Nuestras Historias: Mexico in the U.S.

A common Mexican trait on either side of the U.S.–Mexico border is the passionate interest in Mexicanidad (Mexicanness) and what comprises Mexican identity. Perhaps this obsession to understand the concept of Mexicanidad comes from nearly five centuries of mestizaje – the interracial and cultural mixing that first occurred in Mesoamerica among Native Indigenous groups, European Spanish and enslaved Africans during the 1520s. By the 18th century, Mexican identity had developed. Mestizaje was the process that constructed it. The museum’s permanent collection showcases the dynamic and distinct Mexican stories in North America, and sheds light on why Mexican identity cannot be regarded as singular; its vast diversity defies any notion of one linear history. - Nuestras Historias destaca la colección permanente del museo, la cual expone las historias dinámicas y diversas de la identidad mexicana en Norteamérica. La exhibición muestra la identidad cultural como algo que evoluciona continuamente a través del tiempo, de regiones y de comunidades,  en vez de señalarla como una entidad estática e inmutable, exhibiendo para esto, artefactos mesoamericanos y coloniales, arte moderno mexicano, arte popular, y arte contemporáneo de los dos lados de la frontera EE.UU-México.  La gran diversidad de identidades mexicanas mostradas en estas obras desafía la noción de una sola historia lineal e identidad única. 

Untitled (Boycott Grapes) (1973) by Xavier ViramontesNational Museum of Mexican Art

Regional identity and national politics play a profound role in the lives of millions of Mexican descendants living in the U.S. Their communities have reflected regional ways of life, socio-economic circumstances and a struggle for civil rights that dates to the late 1840s. Like all cultural identities, Mexican identities change as new realities emerge. The diversity of Mexican descendants identify themselves as Mexican-American, Tejano, Hispano, Chicano, immigrant, first-generation, and within the larger population of Latin American descendants, Latino.Many in the U.S. identify themselves with more than one of these terms.In the U.S., artists of Mexican descent often grew up with a bilingual, bicultural identity. Scenes and images from life on both sides of the border were frequently utilized by these artists to respond to and express this bicultural experience.

Untitled (The Cause - La causa), Anonymous, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Liberty (Libertad), Ester Hernandez, 1987, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Nezahualcóyotl Poetry Festival 1991-Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Jeffry D. Scott, 1991, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Digital archive of 39 images (likely all captured in Chicago region), Antonio Perez, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Welcome Home! (Bienvenidos a Casa), Carlos A. Cortez, 1965, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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The Posadas (Las posadas), Carmen Lomas Garza, 2000, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Sun Mad 65/100, Ester Hernandez, 1982, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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The Alter, Ester Hernandez, 1988, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Quinceañera (Traditional Fifteenth Birthday Celebration for Girls), Carmen Lomas Garza, 2001, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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The diversity of Mexican descendants identify themselves as Mexican-American, Tejano, Hispano, Chicano, immigrant, first-generation, and within the larger population of Latin American descendants, Latino.

Alien Love, Laura Molina, 2004, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Mad Clowns (Payasos locos), Glugio Gronk Gronk, 1990, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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La Chata, Cesar Augusto Martinez, 2006, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Drifting Sun, Elsa Munoz, 2010, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Blue Neck (Cuello azul), Oscar Moya, 2000, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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I Can't Pass - Performance Documentation at Tijuana, San Diego Border (No puedo pasar), Ana Teresa Fernandez, 2005, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Monarch Butterfly, Heaven Above (from the "Under the Same Sky" portfolio) (Monarca, cielo arriba (de la carpeta "Bajo un mismo cielo"), Rene H. (Hugo) Arceo, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Elenita Cruz's World (El mundo de Elenita Cruz), Jose Esquivel, 2007, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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The Legacy of Manifest Destiny (El legado del Destino Manifiesto), Marcos Raya, 1995, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Backyard Pachanga (Dance Party) (Pachanga en el patio trasero), Frank Ybarra, 2003, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Barbed Heart (Corazón espinado), Fidencio Duran, 2001, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Uncle Ernest 5 Min. Before His Capture - Addition, Vincent Valdez, 2007, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Uncle Ernest 5 Min. Before His Capture, Vincent Valdez, 2007, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Tamalada, Carmen Lomas Garza, 1990, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Savages and Glitter, John M. Valadez, 1986, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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R.S.I. (Respective Strain Injury), Marcos Raya, 2000, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Happy Birthday Lala y Tudi (Feliz Cumpleanos a Lala y Tudi), Carmen Lomas Garza, 1991, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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My Funerals (Mis Funerales), Alejandro Romero, 1991/1993, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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October (Octubre), Patssi Valdez, 1995, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Lucy Parsons, Carlos A. Cortez, From the collection of: National Museum of Mexican Art
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Credits: Story

NMMA remains true to our founding mission: To showcase the beauty and richness of Mexican culture by sponsoring events and presenting exhibitions that exemplify the majestic variety of visual and performing arts in the Mexican culture; to develop, conserve and preserve a significant permanent collection of Mexican art; to encourage the professional development of Mexican artists; and, to offer arts-education programs.

Exhibition Curator:
Cesáreo Moreno - Visual Arts Director / Chief Curator

Exhibition Information Coordinator:
Zarai Zaragoza - Visual Arts Intern, Summer 2017

Project Team:
Raquel Aguiñaga-Martinez - Visual Arts Associate Director / Registrar
Barbara Engelskirchen - Chief Development Officer
Rebecca D. Meyers - Permanent Collection Curator
Dolores Mercado - Associate Curator

Photo Credits:
Kathleen Culbert-Aguilar - Photographer
Michael Tropea - Photographer
Rocio Caballero
Lee Fatheree
Galeria de Arte Mexicano
NMMA staff
Michael Tropea
Shuzo Uemoto
Tom Van Eynde

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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