"It's not just about the three great muralists; O'Gorman's complex vision also stands out."

▲ Altarpiece of the Independence of Mexico, by Juan O'Gorman, painted between 1960 and 1961, in the National History Museum. Photo by Germán Canseco

Daniel López Aguilar

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 23, 2025, p. 4

The myth that "there are only three great muralists in Mexico" must be broken, said painter Gustavo Monroy during the discussion dedicated to Juan O'Gorman (1905-1982), held this Wednesday at the Alcázar of Chapultepec Castle.

Monroy, the moderator of the discussion, emphasized that our country has had numerous significant creators, and that O'Gorman is among them, "an artist whose work remains relevant and establishes a constant dialogue with contemporary times." Unlike other exponents of his generation, he was both an architect and a portraitist. His vision is complex, and his legacy continues to speak to us," he added.

The day began with a tour of Room 6, guided by Salvador Rueda Smithers, director of the National Museum of History (MNH), where the Retablo de la Independencia (1960-1961) was seen, a fresco measuring 4.40 meters high by 15.69 meters wide, which condenses 30 years of Mexican history, from the night of the viceroyalty to the dawn of the Republic.

Smithers emphasized that although the anniversary fell on July 6, the celebration "is timeless. It's about remembering it all year long. His works invite us to reflect, to reconstruct history from the perspective of a creator."

The Madero Room houses the Retablo de la Revolución. Effective Suffrage, No Reelection (1968) and Porfirian Feudalism (1970-1973), frescoes that chronicle the country's social and political transformation with museographic precision.

The head of the MNH emphasized in an interview with La Jornada that O'Gorman "conceived his creations as visual lessons: characters, landscapes, and buildings come together to simultaneously tell the story and unify the epic of independence and revolution through an aesthetic language that still surprises with its modernity.

“He paints Miguel Hidalgo in two ways, incorporates Morelos several times, and places signs that guide the viewer: his intention is to provoke reflection, not to impose a single interpretation.”

Also participating in the discussion were Adriana Sandoval, director of the Espacio Nancarrow O'Gorman Foundation, who gave an overview of her career, and historian Guillermo Rodríguez, who shared anecdotes about the creation of the frescoes and their historical context.

Luis Martín Lozano provided an academic perspective and highlighted the creator's aesthetic relevance to today's audiences.

Monroy resumed the conversation and pointed out that O'Gorman not only mastered painting, but his architectural training allowed him to integrate the work with the spaces and light of the Alcázar.

"It's not just about the so-called three great muralists; there are many outstanding ones, and Juan O'Gorman is one of them. His work reminds us that mural art is a living language, a dialogue between past and present."

Salvador Smithers emphasized that the frescoes teach history and reflect the imagination of the architect and painter: the volcanoes seen from Mexico City, the placement of the heroes, and the superposition of buildings from different eras contribute to a visual narrative that challenges the viewer.

"His work makes us think; it doesn't give us definitive answers. Every detail is an invitation to understand time, space, and human action," he concluded.

▲ Maritza López and John O'Leary at the 26th National Photo Library Meeting, at the National Museum of Anthropology. Photo by Germán Canseco

Angel Vargas

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 23, 2025, p. 5

"I feel like I'm winning an Oscar," said Maritza López playfully upon receiving the Medal of Photographic Merit this Friday, which she and John O'Leary were awarded by the National Photo Library System (Sinafo) of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

With that nod, the renowned photographer (Mexico City, 1949) began her acceptance speech, briefly reviewing her nearly six-decade career, which, she acknowledged, "has been marked by a great versatility that, at times, has not been well received."

He explained that he began his career at a very young age, taking photographs of the National Ballet and Guillermina Bravo's dance classes. Later, he said, he delved into photojournalism in Cuba and Nicaragua, and fully experienced the "excellent era of magazines in Mexico" in the 1970s, with titles such as Revista de Revistas , Claudia , and Siete .

After recalling that at that time, the female presence in photography was scarce, Maritza López emphasized that she was fortunate to debut in photojournalism in the first of those publications—directed by Vicente Leñero—with a report done with her friend, the writer Cuauhtémoc Zúñiga, which earned her a cover.

Then came years of intense publication in various media, he added, until his arrival in the mid-70s at the magazine Eros , which reached only 10 issues before being censored by Fausto Zapata.

There he began his work with the nude, guided by Aníbal Angulo, and years later, in 1981, he participated in the edition of the book Private Dreams and Public Vigils , promoted by the cultural promoter Ignacio Toscano at the Autonomous Metropolitan University.

In that work, he indicated, he shared space with "several stars" of photography such as Gabriel Figueroa, Gerardo Suter, Laura Cohen, Lourdes Almeida, Rogelio Cuéllar, and Flor Garduño. "This book was very successful, and they've plagiarized it everywhere, without giving credit to the authors."

After that stage, he said that his work shifted to his studio, with a lot of work on album covers, character portraits, and Gloria Trevi's "famous calendars," from 1992 to 1996, which, he admitted, "were very controversial and, well, they kind of froze me and forced me into the closet."

However, he noted, he continued publishing on university projects, book covers, and new publishing projects. These include two volumes on Guillermina Bravo, another with Artes de México, and another that he was "very pleased to write": Músculo corazón. Masculinidades en México (Middle Muscle. Masculinities in Mexico) , with Rogelio Cuéllar and María Luisa Passarge, and Hay uno más de danza (There is one more on dance), in collaboration with Rosario Manzanos.

Upon receiving the award, the lens expert thanked Sinafo and the National Photo Library, who "receive, catalog, preserve, and restore; they are the visual memory of our country." She also celebrated the fact that her colleague and friend John O'Leary shared the award with her.

Latin American colloquia

For his part, this American-born photographer, who has lived in Cholula, Puebla, since 1970, expressed his emotion: “We are a family. At this moment, I represent that group of young people who started together in Latin American photography colloquia (in the 1980s) and who are still going strong. Congratulations to the industry; that's my main message.”

O'Leary thanked the Cholula community, its neighborhoods, its teachers, its fellow photographers, and its family. He recalled that he has been in Mexico for 56 years and emphasized the importance of Latin American colloquia and the Mexican Photography Council in his training. He stated that the latter is "the light that continues to illuminate my path." Regarding his work, he noted that it has been varied and has focused on the Cholula region, with series such as La damnada felicidad (Happiness), Lucha libre (Wrestling) , Pueblo Nuevo (New Town) , Pasión de Cristo (The Passion of the Christ) , Cholula 500 (Cholula 500 ), and Cholula, la ciudad sagrada (Cholula, the Sacred City).

The anthropologist also compared the construction of the Cholula pyramid—the largest in the world, also known as Tlachihualtépetl—with the invention of photography: “Both represent the supposed domination by man over physical aspects of the natural world.”

The recognition of both photographers took place at the opening of the 26th National Meeting of Photo Libraries, at the National Museum of Anthropology. In his speech, Juan Carlos Valdez Marín, director of the National Anthropology and Photographic Museum (SINAFO), emphasized the importance of these collections as custodians of the country's visual memory.

“They are not mere collections of photographs. They are time capsules that allow us to travel back in time to understand our present,” he said. “These images show us forgotten faces, transformed landscapes, events that shaped our identity, and customs that defined our communities.”

Beatriz Quintanar, the national outreach coordinator, emphasized that this event, which has been going for more than a quarter of a century, has consolidated the country's network of photo libraries and reaffirms its commitment to photographic culture.

▲ Postmodern Contemporary Adult Theater is preparing two more performances for September. Photo by Marco Peláez

Merry Macmasters

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 23, 2025, p. 5

The human condition reflected in characters at their limits is the leitmotif of American playwright Tennessee Williams. Several of these misfits, outcasts, losers and helpless beings paraded through the Elena Poniatowska Amor Foundation (FEPA) as part of the show An Evening with Tennessee Williams , which brings together two short but powerful plays by the author: The Marchioness of Larkspur Lotion and Talk to Me Like the Rain, as well as an epilogue in which the playwright confronts his characters. It is a creation of the company Teatro Posmoderno de Adultos Contemporáneos, directed by Héctor León X, and features live music.

Williams's work "delves into this very dark aspect in which the character always comes out defeated. These are men and women who don't find their place in this world. They wake up every day trying to find something to hold on to. The same thing happened to the author in his personal life. Williams, alongside Yukio Mishima and Truman Capote, was part of a revolution of consciences in the 1960s and 1970s.

“We are currently at the end of one era and the beginning of another, in which everything is changing. We are in a world of post-truth, post-drama, post-digitalization, and post-avant-garde. Williams is powerful here and moves us. His work is a brutal theatrical confrontation for younger generations who are unfamiliar with him. It's time to enter that world of human misery,” says León X.

A Night with Tennessee Williams is part of a trilogy that includes an adaptation of Vicente Leñero's Don Juan in Chapultepec and Emilio Carballido's Orinoco , which have already been presented.

The group, based at the FEPA (National Association of Theaters and Theaters), emerged three years ago at a workshop for older adults held at the Centro Cultural Helénico (Hellenic Cultural Center). The term "older adults" was changed to "contemporary adults" because "we work with the concept of adults from 20 to 80 years old," notes León X. Last July, the company launched a laboratory project at the FEPA, the goal of which is to assemble casts for the plays they plan to stage. Consisting of theater classes, the laboratory takes place every Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. As it is an ongoing project, those interested can register on the association's website.

Dramaturgy of Elena Poniatowska's work

A Night with Tennessee Williams has just offered two performances at the FEPA (Federal University of Pamplona) and is preparing others for September. However, Postmodern Theater's next major project is "to create a dramaturgy of Elena Poniatowska's work," says León X. "Based on her work, we're going to stage it, obviously with an actress. We're also going to bring Octavio Paz, Leonora Carrington, Tina Modotti, Diego Rivera, and María Félix to the stage—characters she has worked on in both fiction and documentary," the stage director specifies. The play is scheduled to be presented in October or November.

Enrique Álvarez, who plays the role of the “failed writer” in The Marchioness of Larkspur Lotion , stated that “the atmosphere of The Marchioness of Larkspur Lotion is not alien to the current reality we live in today in Mexico City. It’s easy to find loneliness, abandonment, marginalization, frustration, but also the possibilities of dreaming and living in worlds of pious fiction.”