TEOTL // WORSHIP
Project Description
An original concept for a costume-centred dance short film, 'Teotl // Worship' explores Mexico’s pre-hispanic ancestors, colonisation and religious syncretism. The costumes unearths the influence of indigenous deities, beliefs, and rituals in modern Mexican Catholicism.
Guadalupe from 'Teotl // Worship'
Guadalupe is inspired by La Virgen de Guadalupe, one of the most powerful symbols of Mexican identity and Catholic faith in Mexico. According to the legend, a brown-skinned Virgin Mary appeared to the indigenous peasant Juan Diego in 1531, asking him to have a temple built on the hill of Tepeyac, at the time site of worship for the mother deity Tonatzin. The Spanish Archbishop, at first sceptical, was convinced after a series of miracles. Ordered by Guadalupe, Juan Diego found castilian roses on the barren hill as proof, which upon falling out revealed the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe imprinted on his cloak.
My costume sheds light on the layers of meaning behind Guadalupe’s unique iconography, emphasising the Indigenous symbolism. The blue-green colour of her mantle was reserved for the divine creator couple of the Nahua people. Since ‘Tonantzin’ was a title given to all female deities, I chose to represent the different iterations as a visual narrative on her skirt, in the style of codices which hold knowledge of pre-columbian ways of life. Tonantzin is often associated with the serpent, which inspired me to place stylised serpent motifs. The headpiece combines the aesthetics of a ritual headdress, shrine offerings of flowers and maize, and the Christian aureola.
