Abraham Mauricio Salazar Salazar is an Indian Nahuatl painter, born in 1957 in San Agustín de Oapán, Mexico. Salazar developed his artistic career using ancestral techniques that were passed down to him from his father and other relatives since childhood.
These techniques are still used by various artists, not only preserving this ancient tradition but also serving as a platform to convey history in a different way. Salazar was born in a small rural town in the municipality of Tepecoahuilco del Trujano, Guerrero state, in southwestern Mexico.
The artist currently lives in the southwestern state of Oaxaca. Salazar was born into a Nahuatl family, which significantly influenced his personal development and even the techniques he used in his work.
Salazar's Biography
Descendant of the Nahuatl
Abraham Mauricio Salazar was born and raised in a family belonging to a community composed primarily of aboriginal peasants descended from the ancient Mayans, specifically the Nahuatl tribe.
Belonging to the Nahuatl lineage is crucial. The Nahuatl were heirs to a powerful group highly advanced in economics and military arts: the ancient Anahuacs. When the Nahuatl were subdued by the Europeans' military might, they became known as Aztecs or Mexica.
The Nahuatl people traditionally transmitted their most important knowledge (both spiritual and earthly) through images. Proof of this are the Mayan codices made on sheets of plant fiber, centuries old before the arrival of European invaders. Abraham uses this technique of his ancestors and paints on beloved paper.
Use of beloved paper
Amate paper is made using ancient methods from the bark of a tree called Jonote. Before the European invasion of American lands, this paper was used by Native Americans to convey specific information. It was also used to record the data they considered most important.
However, after the invasion, the Europeans discarded this technique and forced the colonists to use the European newspaper.
The invaders not only sought to destroy the material wealth they found on the newly arrived continent, but also intended to eliminate the culture that characterized the original inhabitants and impose their own.
An example of this is the construction of large religious buildings on the ruins of ancient sites that were sacred to the original inhabitants.
Similarly, the invaders went so far as to prohibit the original inhabitants from using their own language and force them to "civilize" by learning Spanish. The invaders also prohibited the practice of certain rites, which were even punishable by death.
Continuous tradition
The original strategies for their culture to survive were numerous. Despite European mandates banning the production and use of amate paper, it persisted. Amate paper production never completely disappeared.
The facilities continued to host amateur production and related activities and rituals. This was especially true in the mountainous areas of Puebla and Veracruz, specifically in the neighboring states of Oaxaca, where Salazar currently lives.
Jobs
In this plant-based article, Abraham Mauricio Salazar creates his pictorial work. Using this plant-based format, he demonstrates pride and tenacity in continuing what centuries ago cost the lives of so many.
Thematic
Salazar not only uses bark paper, or beloved paper, as a way to preserve the traditions of his ancestral people, but the theme he develops in this format also conveys facts related to the identity of the natives to the audience.
Those who view his works can learn about the customs, habits, traditions, and ways of seeing and relating to the world of their Aboriginal brothers. Salazar also uses his artistic skills to denounce the conditions and abuses against their dignity, customs, spaces, and nature.
Reflection research
Salazar's artistic expression seeks not only to momentarily enchant and surprise the audience, but goes beyond that. Through the stories he tells, Salazar seeks to make the audience reflect and encourage them to share a bond of solidarity with the case being told.
To further his message, Salazar sought to form alliances. He formed a cooperative partnership with his brother Roberto Mauricio Salazar and two painter friends: Felix Camilo Ayala and Juan Camilo Ayala. With them, he created numerous works and participated in several exhibitions.
Exhibitions
One way to promote his work, in partnership with his brother and friends, was to exhibit it in national exhibitions, for the enjoyment and reflection of the visiting public. Some of these exhibitions are as follows:
– “Enjoy! A sample from the permanent collection”, in 1999.
– “Multiplicity: impressions from the permanent collection”, in 2001.
– «The African presence in Mexico: from Yanga to the present», in 2006.
Books and illustrations
According to worldcat.org, the books published by Salazar are:
- Magic windows: drawings . Princeton, NJ: The Squibb Gallery, 1985.
- The Magical Cycle of Days: Testimony from a Mexican Indigenous Village . Antonio Saldívar; Abraham Mauricio Salazar; National Council for Educational Development (Mexico); Mexico Secretary of Public Education. Directorate General of Publications.
- Girón, Nicole and Abraham Mauricio Salazar, the alley . Homeland, Mexico City, 1983.
References
- Macías, P. (2015). Los Algodones BC The CD. Further north of Mexico. Retrieved from: cuervos.com.mx
- Hersch, P. (2014). Bark paper painting as an expression of sensitivity and struggle: the calendar of the struggle against the San Juan Tetelcingo dam in Guerrero. Retrieved from: enelvolcan.com
- Monzón, M. (2009). The economic activities of indigenous migrants. Aldea Mundo Magazine. Retrieved from: sabre.ula.ve
- Raby, D. (2014). Zopilote meals. American Magazine of History and Memoire. Les Cahiers ALHIM. Retrieved from: journals.openedition.org
- Paper Amate, Mexico's Pre-Hispanic Legacy. Travel By Mexico Magazine. Retrieved from: travelbymexico.com
- My city is called San Agustín. Books Mexico .MX. Retrieved from: librosmexico.mx