Right: Nave looking toward the mural depicting The Paths to Heaven and Hell, San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas, Peru (photo: courtesy World Monuments Fund)
For the subject of our mosaic, we knew we wanted to adhere to the imagery which was being represented and produced in the early days of Spanish occupied Mexico. The Augustinian Order of Catholic missionaries in particular was interested in combining indigenous and Christian imagery to create a shorthand that could quickly communicate Christianity to the indigenous people, facilitating conversion. Much of the visual imagery from this period took into account indigenous belief systems through careful study of indigenous concepts that could help communicate and define Christian ideas to Nahua people, while also emphasizing the authority of the church.
This idea of blending indigenous and Christian imagery together can be exemplified in Luis de Riaño’s Annunciation in the interior fresco at the Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas in Peru. Some of the visual elements that provide a connection to Andean audiences is that in the choir loft paintings. Juan Pérez Bocanegra was the Jesuit priest who created the plan for this church. Bocanegra learned from the Andean people and was therefore more effective at converting indigenous peoples to Christianity. For instance, the church is divided into two halves – the male, Gabriel, on the right, and the female, Mary, on the left. With the Annunciation mural on the choir loft in the center, Bocanegra created a circle of murals to demonstrate the circle of life, and was able to convey gender duality and maturity. Besides relying on visual content, Bocanegra paid special attention to the use of language in these murals to communicate themes to the Inca people. In the painting, Mary is referred to as Pliates, the constellation intrinsic to the Andean calendar. Bocanegra also connected the traditional Inca concept of utilizing light to deliver his message. With the skylight shining down from the center, he bathed in the sun while he preached. The combined imagery of the Immaculate Conception, Bocanegra connected God to the sun and illustrated the Incan concept that “the sun impregnates.” Bocanegra was compelled to create this scene of the Virgin Mary and the Annunciation using indigenous notions and words, in order to help convert and educate the Inca people of Andahuaylillas, and reinforce the power of Christianity.
Another example of this is in the Porciúncula on the North side of the Convento San Miguel in Huejotzingo, Mexico. This portal is significant to the Franciscan Order as well as the indigenous people in its reference to the ideas of renewal and rebirth. The doorway held symbolic significance to Franciscans, who wanted New Spain to be the New Jerusalem. The doorway was supposedly designed after the Old Testament’s temple of Soloman, and was meant to represent the worshippers of God, entering into the kingdom of God. The Franciscans were trying to communicate the idea of new life. The sculptural aspects that would have resonated with the indigenous congregants were the 52 rosettes on the alfiz, which signified the New Fire Ceremony. Every 52 years, the two calendar systems used by the Aztec people would align, and the New Fire Ceremony was performed, with a fire being lit in the chest of a sacrificial victim, referencing rebirth. This door was heavily symbolic to the indigenous and the Franciscans, and assisted with the translation of religious ideas.
Feather Mosaics 