On Monday, a photography exhibit about the Mexican Revolutionary War and Mexican culture was inaugurated on the second floor of Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center Art Gallery.
“Testimonios de una Guerra,” a photography exhibit donated by the Mexican Consulate in Detroit, was showcased for the first time in collaboration with the Intermedia Art Gallery and College of Arts and Sciences at EMU.
Juan Manuel Solana Morales, the Honorable General Consul of Mexico, and Dr. Coral Lopez-Gomez, the Honorary Consul of Spain and Spanish Professor at EMU, were in attendance speaking to students and faculty about the exhibit’s inauguration and the history of the Mexican Revolutionary War.
“This exhibit is an important part of our Mexican culture,” Solana said. “It makes us feel and understand what Mexico is all about here with these pictures displayed.”
The exhibit will be on display until Friday, Sept. 20, alongside Jerry Lee Morton’s series of photographs of his modern-day depiction of Mexican Culture.
“It’s wonderful to see more pictures that reflect the culture of Mexico with Art. I just think it’s a great opportunity for students to walk in here and see that,“ Lopez-Gomez said.
Solana spoke during a reception outside the Student Center Art Gallery expressing his gratitude of collaborating with Lopez-Gomez and Elisabeth J. Morgan, Coordinator of International Initiatives at EMU.
“It grabs your heart,” Morgan said. “It’s a great depiction of the lower and upper classes of Mexico during these two different time periods.”
The two exhibits are collections originally from the National Institute of Anthropology and History from Mexico City, Mexico. Jerry Lee Morton’s depiction of modern-day Mexico contrasts well with the sepia-like photographs of “Testimonios de una Guerra”.
“One out of every 10 million Mexicans died in that war,” Solana said. “These pictures depict those people, who they were and what they looked like. This is a part of our souls. With the increase of Mexican art at EMU, we can showcase a little bit more of what is Mexican culture. Now, we just need pictures of the recent decade to show more of the progression in Mexico.”
Lopez-Gomez is hopeful to bring more exhibits and events like this to EMU in collaborations with Ambassadorial and Consular Corps Liaison Office and the Consular Corps of Michigan.
“Over the past 3 or 4 years, there has been an ongoing relationship with the ACCLO offices and the World Languages Department in Alexander Hall,” Lopez-Gomez said. “We had Jerry Lee Morton’s exhibit here over the summer and decided to add the Mexican Revolutionary War exhibit to help tell the history of their country.”
Lopez-Gomez says the Consulate’s job is to promote countries’ histories, along with their businesses, and different exhibitions of art.
“EMU has had a good relationship with the Consulate in Detroit. Consul Lopez-Gomez found out that Consul Solana had photographs worth displaying. It worked out perfect. She made it happen,” Morgan said.
He said she is looking to get two international-like exhibits a month showcased at EMU and believes this collaboration of an exhibit is a great way to start off the year.
Preston Johnson, an EMU undergraduate transfer student, was able to speak to Solana more in-depth about the Franco regime and new things about the Mexican culture that was of interest to her.
“It really sparked my interest of who were the Mexican writers of this time period,” Johnson said. “It was interesting to have a miniature debate with him about our different perceptions of the Franco regime. I also learned a lot about the Mexican Revolutionary War that I never knew.”
