In the Shadow of Cortés:
From Veracruz to Mexico City
In the Shadow of Cortés: From Veracruz to Mexico City, an exhibition of contemporary photographs, ancient maps and documents, and text panels in both English and Spanish, is currently on display at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures.
The exhibit, which runs through December 20, 2009, is collaboration between Professor Kathleen Myers, a scholar of Mexican history and culture in the Indiana University Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and Associate Professor Steve Raymer of Indiana University's School of Journalism and an award-winning photojournalist formerly on the staff of National Geographic Magazine. Their work combines ethnographic interviews with people living along the route of the Conquest, murals and rare books from the era, and documentary photography of 21st century Mexican culture, to help illuminate the past and its impact on the present.
Cortés’ march from Veracruz to Tenochtitlan (later Mexico City) and in his conquest of the Aztecs (1519-1521) marked the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica. Scholars like Myers say that while Cortés’ conquest of Mexico was the catalyst for some of the most rapid changes any civilization has any experienced, his presence in modern-day Mexico is like a shadow. “The effects of Cortés’ invasion accompany nearly every Mexican’s idea about identity, history, and life,” says Myers, author of four books about Latin America. “But the name of the conquistador has all but vanished.”
Funding for this exhibit came from the Moveable Feast of the Arts Program at IUB. Created through a generous gift from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the program was initiated by the IU Office of the President with oversight provided by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
The Mathers Museum is located at 416 North Indiana Avenue in Bloomington, and is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free. Free visitor parking is available by the entrance on Indiana Avenue, and on surrounding streets (during weekends). Metered and IU Permit parking spaces are available at the McCalla School parking lot on the corner of Ninth Street and Indiana Avenue.
An access ramp is located at the corner of Ninth Street and Fess Avenue, at the entrance to the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology adjoining the Mathers Museum. Reserved parking spaces are available on Ninth Street, between Fess Avenue and Indiana Avenue. If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Please call 812-855-1696 for assistance.
For more information, or to schedule a guided group tour, please call 812-855-6873, or e-mail mathers@indiana.edu.
