The opening of a major four-part exhibition of Mexican Indigenous art in Spain could be a step toward rapprochement after Spain's foreign minister acknowledged the "injustice and pain" caused to "the Indigenous peoples of Mexico."
The exhibition "Half the World: Women in Indigenous Mexico," showing in four venues across Madrid, is a tribute to the feminine universe. It highlights -- through ceramics, textiles, sculptures and jewelry -- the role of women as transmitters of culture and tradition, both in the domestic sphere and in the earthly and spiritual one.
In inaugurating the exhibition at the Cervantes Institute on Friday, Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the shared history between Spain and Mexico "has its light and dark sides."
"There has been pain and injustice toward the Indigenous peoples and it is only right to acknowledge and lament it," he said. "That is part of our shared history; we cannot deny or forget it. ... the path of justice and reconciliation we are traveling together [is] another milestone in our relationship and our brotherhood."
After acknowledging that the exhibition comprising 435 pieces was organized at the behest of President Claudia Sheinbaum, Albares said "the profound meaning of what we are inaugurating goes far beyond these pieces."
Sheinbaum thanked Albares a few hours later during a press conference at Mexico City's National Palace.
"This is the first time a Spanish government official has spoken of regretting the injustice of the Conquest ... an important first step," she said. "It speaks to the importance of what we've always said: forgiveness ennobles governments and peoples."
Relations between Mexico and Spain have been strained since 2019 when then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent a letter to King Felipe VI asking him to admit Spain's "historical responsibility" for the "grievances caused" during the Conquest and to offer "the apologies or political reparations" that this entails.
Since then, Spain expressed "enormous displeasure" after being excluded from events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mexico's consummation of Independence in 2021 and objected to harsh criticism of Spanish energy companies operating in Mexico. This was followed by "a pause" in relations imposed by López Obrador in 2022.
More recently, Sheinbaum refused to invite the king to her inauguration last October.
Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute, said the exhibition is proof that the two countries committed to culture can work toward mutual recognition. "Diplomacy is conducted through words, memory, and shared expression," he said.
The Casa de México Foundation in Spain said the mission of the exhibition is to showcase the richness of Mexico.
Exhibition curator Karina Romero said it also showcases and celebrates women in Mexican Indigenous cultures, because "it is women who carry on Indigenous traditions, ensuring their continuity."
The exhibition comprises 435 pieces ranging from Olmec figures dating to 1400 BC to contemporary textiles on display at the Cervantes Institute. "We are trying to represent 30 centuries of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico," Romero said.
There is added significance in that many of the pieces had not left Mexico before. Among these are the "Diosa Madre" ("Mother Goddess"), an enormous sculpted piece of diorite from the pre-Columbian Popoloca culture. Its inclusion required the consent of the descendant Indigenous community of the state of Puebla.
This exhibition, entitled "The Divine Realm," displays 100 pieces from the Mexica, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Olmec, Huastec and Teotihuacán cultures, among others.
This exhibition, entitled "Lineage and Power," honors the key role of Indigenous women in shaping the original civilizations and contemporary cultural creation and features the funerary regalia of Lady Tz'aka'ab Ajaw, the "Red Queen" of Palenque, a prominent Maya dignitary of the 7th century.
This exhibition, entitled "The Human Sphere," explores the social context of Indigenous women from pre-Columbian times to the present day, in their daily lives (family, community, economy, rituals), as well as their presence in positions of power.