GLAM/Newsletter/February 2019/Contents/Mexico report

This Month in GLAM – Volume IX, Issue II, February 2019

Mexico report

Wiki Loves Mexico, Editathon at Museo Nacional de Historia and Art and Feminism

Wiki Loves Mexico: a (free) colorful image of Mexico

From February 1 to 28 we had the Wiki Loves Mexico contest organized by Wikimedia Mexico and the Secretariat of Culture of Mexico centered on the visual documentation of the great diversity of festive, cultural and popular expressions of our country, recognized by UNESCO as one of the world's largest holders of intangible heritage and of which there are very few photographs on Wikimedia Commons. The contest received until February 28 an estimated 3747 photographs which will be evaluated in the next month.

With the permanent support of the national cultural organism, we launched the contest that received the most diverse samples of both documentary photos and talented records of the Mexican festive reality. From the November celebrations of the Xantolo in Veracruz, through numerous documentation of the textile wealth of our country to the numerous musical manifestations as the most diverse masks, facial paintings, costumes and typical costumes.

Wikipedians at the castle

Following the tour of the National Mexican Museums projects we had on February 16, 2019 the first Editathon at the National Museum of History (in Spanish: Museo Nacional de Historia), one of the most visited museums in our country placed at the historical Chapultepec Castle, a XVIII century building and shaped as an European castle on the top of the Cricket's hill and one of the most recognizable points at the city's skyline.

The event centered around the edition about the lack of contents on Spanish Wikipedia about the collections of the museum, specifically all the murals that are placed in all the spaces of the museum made by notable Mexican authors like David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Juan O'Gorman and Jorge González Camarena, among others. The museum have more than 60 000 pieces so they have a Research Department devoted to the study and conservation of that collections with a variety of profiles. During the editathon we had the (so kind) presence of relevant female researchers of the museum of this department that supported us around state-of-the art sources, gaps to cover also they by itself collaborated writing new articles and completing others.

In addition some wikimedians had a special tour in the surroundings of the hill that are not open to the public and has historical vestiges such as the foundational stones of the castle itself, Mexica petroglyphs and the stone staircase called "Escalera de Carlota", remembering the ordenance given by Carlota of Mexico to build this access.

Jacqueline Gutiérrez, Head of Communications of MNH commented about the editathon:

For us Wikipedia is a space which we know that the people and moreover the youth goes frequently to consult information. So that was our main reason to have an editathon, we believe the museum can support with reliable information of our collections from experts. Usually this knowledge does not have an exit to the public more than the own social media accounts of the institution"

The National Mexican Museums is a project allied with the Secretariat of Culture of Mexico which is intended to have Wikimedia activities at five national museums like training to researchers and editathons.

Art and Feminism workshop

Simultaneously to the editathon we had the Art and Feminism 2019 training at the University Museum of Contemporary Art of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (in Spanish: Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo). The workshop of Wikipedia and Wikidata basics was aiming to the fourth Art and Feminism editatona which was realized on March 2, 2019 in the same venue. The workshop was attended by 40 persons.

New Creative Commons chapter in Mexico

As a part of the revamp of the CC Network in the world, on January 31 a new chapter was launched in Mexico formed by diverse free knowledge activists including Wikimedia Mexico members. The presentation event was held at Laboratorio de Tecnologías El Rule in Mexico City.