In the 1910s, Mexico had a revolution that left it with a one party state of the political left, the PRI. This was of course a repudiation of remnants of Spain in favor of the indigenous who the PRI would better represent. Artists could get on board with that, and a flowering of muralists brought forth political work heavily influenced by modern European art trends. So this is how something as mundane as an agricultural conference gets it’s own mural of Pachamama in her birthday suit ready to deliver her bounty to worthy PRI party Mexicans. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stamp seemed nuts when I first saw it. I knew Mexico was a center of modern art in the first half of the 20th century. So I was not surprised by the style of art, but connecting it with an agricultural conference was where it lost me. Mexico was trying to connect the traditions of the pre Spanish indigenous who believed the Earth was a universal mother, a Pachamama, that provided. Thus the connection to agriculture and no doubt a lesson in Mexican culture for the attendies from the north, who probably were just there to find what foodstuffs Mexico had to sell.
Todays stamp is issue A157, a two Centavo stamp issued by Mexico on July 1st, 1942. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations, three of which were airmail. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used.
According to Incas that recorded better the more widely held Latin American tradition, the land was considered the mother of life, the Pachamama. She was to be worshipped as it was through her that nature provided her bounty. Disruptions in that were related to her annoyance. On her Challa’s Tuesday holiday, food and candles were to be buried in her honor and priests would sacrifice llamas and guinea pigs to her. Pachamama had a husband/son called Inti that represented the sky. Their children were then sent to Earth to be the keepers of civilization. After the arrival of the Spanish and the addition of Catholic tradition, Pachamama became less vengeful and more in the image of the Virgin Mary. The Mexican muralist on this stamp was reverting away from that. Pachamama as depicted is a long way from virginity.
The modern art movement in Mexico centered around muralists that painted murals on indigenous and class struggle subjects on public buildings in Mexico. The most famous of these was Diego Rivera. As it was being paid for by the PRI government, the subject matter was limited but the output attracted a wider following. This was especially true of left leaning Jewish art patrons of New York City. The patrons of New York paid better than the Mexican government so many of the mural artists eventually made their way there.
The lack of social and economic progress in Mexico eventually affected the muralists. In the 1950s, the rupture movement saw the output become less nationalistic and more dark and surrealist. The now deeply intrenched PRI party no longer identified with the output and stop supporting it.
I think it is a bull, but I had to look at the stamp a while to realize the landscape was a naked lady.
The USA has always done a lot of trading with Mexico but the buying mainly centers on manufactured goods and petroleum. Less than 10% are fruits and vegetables and tequila if you want to classify that as agricultural. Mexico buys from the USA corn, soybeans, and meat and agriculture is the one area with Mexico where there is a USA trade surplus.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the muralists of Mexico. Hope is fleeting and the pressure to go north and sell out was inevitable, but that initial spark of belief and creativity created something lasting. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.