Age of Revolutions: Rethinking Mexico's Independence From a Hemispheric Perspective

September is a very important month for Mexico and the United States. The Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C., is committed to sharing familiar histories, but retold from a hemispheric perspective. We seek to tell alternative stories and narratives of our shared past. Come celebrate with us Mexico’s bicentennial of Independence and the United States’ National Hispanic Heritage Month as we gather and host scholars and performers to think about how Mexico’s proclamation of nationhood reshaped North America and its relationship to the world.

This event will start a conversation between public history and cultural diplomacy to explore the meaning of independence as a shared experience across the Americas. Each day of the event will feature an exchange between scholars followed by a cultural celebration of Independence. They will come together in a dialogue exploring how Mexico’s experience intersected with, was influenced by, and contributed to the Age of Revolutions.

This is the first time we innovate our format, mixing in-person and virtual panels and performances throughout the three-day Cultural Public History event that will be held at the Mexican Cultural Institute, September 23, 24, and 25^th. Your presence at the event will enrich these conversations among scholars and with the audience during the Q&A session and reception that will follow each conversation. The panels, workshops, and performances will take place at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. as well as being broadcast on Facebook Live: @MexCultureDC

The event will conclude with a day-long virtual conference on September 27^th hosted by Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas-UNAM, highlighting emerging scholars working on Mexican Independence.

This series of public programs is the result of an exciting binational collaboration with university partners in Mexico and the United States. This program is hosted collaboratively by the Mexican Cultural Institute (MCI) of the Embassy of Mexico in the United States, the Latin America in a Globalizing World Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, and the Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas-UNAM.

Save your spot for these in-person events on Hispanic Heritage Month and the Independence of Mexico, using the links below.

______________________________________________________________________________

Conversation I: Mexican Independence in Latin American Perspective
Thursday, September 23, at 6.15 p.m. EDT

Join us for a conversation with scholars exploring Mexico’s Independence era in Latin American perspective. This discussion will focus on various experiences of Independence in Mexico, Central America, and Gran Colombia and struggles for abolition in the independence and early national period.

●Marcela Echeverri, Yale University
●Jordana Dym, Skidmore College
●Alfredo Ávila, IIH-UNAM

Moderator: Casey Lurtz, Johns Hopkins University

Musical performance by: Grupo Fénix / Cocktail

______________________________________________________________________________

Conversation II: Mexico and the United States during the Age of Revolutions
Friday, September 24, at 6.00 p.m. EDT

Join us for a conversation with scholars exploring the long-lasting impact of 1821 on the North American hemisphere. This discussion will focus on Mexico-U.S. relations, the Age of American Revolutions, and Latin America’s influence on popular understandings of race, revolution, and republicanism in the United States.

Note: This program will be conducted in a hybrid mode. The moderator will be in-house at the MCI, while the panelists will be connected remotely.

●Érika Pani, Colegio de México
●Caitlin Fitz, Northwestern University

Moderator: Marcel S. Anduiza, Mexican Cultural Institute of Wahington, D.C.

Cooking demo “How to Make Mexican Tinga” by: Enrique Quiroz, Artistic Affairs, Mexican Cultural Institute / Cocktail

____________________________________________________________________________

Conversation III: Independence in U.S. and Mexican Historical Memory
Saturday, September 25, at 1.00 p.m. EDT

Join us for a conversation with scholars exploring the history and memory of Mexico’s commemorations of its 1821 independence and nationhood. This discussion will focus on questions of public history, national celebrations, and historical memory, past and present.

●Manuel Cuéllar, The George Washington University
●Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, University of Chicago

Moderator: Julia Young, Catholic University. Closing remarks by: Casey Lurtz, Johns Hopkins University

Performance by: Corazón Folklórico Dance Company / Cocktail

______________________________________________________________________________

Virtual conference: 1821: Proyecciones de una historia entrelazada
Monday, September 27, at 11:00 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDMX)

In collaboration with Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas-UNAM. Virtual event in Spanish via Facebook Live: @MexCultureDC