Spanish Invasion
When the Spanish invaded and conquered Tenochtitlan in the sixteenth century, they brought with them not only the official Catholic religion, but also some of the more popular folk-religious practices of the era. This included the pagan tradition of celebrating the dead with food-offerings and feasts. However, the Spanish priests were eager to discontinue these ancient traditions that found fertile ground in Mexico. The Spanish suppressed the Mexican skull art tradition because it was too Indito or pagan for their refined European tastes. Not until Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, did skull art begin to re-emerge as a symbol of Mexicanidad.
Read more about this topic: Skull Art
Famous quotes containing the words spanish and/or invasion:
“As the Spanish proverb says, “He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.” So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Every collectivist revolution rides in on a Trojan horse of “Emergency”. It was a tactic of Lenin, Hitler and Mussolini.... The invasion of New Deal Collectivism was introduced by this same Trojan horse.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)