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Map of Tenochtitlan from the first Latin edition of Hernán Cortés’s Second Letter to Charles V, 1524

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Map of Tenochtitlan from the first Latin edition of Hernán Cortés’s Second Letter to Charles V, 1524

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By this time the practice of cartography has been used and well developed by both European and Indigenous cultures. This map is one of the most important in understanding colonial history because it was the first image of the New World to be distributed throughout Europe. Although visually this map looks more Eurocentric because it was being publicized in Germany, the unknown artist uses Indigenous imagery to represent a more accurate depiction of the new Aztec capital.

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Cuanhtinchan and its Boundaries, c. 1545-1565

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Cuanhtinchan and its Boundaries, c. 1545-1565

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Cartography in the Indigenous culture relied heavily on the use of pre-Columbian graphics to act as both a location marker and meaning signifier. In this map depicting Cuanhtinchan, where the Indigenous believed to be the home of the eagles, the artist depicts a mountain like glyph with a eagle flying from it's cave to represent this sacred land. The various mountain glyphs on the map are believed to be spiritual sites specific to this community. These Indigenous maps acted more as a visual narrative rather than the conventional latitude and longitude maps made by the Europeans.

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Map of Minas de Zumpango, in Relación Geográfica, c. 1580

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Map of Minas de Zumpango, in Relación Geográfica, c. 1580

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The maps being made by Indigenous artist required a deep, intellectual understanding of their land which the Spanish simply did not have. Around the time of the creation of this map we begin notice the absence of pre-columbian glyphs.

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Relaciones Geográficas Map of Cholula, Mexico, 1581

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Relaciones Geográficas Map of Cholula, Mexico, 1581

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When the Spanish arrived to Latin America they were blown away with the efficiency of city grid planning, so they adopted and appropriated this Indigenous technique and utilized it to further advance colonialism. The Spanish began to use this sacred grid to have complete control over the population. This map illustrates the city of Cholula, notice how now everything is placed perfectly within the grid. At first glance this map looks to have no Indigenous symbolism and shows the success the Spanish have had in controlling this evangelical city. If we look closer behind the churches which are to represent the smaller communities we can see a small mountain behind those churches. This artist chose to put the sacred symbol of the mountain behind the colonial churches to convey his Indigenous beliefs.

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Mappa Mundi of the Indies of Peru, showing the quatripartite division of the Inka empire of Tawantinsuyu, from Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, The First New Chronicle and Good Government (or El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno), c. 1615, p. 1001-02 (image from The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen)

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Mappa Mundi of the Indies of Peru, showing the quatripartite division of the Inka empire of Tawantinsuyu, from Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, The First New Chronicle and Good Government (or El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno), c. 1615, p. 1001-02 (image from The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen)

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This map depicting the Inka empire was made by a highly educated individual, Guaman Poma de Ayala. The artist strategically uses spaces to convey the message of who holds the power in the Andes, by dividing the map into the four parts of the great Inka empire. Guaman Poma de Ayala combines the European maps with his by mixing medieval creatures with Indigenous Gods.

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Goez Map Guide to the Murals of East Los Angeles (1975). Image courtesy of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. 

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Goez Map Guide to the Murals of East Los Angeles (1975). Image courtesy of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. 

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This map created by Goez co-founder Johnny Gonzalez, designed by David Botello, and illustrated by
Robert Arenivar shows 271 murals in 107 locations. These Latinx artists chose the format of a traditional cartography map to reclaim this type of colonialist work. They use the map to encourage pride and curiosity within the viewer in hopes that they will go out and explore their own communities with a new perspective.

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Illegal Alien's Guide to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 2010, Color lithograph with chine collé, 24 3/4 × 40 3/4 in62.9 × 103.5 cm, Enrique Chagoya

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Illegal Alien's Guide to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 2010, Color lithograph with chine collé, 24 3/4 × 40 3/4 in62.9 × 103.5 cm, Enrique Chagoya

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In this work by Bay Area artist, Enrique Chagoya he also calls on the traditional art of cartography to reimagine his mapping landscape. This map illustrates the problems man has made for himself.

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Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan (Nürnberger Karte von Tenochtitlan), 2013 Dimensions variable, according to the space (original size 15 x 9.5 m) Woodcut with CNCrouter,Mariana Castillo Deball

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Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan (Nürnberger Karte von Tenochtitlan), 2013 Dimensions variable, according to the space (original size 15 x 9.5 m) Woodcut with CNCrouter,Mariana Castillo Deball

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This work by Mariana Castillo Deball is a installation piece that ends up being the floor in which viewers walk on during her exhibitions. The map is a copy of the Tenochtitlan map of 1524 that was sent to Nuremberg for reproduction and distribution, hence the name. Both this piece and original work are woodcut.

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Mapa De San Antonio Y Sus Misiones En El Aniversario De Trecientos Años, Despues Del Capitan Don Luis Antonio Menchaca, MICHAEL MENCHACA 2018

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Mapa De San Antonio Y Sus Misiones En El Aniversario De Trecientos Años, Despues Del Capitan Don Luis Antonio Menchaca, MICHAEL MENCHACA 2018

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This contemporary artist is interested in disrupting the racist narratives left by colonial maps. He reimagines the map to mimic his hometown of San Antonio, Texas combined with his signature animal archetypes that represent different types of oppression LatinX folk are faced with.

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Firelei Báez, Untitled (The Game of the World), 2020,Oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas 105 x 131 3/4 x 1 5/8 in.266.7 x 334.5 x 4 cm

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Firelei Báez, Untitled (The Game of the World), 2020,Oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas 105 x 131 3/4 x 1 5/8 in.266.7 x 334.5 x 4 cm

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In this work we are faced with a mystical being superimposing on a famously Eurocentric map , Le jeu du monde. The belief of the creator of The Game of the World was that Europe was the center of the world. When Báez’s paints directly over the map, she's erasing this racist belief.