AMERICA TROPICAL

AMERICA TROPICAL

    Price: $99.95

    Code: 2035

    Directed by Jesus Trevino
    1971, 30 minutes
    Purchase: $99.95


    This video tells the story of a controversial mural painted on a Los Angeles building in 1932 by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Depicting a Mexican crucified on a double cross, the mural represented Siqueiros' strong statement against U.S. imperialism in Mexico and the treatment of Mexicans in the U.S. Shortly after Siqueiros returned to Mexico, the mural was whitewashed by Los Angeles authorities. Nearly forty years later, two Mexican art restorers investigate the now faded mural and discuss the possibility of its restoration (the Getty Museum has announced that it will refurbish the mural in 2005-2006). The video also includes interviews with a then 74-year-old Siqueiros and other artists who worked with the great Mexican muralist.

    Subjects & Collections



    Reviews

    "America Tropical continues to be a project ahead of its time. This historically rich documentary combines the art and politics, history and personal narrative, and social commentary and mural technique to explore issues of representation, space, and power in Los Angeles. It is a documentary vital to Chicana/o Studies, American Studies, and museum scholarship and practice." - Dr. Karen Mary Davalos, Loyola Marymount University