11-12th Grade

Teachable Moments
Grades 11-12
Duration
Pre-visit: 10-20 min
Grandes Maestros: Great Masters of Iberoamerican
Folk Art
Collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex
In the Hall: 20-30 min
Post-visit: 30-40 min
Location
Grandes Maestros—
Special Exhibits Hall
Standards
CCSS ELA
W.8
WHST.8
Our newest exhibit is a showcase of more than 1200 works: colorful masks,
intricate textiles, hand-carved miniature sculptures, yarn paintings, clay
animals, religious and political altarpieces — associated with daily use or ritual
purpose, and immersed in the traditions and identity of Iberoamérica.
Pre-visit


RH.6, RH.9
VAPA
9-12.3.3,

9-12.4.1
9-12.4.2
Materials needed
at Museum:
None
Check out the Visual Thinking Strategies method at http://
www.vtshome.org/
Introduce La Cristiada, or the Cristero War, which occurred in Mexico
from 1926-1929 (resources attached). What were the political
circumstances that triggered the rebellion? What were some of the
consequences? What happened to schoolteachers during the conflict?
What happened to Catholics and priests?
Do practice VTS discussions using this photograph taken during events
of La Cristiada and this lithograph representing the other viewpoint.
Please don’t give the students any information about the images until
after the discussions!
In the Hall

Locate the clay piece “Education at the Time of the Mexican
Revolution” by Sergio Adrián Sandoval (in the first room on the right).
Give students 30-60 seconds to look carefully at the chosen object,
and then start a VTS discussion by asking them, “What’s going on
here?” Neutrally rephrase their responses while pointing at the
relevant parts of the object and link any comments they have, using
the other VTS prompts to continue the discussion. When students’
comments begin to slow down, summarize the whole discussion and
connect individual ideas to broader concepts about aesthetics.
Post-Visit

1 Lesson Title
Ask students to look both online and in a library for research sources
they might be able to use to explain the events of La Cristiada. Ask
them to compile notes on what they find and characterize the sources. How biased are the
sources and why? Did they find it easy or difficult to find accurate information, and why? (To
help structure this assignment, check out lessons one and two here.)
2 Lesson Title
La Cristiada, or the Cristero War, was one of the final conflicts of the Mexican Revolution, lasting from
1926-1929. The rebellion was a response to zealous enforcement of anticlerical or secular articles in the
Mexican constitution by President Plutarco Elías Calles and his government. The articles forbid educators
from incorporating any religious beliefs in their teaching, limited assets of any religious institution, and
governed religious gatherings. Calles’ government interpreted these laws strictly, fining Catholic priests
for wearing clerical garments outside of the church, forbidding them from criticizing the government,
limiting outdoor religious gatherings and fiestas, and reclaiming property from the Catholic church.The
government punished those that defied the new rules, by either incarcerating or executing Mexican-born
Catholic priests and by expelling from the country those that where foreigners. These actions offended
many in this deeply catholic country, especially among the rural peasant population. The government’s
socialist stance on landownership, as well, caused unrest among former landowners, leading to an alliance
of sorts between them and the Church. The rebel fighters termed themselves Cristeros, or “Soldiers of
Christ,” and as the rebellion got underway, the Cristeros targeted anything they associated with the
government. Because part of the newly formed Mexican government’s agenda was to provide education to
a severely illiterate nation, teachers in rural areas were often seen as government representatives, and
were tortured and killed by the Cristeros. The first warning for educators was often having their ears cut
off, creating the name maestros desorejados (or “de-eared teachers”). The government soldiers,
however, targeted priests and Cristeros, and many of the fighters were later named martyrs by the
Catholic Church.
This is a photo of the de-eared teachers (maestros desorejados):
3 Lesson Title
From Herrera, Eduardo. “Lazaro Cardenas: El Hombre y el Mito.” Los Sexenios. Prod. Enrique Krauze. Dir.
Diana Roldan. Mexico, 1998. Television.
This one is of Federal Mexican soldier with the heads of two cristeros:
Museo Cristero Centro de Estudios Cristeros Alfredo Hernández Quezada
http://www.sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=museo&table_id=596#
Mexican soldiers desecrating a church by turning it into a mess hall:
4 Lesson Title
From Krauze, Enrique. “Plutarco E. Calles, Reformar desde el Origen,” Biografia del Poder 7: Caudillos de la
Revolucion Mexicana (1910-1940). Mexico: Tusquets, 1987.
Professor Juan Martinez Escobar, killed in the presence of his students in Acámbaro, Guanajuato in June 1938.
Leopoldo Méndez. Find more information and images at: http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/author/mark-vallen/
page/11
5 Lesson Title
Cristero propaganda poster, victory of Christianity over Communism
From Krauze, Enrique. “General misionero, Lazaro Cardenas,” Biografia del Poder 8: Caudillos de la
Revolucion Mexicana (1910-1940). Mexico: Tusquets, 1987.
6 Lesson Title
Map of Mexico where Cristeros had the strongest presence:
From Meyer, Jean. La Cristiada. vol. 1 La Guerra de los Cristeros. Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno, 1973.
Cerro del Cubilete is the Cristero War Memorial and every year there is a pilgrimage by the descendants
of the cristeros.
Lastly several videos and documentaries:
The Storm that Swept Mexico: Documentary of the Mexican Revolution and its effects on Mexican culture.
It doesn't mention the Cristero War, but it does give a lot of context about the Mexican Revolution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVWcgOcvgV0
La Guerra Santa, a movie from 1977, (unfortunately without subtitles). You can still see in it some of the
atrocities committed by both sides (however, this movie has a pro-government bias). Even though it was
anti-Cristero, the government censored it because when it came out in theaters it increased support for
the Cristeros, completely backfiring on the government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvFHdZsD9P8
This one is just the trailer of more recent movie called The Last Cristero. While the main conflict took
place between 1926 to 1929, there were still groups of dedicated Cristeros that continued to fight the
government until 1938 (even after the peace treated was signed between the government and the
catholic church in 1929).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrOBT6vZuPU
7 Lesson Title