![]() Today they are a part of Day of the Dead celebrations, where families honor deceased relatives by setting up ofrendas, or altars, of their favorite foods and decorating gravestones with elaborate flower arrangements.Ībout a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”: Drawing on the relationship with death in Aztec culture, the sketch was a critique of those Mexicans who were denying their indigenous roots and wishing to be European.Ĭatrinas became popularized, and depoliticized, as a symbol of Mexican culture inside the country. He etched “ La Calavera Catrina,” a skeleton in an ornate, aristocratic hat, as a piece of satire in revolutionary Mexico in the early 1900s. The catrina itself is borrowed from Jose Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican lithographer. Some fear that a crusade against cultural appropriation could stamp out inspiration that artists have long drawn from others. He says American corporate interest in Día de Muertos doesn’t bother him. And so sometimes we consciously or otherwise incorporate aspects of other people’s heritage into what we are doing.”Īrtisan guitar maker Arturo Hernandez Jimenez works in his workshop in the Ciudadela craft market on Septemin Mexico City. It becomes part of our understanding of the world or part of that landscape that we navigate. “We respond to what we observe around us. “There is certainly in some cases that fine line between appropriation and inspiration,” he says. His definition entails damage – such as using imagery from indigenous groups that is spiritually inappropriate or watering down a cultural icon or rendering it less valuable. George Nicholas, an archaeology professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, often helps artists who want to know if their work is considered appropriation. ![]() ![]() The battle over who owns art, music, fashion, or storytelling has been amplified by social media, where “sharing” is easier, “borrowing” is more visible, and general awareness has grown. Piña, whose store is in Mexico City’s main folk art market, the Ciudadela, and is fittingly named The Roots of Mexican Culture. It’s, after all, our national object,” says Mr. “It’s nice that the world has turned its attention on Mexican culture, but I wish it had been a Mexican company that put the doll on sale. Piña, his view falls somewhere in between: He feels pride for the interest in a holiday that he says is the most important on the calendar for most Mexicans, but he also voices some regret. Others claim cultural appropriation at its worst – corporate America profiting from a spiritual expression that traces back to pre-Hispanic times.Īs for Mr. Some people like its simple beauty and that it pays homage to one of Mexico’s profoundest cultural traditions. The $75 doll, currently sold out on Mattel’s website, lit up Twitter ahead of the holiday, celebrated Nov. Who owns culture? A new Barbie revives the debate about where the line should be drawn between cultural appreciation and appropriation – and offers lessons in getting it right. “Thanks to these artists, and to these movies, and to this doll, people across the world know the beautiful traditions of Mexico.” Mexico City archaeologist Martin Robles Luengas has no problem with the doll, especially as a countermessage to the criminality and corruption that dominate most news reports about Mexico. The battle over who owns art, music, fashion, or storytelling has been amplified by social media, where “sharing” is easier, “borrowing” is more visible, and general awareness has grown. “There is certainly in some cases that fine line between appropriation and inspiration,” says George Nicholas, an archaeology professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Others claim cultural appropriation at its worst – corporate America profiting from a spiritual expression that traces back to pre-Hispanic times. 1- 2 in Mexico. Some people like its simple beauty and that it pays homage to one of Mexico’s profoundest cultural traditions. The Dia De Muertos Barbie, whose face is painted in a skull mask and who wears a black embroidered dress and golden marigold crown, is currently sold out on Mattel’s website and lit up Twitter ahead of the holiday, celebrated Nov. A $75 Barbie is creating waves in Mexican communities on both sides of the border.
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