Miembros Newsletter: October 2022

A Message from The Director

You’re Invited to Participate in the 39th Annual Viva La Vida – Day of the Dead Fest & Parade!

Mexic-Arte Museum is thrilled to announce the in-person 39th Annual Viva La Vida Festival and Parade that will take place on October 29, 2022 in downtown Austin! Viva La Vida is Austin’s largest and longest running Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival, and one of the most artistic and creative in the country. With thousands of attendees in 2019, we envision the 2022 parade and festival to be the best yet! The celebration includes a Grand Procession, the Mariposa Plaza in the Education Pavilion with hands-on activities, a Muertos Mercado, traditional foods, a low-rider exhibition and performances throughout the day. Please join us.

This year, the parade will include a section to honor and memorialize the souls of the children and teachers of Robb Elementary. As a way to pay tribute to the Uvalde students, Mexic-Arte is including the special section to commemorate those who have passed. The monarch butterfly represents strength, endurance, spirituality, trust, transformation, and evolution. It is said – that the sight of the butterfly can serve as inspiration to be strong and to guide us through life’s challenges.

Our deepest condolences to all the families and friends who have lost their loved ones this year.

Executive Director

Sylvia Orozco

Special Events

39th Viva la Vida Fest and Parade Returns —Presented by the Austin Convention Center

Mexic-Arte Museum’s Viva la Vida Festival and Parade is happening this Saturday in downtown Austin! The city’s largest and longest-running Day of the Dead event will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2022 from 12-6 p.m. Join us as we celebrate the holiday, traditions, and culture. Viva la Vida is co-sponsored by the City of Austin and presented by Austin Convention Center.

The parade will take place from 12-1 p.m. and will gather on Sixth Street, between I-35 Southbound Frontage Road and Red River St. The grand procession, including a mix of costumes, props, live music, dancers, and floats, marches down Sixth Street towards Fourth Street and Congress Ave. This year, the parade’s special section will be “The Monarch Butterfly” to honor and memorialize the souls of the children and teachers of Robb Elementary. The festival will feature a grand procession, art activities at the Mariposa Plaza, food vendors with traditional foods, artists and artisans at the Muertos Mercado, an Austin Lowriding exhibition, and live music and performances. Additional art activities will be located next to Frost Bank Tower Plaza for children and families to enjoy. 

Viva La Vida Fest features the Tejano and Freestyle Showcase Presented by Austin Lowriding and Latin Freestyle Records:

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Special Guest: Principe Q

Corpus Christi based producer Svani Quintanilla (aka Principe Q) is noted as one of the founders of “Screwmbia”, pioneered by his duo Royal Highness (with DJ King Louie). “Screwmbia” is his modern takeon cumbia, blending trap drums with slowed down cumbia rhythms. Bringing cumbia in to the moderntimes is an homage to his aunt, Selena Quintanilla-Perez. He is the oldest son of Kumbia Kings founder A.B. Quintanilla.

Cholo Cumbia

Liz Garcia

South Train

Ginger Rodriguez

Muertos Mercado

Over 20 Día de los Muertos inspired artists, artisans, and vendors! Visit the Muertos Mercado for the perfect addition to your altar or gift for a friend.

• Vida De Flor
• Calavera Press
• Sweet n spicy Atx
• Casa Del Sol
• Nailivic Studios
• La Crafty Vida
• Dollface Accessories
• Efis Creaciones
• CGARZA ARTE
• Ahliyah Crafts
• Las Ofrendas
• Dapper Zeus Collars

• Ojitos Alegres
• Neverending Stickers
• Gerardo Silguero
• Freehand Studios
• Que Rico Tacos
• Viva la Fiesta/Rockin Sugar Skull
• Jumpolin
• Brown Arte
• Mom n Pops
• Hay Elote
• Cuantos Tacos
• Austin Spurs

Mariposa Makers Plaza at Viva La Vida

FREE art activities for all ages from 12 pm – 6 pm

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• Butterfly Masks
• Butterfly Crowns
• Paper Marigolds
• Ofrenda Coloring Activity

Lowriding Lane

See Austin Lowriding in action during the parade and get a closer at the details at the exhibition!

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Austin Lowriding presents:

• Lowrider Cars
• Bikes
• Chrome
• Hydraulics

Sign Up for Volunteers and Parade Participants Still Open!

Community members can volunteer to help in various ways: help with setting up and carrying forth the parade; and help with the general festival duties including setting up and loading down equipment and props, hanging up decorations, and any other help needed throughout the day. Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt to wear the day of the event.

You can sign up to volunteer here!

Individuals or groups can participate and walk the parade route as part of any section. The parade includes costumes, props, live music, dancers, and floats – marching down historic 6th Street and culminating at E. 4th Street and Congress Avenue. Parade categories include: Intro – Special Section – The Monarch Butterfly; Pre-Columbian –A tribute to pre-columbian ancestors; Mexico Lindo y Las Americas –Homage to Mexican & Las Americas traditions and icons; Chicanx – Si Se Puede! –Homage to deceased Mexican American, Hispanic, Latinx/a/o, Chicanx/a/o and culture; and Austin Weird –Everything and anything that’s part of our Austin community.

You can sign up to participate in the parade here!

Exhibitions

Celebrating Día de los Muertos with Nuestra Comunidad/Our Community – Memory and Remembrance Ofrenda

On exhibit: October 1, 2022 – November 20, 2022

This exhibition marks the 39th Annual Día de los Muertos exhibition and celebration at the Mexic-Arte Museum, since 1984. The exhibition, as always, pays tribute to the tradition that celebrates the return of souls of family and friends on November 1st and November 2nd. Ofrendas, recuerdos, memorias, photos and offerings are assembled and shared in a room by community members to remember loved ones who passed away. 

This year, the installation includes a section to honor and memorialize the souls of the children and teachers of Robb Elementary. As a way to pay tribute to the Uvalde students, Mexic-Arte added a “children section” to commemorate children who have passed away. 

Los Muertos Visitan al Museo / The Dead Visit the Museum

Special for the Día de los Muertos, the public can view Catrina-like sculptures by Monica and Sergio Lejarazu at Mexic-Arte Museum. Inspired by the piñata format, these Austin artists take tradition of piñata making further by embellishing clothing and costumes using paint, papier-mache, and tissue paper techniques. We have free admission every Sunday, so be sure to visit us!

These sculptures will be on exhibit at the Museum from October 29 until November 6.

On Display at Mexic-Arte – ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación

The ELA (Emerging Latinx Artists) exhibition is in its 26th iteration. ELA highlights emerging Latinx artists based in Texas, while also giving emerging curators the chance to curate an original concept and design. This year’s curatorial team consists of Luisa Perez, Mexic-Arte Museum’s Education Associate and Isabel Servantez, Mexic-Arte Museum’s Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs.

ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación explores the broad concept of transformation. The artists in this exhibition have created artwork representing the life they have been born into or chosen. Some present the changes they have made in their lives, while others present the changes that they have witnessed around them. These artists have transformed themselves to best fit into a world where they can thrive as both artists and individuals.

Mexic-Arte is proud to present a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring emerging Latinx artists across Texas. Please enjoy the exhibition, and like many of the artists in this exhibition, take time to consider the change around you and in yourself as you experience the exhibition.

The artists included in this exhibition include Sarah Ayala, Daniel Calderon, Isabel Ann Castro, Christian Cruz, Kat Cadena, Marcelina Gonzales, Galileo Gonzalez, Fabian Guerrero, Natasha Hernandez, Angel Lartigue, Chantal Lesley, Gabi Magaly, Abinadi Meza, Angeles Salinas, Marco Sanchez, Saúl Hernandez Vargas, and Beatriz Guzmán Velásquez . Artists included in the exhibition are based across Texas from the cities Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Edinburg, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.

An original mural commissioned to accompany the exhibition has being painted by muralist Kat Cadena on the 5th street Mexic-Arte Mural wall.

ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación opened on Friday September 16, 2022 and will be open until Sunday, February 5, 2023.

First ELA Panel Discussion:  ELA Conversations #1: Reimaginando Espacios / Reimagining Spaces

On Tuesday, November 2, 2022, ELA curators Luisa Perez and Isabel Servantez will be moderating the first in a series of three panel discussions of ELA artists. This first discussion will include Sarah Ayala, Galileo Gonzalez, Saúl Hernández, Chantal Lesley, and Angeles Salinas. These artists, brought together because of their similar approaches and themes of looking at space, will discuss their individual practices and this year’s ELA theme of transformation. The discussion will be from 1pm – 2:30pm CST and will be available to watch on Facebook live.

This month we would like to highlight two of the artists in ELA 26: Histories of Transformation / Historias de Transformación:

Sarah Ayala lives and creates in the Fort Worth Cultural District. She specializes in geometrical patterns and traditional lettering. Sarah takes inspiration from world philosophies and religions, including her Latinx culture. You can find her work in publications, around town in public murals and within local and national art collectives. Her aim is to make art more accessible to the public, by working on projects with community partners like the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and serving on the board of directors at Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center.

Daniel Calderon – I’m an artist with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston. My main area of expertise is sculpture, with an emphasis on expanded media. I currently hold a faculty teaching position at the college level and offer creative coding, digital fabrication, and sculpture courses. I am knowledgeable and proficient with computational media, including coding with javascript and python, and am currently into a side hobby of building bots and gadgets.

October Changarrito Artist, Gerardo E. Silguero

On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 5pm CST on Instagram live Mexic-Arte Museum Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs Isabel Servantez will have a live interview with the October Changarrito artist Gerardo E. Silguero. 

Please follow our Instagram page, join us for the interview, and prepare any questions for Gerardo to be asked at the end of the interview.

Gerardo will be making and selling prints of his work at Viva La Vida, as part of the Muertos Mercado from 12-6 pm. Support Gerardo by stopping by at his booth!

About The Artist

Gerardo E. Silguero (1st Gen Mexican-American, b. 1994) is a contemporary artist whose work challenges the notion of Nepantla. His work has been exhibited internationally across the USA and Mexico. Silguero’s work is in the collections of the Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas; La Peña Gallery, Austin, Texas; among several other institutions. Silguero received his BA from St. Edward’s University. He lives and works in Austin, Texas. He has a group exhibition opening in Spring 2021 in Los Angeles. Silguero is a self-represented artist.

Nepantla: A concept in Chicano and Latino anthropology, social commentary, criticism, literature, and art that represents a concept of “in-between-ness.” Nepantla is a Nahuatl word that means “in the middle of it” or “middle.” Indigenous people who were invaded by the Spanish created their own “in-between” culture where they would leave behind aspects of their culture that they could not synthesize into the new culture.

About Changarrito Program:

Changarrito is an art vending cart, conceptualized by artist Maximo Gonzalez as an alternative to the official gallery selection presented by the Mexican cultural authorities. 

True to the Mexic-Arte Museum’s mission, the Changarrito is dedicated to the presentation and promotion of contemporary Latinx and Latin American art. Artists have the opportunity to sell their art on the Changarrito cart in front of the Museum (or an offsite location, as representative for the Museum during various Austin festivals). It expands the reach of the artist by presenting their gallery online, while allowing the option to sell merch over Instagram and receive 100% of the sale. For each Changarrito artist, the Museum acquires a work of art for its permanent collection.

September Changarrito Artist Juan Carlos Escobedo

On September 29, 2022, Mexic-Arte Museum Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs, Isabel Servantez interviewed Juan Carlos Escobedo as part of the monthly Changarrito art cart residency. Escobedo, based in San Antonio, creates artwork addressing residual class and race shame that arises from living in a predominantly white structured United States which favors light skinned individuals and middle-class and above socioeconomic classes.

If you missed last month’s Changarrito Interview with Juan Carlos Escobedo, you can view it here.

Collections

Mexic-Arte Museum Participates in Art in Embassies Program

A Powerful Past, A Shared Future is currently on exhibit at Ambassador Ken Salazaar’s home in Mexico City. Mexic-Arte Museum has participated by loaning several works from the permanent collection, in addition to suggesting several artists for the exhibition – including Angel Cabrales, Santa Barraza, and other artists. A special reception was held on September 29 in honor of Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, the Chair for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Art in Embassies artists. This exhibit was organized under the framework of the Bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico.

Art in Embassies, an office within the U.S. Department of State, promotes cultural diplomacy through exhibitions, permanent collections, site-specific commissions, and two-way artist exchanges in more than 200 U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world. Through art, international audiences gain a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of American and host country art and culture. Initiated by President Kennedy in 1963, the program is funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Mexic-Arte Museum Participates in Mexican American Art Since 1848

The Mexic-Arte is proud to announce that we are part of Mexican American Art Since 1848 (MAAS1848), an online search tool created with the goal of “[making] it easier to find and study Mexican American art, culture, and history.” The portal makes accessible over 20,000 records of and about art created by Mexican American artists, drawn from libraries, archives, and museums. MAAS1848 compiles digital information from libraries, archives, and museums. The design refrains from the colonialist perspecive and information extraction; rather it links collections and makes harvested information searchable from a single location. The first iteration of the portal launched in the summer of 2021.

MAAS1848 is part of the broader initiative, Rhizomes: Mexican American Art Since 1848, a multi-component ecosystem designed to resolve the misunderstandings and invisibility of visual art by Mexican American artists, a dispossessed community.

In the first half of 2022, the project secured nearly $600,000 in combined support from three organizations: the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Implementation grant, the Mellon Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Development grant. These grants support the enhancement of the portal’s first iteration and the planning for its second, which will more than double the size of the collection by compiling and digitizing over 20,000 new images from the nation’s largest concentrations of Mexican American art housed at the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), the Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin, Texas), and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC, Albuquerque). To prepare for the second iteration of the portal, the project organizers will collaborate with experts in library sciences, artists, and the three stakeholder museums to design sustainable technical and cross-institutional relationships.

Haugen, Amanda. “‘Mexican American Art Since 1848’ Secures Nearly $600,000 in Funding.” College of Liberal Arts, September 9, 2022. https://cla.umn.edu/chicano-latino/news-events/story/mexican-american-art-1848-secures-nearly-600000-funding.

Tita Griesbach at the San Antonio Museum of Art

One of the pieces from the Mexic-Arte Museum Permanent Collection, Tita Griesbach’s Malinche II, is on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art. It is on loan for their exhibition Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche. 

This exhibition examines the historical and cultural legacy of La Malinche and her representation throughout the years. Malinche was an enslaved Indigenous girl who served as a cultural interpreter for the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, eventually becoming the mother of Cortés’ first-born son. She played a key role in the transactions, negotiations, and conflicts between the Spanish and the Indigenous populations of Mexico that impacted the course of global politics for centuries to come.

This exhibition is organized by Denver Art Museum (DAM) and was curated by Victoria Lyall, Jan and Frederick Mayer Curator of Art of the Ancient Americas at the DAM, and Teresita Romo. independent curator. 

Griesbach’s Malinche II was originally created and displayed for Mexic-Arte’s exhibition, Rethinking La Malinche(1994-1995). Here is a statement from our director, Sylvia Orozco, on the exhibit and La Malinche as a figure in history:

“It is a well known fact that much of today’s symbols, legacies, and history have been heavily shaped by a male dominated society. The historical figure of La Malinche, the Indigenous woman who interpreted for Hernán Cortés during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, has not escaped its fate. In fact, La Malinche’s image has been transformed from that of a noble respected woman to a traitorous sell-out, ‘the embodiment of Mexican female betrayal and sexual corruption’.”

Nearly 500 years after the events, it is time to go back to the original sources and question this characterization. [Rethinking La Malinche] evaluates historical information and questions the perception of Malintzin to get a better understanding of history and this woman’s role in the invasion of Mexico. Each artist was given the challenge to rethink, to reimagine this woman who employed her extraordinary talents to avoid- at least for a while- the fate of other Indigenous women who also involuntarily bore metizo children to the Spanish conquerors and died anonymously.

Each artist has used her own experiences and perceptions to come up with new interpretations, thus beginning the long journey of redefining and making history our own. It is through this reevaluation that we are able to construct a more balanced version of history.”

The Mexic-Arte is proud to contribute to Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche. You can see Griesbach’s Malinche II at the San Antonio Museum of Art until January 8, 2023. 

Perspectives on Malinche, a talk about extracting a survivor from an edifice of myth, by Frances Karttunen, Ph.D.

On October 21, 2022, Mexic-Arte Museum presented the lecture sponsored in part by Humanities Texas and in conjunction with the MX21 – Resistance, Reaffirmation & Resilience Exhibition on September 17, 2021 to February 27, 2022. This exhibit focused on the 2021 major events and artistic interpretation of the fall of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, and the Independence of Mexico.

Dr. Karttunen writes, “Doña Marina, la Malinche, was the multilingual indigenous woman who provided to Hernán Cortés the means of communication necessary to carry Spanish conquest to the heart of 16th-century Mesoamerica. While very young she fell into the hands of Cortés and his men. 

Her best hope for survival was to make herself useful and agreeable, a strategy she had already learned prior to the arrival of the Spaniards on the scene. In the course of events, she asserted active common cause with the men who held her captive. For that, as la Malinche she has been punished for what seems to be all eternity.  This is no love story, no tale of blind ambition and racial betrayal, no morality play. It is the record of a linguistically gifted woman in impossible circumstances carving out survival one day at a time.”

If you missed the lecture, you can view it on our Facebook page.