Pacheco Murals in Merida

For my final day in Mexico I went to the palacio municipal de Merida in order to see twenty-seven murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco. Castro Pacheco was born in Merida in 1918 (and he's still alive, about to be 94 in January 2012). He is a painter, illustrator, engraver and printmaker who has had a distinguished career in Mexico and internationally. He created these "transportable" murals in the 1970s. They are called "transportable" because Castro Pacheco did not paint them directly onto the walls but rather onto large canvases that were then mounted onto the walls. They are stunning monuments that document certain events in Yucatan's (and Mexico's) history. As monuments, they claim the indigenous Maya perspective as their own. Some of these images are truly heartbreaking, as much of the indigenous histories of Mexico are not happy stories of freedom and liberty. However, there has always been much resistance in Yucatan to Spanish invasions and hegemonic control. A few of these murals demonstrate that spirit of resistance and desire for liberty. The first mural as one ascends the staircase shows how the indigenous peoples of Yucatan (and many more groups of Mexico) believe to be made from maize. It's a stunning mural that signals the combination of history and myth within the region. Anyways, I have many photos of all of these murals but do not have the time to post all of them and elaborate on their importance. But I hope that these pictures demonstrate to some degree the talent and creative vision of Castro Pacheco.

I love all of the colors that Castro Pacheco used in the creation of these images. The exploitation of Henequen started in preColumbian times but intensified after the conquest. The northern part of the Yucatan peninsula was particularly conducive for the cultivation of henequen (a plant that provides fibers for textiles, among other uses). During its zenith, the agroindustrial commerce of henequen during the 19th and early 20th centuries produced more than 200,000 tons a year. There were more than 200 plantations; currently, there are only remnants of this industry that was once flourishing. The cultivation of this plant brought large fortunes to a few, and the backbreaking work on these plantations was done by indigenous Maya groups. Castro Pacheco created two murals that underscore the indigenous hands and feet, bloodied by working daily with this "green gold."

I have to say that the 27 or so murals fascinated me and I spent almost 2 hours in the palacio municipal de Merida viewing these truly unique images. The one of Diego de Landa (who was Bishop of Yucatan from 1549-62) is particularly ominous, as his burning of several hundred (perhaps thousands) of indigenous books and idols was indeed an ominous precursor for what was to follow. Castro Pacheco, in my opinion, captures a much larger narrative with and through these images. To stand in front of them and learn about different aspects of Mexico's (and Yucatan's) history was an awakening experience. Our relationship with the external world is so immersed in images, and these murals form a narrative that, in silence, reflect the profound histories that structured Mexico's formation. The state of Yucatan, in many ways, has a distinct history from that of the diverse regions of Mexico. Castro Pacheco visually expresses, with singular events, the various discourses surrounding Yucatan's cultural history. I thoroughly enjoyed spending my last day in Mexico (for 2011) by viewing these magnificent murals.