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Tlalli
Artist's rendering
LocationMexico City, Mexico
DesignerPedro Reyes
MaterialVolcanic rock
Width5 m (16 ft) (proposed)
Height9 m (30 ft) (proposed)
Weight150 t (150 long tons; 170 short tons) (proposed)
Beginning date2021
Dedicated toMexican indigenous women
Dismantled date2021

Tlalli (Nahuatl pronunciationⓘ; Nahuatl languages: land)[a] was a proposed sculpture of a large indigenous woman's head by contemporary artist Pedro Reyes. It was proposed to replace the Monument to Christopher Columbus along Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma.

Tlalli was inspired by the Olmec colossal heads and its intention was to honor 500 years of the resistance of indigenous women. The mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced on 5 September 2021 that Tlalli would replace the monument to Columbus. The announcement, design, name, and the selection of Reyes as the sculptor, as well the undiscussed removal of Columbus, received mixed opinions. Days later, Sheinbaum said that a committee would determine its future, and then in October stated a copy of The Young Woman of Amajac would be placed there instead.

Although the government of the city never addressed the project as canceled, journals and academic members consider it as such.[1][2][3] According to the city's Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, the project is still under consideration but The Young Woman of Amajac has higher priority.[4]

Background

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The monument to Christopher Columbus in 2013

The head was set to replace a monument to Christopher Columbus, originally located on a roundabout along Paseo de la Reforma Avenue, in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City.[5] The statue of Columbus was removed on 10 October 2020, prior to an attempted demonstration to topple it two days later—on Columbus Day. According to the government of the city, it was removed as part of a series of restorations performed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).[6] Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said public debates would be held in 2021 to determine the future of the monument.[7]

In the context of the commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs and present day Mexico City, the city government announced several changes and celebrations to take place in 2021.[8] Among them were the renaming of the plazas and a metro station to include a pre-conquest point of view.[9] For example, the renaming of Puente de Alvarado (named after the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado) to Avenida México-Tenochtitlan.[10][11]

On 5 September 2021, International Indigenous Women's Day, Sheinbaum announced that the statue of Columbus would not be returned to its original site. Instead, it would be relocated to American Park in Polanco, Miguel Hidalgo.[5] She also said that Tlalli would replace the statue of Columbus, to honor 500 years of the resistance of indigenous women,[12] and that the relocation was not to "erase history" but to "deliver social justice".[13] She also mentioned that the decision was taken after receiving 5,000 signatures from indigenous women who asked to "decolonize Paseo de la Reforma".[14]

Description

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Tlalli was designed by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes,[15] a similar smaller version (less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) across) was exhibited in Lisson Gallery in New York City in May 2021.[16] The sculpture was proposed to be made of volcanic rock and it was being sculpted in three workshops located in Iztapalapa, Chimalhuacán and Coyoacán by women artisans and sculptors.[17] The sculpture was based on the Olmecs, a pre-Columbian civilization that developed during the Mesoamerican Preclassic Era.[13] The word Tlalli means "land" or "earth" in Nahuatl.[15] Reyes was inspired by the Olmec colossal heads, and according to him, he had difficulties transforming Tlalli into a woman since the original heads were based on men.[17]

Tlalli was projected to be a 6.5 m (21 ft) high head, supported by an additional 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tezontle base.[18] Its diameter would have been 5 m (16 ft) with an approximate weight of 150 t (150 long tons; 170 short tons). The eyes were inspired by those of a jaguar and her lips on two snakes. For the hair, a pair of braids that converge at a point at the occipital bone were chosen to form a representation of Nahui Ollin, the Earthquake Sun.[19] According to Reyes, he first designed her to have a bun but he was told by anthropologists that pre-Hispanic cultures used braids which imitated the appearance of ergots.[20]

Reception

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The initial announcement received mixed reactions. Mexican president Andres Manuel López Obrador approved of the decision to use the sculpture.[21] The choice of Reyes as the sculptor received criticism, namely, for the fact that he is not a woman and he is not indigenous.[22] Tlalli's name received further commentaries, including from Yásnaya Aguilar [es], Mixe linguist and writer, who questioned the Nahuatl name when Olmecas would have spoken the Mixe–Zoque languages. Aguilar also criticized the generalization of women in public sculpture, in comparison to men who are individually honored.[23] Researcher Lucía Melgar added that it represents women as "generic, mute and immobilized".[23] Historian Federico Navarrete [es] said it exemplifies how indigenous people are viewed with an "essentialist view that [they are] all the same".[23] Josefa Sánchez Contreras, Zoque PhD candidate in Mesoamerican Studies, considered the proposal as an act of "desperate neoindigenism", which is added to other similar acts carried out by López Obrador during his six-year term, while in the rest of the country, projects were developed on the ejido lands of indigenous peoples.[24]

More than 300 people linked to art and culture signed a petition for Sheinbaum requesting the exclusion of Reyes from the project and the creation of a committee composed of women from indigenous communities to choose a monument that represents them. Reyes explained that the government chose him because there are few monumental stonecutters in the country and that the project had to be completed before March 2022.[25] Due to the controversy, Sheinbaum determined that the Committee for Monuments and Artistic Works in Public Spaces (Comité de Monumentos y Obras Artísticas en Espacios Públicos, COMAEP) will determine which is the most appropriate option to replace Columbus.[26]

As a response, on 25 September 2021, a group of feminists placed a purple wooden woman with her fist raised on the empty Columbus plinth. They symbolically renamed the intersection the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan (Women Who Fight Roundabout). Additionally, they painted the names of murdered and disappeared women on the metal police barricades.[27]

Replacements

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On 12 October, Sheinbaum proposed an enlarged copy of The Young Woman of Amajac to replace the statue of Columbus.[28] Reyes exhibited Citlalli (Nahuatl for Star) at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey in March 2022 which, according to him, is a version similar to Tlalli.[29] The following month a six-meter version of Citlalli was exhibited in San Antonio, Texas.[30][31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Spanish-language sources transliterate it to "Tlali".

References

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  1. ^ "A la sombra | Claudia Sheinbaum". El Sol de México (in Spanish). 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ Rivera, Niza (29 September 2021). "UNAM discute en foro la polémica sobre la estatua de Colón, Tlali y el espacio público". Proceso (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ Ochoa Sandy, Gerardo (22 October 2021). "Cristóbal Colón, la obcecación de la jefa de gobierno". Letras Libres (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ Talavera, Juan Carlos (4 July 2022). "Cultura con tinte masivo, Claudia Curiel de Icaza" [Culture with a massive touch, Claudia Curiel de Icaza]. Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b Andrew, Scottie (7 September 2021). "A statue of Christopher Columbus in Mexico City will be replaced by one of an Indigenous woman". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. ^ Roa, Wendy (10 October 2020). "Retiran estatua de Cristobal Colón en Paseo de la Reforma" [Statue of Christopher Columbus removed from Paseo de la Reforma]. Excélsior (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ^ Alejo Santiago, Jesús; Sánchez Medel, Leticia (12 October 2020). "Cristobal Colón. Monumento, símbolo del colonialismo: López Luján" [Christopher Columbus. Monument, symbol of colonialism: López Luján]. Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Mexico City announces events to celebrate fall of Tenochtitlán". Mexico News Daily. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Tree of the Victorious Night". The Official Guide to Mexico City. Government of Mexico City. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  10. ^ Cruz, Alejandro (19 August 2021). "Cambian nombre a Puente de Alvarado por Calzada México-Tenochtitlan" [Puente de Alvarado is renamed to Calzada México-Tenochtitlan]. La Jornada. Mexico City. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Daily audio-visual show tells of rise and fall of Tenochtitlán". Mexico News Daily. 16 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ Suliman, Adela; Diogo Mateus, Sofia (6 September 2021). "Statue of Christopher Columbus in Mexico City to be replaced by Indigenous female figure". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Mexico City to swap Columbus statue for one of indigenous woman". BBC News. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Recibe Jefa de Gobierno más de 5 mil firmas de mujeres indígenas para descolonizar Paseo de la Reforma y colocar una escultura en homenaje a la mujer indígena" [The Head of Government receives more than 5 thousand signatures from indigenous women to decolonize Paseo de la Reforma and place a sculpture in honor of indigenous women] (in Spanish). Head of Government of Mexico City. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  15. ^ a b "¿Quién es Pedro Reyes, el artista que creará la escultura de una indígena en lugar del Colón, en Reforma?" [Who is Pedro Reyes, the artist that will create the sculpture of an indigenous person in place of Columbus, in Reforma?]. El Universal (in Spanish). 5 September 2021. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Pedro Reyes: Tlali | Exhibitions | Lisson Gallery". www.lissongallery.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Así será 'Tlali', el nuevo monumento a la mujer indígena que reemplazará a Colón" [This is what 'Tlali', the new monument to indigenous women that will replace Colón, will look like]. Telediario (in Spanish). 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  18. ^ Israde, Yanireth; Morales, Francisco (11 September 2021). "Tlalli, la escultura que sustituirá a Colón" [Tlalli, the sculpture that will replace Columbus]. El Heraldo de Aguascalientes (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  19. ^ Andrew Herrera, Karina (10 September 2021). "Tlali, la cabeza colosal olmeca femenina que reemplazará a Colón en Paseo de la Reforma" [Tlali, the female Olmec colossal head that will replace Columbus at Paseo de la Reforma]. Noticieros Televisa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  20. ^ "'Tlalli' reemplazará la estatua de Colón en Paseo de la Reforma" ["Tlalli" will replace the statue of Columbus along Paseo de la Reforma]. Canal Once (in Spanish). 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  21. ^ Ramírez, Rafael (10 September 2021). "El nombre de AMLO nunca será el de tu calle; ya lo puso en su testamento" [AMLO's name will never be your street name; he already put it in his will]. El Sol de México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  22. ^ Quiroga, Ricardo (8 September 2021). "Rechazan a Pedro Reyes como creador de escultura indígena" [Pedro Reyes is rejected as creator of indigenous sculpture]. El Economista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  23. ^ a b c "Critican escultura de mujer indígena que sustituirá a Colón; es una cabeza olmeca con nombre náhuatl" [Sculpture of indigenous woman that will substitute Columbus criticized; it's an Olmec head with a Nahuatl name]. El Financiero. 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  24. ^ Sánchez Contreras, Josefa (15 September 2021). "De Colón a 'Tlali': los rituales neoindigenistas del Estado mexicano" [De Colón a 'Tlali': los rituales neoindigenistas del Estado mexicano]. The Washington Post (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  25. ^ Guillén, Beatriz (13 September 2021). "Más de 300 personas del mundo de la cultura firman una carta contra la escultura 'Tlali' de Pedro Reyes" [More than 300 people from the world of culture sign a letter against Pedro Reyes' sculpture 'Tlali']. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Sheinbaum echa por tierra a Tlalli y deja decisión de estatua a Comité" [Sheinbaum buries Tlalli and leaves statue decision to committee]. Etcétera (in Spanish). 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  27. ^ admin (4 October 2021). "The visual cry of "women who fight" against violence in Mexico". News Europa. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  28. ^ Agren, David (12 October 2021). "Mexico City to replace Columbus statue with pre-Hispanic sculpture of woman". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  29. ^ Carrizales, David (22 February 2022). "Pedro Reyes expondrá "Citlalli", versión de "Tlalli" y otras obras en el Marco, de Monterrey" [Pedro Reyes to exhibit "Citlalli", version of "Tlalli" and other works at the Marco, Monterrey]. El Universal (in Spanish). Monterrey. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  30. ^ Macmasters, Merry (1 March 2022). "Alojará el Marco la exposición más completa de escultura social que se ha realizado de Pedro Reyes" [The MARCO will house the most complete exhibition of social sculpture by Pedro Reyes ever made]. La Jornada. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  31. ^ Allen, Ashley (8 March 2022). "New sculpture by artist Pedro Reyes debuts at San Antonio's River Walk Public Art Garden". San Antonio Current. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.

Further reading

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