Marina y el primer Mestizo - (Mockingbird and Bull Naguales)

Wood carving: Isaías Jiménez Hernández
Textiles: Inés Navarro Gómez
Plumage: Iván Cruz López
Silversmithing: Martha Téllez Gopar

Description

Often regarded as the mother of the concept of mestizaje as it is commonly understood, Marina represents acceptance of Christianity and other European cultural trappings. Often referred to as “La Malinche,” or traitor, Marina was an interpreter for Hernán Cortés and played a prominent role in the colonization of Mexico.

She is represented in the work as a mockingbird, an animal native to Mesoamerica known for its vocal prowess, an allusion her facility to communicate with the native people and Spaniards alike. In the work, she wears a traditional Mesoamerican huipil, to represent her roots but with jewelry and feathered adornments that reflect a more European form. It could be assumed that she has accepted or acquiesced to the religious beliefs and customs of the Spanish, while carrying in her arms a baby bull, representative of the first offspring of mixed Spanish and Mesoamerican parentage; a mestizo.