Na Bolom: No hay que Olvidar, el Pasado es un Regalo

Na Bolom: No hay que Olvidar, el Pasado es un Regalo

In the Mexican state of Chiapas the Maya culture is still very present. There, more than five different groups of Maya continue to live their own culture. These cultures, of course, are changing too. This makes it important for them to safeguard and document their cultures, something that is of interest beyond the indigenous groups too.

The No Hay Que Olvidar exposition shows hand-printed photographs of the Maya in Chiapas between the 1950’s and 1970’s. They are part of the photographic archive of Asociación Cultural Na Bolom in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. At Na Bolom, photographic material is kept of the Maya culture until the early 2000’s, but the Na Bolom archives also contain audiovisual material, recordings, archeological pieces and their documentation, diaries and documentation of expeditions, old hand-drawn maps, and a library. This makes it one of the most important archives of Maya culture in the south-east of Mexico. Na Bolom was originally founded in 1950 as a centre for scientific research by Frans Blom and Gertrude Duby (an archeologist from Denmark and a photographer-journalist from Switzerland), it is currently maintained in this vein by a group of Maya and Mexican collaborators.

Two of these collaborators will be present in the Netherlands for the opening of the exposition. They are Gregorio Vázquez López, a historian and the coordinator of the archives in Na Bolom, and Ramón Folch Gonzalez, an archeologist who has used the archives for his research. These two experts will give a lecture (in Spanish) and guided tour of the exposition on 30 November. During the lecture, they will talk about the importance of the archives for the Maya culture. They will discuss not only the archeological sites, but also how researchers go back to the researched communities to document culture as it unfolds. With Na Bolom being one of the most important sites of historical research in Chiapas and the south-east of Mexico, for scientists but also for the Maya people themselves, we hope you will much enjoy learning about this centre and its extraordinary collection!

Date: 30 November 2018
Lecture starts: 15.30 hrs, followed by a guided tour of the expo and drinks
The exposition will be on display at CEDLA until 15 February 2019.

If you have any questions about Na Bolom, this exposition, or the lecturers please contact the exposition organizer José Welbers at jfcmwelbers@gmail.com.