The Archaeological Museum of Alicante highlights Uruguay's rich heritage through a new exhibition comprising more than thirty pieces of polychrome wood religious-themed The missionary Indians in the foundations of the Society of Jesus, located to the north of the Río Negro.
The Vice-President and Member of Parliament for Culture and Education, César Augusto AsencioThis morning he presented all the details of this new cultural proposal that will remain in the Sala Noble of the MARQ Library. until next January. The event was also attended by the director of the Museum of Montevideo, Facundo de AlmeidaThe technical director and the managing director of the Alicante centre, Manuel Olcina and Josep Albert Cortésrespectively, as well as the curator of the exhibition Joan Gregori and the director of exhibitions of the archaeological museum, Jorge Soler.
Under the heading "Uruguay in Guaraní. Indigenous Missionary Presence", the exhibition offers the public the opportunity to discover the fascinating history of the founding of the missionary villages located to the north of present-day Uruguayan territory, where the Jesuits carried out intense pedagogical work during the 17th century, collaborating with and protecting, for the most part, groups of Guaraní farmers. In addition, one of the strategies used by the Jesuits to facilitate the conversion of the indigenous people was linked to the massive reproduction of religious images.
In this regard, César Augusto Asencio has pointed out that ".the pedagogical seed sown by the Jesuits generated the so-called indigenous missionaries, a group of people with aboriginal physical features and western behaviour who came to form a socio-economic system of their own. Thanks to their ability to carve wood, they managed to create works of art of enormous beauty and symbolism, the product of the learning, knowledge and training of indigenous artisans who copied and reproduced techniques and models of Catholic iconography on a massive scale.".
Facundo de Almeida explained that ".the exhibition, of great quality, deals with the importance of the indigenous people in the cultural conformation of Uruguay and the impact that the Spanish colonial presence had on them."he explained.
The end of the Jesuit project came with the publication of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1767. by which King Charles III expelled them from all the dominions of the Spanish Crown, including those overseas, and closed their missions, handing them over to Spanish administrators dependent on the colonial government.The Jesuits were replaced by other orders.The Jesuits, such as the Mercedarians, the Franciscans and the Benedictines, continued the educational plan originally laid out by the Society of Jesus.
The exhibition is completed by a selection of archaeological materials from the extinct village of San Francisco de Borja del Yí (1833-1862). Through these objects, of great testimonial and documentary value, the visitor will be able to perceive the impact of the Jesuit missionary system on daily life and the social processes that took place in the Uruguayan territory from the 18th century onwards.
"Uruguay in Guaraní. Missionary indigenous presence". will be inaugurated this evening at 19:00 hours. and is particularly notable for the presence of adapted elements to facilitate access to content for people with disabilitiesThe exhibition will include reproductions of pieces in three dimensions and texts in Braille. The exhibition, which has been declared of National InterestThe exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indígena de Montevideo, its Foundation, the Municipality of Montevideo and the Embassy of Uruguay in Spain.
"This is a unique opportunity to contemplate a material culture that, despite coming from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, is twinned with our roots, thus demonstrating how intimately connected Spain and America are, two lands that have walked hand in hand for a long time."Asencio pointed out.
