Las Bienales Interamericanas de México y la Guerra Fría en el hemisferio

In 1957 the Mexican government decided to embark on the organization of high profile Interamerican biennials. Although successful in convening a broad representation of countries in the continent, only two biennials successfully opened in 1958 and 1960. By situating these exhibitions, together with the Sao Paulo Biennials and the Bienales Hispanoamericanas in the complex geopolitics created by the Iron Curtain, this essay analyses the role that Mexico’s Biennials played in the hemisphere’s Cultural Cold War. In an effort to challenge US economic and cultural hegemony in the continent, the Interamerican Biennials became one of the last battlefields for Mexico’s famed revolutionary artists, and ultimately an important, if largely neglected, chapter in the history of Latin America’s Cold War.