National Museum of Mexican Art - Week 1

Beginning this internship I had no idea what to expect, but I have soon realized that there is so much more to it than what is portrayed. As the week has gone by, I have come to meet many new people who are each interesting and unique in their own way. The first few days were as simple as receiving an introduction to the building, the people, and their purpose.

On my first day I was introduced to my task at hand, which would consist of becoming an assistant for the museums children’s summer program. As simple as it may sound, there is much more to it. This program is meant to help the kids develop their knowledge and their possible passion for the art and it’s meaning. Each day they do a numerous amount of activities, each of them unique with a different educational purpose. Apart from the work, I was given a tour of the facility and it’s art. I was introduced to the Leyenda de los volcanes by Jesús Helguera which is the piece of art that I found most interesting. It tells a story about a young princess, Mixtli, and a commoner, Popoca, who have fallen for a forbidden love. To prove himself, Popoca goes into war but the devastation of his absence cause Mixtli to take her own life. Popoca returns as soon as he has heard the news and takes her body into the mountains in hope that the cold will wake her from her sleep. He waits a long time to see her alive once again, but she never wakes up, yet he continues to wait. What I have found most captivating is that since their death, their legend has been converted into our volcanos that in reality stand in the valley of Mexico.

Leyenda de los volcanes by Jesus Helguera

This week, some of the most interesting activities that we have put together so far have been a baile folklórico, a luchador/a, and a sculpture of someone they love the most.

The baile folklórico is being taught to the kids by a dance instructor for the purpose of being able to create a dance for the parents. As the practice has begun, I have seen how some kids are reluctant to learn and take in part of their culture. For the most part, the kids seem to be enjoying the baile. Although I hear countless complaints of the shoes that hurt their toes or how they are tired after only the 30 minutes of practice, I can see the progress that they have made since day one. Most of the time, kids will volunteer to be part of a bailes as beautiful as these, but these kids were forced to be a part of it as part of the summer program. In spite of not having a choice, their attitudes towards the baile is a lot better than expected as seen by the progress they have made and will continue to make.

The luchadores activity consisted of bringing a paper mâché luchador or luchadora from Guanajuato for the kids to paint and personalize them to their own liking. It was exciting to see the kids enjoy themselves in activity as simple as this but also take away the idea that they must continue to fight. What stuck to me the most was that señora Dominguez had reminded them that their parents have fought to be where they are today and they continue to fight to give them a better future. This was also a good reminder to me that my parents fought for me to be where I am today and that I must continue fighting for myself and my future.

The sculpture that the kids created had to be someone that they looked up to in a position that best represented their personality. It was interesting to see who each kid chose. I saw a variety from their mom or dad, grandma or grandpa, even their pets, but the one that resonated the most with me was that one of the youngest girls, Amada, chose to put her older sister, who is also in the program. Amada is one of the youngest and is still learning how to spell, so as one of my responsibilities I was helping her create her graphic organizer to help her brainstorm. As I worked with her, it touched my heart to see how highly she thinks of her older sister. Although as sisters they still have their moments, she still loves and looks up to her as a role model.

As far as I have learned, this experience has taught me the difficulty of trying to introduce new topics to young kids. At a young age most are reluctant to learn and are impatient when it comes to staying on one topic for too long. As the week has gone by, I have learned how to interact with the kids and ways I can grasp their attention for them to continue learning. I am excited to continue learning many new different skills that will allow me to continue teaching others of all ages the importance of their education.