Arquitectura Libre – Fantastical houses in Mexico
An Online Talk by Adam Wiseman
February 24, 2022 @ 6pm GMT / noon Mexico
To Register click here
For our first event of 2022, we are delighted to host a talk by the Mexican/British photographer Adam Wiseman. Adam is a Senior Lecturer at the University of East London. He continues to travel to Mexico where he hosts workshops and develops his photographic practice.
His talk will focus on his Arquitectura Libre project which features the fantastical houses being built in Mexico using remittance financing from the US. He describes the project as “a celebration of architecture that transcends convention and bears witness to dreams”. The homes featured pose questions not only of displacement but also of replacement – they symbolically ‘replace’ the absent migrant in different ways. So the project is a story of identity and perseverance as well, in some cases, of mistakes!
Adam will put the architecture of these houses into context by reference to his photographic study of the huge, modernist Tlatelolco apartments designed in the 1960s by Mexican architect Mario Pani.
For more pictures see http://www.arquitecturalibre.mx/fotos/méxico/
The talk will be in English followed by a bilingual question and answer session.
BMS Online Book Club
The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade
by Benjamin T Smith
February 28, 2022 @ 6pm GMT / noon Mexico
To express interest in joining our online book club, please send an email to: britmexsociety@gmail.com
Past Events
7 October 2021:
Thursday 4 November, 6pm UK time via Zoom: Launch of Chloe Sayer’s new book: The Day of the Dead: A Visual Compendium. This lecture marks the publication of Chloë Sayer’s most recent book ‘The Day of the Dead: A Visual Compendium‘. Chloë Sayer is an author, lecturer and curator. In 2016 she was awarded the Ohtli medal by the Mexican Government for her commitment to Mexican culture. She has made ethnographic collections for the British Museum and is a Research Associate in the Department for World Cultures at the Royal Ontario Museum. Day of the Dead festivities in Mexicoare a focus for many arts and crafts. Makeshift market stalls sell colourful sugar skulls and ingenious toys shaped like skulls and skeletons. In Mexico City, members of the celebrated Linares family use papier mâché to caricature the activities of everyday life: street vendors, revolutionaries and fire-eaters are shown in the guise of skeletons. Artists like the Linares take inspiration from the prints of Manuel Manilla (c. 1830-1895) and José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). La Catrina, Posada’s most famous creation, has come to represent death itself. With her broad-brimmed hat and feather boa, La Catrina is a symbol of cultural pride for Mexicans everywhere. Chloe Sayer brings together these and other visual representations in her book. Later in the year we hope to have a talk from Dr Fernando Gutiérrez Champion, Counsellor at the Mexican Embassy in London and Special Adviser to the Ambassador, on Mexico’s responses to the climate crisis. To round off the year we are planning a Mexican meal somewhere in London, possibly linked with the launch of a book by a Mexican chef. To book click: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-book-by-chloe-sayer-the-day-of-the-dead-a-visual-compendium-tickets-186512181957?utm_campaign=post_publish&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_content=shortLinkNewEmail |
Beauty on the Wing – the Monarch Butterfly film
A showing of the award-winning film about the Monarch butterfly followed by an opportunity to chat with the film’s creator.
One of the marvels of the natural world in Mexico is the annual migration of the Monarch butterfly. These delicate creatures spend the winter in the forests of Michoacan and Estado de Mexico then fly the thousands of miles to spend the summer in the north east of the US. Kim Smith, documentary filmmaker and environmental conservationist, has made a 56 minute film chronicling the life cycle of these delicate but endangerd animals from egg to catterpillar to adult. Kim will introduce the film then, after the audience have had a chance to view it, will take questions from the audience.
Note: because we have to pay for the showing of this film, we need to charge people joining this event. We have selected a variable charge depending on how many of you will be watching and hope you will be happy with this. The filmmaker will donate 25% of the takings to a Monarch butterfly protection charity in Mexico.
Date and Time:
Thursday 17 June 2021, 17.45 – 19.30 UK time.
To book please visit Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beauty-on-the-wing-the-life-story-of-the-monarch-butterfly-tickets-152478857367
How did the early Mayans make a living? What sort of society did they have? What do we know now and what more is there still to discover?To learn answers to these questions about the fascinating world of the ancient Mayan people, come to the talk by internationally renowned Mayan archaeologist Professor Norman Hammond. Norman, who has worked at several Mayan sites in Mexico and Belize and has held posts at major universities in the US and the UK, will share his decades of experience in this illustrated talk “Making a Living: Economy and Society of the Earliest Maya Villagers, 1200-400BC”.The event, hosted jointly by the British Mexican Society and UNAM-UK, will be preceded by the brief, formal Annual General Meeting of the Society.
Date And Time
Thu, February 13, 2020
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM GMT
For full details and to book (booking is free), please visit:
Networking with RedGlobal and Emiliano Zapata!
Canapés and welcome drink included
Join us for a networking and social evening, jointly organised by the British Mexican Society and RedGlobal MX UK (the association for Mexican professionals resident in the UK), at the stunning Brunswick House.
To mark Mexico’s Día de la Revolución, Dr Helga Baitenmann, Associate Fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies, will give a brief talk about her current research on Emiliano Zapata. (Helga curated Emiliano Zapata: 100 Years,100 Photographs which was exhibited at the Chalton Gallery)
To cover the cost of this event there will be a charge of £25 per person which will include a drink and a selection of canapés. There will also be a cash bar should you require further refreshment.
We very much hope to see you at what we are sure will be a most enjoyable evening
OTHER EVENTS
There are many enjoyable and fascinating events in the UK relating to Mexican culture and language, including both the official Spanish language and the many indigenous languages of Mexico, Nahuatl being perhaps the best known.
Check out the details of both BMS-organised events and independently-organised events taking place around the UK. Feel free to email the BMS at info@britishmexicansociety.org.uk if you would like to suggest an event for the list, or if you would like to write a blog post about an event you have attended.
We’d love you to share your experiences with us all!
Please note that the following listing is for information purposes only and the BMS does not specifically endorse events that it does not directly organise.
Public Events
Mexican Festivals – Celebrate at Mestizo!
BMS Member Mestizo restaurant regularly holds events.
Authentic ‘MOLE’ (pr. Moh-lay) sauces from Mexico may contain up to 40+ ingredients, and each estado (state) in Mexico will have its own regional specialities.