
the colonial condition
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and also, the race that is about
to mix with the white race,
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which is the mestizos.
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The mestizos symbolise
Mexico's hybrid culture.
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The mix of indigenous
and European blood,
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common to millions of Mexicans
to this day, including me.
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But Orozco's painting
is also a reminder
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that the power struggle
between the two ethnic traditions
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has not been forgotten.
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This is a monument to the mestizo.
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La Malinche and Hernan Cortes
sit surrounded by artefacts
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of pre-Hispanic
and Spanish cultures.
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To me, it's an unremarkable
work of art
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in the corner of a Mexico City park,
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but what's interesting is that
this isn't its original location.
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People there didn't want La Malinche
near them
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and insisted she was removed.
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For many Mexicans,
she remains an immoral traitor.
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But for one of Mexico's
leading writers,
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La Malinche has been maligned
for too long.
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Laura Esquivel's novel, La Malinche,
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portrays a woman who is not only
a translator,
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but a key mediator
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between the indigenous people
and the invaders.
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The conflict within the Mexican
sense of identity continues today.
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La Malinche might never be forgiven
by everyone,
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even as ethnic difference is not
only tolerated, but now celebrated.
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For 400 years before the revolution,
however,
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Mexico's growing
mixed-race population
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was depicted in divisive
and demeaning ways.
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Artworks known as Casta paintings
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reflected official government
attempts in the 18th century
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to classify people
in descending social order.
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These popular artworks,
often in a set of 12,
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reinforced ideas
of racial superiority
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and a Spanish obsession
with purity of blood.
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There were the mestizo,
of Spanish and indigenous mix.
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Mulattos were of
Spanish and African descent.
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And at the bottom were ahi te estas,
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meaning, "stay where you are",
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a person born with a mix of Spanish,
African and indigenous blood.
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But in post-revolutionary Mexico,
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everyone was Mexican and equal
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in the country's past and present.
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This message of inclusion
and rebirth
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was proclaimed loud and clear
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in a vast mural covering the walls
of the presidential palace -
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the heart of Mexican power.
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Thousands of years of history
cover 275 square metres.
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Events and characters
from ancient and modern Mexico
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appear in what is nothing less than
a new and radical chronicle
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of Mexican history in its entirety.
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The artist was Diego Rivera,
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one of the giants
of 20th-century art.
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His epic of the Mexican people
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is one of the greatest murals
anywhere in the world.
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The actual experience
is quite overwhelming.
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And it really encompasses you as
you're walking through it. Yes.
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VOICEOVER: Art historian Claudia
Molina has researched
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Diego Rivera's murals extensively.
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Diego Rivera was thinking
about the eye of the spectator.
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Because the normal eye
doesn't go from right to left
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or left to right,
it goes like a circle.
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Because we are on the stairs
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and all muralism puts the spectator
in an active role.
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Rivera created his mural
as a triptych,
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representing Mexican history
in three chapters.
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On the right, there's
the Aztec world, reborn and proud,
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00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,880
rather than crushed and defeated
following the Spanish conquest.
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00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,240
The middle wall is called
From The Conquest To 1930,
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00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,600
and draws in the subjugation
of the indigenous people,
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00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,800
the War of Independence
and the revolution.
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The left-hand wall is called
Mexico Today And Tomorrow,
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00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,600
and features class war,
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00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,960
attacking the exploitative nature
of capitalism and the church,
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00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,920
and exalting the revolutionary
message of Karl Marx.
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00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,720
Rivera was a committed communist
and staunchly anti-religion.
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And it was his deeply-held
political views
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that made him the perfect artist
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to express the official line
in post-revolutionary Mexico.
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This mural reflected
Rivera's personal beliefs,
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but it was commissioned
by the people in power,
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the new left-wing government,
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determined to control
the nation's story.
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The government and all the elite
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00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,360
was very much interested in, um...
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00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,920
use art as a tool of power.
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00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:46,120
Rivera chose a quote
from the Communist Manifesto,
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00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:50,200
"We don't need to reshape
our society, we need to create one".
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So, it's very much in tune for
the Mexican government at the time.
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The commission was meant to,
of course, show the Mexican history,
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00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,280
but, of course,
it was meant to be like
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the beginning of a new national
identity, born from the revolution.
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What's most interesting is that
if you interview people nowadays,
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they believe this mural is true,
it's their history.
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So that's what's amazing
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00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:24,760
because actually, Diego Rivera
is not only an artist and a painter,
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of course, he's an intellectual
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that became the best tool
of the Mexican government
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00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,320
to imagine and construct this
imagery of Mexico and its history.
244
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,400
That is the power of Rivera's art.
245
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:45,200
His vision of Mexico,
romanticised and ideological,
246
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,560
is now part of our official history.
247
00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,960
80 years after its completion,
248
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,920
the mural still carries
the weight of authority.
249
00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,400
Whenever Mexico
welcomes foreign leaders,
250
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,440
the President greets them
in front of this panorama.
251
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,440
It's an origin myth
and propaganda rolled into one.
252
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,080
The government did a very good job
photographing all these murals
253
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,680
and publishing in
magazines, newspapers
254
00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,320
and, of course,
eventually, textbooks.
255
00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,240
So that's why all of these became
256
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:26,320
the official images
of national history.
257
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:30,280
Not least because the population
was illiterate. Exactly.
258
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,600
So they needed images. Exactly.
259
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,360
80% of Mexicans were illiterate
at the time, by 1921.
260
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:42,920
So he knew images were the tool
to accomplish all these projects.
261
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,800
The grand plan of using art
to educate
262
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,320
was the brainchild
of Jose Vasconcelos.
263
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,200
He was the minister of education
264
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,400
who believed that the revolution
had given power back to the people.
265
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,640
Giving the people knowledge
would help reform the country
266
00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:06,880
and secure revolutionary ideals.
267
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:11,800
And as well as understanding
268
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,120
the revolution's place
in Mexico's great story,
269
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,680
he also wanted Mexicans
to understand each other.
270
00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:29,840
At the Ministry of Education,
Vasconcelos commissioned Rivera
271
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,920
to show the new social
and political realities
272
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,800
of post-revolutionary Mexico.
273
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,360
Working 18 hours a day
for more than four years,
274
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:47,640
Rivera and his team of assistants
275
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:53,640
created an extraordinary tableau
called The Very Life Of The People,
276
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,960
over 235 fresco panels.
277
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,320
Rivera painted working people
tilling their crops...
278
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,200
..breaking bread together,
279
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,640
and, if called upon,
preparing for armed struggle.
280
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,680
Rivera included
his like-minded friends,
281
00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,960
his soon-to-be-wife, Frida Kahlo
282
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,000
and fellow muralist,
David Siqueiros.
283
00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:27,480
Those who didn't understand
that power
284
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,480
was now in the hands of farmers
and factory workers
285
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,520
were also depicted,
drunk and decadent.
286
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,720
Having worked in Europe and the
United States during the 1920s,
287
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,840
at the turn of the '30s,
288
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:57,120
Diego Rivera was a superstar
with a global reputation.
289
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:03,320
And despite being an ardent
communist, he became hugely popular
290
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,520
among the rich industrialists
of the United States,
291
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,840
where he and Frida Kahlo
292
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:12,400
had quickly become
the darlings of the cultural elite.
293
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,640
In the US, Rivera's power
was in his commercial value.
294
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,600
A mural for the Stock Exchange
Luncheon Club in San Francisco
295
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,680
was followed by an even more
remarkable commission -
296
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,640
one that ended with
a very personal power struggle.
297
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,680
In exchange for 21,000 dollars,
298
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,400
Rivera was asked to create a mural
299
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,000
about mankind
looking to a better future.
300
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:50,120
His patron was Nelson Rockefeller,
who wanted a Rivera fresco
301
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:52,640
to adorn the Rockefeller Centre
in New York.
302
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,120
The scion of one of
the United States' richest
303
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,920
and most powerful families
approved Rivera's sketches,
304
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,640
which showed workers,
soldiers and farmers
305
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,600
united in optimism
about future technology
306
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,680
and its benefit for humanity.
307
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,720
But Rivera was taunted
by leftist groups,
308
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,360
who accused him of putting
his principles aside for money.
309
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,280
And so he changed the design
310
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,240
and included a portrait
of Vladimir Lenin.
311
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,480
Rockefeller was furious.
312
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,320
And when Rivera
refused to change it,
313
00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:39,360
he ordered the fresco
to be chiselled off the wall.
314
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:42,760
But Rivera wasn't prepared
to surrender his art.
315
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:50,640
So he decided to come back to Mexico
and recreate the same mural here.
316
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,920
And I'm so happy he did
because it's absolutely stunning.
317
00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,560
Man, Controller Of The Universe,
318
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:02,280
is an almost identical version
of the Rockefeller mural.
319
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,480
On either side of the central figure
320
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,560
are the dominating
political ideologies of the time.
321
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,560
Above capitalism,
Rivera painted what he believed
322
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,840
was its greatest failure -
323
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,760
the First World War
324
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,200
and the brutalities of machine guns
and poison gas.
325
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:26,280
On the right,
Lenin supports the working class
326
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,880
in their revolutionary struggle
for power and justice.
327
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:38,840
Every single inch of it is covered
with the politics of the time.
328
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,680
It's so rich in symbolism.
329
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,480
At the centre of the mural,
a worker is mastering technology,
330
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,080
sitting at the controls of
the mechanical and natural worlds.
331
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,640
Depending on his decisions,
332
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,600
the world could be
a socialist utopia,
333
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,680
or it could be dominated by
the debauched, rich bourgeoisie
334
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,000
drinking martinis
while millions perish.
335
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,960
For the Rockefellers, it was
a personal and political attack.
336
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:14,600
For Rivera, it was a belated
demonstration of his own power.
337
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,320
I think he had a crisis of
conscience of being commissioned
338
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:20,560
by one of the...
339
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,400
A family that was the epitome
of the capitalist system
340
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,160
that he was so against.
341
00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,960
They wanted his art,
but they didn't want his politics.
342
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,600
Whilst Rivera was obsessed
with the idealistic visions
343
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,680
of a communist future,
344
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,200
other muralists were beginning
to reflect the realities
345
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,480
of a fast-changing
and threatening world,
346
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:49,720
where power was emphatically
not in the hands of ordinary people.
347
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,720
The Hospicio Cabanas in Guadalajara
348
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,040
is one of the most incredible
interiors in world art.
349
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,120
It's been called
the Sistine Chapel of the Americas.
350
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:12,720
Here, Jose Clemente Orozco
painted a story of Mexico
351
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,840
that showed he was deeply worried
about the future.
352
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,200
As the 1930s went on,
fascism spread in Europe,
353
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:27,160
and Stalin's brand of communism
saw millions exiled or executed.
354
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,920
Orozco feared
that reactionary forces
355
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:35,720
could threaten Mexico's revolution
and turn back the clock.
356
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,160
I think the energy and drama
in his brushstrokes
357
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,320
make his provocative message
an urgent one.
358
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:52,440
All these murals are working
towards Orozco's climactic vision.
359
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,000
what many consider his masterpiece.
360
00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,800
In the dome of this chapel
is Orozco's Man Of Fire.
361
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,560
This figure, engulfed in vibrant
red and yellow flames,
362
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:07,720
is an allegory of the destruction
363
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,680
that technology and progress
can bring.
364
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:17,440
Man is trying to defy external
forces as he ascends through fire.
365
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:22,560
He wants to fly, but, like Icarus
of Greek myth, he will fall.
366
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,880
Orozco completed the work in 1939
367
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:32,640
as right-wing nationalists declared
victory in the Spanish Civil War.
368
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,400
This is a statement
about individual freedom,
369
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:43,840
and...that was pretty much
at stake...
370
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,080
..at the time.
371
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,600
Many people thought,
Orozco amongst them,
372
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,720
that what had happened in Spain,
373
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,880
a reactionary uprising,
374
00:27:55,880 --> 00:28:01,640
a total destruction
of the civil institution,
375
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,040
that could happen in Mexico,
as well.
376
00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:09,640
Orozco realises that some trends
in anarchism,
377
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,360
socialism, fascism,
378
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:15,320
but also in the democratic
discourse, are very dangerous.
379
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:18,920
Muralism had begun by serving power
380
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,240
and transmitting the values
of the revolutionary state.
381
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,560
Now it was confronting power,
382
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,480
warning of the looming threats
to the ideals of the revolution.
383
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,600
And the ultimate expression of this
fell to the youngest
384
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,000
and most uncompromisingly radical
of the big three,
385
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,120
David Alfaro Siqueiros.
386
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:47,840
For Siqueiros, art and revolution
were inseparable.
387
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,840
At 18, he quit art college
to fight on the front lines
388
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:54,280
of the Mexican Revolution.
389
00:28:55,280 --> 00:29:00,400
And in 1936, he fought
in the Spanish Civil War,
390
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,160
witnessing the triumph
of the Nazi-backed fascists.
391
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,960
When he returned to Mexico,
392
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,680
he painted perhaps
the most caustic warning
393
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,920
against not just fascism,
394
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:14,760
but the acquiescence of democracy
395
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:16,640
and capitalism in its rise.
396
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:20,200
Wow!
397
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,600
Dominating a stairwell
in the headquarters
398
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,880
of the Electrical Workers' Union
in Mexico City,
399
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:27,800
is A Portrait Of The Bourgeoisie.
400
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:34,160
The mural is a triptych
whose imagery makes no attempt
401
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,120
to hide the anger and resentment
402
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,080
of a man who had witnessed
at first hand
403
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,720
fascism defeat socialism in Spain.
404
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,720
It really envelops you in a very...
405
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,400
SHE EXHALES
..claustrophobic sense.
406
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,400
You almost have to take
a few steps back.
407
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,880
The mural is a warning
to the Mexican proletariat
408
00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,800
of the implacable array of forces
that confront it.
409
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:08,000
For Siqueiros,
the Mexican Revolution had stalled,
410
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,200
co-opted by the bourgeois
middle class.
411
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:15,960
He shows the ordinary man
crushed by stronger powers.
412
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,440
A monstrous machine
turns workers' blood into gold.
413
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,320
Figures in gas masks
represent Britain,
414
00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:28,560
France and the US on the left,
415
00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,240
and Germany, Italy and Japan
on the right.
416
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,720
Siqueiros seems to make them
equally culpable
417
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,560
for the money machine's
grim business model.
418
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,600
Because he was, really,
a revolutionary,
419
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:49,120
and the themes that he's actually
painting about were global themes
420
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,760
of America and Europe, in his words,
421
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:54,800
colluding with fascism,
422
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:59,200
and the ideals
that he stood for falling.
423
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:04,480
I think this sadness or
disappointment came across as anger.
424
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,320
And he took every opportunity
to express that.
425
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,160
And I think this is a great example
of it.
426
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,480
The values of liberte,
427
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,520
egalite and fraternite burning.
428
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,920
There's nothing ambiguous
about that.
429
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,760
The only message of hope
is a revolutionary figure
430
00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:28,200
bravely confronting
the terrifying scene.
431
00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,840
But he's alone, symbolising
the isolation
432
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:35,640
of the Mexican proletariat.
433
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,800
"Don't look to others to help,"
Siqueiros is saying to the workers.
434
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:46,400
"You are the only reliable weapons
in the revolutionary struggle."
435
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,840
And he carried this message
of solidarity
436
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,280
into the technique of the painting,
437
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:55,280
working with a team of artists
438
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,960
using spray cans to remove the hand
of the individual.
439
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,960
What remains
might bear only Siqueiros' name,
440
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,760
but it's a call for unity
and collective will.
441
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:16,640
It's amazing to me
that it has remained so intact.
442
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,640
It's absolutely flawless.
443
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:24,160
And also, thematically,
it could have been made yesterday.
444
00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,120
Ever the activist,
445
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,400
Siqueiros didn't attend
the opening of the mural in 1940.
446
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:38,920
He was in hiding,
447
00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:41,080
accused of an assassination attempt
448
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,280
on Soviet dissident Leon Trotsky
in Mexico City.
449
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:58,240
By the 1950s, the fervent ideals
of the revolution had dissipated.
450
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,640
Mexico's leaders wanted to position
the country
451
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:08,960
as a modern, liberal democracy.
452
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,160
HUBBUB
453
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:25,520
This colossal monolith represented
454
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:29,080
what the powerhouse behind
this modernisation was to be.
455
00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,480
It's the library of Mexico's
national university.
456
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,360
The building opened in 1952,
457
00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:50,160
part of a huge investment
in a new campus.
458
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,480
The idea was that through
universal higher education,
459
00:33:55,480 --> 00:34:00,080
the latent power of Mexico's
population could be unleashed,
460
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,600
and a prosperous future secured.
461
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,880
The library was designed by
Juan O'Gorman,
462
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,040
born in Mexico to an Irish father.
463
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,360
Its monumental modernist form,
464
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,120
mirrored across
the campus architecture,
465
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,040
expressed the technological
sophistication
466
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,280
that would be key
to Mexico's development.
467
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:29,600
But the true symbolic power
of the library
468
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,760
is not in the ways
it points to the future,
469
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,400
but in the ways
it draws from the past.
470
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:41,160
The building is windowless,
covered in mosaic
471
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,080
with murals rich in Mesoamerican
imagery and mythology.
472
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,120
It feels like a glorification
of learning and history.
473
00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:54,400
Like the Spanish codices,
474
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:57,960
the books that chronicle
pre-Hispanic life and culture
475
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:03,760
have been projected on every side
of this building's massive facades.
476
00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:08,280
Surrounding the structures
are open plazas
477
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,440
designed for everyone to congregate
and socialise,
478
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,200
regardless of whether
they are students or not.
479
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,800
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
480
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:36,600
I'm buying raspado,
which is basically ice
481
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:38,760
grated off a big ice block
482
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,320
and then you get all sorts of
syrups that you can put on it.
483
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:46,640
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
484
00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:51,560
So I'm having
a tamarind and lemon one.
485
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:54,400
Avoiding the chilli.
486
00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,200
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
487
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,920
Mm! Good. Refreshing.
488
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:11,240
But to truly understand the thinking
behind the spectacular space
489
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:15,760
and its monumental architecture,
you need to go back in time.
490
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,880
This entire campus has
been deliberately designed
491
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,720
to project the power of education,
492
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,560
by mimicking the city planning
493
00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,480
of the most powerful
pre-Hispanic civilisations.
494
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:33,440
The pyramids
and temples of Teotihuacan
495
00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,440
more than 2,000 years old,
496
00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:41,160
were designed to inspire awe
and wonder among the people.
497
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:43,320
emphasising the power of the elites
498
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,400
and their evident connection
to the gods.
499
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,120
But it's the great city of Cholula
500
00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:55,040
that really underlines
how ancient architects and artists
501
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,800
were able to project power
in spectacular fashion.
502
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:04,240
What looks like a hill
is, in fact, an enormous pyramid
503
00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,920
that covers an area of more than
45 acres,
504
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:12,920
making it, by mass, not only
the largest pyramid in the world,
505
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,680
but also the largest monument
ever constructed anywhere,
506
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:19,960
by any civilisation.
507
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,880
Gabriela Urunuela
is Professor of Anthropology
508
00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:29,720
and an expert on the great
Mesoamerican site of Cholula.
509
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:32,040
The designs that they were using
510
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,840
was made to communicate something
511
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:37,960
to the population, to the viewer.
512
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:43,960
But it was a tool for the government
to, er...express ideas.
513
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:50,240
It is art, but it had a function
beyond being just ornamental.
514
00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:53,240
And what does it say about
the civilisation that built it?
515
00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:57,480
You cannot build a monument this big
516
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:03,400
if you do not have,
um...hierarchical society
517
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:08,040
which designs the monument
to manifest its power
518
00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,920
in the building
of something this big. Exactly.
519
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,800
Over millennia, successive
pre-Hispanic civilisations
520
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,280
made the Great Pyramid of Cholula
even larger
521
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:27,280
and ever more imposing.
522
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:28,920
As the pyramid grew,
523
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:31,960
so did the influence of the city
and its elites.
524
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,960
Cholula became the dominant
regional powerhouse.
525
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:43,280
For 500 years, rulers of other
city-states came here on pilgrimage.
526
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:49,480
It's said that even Aztec princes
were anointed by Cholula's priests.
527
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,280
Its dominance as a centre of power
made it a clear target
528
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,400
for the invading Spanish
in the 16th century.
529
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:04,800
The rapid conquest of Cholula
530
00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,760
installed the Europeans
as the new holders of power.
531
00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:11,800
For 300 years, they dominated,
532
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,320
suppressing indigenous culture.
533
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:18,440
But following the revolution
that began in 1910,
534
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:22,840
the power and significance
of Mexico's pre-Hispanic culture
535
00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:24,600
was increasingly recognised.
536
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:34,120
The Anthropology Museum
in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park
537
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:38,160
houses the world's largest
collection of ancient Mexican art.
538
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,480
Before I became an artist,
I studied social anthropology
539
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,120
and I've always found this place
inspirational.
540
00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:58,560
But it's more than a museum.
541
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,560
It was created with
an explicit political purpose -
542
00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:07,080
to draw together the different
strands of Mexican identity
543
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,600
and apportion them with equal power.
544
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:15,680
Anthropologist Sandra Rozental
545
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:20,360
has studied how the government
used pre-Hispanic artistic heritage
546
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,040
for social and political purposes
over the decades.
547
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,760
Both the President of Mexico
at the time, Lopez Mateos,
548
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,560
and the architect of the museum,
549
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:34,640
wanted to create a building
that people would just stumble upon
550
00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:37,000
when they were going to the park,
551
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:41,840
when they were participating
in other tourist activities
around Mexico City.
552
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:46,200
And so Chapultepec was really
the right place for this...for this
new museum.
553
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:49,760
So the idea in the 1960s
was to create a space
554
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:54,280
that would allow for a collection
that would show all of Mexico.
555
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:59,240
Represent all of this diversity
that created contemporary Mexico.
556
00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:03,760
So it's a real hybrid.
There's a great modernist influence,
557
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:06,720
but there's also
pre-Hispanic influence.
558
00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:10,280
The museum was very carefully
planned and designed
559
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:14,560
to portray two parallel images
of Mexico.
560
00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:18,720
On the one hand, Mexico as a modern,
state-of-the-art country,
561
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:23,560
and at the same time, the idea
was that the museum would portray
562
00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:27,320
Mexico's authenticity,
the exotic nature
563
00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:31,960
of its very own
indigenous civilisation.
564
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:35,720
The architect,
Pedro Ramirez Vazquez,
really wanted that contrast.
565
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:38,920
This very sleek, modernist style
566
00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,760
combined with something
very authentic, very Mexican.
567
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,520
It's very much
a centralising project.
568
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,320
The idea was that the courtyard
would sort of bring together
569
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:52,280
all of this diversity into a unity
570
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,720
that was structured around
this centre.
571
00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:58,320
This is very much a ritual space.
572
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,200
I mean, we think about it
as a museum,
573
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,160
but it's also a ritual space,
where, I think,
574
00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:07,520
all Mexicans come at some point in
their life, on a sort of pilgrimage
575
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:12,000
to see and experience
what being Mexican entails.
576
00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:19,520
One of Mexico's greatest artists
had a profound understanding
577
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,480
of the power of indigenous culture
in Mexican nationalism.
578
00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:28,560
Frida Kahlo embodied
post-revolutionary Mexico.
579
00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:30,520
Her father was of German descent
580
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:32,840
and her mother a mestiza.
581
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:37,560
She wore indigenous Tehuana dresses
from the Zapotec region
582
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,200
inspired by the ideal of freedom
and strength
583
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:43,520
that the wearers of the dresses
represented.
584
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,000
And she revered Aztec traditions.
585
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:54,560
My Nurse And I is a reinterpretation
of the Catholic pieta.
586
00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:59,040
But instead of the Madonna
and child, she portrayed herself
587
00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:01,960
as a baby being breast-fed
by an indigenous nurse
588
00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,840
whose face is covered
by a pre-Hispanic mask.
589
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:11,800
She's nurtured by Mexican earth.
590
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,800
Her origins rooted in Mexico's soil.
591
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:22,880
Another painting,
The Love Embrace Of The Universe,
592
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:27,760
shows an earth goddess enveloping
her and her husband, Diego Rivera.
593
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,400
Asleep on the left
is her hairless pet dog,
594
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,400
of a breed venerated by the Aztecs.
595
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:41,040
Frida's heart is bleeding,
596
00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:44,880
symbolising the ritual sacrifices
of the Aztecs
597
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,160
and Catholic iconography.
598
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,120
Casa Azul is where Frida was born,
grew up, and died.
599
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:04,040
It's an intimate space
that I'm often drawn back to.
600
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,760
I remember coming here as a child...
601
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:24,400
..and being fascinated
by this person,
602
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,280
this personality, this figure.
603
00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:31,240
She was almost mythological,
and then you came here
604
00:44:31,240 --> 00:44:36,000
and you actually saw her brushes
605
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,840
and her wheelchair.
606
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:41,480
At the age of 18,
a terrible accident
607
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:45,080
left her to deal with chronic pain
for the rest of her life,
608
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:48,080
and later led to
several miscarriages.
609
00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:54,120
I remember being...very moved
and quite saddened
610
00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,040
when I saw this...
611
00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:00,760
..easel made for her
to fit her wheelchair
612
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:03,280
so that she could really go up
to it.
613
00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:06,920
And I remember seeing
her plaster casts.
614
00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:12,760
This tiny waist, and it was
usually covered in painting.
615
00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:17,440
She spent most of her adult life
in casts
616
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:19,520
and having constant operations.
617
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:24,240
This place doesn't feel like
a monument,
618
00:45:24,240 --> 00:45:25,840
it doesn't feel like a museum.
619
00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:30,480
It feels so full of her.
620
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,600
Full of her art, full of her life.
621
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,200
It feels like everything is
as it was.
622
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:42,120
And that makes it
a very moving experience, actually.
623
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,680
What gave Frida's work
its ultimate power
624
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:50,040
was the depth of her convictions.
625
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,560
She made the personal political,
626
00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:57,520
expressing a deeply-felt connection
to Mexico through her own struggles.
627
00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,720
I think her art is as
emotionally charged today
628
00:46:00,720 --> 00:46:03,400
as it was when she created it,
629
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:06,400
a time when she was just
as important as the muralists
630
00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:09,760
in promoting a nationalism
rooted in ancient history.
631
00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,560
Hilda Trujillo is the director
of the Frida Kahlo Museum.
632
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:08,920
In lending her voice to Mexico's
struggle for an independent
cultural identity,
633
00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:14,200
Frida expressed her commitment
to the country and its people.
634
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:17,200
But she never followed consensus.
635
00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:07,760
This is a power struggle
that's as relevant today
636
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:11,400
as it was when Frida
was producing her work.
637
00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:13,560
But while that fight continues,
638
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:16,560
arguably, greater strides
have been made
639
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:20,920
to ensure the indigenous voice
that Frida championed is heard.
640
00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:28,520
Nowhere is that voice more obvious
641
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:32,000
than in the state of Oaxaca
in the south of Mexico.
642
00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:38,240
Many of its inhabitants
are descended from
the Zapotec civilisation.
643
00:48:40,720 --> 00:48:43,880
It dates back at least 2,500 years.
644
00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:50,480
Buenos dias, Senora.
645
00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:54,200
The market here in Tlacolula
is one of the oldest in Mexico.
646
00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:59,040
So these are made from carrizo,
which is a type of cane.
647
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:03,040
And these baskets are to do
your fruit shopping with,
648
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:05,800
but they're also part of a
really important ceremony in Oaxaca,
649
00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:09,160
which is where they share
sweets and fruit.
650
00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:13,320
So the woman who's in charge of it
that year - every year
it's someone else -
651
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:16,800
puts it on their head
and shares fruits and sweets.
652
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:19,680
So you'd put this
on top of your head.
653
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:21,280
SHE SPEAKS SPANISH
654
00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:24,920
So you'd put it on your head,
like that.
655
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:26,560
SHE CHUCKLES
656
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:33,960
Oaxaca has the largest indigenous
population among Mexico's 31 states.
657
00:49:36,760 --> 00:49:38,720
THEY LAUGH
658
00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:41,480
The power of
the indigenous communities,
659
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:43,520
their political representation
660
00:49:43,520 --> 00:49:46,000
and right to self-determination
661
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:49,440
is now guaranteed
by the Mexican state.
662
00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:54,160
Remarkable, when you think that
there are 69 different
indigenous languages
663
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:58,160
and myriad cultures
recognised within Mexico.
664
00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:04,120
What I love about these patterns
is that they...they're inspired by
665
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,320
the pyramids of Mitla.
666
00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:10,640
So you'll find that
the most authentic ones
are these geometric shapes,
667
00:50:10,640 --> 00:50:14,720
these diamonds,
and these kind of tracings.
668
00:50:14,720 --> 00:50:17,960
So it's pure wool,
it hasn't been mixed with anything.
669
00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:19,800
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
670
00:50:22,680 --> 00:50:24,520
I just said,
"Where do you get the wool from?"
671
00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:26,440
And she said, "From the sheep."
672
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:29,880
Gracias.
673
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:35,440
I'm wearing an embroidered
Tehuana top typical of this area,
674
00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:36,920
called a huipil.
675
00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:39,880
And I styled my hair
according to tradition
676
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:43,000
for a special meeting
I'm really looking forward to.
677
00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:48,840
The state of Oaxaca is home
to Mexico's greatest living artist,
678
00:50:48,840 --> 00:50:51,360
Francisco Toledo.
679
00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:54,360
His outstanding career
spans five decades.
680
00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,560
Toledo's inspiration comes in part
from Zapotec mythology,
681
00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:04,000
and his art contains
scenes of identity,
682
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:06,160
celebrating the culture
of his people
683
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,360
and the connection
to ancient ancestors.
684
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:14,720
Oaxaca itself, and his roots here,
are very important to him.
685
00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:09,160
But Toledo is an activist,
as well as an artist.
686
00:52:09,160 --> 00:52:10,920
For 30 years, he's used his art
687
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:14,120
to finance campaigns
for social justice,
688
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:16,680
challenging those in power.
689
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:19,920
While his own work
is not overtly political,
690
00:52:19,920 --> 00:52:23,360
he acknowledges a relationship
between art and power.
691
00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:01,000
Proximity to power helped
the muralists convey the message
692
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:05,240
of what it meant to be Mexican
after the revolution.
693
00:53:05,240 --> 00:53:09,120
And today,
proximity to an external power
694
00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:13,600
means there's nowhere more crucial
to protect this Mexican identity
695
00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:15,920
than when you're at its borders.
696
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:21,200
Tijuana, right against the border
with the United States,
697
00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:24,960
is one of Mexico's
most vibrant artistic hubs.
698
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:31,880
Art produced by a variety
of individuals and collectives
699
00:53:31,880 --> 00:53:35,360
is inspired by the experience
of ordinary people
700
00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:38,080
and by everyday politics.
701
00:53:38,080 --> 00:53:41,760
Their artistic statements
are commonly known as border art.
702
00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:51,320
Ana Teresa Fernandez's
Erasing The Border
703
00:53:51,320 --> 00:53:54,720
is a defiant act of protest
against the boundary
704
00:53:54,720 --> 00:53:57,640
separating Mexico
from the United States.
705
00:53:59,480 --> 00:54:02,120
Her brush eliminates the border,
706
00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:06,480
perhaps asking questions about
the boundaries of national identity.
707
00:54:09,240 --> 00:54:12,120
I think this gets to the heart
of how many Mexicans feel
708
00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:14,480
about a border created in 1848
709
00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:16,840
which saw Mexican territory,
710
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:20,240
including California,
New Mexico and Texas,
711
00:54:20,240 --> 00:54:22,280
become part of the United States.
712
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:31,880
And it also speaks to
the issue of migration.
713
00:54:31,880 --> 00:54:35,480
Tijuana is the world's
busiest land border crossing,
714
00:54:35,480 --> 00:54:39,400
with 50 million making the journey
each year.
715
00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:42,800
They include commuters
living in Tijuana
716
00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:45,280
crossing daily to work in San Diego.
717
00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:50,280
Others are undocumented migrants
in search of a new life.
718
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:55,200
An unfortunate few,
the victims of human trafficking.
719
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,960
Hazardous journeys and real
discoveries by the authorities
720
00:55:01,960 --> 00:55:05,160
have inspired
the work of Julio Caesar Morales'
721
00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:08,160
Undocumented Interventions.
722
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:14,160
I've come to meet an artist
who's an integral part
723
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,280
of Tijuana's creative community.
724
00:55:16,280 --> 00:55:19,160
Marco Ramirez, known as Erre.
725
00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:25,240
He feels strongly that artists
have a responsibility
726
00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:29,400
to respond to power and injustice,
particularly now,
727
00:55:29,400 --> 00:55:33,720
following President Trump's
controversial statements
728
00:55:33,720 --> 00:55:35,440
about Mexicans and the border.
729
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:42,000
Me and the people that think
like me and worry about
the situation right now,
730
00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,760
they need to, like, open
their hearts and open their minds
731
00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:50,360
and open their mouth and say
the things that need to be said.
732
00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:53,720
Otherwise, we're going to lose
things that
733
00:55:53,720 --> 00:55:57,360
took us 100-150 years to gain.
734
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:00,000
Respect to our rights and equality,
735
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:03,160
no race is better than the other,
stuff like that
736
00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:06,160
that we thought that we had it
already understood,
737
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:08,560
you know, like,
we had it controlled.
738
00:56:08,560 --> 00:56:11,200
And now it's going
in the wrong direction.
739
00:56:11,200 --> 00:56:12,960
So as a border artist,
740
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:16,960
how do you relate to
this binational existence?
741
00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:19,200
How does it affect your work?
742
00:56:19,200 --> 00:56:23,320
Well, it affects it
and provokes it, you know?
743
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:26,800
Like, I don't know
another way of being.
744
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,680
So it's very hard
for me to explain it.
745
00:56:28,680 --> 00:56:31,400
You know, I've been here forever.
746
00:56:31,400 --> 00:56:35,120
I do not assume myself
just as a border artist,
747
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:38,320
but I'm not going to start denying
something that is embedded
in who I am.
748
00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:42,960
The current political situation
has propelled Erre
749
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:46,320
to return to an idea
about Mexico's northern neighbour.
750
00:56:47,320 --> 00:56:50,040
I'm, er...trying to age this...
751
00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:54,040
..piece of, er...fence
752
00:56:54,040 --> 00:56:56,120
so it is not that obvious
753
00:56:56,120 --> 00:56:58,720
that it's resembling
the American flag.
754
00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:04,040
Stripes and Fence Forever -
this the original work -
755
00:57:04,040 --> 00:57:09,240
is a comment about the lure of the
United States losing its lustre.
756
00:57:09,240 --> 00:57:13,720
That crossing the border
doesn't mean dreams come true.
757
00:57:13,720 --> 00:57:18,680
This flag represents the 50 states
and the 30 old colonies.
758
00:57:18,680 --> 00:57:21,480
And then it's supposed to be
a melting pot. Mm-hm.
759
00:57:21,480 --> 00:57:24,120
Seems to me that the pot is melting.
Yeah. Definitely.
760
00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:25,480
Is what it looks like to me.
761
00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:29,960
Power and the proximity to power
762
00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:34,720
fires a creativity of artists
working in Tijuana.
763
00:57:34,720 --> 00:57:39,760
In the 21st century, power and art
are as inseparable as ever.
764
00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:46,400
Across a millennia, struggles
for power have forged this country.
765
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:50,640
And artists have been
at the epicentre of each one.
766
00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:58,240
From projections of authority that
held ancient civilisations together
767
00:57:58,240 --> 00:58:01,080
to creating a new national story
768
00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:04,560
and reinforcing Mexican identity,
769
00:58:04,560 --> 00:58:09,680
artists have themselves been
the power brokers in Mexico's story.
770
00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:17,240
In the next episode, I explore
how faith across the millennia
771
00:58:17,240 --> 00:58:19,240
has been dominated by art
772
00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:24,440
that underpinned and changed
the very nature of belief.