Wixarika Arte Sacra. La musica e le tradizioni mistiche nell’Arte Wixarika

Te yunait haiwit a te mu uwa, nita teyunait yaxeik a te kwate hau hu
We all live under the same sky, but no one sees the same horizon

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Italy, the Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali, together with the Mexican Embassy in Italy and the Fondazione Hermes Music A.C., hosts the exhibition Wixarika Arte Sacra. Music and Mystical Traditions in Wixarika Art, curated by Roxana Drexel and Sonia Martone with photographs by Regina Alcocer.

Open to the public, the exposition is dedicated to an exceptional collection of musical instruments created by the Wixárika community of Jalisco, set up in dialogue with the instruments in the Museum: extraordinary artefacts, created under the inspiration of Huichol art, which belong to the collection of the Fondazione Hermes Music and fully represent the traditions and mysticism of Wixárika culture.

The Wixáritari are an indigenous group living mainly in the mountainous regions of Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas, Mexico. They have kept their traditions and worldview based on a deep relationship with nature and its sacredness, evident in rituals, pilgrimages and, of course, artistic expressions, almost intact.

Each musical instrument reflects peculiar aspects of Wixárika culture and thought, and behind each one, besides the hands of its creator, there are people, stories, rituals, prayers, just waiting to be told.