The Children of the Cosmic Race: the Planning and Celebration of the 1968 Cultural Olympics in Mexico City
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The Children of the Cosmic Race: The Planning and Celebration of the 1968 Cultural Olympics in Mexico City Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Huntley, Allison Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 13:01:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/630250 THE CHILDREN OF THE COSMIC RACE: THE PLANNING AND CELEBRATION OF THE 1968 CULTURAL OLYMPICS IN MEXICO CITY by Allison D. Huntley __________________________ Copyright ©Allison D. Huntley 2018 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2018 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Allison D. Huntley 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I appreciate the guidance and support offered by my advisor, Professor William H. Beezley. Additionally, I offer my sincerest thanks for the contributions of the other members of my dissertation committee, Professors Kevin Gosner and Fabio Lanza. Finally, to all my professors and colleagues who inspired this topic, read countless drafts, talked over ideas, and gave me kind and motivational words, I give my gratitude. Travel funds for this project came from summer scholarships and grants offered through the University of Arizona and the Tinker Foundation. Moreover, I would like to thank the archival staffs in Mexico and the United States especially the archivists in Gallery 7 of the Archivo General de la Nación (AGN) who graciously offered their help during my trips in 2012 and 2016. The encouragement offered in so many forms by my family and friends is very much appreciated. Without the support mentioned above, none of this would have been possible. 5 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Mr. Frederick D. Huntley and Mrs. Daphne W. Wilkerson, and my sister, Ms. Meredith D. Huntley, for their unyielding love and support. 6 Contents: ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction: The Cosmic Race and the Global '68 at the Plaza of the Three Cultures ....... 9 The Global ‘68 and the Plaza of the Three Cultures ........................................................... 13 The Children of the Cosmic Race and the Organizing Committee of the XIX Olympiad19 Sites Used for the Cultural Olympics .................................................................................... 29 Literary Review ....................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................................... 38 Sources Used ............................................................................................................................ 41 The Plaza of the Three Cultures Fifty Years Later ............................................................. 45 Joining the Aesthetic and the Athletic: The Mexican Organizing Committee and the History of Cultural and Artistic Events in the Olympic Movement ...................................... 49 A Brief History of the Cultural Program ............................................................................. 52 The Development of the Body and the Mind: The Cultural Program, 1896-1906 ........... 54 The Concours d’Art in the Olympic Movement, 1906-1948 ............................................... 61 Performances and Art Exhibitions in the Olympic Movement from 1948 to 1964 .......... 70 Innovations in the Cultural and Artistic Program: The 1968 Cultural Olympics ........... 76 Concluding Remarks: ............................................................................................................. 79 The Children of the Cosmic Race Celebrate the XIX Olympiad: Planners and Participants of the 1968 Cultural Program .................................................................................................... 81 The Cosmic Race: The People of the Future ........................................................................ 87 Designing the Host City: Architecture and Public Works .................................................. 91 Educating the Children of the Cosmic Race......................................................................... 96 The Dance and Music of the Cosmic Race.......................................................................... 100 Science and Technology in the Cultural Olympics: ........................................................... 107 The Next Children of the Cosmic Race: ............................................................................. 111 Concluding Remarks: ........................................................................................................... 114 Creating an Atmosphere of Peace and Friendship ................................................................ 116 Meetings for Friendship ....................................................................................................... 118 Defining Friendship and Cooperation through the Cultural Events ............................... 128 Peace as a Traditionally Mexican Ideal .............................................................................. 131 The Cultural Events and an Environment of Mutual Understanding ............................. 134 7 Concluding Remarks: ........................................................................................................... 136 The 1968 Organizing Committee and the Museum Without Walls ..................................... 137 A Museum Without Walls and Art at the Cultural Olympics .......................................... 144 Mexican Culture on Display in the Museum Without Walls ............................................ 150 Establishing the Purpose of Science in the Cultural Olympics......................................... 153 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................................ 170 The Legacies of the 1968 Cultural Olympics: Cultural and Artistic Summer Events, 1972- 1996............................................................................................................................................. 172 A Period of Transition: 1972-1976 ...................................................................................... 175 The Union of the Aesthetic and the Athletic at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, 1980-1988 ............................................................................................................................... 183 Artistic and Cultural Elements in the Opening Ceremony at the End of the Twentieth Century, 1992-1996 ............................................................................................................... 196 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................................ 203 Appendix A: ............................................................................................................................... 207 Department of Artistic and Cultural Activities of the Organizing Committee of the XIX Olympiad: .............................................................................................................................. 207 Appendix B: Figures ................................................................................................................. 212 Figure 1: Monument to Those Killed at Tlatelolco. ........................................................... 212 Figure 2: Tourist Map of Mexico City. ............................................................................... 213 Figure 3: Photograph of the Submission “Struggle” by Ruth Miller. ............................. 214 Figure 4: Photograph of the Fine Arts Palace (Palacio de Bellas Artes), circa 1968. ...... 215 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 216 8 ABSTRACT In his seminal 1925 essay, Mexican educator José Vasconcelos argued that his nation was a product of the biological and cultural union of the indigenous and the European after whom he named his work: the cosmic race (la raza cósmica). This idea became the backbone of national identity in the years to come, and it influenced art, education, and architecture in the country. A generation