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Roll with art. Huichol art, on wheels, in a vocho
12September
Articles

Roll with art. Huichol art, on wheels, in a vocho

I must begin by explaining why the Huichols chose the vocho to express their art. The Volkswagen Beetle or Escarabajo in Spanish, is an iconic car in Mexico since the 50s (the first arrive in 1954) and in 1964 Volkswagen of Mexico is founded, which in 1967 produces the vocho. Already in 1968 there were about 100,000 rolling.

Mexico continued to manufacture it when, in 1996, its production ceased. In 2003, it ended in Mexico and if we add all the manufactured ones, from 1946 to 2003, the figure is 21,529,464 Beetles units worldwide. It was born in Germany and was also manufactured in factories in Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay, all in Latin America, as well as in a dozen other countries.

Huichol art brings together the most traditional and recent innovations in folk arts and crafts, produced by the Huicholes, who live in the States of Jalisco, Nayarit, Durango, San Luis de Potosí and Zacatecas. This work is considered one of the most beautiful pieces of Huichol art in its history. The factor that these works have in common is a colorful decoration, using symbols and designs that date centuries ago.

This project (which they titled Vochol: a contraction of the words vocho and huichol), was started in 2010 by the Museum of Popular Art (MAP) of Mexico and the Association of Friends of MAP (AAMAP), the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Jalisco State and the State Council for Culture and Arts of the State of Nayarit, among others.

It was carried out by 8 Huichol artists, whose names are: Francisco Bautista, Kenia Bautista, Roberto Bautista, Diego Díaz González, Emilio González Carrillo, Víctor González Carrillo, Álvaro Ortiz and Herminio Ramírez who dedicated more than 9 thousand hours to perform their spectacular Huichol artwork, magical and colorful design.

This Volkswagen, now known as Vochol, carries in its body more than 2 million 227 thousand glass chaquiras, brought from the Czech Republic, and placed in exclusive designs of Huichol art, with 16 kilograms of resin, fabric, paint and stamen, applied based on native techniques, to represent the deities of their culture.

The car seats, wheels, steering wheel and dashboard were also decorated. After exhibiting for the first time at the MAP, Vochol has performed in several museums around the world, such as the San Diego SDMART Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Indian Museum, Washington, and the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris.

It has also been shown in Los Angeles, California, and Denver, Colorado, both in the US. Could not miss Germany, so he it to Wolfsburg, headquarters of the Volkswagen brand. In Mexico, in addition to the capital, it was exhibited in Jalisco and Nayarit. The objective of the project is to create folk art for the 21st century, which demonstrates the rituals of nature, skills and Huichol culture.