“Our Fire”, the exhibition of Graf Maldonado in the Cultural Corridor of the UAEM

The memories of his childhood, when at the age of eight he met the Otomí Ceremonial Center and had a rapprochement with the Otomí Hñahñu people of Temoaya, led, 24 years later, the photographer and journalist Gustavo Graf Maldonado to return to that place and capture in images the Religious syncretism that revolves around the Sanctuary of Señor Santiago and that through the exhibition “Our Fire” can be seen in the University Cultural Corridor of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEMéx).

The secretary of Cultural Dissemination of the UAEMéx, María de las Mercedes Portilla Luja, expressed that the exhibition “Our Fire” is presented within the framework of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Faculty of Anthropology and the Tangible and Intangible Heritage National Meeting and is an opportunity to appreciate, from the images, the religious practices, as a result of a cultural transformation that gave rise to a complex and enriched cultural identity over time.

Likewise, he indicated that “Our Fire” is one of the 155 exhibitions and one of the 127 venues that make up the 2022 edition of the International Photography Festival of Mexico for Fotoseptiembre, presented through a network of galleries, museums, cultural centers and schools. in all the country. The event is held by the Image Center, a public institution distinguished for its work in the field of image.

In the Faculty of Anthropology of the UAEMéx, Portilla Luja; the director of Cultural Heritage of the UAEMéx, Yuriko Elizabeth Rojas Moriyama; The person in charge of the office of this academic space, Mireya Núñez Martínez, and the person in charge of Cultural Infrastructure, Dolores Contreras Chávez, together with the artist, inaugurated the exhibition and later toured it.

“The Autonomous University of the State of Mexico is part of this great work extended in Mexico and the world to show, through the lens of Gustav Graf, the value of the tradition of the Otomí people, presenting their festivities and pre-Hispanic references extended to our days. days as part of a sustained memory through music, singing and gastronomy”, said the university student.

On his occasion, the exhibitor thanked the support he has had to make this exhibition a reality; Likewise, he explained that the images collected are the result of work he documented from March 1998 to March 1999, in which he captured the festivities of the Otomí Hñahñu people, who adore the image of Santiago Apóstol, who has lived in the chapel of church.

“I was able to witness the deep spirituality that the Hñahñu people have and for that opportunity I will always be grateful to all the people who allowed me to take these images that you will see in the exhibition. These photos narrate the process of appropriation and resignification of the Catholic myth, translated into the Mesoamerican vision of the Otomi of the State of Mexico and the way in which they celebrate and occupy the space of the church”, he added.

Black and white photographs, whose captions are also expressed in the language Hñahñucan be appreciated by the university community and the general public in the University Cultural Corridor, on the external fences of the university spaces located on Paseo Tollocan, Jesús Carranza, Venustiano Carranza and Mariano Matamoros, in Toluca.

The exhibition will be valid until February 2023.

(Photo: Portal Special)

“Our Fire”, the exhibition of Graf Maldonado in the Cultural Corridor of the UAEM – Diario Portal