this year marked the 154th anniversary of Carnival but according to Huejotzingo culture and tourism director Edgar Aguilar Teyssier Carnival has [gone on for] eight centuries,” he said “What is correct is that this is the 154th anniversary of the militarization of Carnival — that is to say when it started to celebrate the battle of Cinco de Mayo.” Carnival’s true origin is linked to the beginning of the farming cycle when indigenous groups started preparing the land for planting but despite it’s co-opting over a century ago it’s still an important event in Huejotzingo estimating that 20,000 to 25,000 residents would participate this year “[Huejotzingo] has a population of about 90,000 so one of every three participate in the parade 100% of the population is immersed in Carnival,” he said you are someone who makes food or makes clothing.” Participants are grouped into four “battalions,” one from each of Huejotzingo’s neighborhoods Each wears a distinctive costume and carries fusiles talladas which have caused injuries and even deaths on occasion Carnival commemorates three events: the defeat of the French in Puebla on May 5 1862; the story of a kidnapping of a mayor’s daughter by Agustín Lorenzo a bandit; and the first Catholic indigenous wedding members (called carnavaleros) of the Indian Batallion of Barrio 3 entered the municipal cemetery “We are here to honor the generals who have died,” said Alberto Santa María Cruz He’s one of many mandarines responsible for helping to keep the peace Guns were fired and people drank and danced as a band played and then the battalion marched from the cemetery guns were fired more frequently and the dancing got wilder five tonelades (11,023 lbs.) of gunpowder were used at this event and I doubt they used one gram less this year a ceremony commemorated the first Catholic indigenous wedding followed by a reenactment of Lorenzo the bandit making off with the daughter of the town’s mayor it was time for the quema del jacal (burning of the jackal) from pre-Hispanic times up through the Revolution Guns cost 3,000 to 5,000 pesos (US $150 to $250) and costumes as much as 50,000 pesos (US $2,500) Hilario Oliver Saloma threw his arms open wide I left Huejotzingo with my ears ringing as if I’d just attended a Who concert circa 1970 Some hairs on my right arm were singed from getting a bit too close to a carnavalero firing a gun I was exhausted from photographing for seven hours ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC In Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism 1910-1950 – at the Philadelphia Museum of Art imaginary and mundane lose their distinction blissful bucolic fantasies like Rufino Tamayo’s and the steamy bedazzling visions of Adolfo Maugard are hung across from Jose Clemente Orozco’s paintings of warfare devoid of meaningful purpose Maugard’s ornate pattern and Tamayo’s dance both ignore and negate the neo-feudal conditions of the revolution’s agrarian genesis escaping to a much-needed future; while Orozco ignores the post-revolutionary future’s potential in order to preserve the abhorrent reality of its past when the people of Mexico formed temporary coalitions across party and ethnicity – to turn the instruments of oppression: juridical The exhibition is comprised of some 280 works from the most prodigious Mexican artists and cultural producers; full of political journals and even murals projected on the gallery walls each holding a distinct presence accounting for the many variations of style message and manner of presentation; is overwhelming The PMA’s thematic organization of work is best exemplified by the conflict between the Stridentists and the Contemporaries; avant-garde groups active in the 1920’s incorporating dada and cubo-futurist design sought to give modern form and voice to a unified revolutionary spirit – whereas the Contemporaries – floated above any literal representation of socio-political transformation in a surrealist mode of thought and European style intellectualism while civilian alliances began to splinter the government began to reconstitute itself and its power through assassination political repression and realignment with foreign interests all whilst remembering how the masses had once taken the streets by force a painting by Alfredo Ramos Martinez from 1932 is one such image of subaltern strength and civilian power As we look downward into a group of soldiers cut by the frame a resolute stare pierces upward and out from within a maelstrom Sombreros cruise like boats over a torrent of Zapata revolutionaries The interplay of bright bulbous shapes atop a warm cavernous gathering conveys a course but bubbling intensity Martinez’s arid handling imbues this claustrophobic scene with the whipping emptiness of a desert and a face then of one man distracts from all He remains both intimately unknown and joined in common struggle; a single cell in a larger organism of change In a 1924 issue of Corrido’s El Machete – the official paper of the Mexican Communist party revolutionary change itself is transmogrified into a distinct force of energy reverberating through the hot purple woodblock print The Earth Belongs to those who work with Their Hands An undulating banner hovers between a terrestrial assembly and a corporate ghoul above bringing to mind The Tennis Court Oath by French Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David just as Martinez’s Zapata soldier stares out 1.5 million Mexicans gazed into the hollow eyes of death we see this transitory moment of existential confrontation prolonged through festive reenactment A saber rattling child dressed as a cowboy blankly stares into the black painted eyes of a skeleton who leers back Morado’s droll charm engages with the way we reanimate our dead through remembrance and the ongoing battle to determine their meaning in the stories told by the living In this show we stroll through the stories of the people of Mexico as briskly as we might flip through a newspaper from one representation of unity to another what appears as a cacophony of incompatible voices becomes one kaleidoscopic entity Where two works might have been straightforwardly opposed These multifarious bonds begin multiplying This amassing of subjectivities builds an emergent consciousness that we speak to and compare to our own modern world Though the particular style is now easily limited by its art historical categorization many issues remain open due to their continuing resonance in our present day Paint the Revolution is not something that remains in the past to make tangible and modern the vision of the world we still long for Steve Basel earned his MFA from the the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 2014 and his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2012 in painting He is a current member of Automat collective Occasionally he writes about art; regularly contributing reviews to Title Magazine Artistically his focus is in painting but experiments with a wide range of media to support his practice Strong work by Wanda Gág and Christina Ramberg at the Philadelphia Museum of Art ‘Staged’ at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardEl Carnaval de Puebla returns to Philly this SundayPhilly's Mexican community celebrates the 18th edition of El Carnaval de Puebla this weekend with a parade Cinco de Mayo (May 5) isn’t Mexico’s Independence Day it does mark the 1862 Battle of Puebla when two Mexican battalions (Indios Serranos and Zacapoaxtlas) fought and defeated three French brigades (Zuavos According to San Mateo Carnavalero representative Edgar Ramírez they try to keep the tradition as similar as possible to the Huejotzingo carnival To celebrate the 18th anniversary of El Carnaval de Puebla designer Julieta Zavala will parade with a section called “Que chula es Puebla,” with people dressed with designs alluding to the beauty of Puebla Mexican artist Daniel Kwansi Ramírezis visiting to showcase his art and hand-painted hats with carnival scenes and the legend of Agustín Lorenzo — a Mexican Robin Hood figure — feature as part of the parade as dancers learn the movements of their battalions since childhood San Mateo Carnavalero pays the city’s permits to make the carnival possible through dancers’ donations and community events “We are giving back to the local economy.” And “having the carnival unfold so openly in the city makes our children feel proud of their roots.” The traditional parade is set to leave at 12:30 p.m and Los Angeles will be part of the ensemble Many of them are second-generation children participating for the first time in a tradition that’s brought as many as 15,000 spectators to Washington Ave Whether you are a veteran or a first-timer here is what to know about El Carnaval de Puebla: to check out these Carnaval de Puebla events: Six bands will grace the stage: local Mexican banda La Poblanita La Carcaña and Orquesta Zacatepec from Puebla El Carnaval de Puebla falls on Mexico’s “Day of the Children.” Between noon to 3 p.m. they will have a festival dedicated to kids and Cabañas de San Lucas will serve traditional Mexican cuisine check out the six Mexican and Latino artisan stands around the park a company dedicated to the production of airbag fabric for Tesla and Ford vehicles will invest US$35 million in its plant located in the Huejotzingo industrial park This resource will be used for the construction of a new industrial plant that will allow one out of every six airbags in cars circulating in North America to be produced in Puebla announced that Indorama Ventures is a group consisting of 124 production plants in the petrochemical and fiber industries He also stressed that Puebla is a state that is growing and accelerating This allowed it to advance 14 positions in the national comparison with respect to the conditions it had before the pandemic also almost twice the national average of 2.3 percent which was the best first quarter of this indicator in the last five years The announcement of this investment was attended by Ralf Koehnen Chief Operating Officer of Indorama Venture; Daniel Quiñones manager of the Huejotzingo plant; the municipal president We’re in the business of providing relevant information through print and electronic media organizing events to bring industrial value chain actors together and services to create new business relationships Our goal is to improve our clients’ competitiveness The Library of Congress has acquired the San Salvador Huejotzingo Codex which documents legal proceedings from 1571 in which Indigenous Nahuatl officials in central Mexico accused their village’s Spanish canon The codex contains new details about the earliest legal structures in Mexico after Spanish colonization and the way Indigenous people used Spanish laws to defend their rights The codex is one of only six 16th century pictorial manuscripts from central Mexico known to still exist “The San Salvador Codex adds significantly to the Library’s collection of Indigenous manuscripts from the early contact period,” said John Hessler Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas “It is by any measure a world-class acquisition.” what life was like in this village,” Hessler said “People are helping the canon make his furniture They’re farming corn and getting woolen blankets We get a real sense of the everyday out of this document The San Salvador Codex has 96 pages on 48 folios and includes six foldout drawings in Mixtec and Nahuatl hieroglyphs in red Written by at least two different Indigenous hands the hieroglyphs illustrate charges against Alonso Jiménez administered the village on behalf of Spanish colonial authorities Two lawsuits arose after a colonial inspector arrived in San Salvador unannounced in 1570 The Indigenous people reported mistreatment and harassment of their nobles and accused Jiménez of charges including refusing to pay for the services of artisans charging for woolen blankets meant to be free taking more corn than the church was entitled to and stealing textiles The codex provides a complete picture of the lawsuits: the Indigenous testimony in Nahautl The court acquitted the canon on some of the charges and found him guilty of others The manuscript will be available on loc.gov in the coming weeks once the cataloging process is complete Gunpowder may be heavily regulated in Mexico but it still plays an explosive role in certain surviving traditions often to the surprise of visitors from North America and Europe Such is the case at the Carnival of Huejotzingo which this year will be held from February 22-25 It is unique in Mexico in that it neither copies the carnivals of other countries nor features local dance the main attraction is the mock battles very loosely based on the Battle of Puebla — the theme of the Cinco de Mayo holiday May 5 may not have prominence in Mexico as a whole but this date this is a carnival after all so merriment still rules The reenactments and costumes only vaguely resemble what went on that historic day The Huejotzingo event is the largest of Mexico’s “small” traditional carnivals — those that survived the suppression of the celebration during the colonial period Although carnival in some form dates back farther Up to 12,000 of the town’s residents wear costumes most to form the 17 battalions belonging to five groups Three represent the French and their mercenary Turks (called Zuavos Zapadores and Turcos) and two the Mexican defenders of Puebla (called Zacapoaxtlas and Indios Serranos) What grabs the attention of the over 80,000 visitors that come to Huejotzingo is the use of hand carved wooden muskets It is not only fired off during the battles during the three days as “soldiers” parade around constantly firing off “shots.” This means that for the entire time the air in and around the main plaza is thick with smoke and the smell of sulfur Such firing of muskets is only done by participating townspeople but serious injury The costumes worn are either made by the participants themselves or by local craftsmen generally ranging in value from 10,000 to 30,000 pesos (US $500 to $1,500) The most luxurious of the costumes is that of the Zacapoaxtlas Masks and even whole outfits are available to purchase at the carnival for both participants and spectators Each of the five categories of soldiers is headed by a generalísimo (high general) a role that was specifically reserved for men until 2013 There are two other reenactments performed during this carnival One is the gidnapping of the mayor’s daughter a kind of Romeo-and-Juliet-meets-Robin-Hood story A local highway robber named Agustín Lorenzo and the mayor’s daughter fall in love and in order to marry she must be captured by Lorenzo and the couple escape the town’s posse Another is an imagined reenactment of the first Christian wedding of an indigenous couple shortly after the conquest The kidnapping is performed every day of carnival but the wedding is performed only on Sunday there is no official schedule and each day is a bit different go on nearly from daybreak to dusk with most occurring after midday Huejotzingo is a traditional rural community Most of its 25,000 residents are dedicated to agriculture and particularly for the production of an alcoholic cider but this remains severely damaged from the earthquake of 2017 Because of significant migration from Huejotzingo and other rural areas of Puebla versions of the event have popped up in various places in the United States especially in the mid-Atlantic seaboard states of New York This year’s New York edition of the Huejotzingo carnival will be held in Times Square In-depth analysis and commentary on today's biggest news stories as only the BBC can deliver BBC "Newshour" covers everything from the growth of democracy to the threat of terrorism with a fresh Philadelphia's Carnaval de Puebla returned to Washington Avenue for a 12th year on Sunday The elaborate costumes of the annual Carnaval de Puebla draw comparisons to the Mummers a town in Puebla in which a Mexican army defeated French soldiers on May 5 Participants in the Carnaval de Puebla dress as French and Spanish soldiers while riding through South Philadelphia on horseback to commemorate the 19th century Battle of Puebla Participants dance in costume on Washington Ave to celebrate the annual Carnaval de Puebla takes place in the Italian Market section of South Philadelphia after a hiatus taken due to an increase in immigration raids which originates in the Mexican state of Puebla The annual Carnaval de Puebla brings as many as 15,000 people to South Philadelphia The costume is said to symbolize the devil being let loose To commemorate the 19th century Battle of Puebla participants in the Carnaval dress as French and Spanish soldiers while riding through South Philadelphia on horseback Carnavaleros celebrate in bearded masks and embroidered draping themselves in the colors of the Mexican WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today. The city’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration attracts roughly 15,000 attendees each year to South Philadelphia Leaders have organized a buy-in and protest this Saturday to support immigrant-owned and immigrant-serving businesses in Norristown Families for Ceasefire Philly organized the vigil in front of the LOVE statue where mourners hung a sign with the words “Gaza." Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. Learn more about Social Responsibility at WHYY “[The carnival] includes many ritual and symbolic elements that make it unique It is one of the few [traditional] cultural dance and musical gatherings that constitutes a grand theater of the masses.” The mayor explained that the event includes representations of the famous 5 de Mayo battle in Puebla as well as a reenactment of the wedding of Calixto the region’s first Catholic wedding of an indigenous person according to the written account of Friar Toribio de Benavente Motlinía Local children participate in the carnival from a young age and more of the region’s young are represented every year The Huejotzingo carnival is considered the largest Mesoamerican ritual gathering still alive today in Mexico and principally celebrates the region’s indigenous ancestry Huejotzingo was founded in 1173 by Nahua peoples among other communities established on the slopes of the Iztaccíhuatl volcano Today’s carnival keeps alive traditions passed from generation to generation from the town’s original inhabitants Many say the carnival is the biggest and most important public festival in the state of Puebla This year’s festivities are expected to be especially large: 20,000 dancers and 100 bands from Oaxaca the event is expected to draw around 80,000 visitors and generate about 20 million pesos (US $1 million) Source: Milenio (sp) Three suspects in the murder of three medical students and an Uber driver in Puebla were released from custody on Thursday but immediately rearrested by state police and the National Guard on charges of police impersonation but as soon as they left a court in San Andrés Cholula they were arrested for the homicide of the Uber driver and students The suspects were arrested on Monday in Huejotzingo the same municipality where the bodies of Colombians Ximena Quijano Hernández as well as fellow medical student Francisco Javier Tirado Márquez Police detained the three alleged murderers after stopping the BMW SUV in which they were traveling The vehicle was fitted out with a siren and other equipment whose use is limited to law enforcement vehicles blood stains and bullets were found inside the vehicle was driving the vehicle before the arrest occurred while Lisset N. could not be held after determining that their arrest on impersonation charges was illegal because they were merely passengers in the vehicle the judge ordered his release on the grounds that impersonating a police officer does not warrant preventative custody the suspects were transferred to state Attorney General’s Office facilities They will face a hearing on murder charges within 48 hours of their detention on Thursday The two Colombians, exchange students at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, and Tirado, a medical student at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, attended the Carnival of Huejotzingo on Sunday before booking an Uber to return to Puebla city The vehicle driven by Vital was apparently intercepted and all four occupants were shot dead Their bodies were found Monday morning on a lot in Santa Ana Xalmimilulco Puebla authorities said Wednesday that the murders could be linked to an argument that Quijano allegedly had with another woman at the Huejotzingo Carnival over the hat she was wearing there was an argument and she recovered her hat it’s evidence that we have to include [in the investigation],” said Attorney General Gilberto Higuera Bernal He said that the hat and sunglasses that Quijano were wearing were found at one of three properties searched by police in Santa Ana Xalmimilulco Higuera also said that Quijano’s body had more bullet wounds than the other victims The multi-homicide sparked protests on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday by students of several Puebla universities including those attended by the slain students students called for justice for the murder victims and demanded that authorities guarantee security for all citizens The Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla said in a statement that “it expresses its profound indignation and concern over the escalation in crime and violence in our state and our country that condemns families to live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty.” Speaking at his morning press conference on Thursday President López Obrador expressed regret about the murders “It’s a reprehensible and very painful incident that has to do with the breakdown [of society]” caused by the neoliberal economic policies implemented by previous governments, he said, repeating a claim he made last week when speaking about the femicides of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla and 7-year-old Fátima Aldrighett the mother of Parada and the father of Quijano spent Thursday collecting the belongings of their children from their Puebla home before departing for Colombia but my heart feels neither resentment nor hate for this beautiful country,” said Jorge Quijano “The important thing is that they find the truth,” said Angélica Cerpa