Alejandra Vela Martinez (Department of Romance Languages & Literatures)
First-Year Seminar 65T | 4 Credits (Fall 2024) | CANVAS SITE
Wednesday, 12:00 PM–02:00 PM
In the wake of the global reopening post-pandemic around 2021, a video emerged online capturing an incident at the Weltmuseum Wien. A visitor had placed a post-it note on the glass that shields the Penacho de Moctezuma, and the note stated the words: This should be in Mexico. This headdress, commonly associated with pre-Hispanic Mexico and attributed to the last Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, has passed through various European hands: first taken as war booty by the Spanish in the 16th century, Austria acquired it from France in 1880. The post-it note prompts crucial questions: Who rightfully owns the penacho? Who has the authority to determine its custody? And who should have access to it and why? These inquiries are central to our exploration in this seminar, which delves into a range of cultural products considered heritage of Latin America. We will embark on a conceptual and methodological journey, examining the complexities of preserving items for posterity and the intricate power dynamics inherent in the establishment of archival preservation spaces. Through this examination, we aim to gain deeper insights into the politics of memory and heritage preservation that shape our understanding of cultural identity and ownership.