This can be seen in the revelry of Cinco de Mayo and Columbus Day, depictions of Hispanic culture in the media, and modern political discourse surrounding Mexico, all of which paint an uneven, misleading account of Hispanic contributions to North America’s past and present. As Gibson points out, this myth never died - it only evolved. From the outset, North America was an imagined land where early explorers searched for mythical cities filled with treasure. “América Tropical” was hastily painted over, and only recently unveiled again after intensive restoration efforts.Īs we learn in historian and journalist Carrie Gibson’s El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America, the mural saga speaks to larger themes in North America’s Hispanic history. The work elicited a startled response from the audience Sterling labeled it anti-American. Covering an 18-by-80-foot wall, “América Tropical” depicted a crucified indigenous man surrounded by Mayan motifs and armed revolutionaries. ![]() Sterling expected a romantic vision of Mexico’s past, but when the mural was unveiled to a sizeable crowd in October 1932, it was clear that the communist-leaning Siqueiros had different priorities. ![]() In 1932, California conservationist Christine Sterling commissioned Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros to paint a mural in Los Angeles’ El Pueblo neighborhood - an urban revival project-cum-tourist attraction in the middle of downtown. ![]() This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on migration
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