Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

The prologue to Forjando patria: pro nacionalismo, published in 1916 by leading Mexican anthropologist and archaeologist Manuel Gamio, compares the forging of metal out of an amalgam of bronze and steel to the ideal societal intermixing of Mexicans [...]

This text was written by Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo to accompany his series of paintings inspired by “Apu Inka Atawallpaman,” an elegiac Quechua poem by an anonymous author. The poem describes the death of the Inca Atahualpa, and the [...]

In this article, art historian Robert Goldwater analyzes the life and work of Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Goldwater explains that although Tamayo is thought to have an individual style, when his works are assembled, it is apparent that his work is [...]

Argentinean writer, publisher, curator, and professor, Jorge Glusberg presented this article in 1978 at the Latin American symposium Arte Argentino 78. In the article, he explains that the study of semiotics has led to a new understanding of the [...]

This address was given by the Spanish-born, Chilean-based scholar José Victorino Lastarria in 1842 during a meeting of the recently formed Sociedad Literaria, a literary society of important Chilean scholars and politicians. In his speech to the [...]

This article records a polemical debate over Argentinean national artistic and literary practices that took place in 1894 between three Argentinean artistic figures: poet and playwright Rafael Obligado; painter, critic, and scholar Eduardo Schiaffino [...]

In “Indianismo y exoticismo,” Argentinean journalist and writer Ricardo Rojas posits that the history of Latin America can be explained as a rhythm of fluctuations between “indianismo,” the valorization of indigenous culture, and “ [...]

In "La habilidad manual indígena," Mexican painter Dr. Atl describes what he considers the astounding manual dexterity of indigenous Mexicans. He explains that this dexterity makes Mexicans uniquely suited to working as mechanics, surgeons, and [...]

In “Introducción a Las artes populares en México,” Mexican painter and writer Gerardo Murillo, known as Dr. Atl, argues for the quality and importance of Mexican indigenous craftsmanship. Among the various handicrafts popular in Mexico, Dr. Atl [...]

In “Painted Miracles,” Mexican writer Anita Brenner examines the Mexican tradition of offering milagro paintings, or ex-votos, to the saints or to God as thanks for a miracle. Brenner explains that although the offering of milagro paintings was [...]

In "Rectificaciones sobre las artes plásticas en México," Mexican Muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros states his opinions on a variety of polemical issues in Mexican and Latin American artistic practice. He proposes a reform of the system of arts [...]