In Honor of a Bicentennial

Mexico celebrated the bicentennial of its independence in 2010.  But although its war for independence began 1810, it was a struggle of eleven years before the country's sovereignty  was actually achieved.  So last year, 2021, was also a bicentennial of sorts.

I told you that were was another exhibit upstairs at the Palace of Iturbide, an exhibit that I found much more interesting.  That display honors Mexico's final victory over Spain with a wide variety of works of Mexican folk art that deal with the War for Independence.  Here are a few of the objects... along with a bit of a history lesson.

"The Tree of Life" is a well known type of Mexican folk art.  Originally these elaborate, handmade, pottery sculptures depicted the story of the Garden of Eden.  But artists now create "Trees of Life" that deal with many different themes.  This "Tree of Life of Scenes from the Independence of Mexico" was created in 2010 for the earlier bicentennial.

Oaxaca is famous for its black pottery,  These black clay figures represent the "conspirators of Querétaro", the group that hatched a plot to break away from Spanish rule.  The man in the back with the uplifted arm is the village priest Miguel Hidalgo, who is known as the "Father of Independence".  The woman to the left is Josefa Ortiz, in whose home the conspirators met.  She was the wife of the local Spanish magistrate, but she believed that Mexico should be a republic independent from Spain.  When she found out that the authorities had learned of the plot, she managed to warn the others.

In the wee hours of September 16th, 1810, Father Hidalgo was told that the Spanish were after the conspirators.  He decided to begin the rebellion earlier than planned.  He gathered together his parishioners and gave a fiery speech urging them to rise up against Spanish tyranny.  That speech marks the beginning of Mexico's fight for independence, and so September 16th is celebrated as the nation's Independence Day.

This work, done in clay, shows Father Hidalgo on the steps of his parish church.

Another image of Father Hidalgo, this one woven from wicker

This very realistic figure, modeled from wax, portrays Ignacio Allende, another one of the insurgents who fought against the Spanish.

One of the first battles of the war was at the city of Guanajuato.  The Spanish troops took refuge in the granary building, which proved to be a nearly impregnable fortress.  The Spanish troops fired down on the rebels from above.

Finally one rebel, who was nicknamed "Pípila", tied a stone slab to his back to protect himself from Spanish bullets.  With a torch in his hand, he crept up to the granary and burned the door down.  The insurgents then stormed the building and won a major victory.

These figures are done in clay.

Father Hidalgo was eventually captured by the Spanish, tried and sentenced to death.  These clay figurines depict his execution before a firing squad.  His head was later hung in a cage from the corner of the granary building in Guanajuato.

Another "Tree of Life" representing the War for Independence.  In the center you see Father Hidalgo and at the top is the national symbol of Mexico, the eagle and the serpent.

The pieces of this hand-carved, wooden chess set represent figures from the War for Independence and the Mexican Revolution of 1910... milestones which occurred one century apart.

The war dragged on for eleven years.  Finally in 1821 an ambitious Spanish officer, Agustín Iturbide, switched sides and joined the insurgents.  He led the rebel army into Mexico City, and the nation's independence was secured.  These large skeleton figures made of papier mache represent Iturbide and his Army of the Three Guarantees (religion, independence and unity).