Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

In this lecture delivered on September 5, 1941, in Montevideo, Joaquín Torres-García examines a recent exhibition of North American (United States) artists, asking what this work tells us about the “great problem” of the art of “our” [...]

In this text, Mariano Picón-Salas describes how a series of murals by José Clemente Orozco presents a powerful myth about Mexican culture. Picón-Salas begins by praising Orozco as among the most significant artists of his era, and by tracing the [...]

In this text, André Salmon considers the paintings of the young Guatemalan artist, Carlos Mérida, and their appeal to Parisian audiences, while also expressing nationalist sentiments specific to Guatemala. Salmon begins by recounting how young [...]

In this text, José Vasconcelos describes how since the mid-nineteenth-century forces of “panamericanismo” have generally caused Mexico and Hispanic America to incrementally suffer the loss of cultural and economic independence. His argument [...]

In two chapters from his book Indología, José Vasconcelos outlines his concept of a culturally and politically unified Latin America, discussing how Latin America’s internal conflicts and its disagreements with the United States could be resolved [...]

In this text, Regino E. Boti responds to the question that the editors of revista de avance posed to their readers: “What should American art be?” He specifically addresses each of the four sub-questions grouped under this larger question. In [...]

In this text, Jaime Torres Bodet responds to the question that the editors of revista de avance posed to their readers: “What should American art be?” Torres Bodet notes the anxiety created by this question and warns of the dangers of defining [...]

In this text, Joaquín Torres-García theorizes about a vision for the future of American art. He begins by arguing that American art is deeply flawed because its forms are used only to depict regional themes. Torres-García explains that his theory [...]

In this text, José Martí discusses an exhibition of paintings at the Academia de San Carlos and how this exhibition has brought to light important issues about the most relevant artistic expressions of today. The author begins by warning how the [...]

In this 1940 catalogue, which is organized according to country, short descriptive texts precede checklists of the works included in the exhibition. The following countries are represented: Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and [...]