Bold Caballeros y Noble Bandidas explores the development of Mexican popular
culture and United States-Mexico relations this fall at the Autry National
Center of the American West. Organized by the Autry National Center in
association with Arizona State University ’s Hispanic Research Center, the
exhibition uses art, rare historical footage, feature film, music, and
popular culture to explore monumental changes in the Americas that
were initiated by the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
Jonathan Spaulding , Executive Director of the Museum of the American West,
envisions the exhibition as part of a museum-wide effort to explore the
Latino experience in the American West. "In better understanding the region
as part of Latin America, we can better understand our future as part of an
interconnected continent,” he said.
Creating a mythology that endures to
this day in Mexico and the United States, towering figures such as Emiliano
Zapata and Francisco “Pancho” Villa inspired a vast output of film, art,
folklore, music, song, and literature that continues to shape the identity
of the U. S.-Mexico borderlands.
U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
Before the Mexican Revolution the border was porous and unpatrolled. Bold
Caballeros y Noble Bandidas explores the creation of the borderland’s
identity, with its own customs and practices. 19th century outlaws such as
Joaquin Murrieta, Tiburcio Vasquez, and Gregorio Cortez became cultural
heroes and symbols of resistance to the U.S. occupation of lands that once
belonged to Mexico. After the Revolution the border was not only armed, it
also began to function as an autonomous zone, with practices and rules that
were unique and unlike those that prevailed throughout the rest of the
United States and Mexico.
The exhibition explores the events and
American reaction surrounding the invasion of the United States by Francisco
“Pancho” Villa and the attack on Columbus, New Mexico. It showcases both the
Punitive Expedition led by General Pershing, accompanied by his aide George
S. Patton, to capture and punish Pancho Villa, and the two occupations of
Mexican ports (Tampico and Veracruz) ordered by President Woodrow Wilson.
Women Revolutionaries
For women, the Revolution served as a catalyst for their emancipation, their
assumption of new roles including that of fighters, and their rise to power,
prestige, and influence. Women who represented the peasantry, working poor,
and intellectuals from the middle or the upper classes rose among the ranks
as colonels, couriers, feminists, gang leaders, generals, journalists,
nurses, outlaws, poets, political figures, revolutionaries, spies, and
weapons experts. Their stories were propelled through popular culture and
lore, including that of Elisa Acuña y Roseta (1887–1946), an associate of
anarchist Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, one of the primary intellectual
spokespersons for Emiliano Zapata and zapatismo; Generala Margarita Neri,
called a “superb guerrilla commander” and noted for her implacability and
ruthlessness; and Hermila Galindo de Topete (1896–1954), cofounder and
editor of the feminist and pro-Carranza journal Mujer Moderna, and an early
supporter of many radical feminist issues such as sex education in schools,
women’s suffrage, and divorce.
Film
The Revolution provided a catalyst for the creation and increasing
popularity of fiction films, newsreels, and documentaries. Over 400 films
made between 1910 and 1920 were about Pancho Villa alone. The output
includes unforgettable films from both Mexico and the United States .
American films such as Viva Zapata! and Viva Villa! contained major social
and political objectives, while a new type of Mexican film emerged featuring
the female revolutionary leader, which propelled the career of Mexican
actress María Félix, who starred in La Cucaracha, La Generala, Juana Gallo,
and other films of this genre.
Visual Art
In addition to historic footage, movie reels, and music, the exhibition
features fascinating artworks that combine revolutionary heroes and other
bold outlaws (male and female) with the theme of the Day of the Dead. Works
from the period of the Revolution by José Guadalupe Posada (died 1913), as
well as contemporary artists, explore the roots and imagery of contemporary
Chicano identity.
Contemporary Chicano art is closely linked ideologically with the social and
political developments of the Mexican Revolution. The changes brought about
by the Revolution promoted a strong desire among artists for a cultural and
artistic introspection, drawing from a rich and complex history and
producing a unique and inclusive cultural hybridization.
About the Autry National Center of the American West
The Autry National Center of the American West is an intercultural history
center that includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum
of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage), and
the Institute for the Study of the American West. Each institution maintains
its individual identity; however, the convergence of resources allows us to
expand our understanding of the diverse peoples of the American West,
connecting the past with the present to inform our shared future. The Autry
National Center ’s executive offices are located in Griffith Park .
The Museum of the American West and Museum Store are open Tuesday through
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From June 1 to August 31, Thursday hours are 10
a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free on the second Tuesday of every month and
free for veterans year-round.
Admission is $9 for adults, $5 for students and seniors 60+, $3 for children
3–12, and free for Autry members, veterans, and children 2 and under.
autrynationalcenter.org
Southern California Vacations are
typically about
Los Angeles beaches and
Universal Studios, which isn't far from the Autry National Center.
While Autry is sometimes overlooked as a tourist attraction, just imagine
Disney imagineering at hand in the world-class display. There are many
tourist gems that also surround the museum. Across the street is the LA Zoo,
Griffith Park and
Travel Town Museum.
