Far from Washington, D.C., performance artist and writer Gabrielle Civil created her own homage to new U.S. President Barack Obama in Mexico City on Tuesday, gathering mariachis to perform renditions of iconic African American songs both for Obama and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The art action titled "In and Out of Place (MLK y Obama)" happened just steps from the U.S. Embassy on Paseo de la Reforma and lasted less than half an hour. Mariachi Mexico Internacional, led by Señor Fernando Hernandez (a commuting immigrant to Atlanta) and his 26-year-old son Fernando, seen above leading vocals, sang four songs chosen by Civil. These were "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," the Negro National Anthem, "Happy Birthday" by Stevie Wonder, "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" by James Brown, and "Feeling Good," by Nina Simone.
Civil is a Fulbright fellow in Mexico City. She tells me: "The piece speaks to my feeling of being both 'in place' in Mexico, but 'out of place' here at a moment when an extraordinary thing is happening in my own country. [...] It has been a little bittersweet to miss such a historic election and inauguration. I grew up with generous, open optimistic parents who frankly told me there would never be a Black President in the United States ever. This art action is my way of being a part of the celebration, of sharing a little of who I am and how I feel with folks here."
Civil hired the mariachi a week in advance, handing them a CD and printed lyrics to allow the musicians to arrange and rehearse the songs according to the traditional mariachi style.
So how "in and out of place" was it? A happy mix of musical dissonance and cultures colliding. The mariachi got into it. Pedestrians however observed the happening with meager interest; most people on busy Reforma went about their day as any other. The small gathering of U.S. ex-pats who showed up labored to chant "I'm black and I'm proud!" and not appear a little awkward doing it. See here and here for some footage.
Civil, in her case, clearly had a ball.
She says working in D.F. has been significantly impacting on her practice: "On my first visit to Mexico City two years ago, I was blown away by how differently my body circulated here, how the very arrival of my brown skin and 'chino' hair could itself become a performance art event. [...] Mexico City is an extraordinary place full of culture, history, art and sophisticated thinkers from all walks of life. I feel blessed to be working here right now."
As for how the Obama presidency plays out in Mexico, Civil says, it's too early to say. "Mexico is a large, diverse country full of different people with different associations with the United States, African-Americans and African peoples from other places. Having a black U.S. president should have some impact on the way Mexicans and all people in the world view blacks -- but we'll just have to wait and see."
* The artist's Fulbright host institution in Mexico City is the Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual.
