Crafting Mexico: Intellectuals, Artisans, and the State after the Revolution

After Mexicos revolution of 19101920, intellectuals sought to forge a unified cultural nation out of the countrys diverse populace. Their efforts resulted in an ethnicized interpretation of Mexicanness that intentionally incorporated elements of folk and indigenous culture. In this rich history, Rick A. López explains how thinkers and artists, including the anthropologist Manuel Gamio, the composer Carlos Chávez, the educator Moisés Sáenz, the painter Diego Rivera, and many less-known figures, formulated and promoted a notion of nationhood in which previously denigrated vernacular artsdance, music, and handicrafts such as textiles, basketry, ceramics, wooden toys, and ritual maskscame to be seen as symbolic of Mexicos modernity and national distinctiveness. López examines how the nationalist project intersected with transnational intellectual and artistic currents, as well as how it was adapted in rural communities. He provides an in-depth account of artisanal practices in the village of Olinalá, located in the mountainous southern state of Guerrero. Since the 1920s, Olinalá has been renowned for its lacquered boxes and gourds, which have been considered to be among the most Mexican of the nations arts. Crafting Mexico illuminates the role of cultural politics and visual production in Mexicos transformation from a regionally and culturally fragmented country into a modern nation-state with an inclusive and compelling national identity. See more