CHICAGO - January 18, 2009 - The Newberry Library, whose collection of Mexican colonial sources is among the top in the U.S., presents The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico, an online exhibition that offers a fresh perspective on the Aztecs in Colonial Mexico and their impact on the heritage and culture of Mexico, Mexicans, and Mexican-Americans.
The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico is based on the 2006 exhibition held at the Library and expands traditional conceptions of Aztec civilization. It explores Aztec-Nahua life after Spanish conquest and focus on the dynamic vitality and continuity of indigenous culture in the colonial period.
The online exhibit insightfully addresses the 300 years after the conquest that Aztec-Nahua colonial communities, artists, scholars, writers, landowners, and religious leaders worked, litigated, published, wrote, and interacted with Spaniards. The result was a rich cultural exchange of economic, intellectual, and artistic labor that proves indigenous peoples more culturally vibrant than has generally been acknowledged.
"This exhibit vividly reveals the Colonial Aztecs (the Nahua) as people of great intelligence, creativity, and perseverance whose contributions to the making of Colonial Mexico were essential," said Ellen Baird, co-curator and professor of art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "The items in the exhibit make apparent to viewers what words can only suggest: they are learned works and often of great beauty."
"One of the exhibit's most ambitious goals is to demonstrate how the persistent vitality and creativity of Aztec culture continues to shape Mexico, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans today," Baird explained. "Chicago's Mexican-American community plays an equally vital, creative, and dynamic role in shaping the culture of our city."
Celebrate the online launch of the exhibition at the Newberry Library on January 29, 2009.
DATE : Thursday, Jan. 29, 5:30 pm reception; 6 pm program
LOCATION: Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., Chicago 60610
ADMISSION: Free. No reservations are required. Visit www.newberry.org or call (312) 255-3700 for details
DETAILS: Speakers: Ellen T. Baird and Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera, co-curators, University of Illinois at Chicago; Performers: Fuego Nuevo Folkloric Group, McKinley Park Elementary School
Join the exhibit's co-curators Ellen Baird and Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera as they describe their most fascinating discoveries from the Newberry's collection. Enjoy performances of Aztec dances by elementary students, and view a small display of original documents as we celebrate the launch of the online exhibition, The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico.
Refreshments will be served.