The educated mask of the folklore

Abstract

At the end of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, artists and intellectuals looked at indigenous and popular art for inspiration for the art that would be representative of modern Mexico. In spite of the support that this project had obtained, a decade later, an important group of creators who rejected the government’s nationalist cultural project, sought to eliminate the traditional elements that had been adopted, as they considered that the use of folklore was incompatible with the creation of a truly modern art. Nevertheless, folklore continued being a part of the work of some of the most important artists, as well as what is perhaps the most recognizable trait of modern Latin American art. In this essay I look into the appropriation of a Mayan legend by writers who were interested in creating an art that was both modern and national.