On the day of its opening, the exhibition “Aztecs: the people who moved the Sun”, inaugurated this Monday, May 2, at the National Museum of Korea, sold out the tickets planned for this month, as announced by the Mexican ambassador in the Republic of Korea, Bruno Figueroa Fischer, through his Twitter account.
For the Secretary of Culture of Mexico, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, this expectation is a sign of the growing interest and appreciation that the original cultures of Mexico generate beyond our borders, explained the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
“Aztecs: the people who moved the Sun” is organized by the Ministry of Culture, through INAH, in collaboration with the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, and in cooperation with the Ethnographic Museum in Vienna, Austria; with the curatorship of Doris Kurella, from the Linden Museum, and the scientific advice of the Mexican archaeologists Leonardo López Luján, Raúl Barrera Rodríguez and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma.
The assembly presents 123 archaeological objects and two reproductions, belonging to the collections of the National Museum of Anthropology, the Museo del Templo Mayor and the Proyecto Templo Mayor.
The exhibition offers an approach to the history, daily life, rituals, cultural achievements and legacy of the people who came from the mythical city of Aztlán, also helping to clarify many stereotypes that exist around practices such as human sacrifice in the Mesoamerican societies.
Most of the pieces that make up “Aztecs: the people that moved the Sun” come from archaeological excavations carried out by the Templo Mayor Project and the Urban Archeology Program; so that it is the most recent findings registered by the INAH in the vestiges of the Tenochca capital.
The pieces include skull-masks, large-format clay sculptures such as the one representing the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli; fine sheets of gold that symbolize the lunar divinity Coyolxauhqui; cut and sgraffito snails, large bifacial knives, polychrome cups, a sculpture of a bundle of years and a stone offering chest (tepetlacalli), among other priceless objects.
“A fundamental part of our policies has been to show the world the best of Mexican cultures and traditions. And in this sense, the exhibition ‘Aztecas: el pueblo que moved el Sol’ has become a great ambassador for Mexico in other latitudes; We must not forget that he was in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and now he has arrived at the most important cultural and artistic venue in Korea, to finish his tour, Secretary Frausto said.
“In addition, I want to acknowledge that this is a joint effort involving many institutions. Of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy of Mexico in Korea, and different specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)”, he highlighted.
This exhibition, said Frausto Guerrero, is the jewel of the commemorations for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Korea, a fact that has a very special meaning for Korean society, since it is considered that a life cycle is closed and the start of a new one.
Within this framework, this year Korea will be the Guest of Honor at the fiftieth edition of the Cervantino International Festival, and will show the Mexican population and visitors the vast wealth of its culture, said the president of the Foundation for International Cultural Exchange of Korea, Jung Kilhwa at the Fraternity’s 60th Anniversary Concert held Tuesday night at the Metropolitan Theater.
Likewise, this Saturday, May 5, the photographic exhibition “A look at Korea” will be inaugurated at 1:00 p.m. in the Gallery of Friendly Cultures, on Paseo de la Reforma, in front of 222, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Mexico-Korea relations, and will stay for a month.