Of Fanatics, Seers, and Pilgrims: Gender, Religiosity, and

Representation in Modern Mexico

Speaker: Edward Wright-Rios, Vanderbilt University
How does Catholicism modernize?
Catholicism is constantly being re-made
o Picture: Females are furthest away from the bishop. Lined
in order of importance (Ideal Catholic social order),
o Indigenous band on top: We are catholic, but we are going
to do it our way
Indigenous Band
How do priest go out and change indigenous communities?
How is gender setup?
Gender of indigenous people as female (feminine)
Women claimed to be able to channel life. This movement
clashed with the church.
Young girl talked to the Virgin Mary at 8 years old. She died two
years before he went, and brothers would not speak to him.
Critics of the movement said its bunk.

Searching for Madre Matiana

Story of text and representation
What does it mean to be devout, female, and Mexican?
Matianas Debut: End of the World Prophecies in 1847
Had visions of a Mexico that did not exist
He calls it a Conservative apocalyptic imperialism
Prophecies say
A National Archetype and Inspiration: Dela Madre Matiana
Matiana becomes an almanac character
o She is the goody tushu, rain on everybodys parade, nag
o Talks about how it inspires real people to take this seriously
o Mexicos Many Matianas (The Visionary)
o Group of sarcastic cartoonist
make La Madre Matiana: Becomes their satirical alter
ego
Come out in the beginning as a mock almanac
Fake saints, joke saints
He wants people to know that its much more important than that.
Madre in Mexico used in the wrong way can be a fight
Matiana symbolically walks the nation. Whats good and whats
allowed?
La Ultima Cena (Pocos los escogidos), 1935 (female photographer)

Loved to shoot religious indigenous events, drunk men dressed

as saints, shoots in weird situation
Focused on image centered devotion, but only in certain areas
Desacralize people by shooting them alone and out of context
Makes saints look fake
I shoot what I see
Picture: Seeing in the Prophetss: La Madre Matina, 1935 (Lola Alvarez
Bravo)
Her depiction of Matiana
Matiana is out of place. Makes her a has been, unimportant. She
focuses on the youth. Surrounding people are all male.
He has to interpret the photos