The Umbrella Men from Dances of Mexico
Maker and role
Artist: Carlos Mérida, Guatemalan, 1891-1984
Year
1939
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Lithograph
Measurements
14 1/2 x 11 3/4in (36.8 x 29.8cm)
Credit line
Gift of Susan Toomey Frost
Accession number
2014.31.10
Object type
Department
Location
Further information
The name of this dance is derived from the umbrella shaped headdresses worn by the dancers. It is post-Spanish, of mixed style and Carnival character, performed in the state of Tlaxcala. The costumes are showy and elaborate, reminiscent of oriental clothing; curiously appropriate to the music, which is full of echoes of the French nineteenth century. The dancers perform in "quadrilles" of groups, developing a great variety of steps and turns, all amiable and elegant. There are nevertheless strongly virile phases of the dance, as when whips are used to mark the beat. Wind and string instruments produce the music, in which the tunes of the early nineteenth century predominate.
Subject period
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