Alan Serna contra: Jorge Gonzalez Camarena

When looking at Jorge Camarena's murals compared to Morado's murals, I feel like my hunger for change was satiated. Here is the story I've been waiting for, the obscure characters that have finally come to light. Through out the Mexican Muralist movement I feel there is no other muralist other than perhaps David Alfaro Siqueiros who comes close to Camarena. What I enjoy the most about Camarena's murals, is his inclusion of the indigenous populations as an equal part of the cultural evolution of Mexico.

As I had mentioned in class, the Mexican identity like all others is simply a construct. What Camarena has done, is that he has opened up a whole new, narrative. people no longer have to identify with the purely nationalist myth that had been regurgitated over and over. The waters are now muddied and what we though was so clear before, now merits re examination. Not only in the broader context of the culture but within ourselves. We question our identities and want to know more about our hidden past.

It is artists like Camarena who I feel paved the way for artists like Daniel Lezama who draw heavily on indigenous culture to give deeper meaning to their works. Knowledge gives rise to confidence and as confident artists we arent afraid to muddy the waters or keep digging to find the true stories of our past.