ArtExplorers
MUSEUM STARTER KIT:
Open With Care
Entérate:
Encuentra:
Maya Zemi I and Maya
Zemi II by Raphael
Montañez Ortiz in
Las Galerias.
Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Maya Zemi 1 and Maya Zemi II
The idea for this artwork
came from a dream.
Have you ever been
inspired by a dream?
Mira:
Walk around the artwork and
look at it carefully.
• What surprises you about
this artwork?
• What materials do you see?
• What shapes can you find?
• Have you ever seen
something similar before?
1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th St. New York, NY 10029 www.elmuseo.org
@elmuseo
ArtExplorers
Entérate:
Before Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492, there were many people
already living and working in the Americas. These native peoples are
known as Pre-Columbian cultures, each of which had their own language,
belief system, and way of life.
The artist was inspired by the cultures of two of these groups: the Taínos in
the Caribbean and the Mayans in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Mississippi River
New Orleans
Mississippi River
USA
THE
New Orleans
USA
Grand Bahama
[Bah.]
Grand Bahama
[Bah.]
Great Abaco [Bah.]
Freeport
N
THE BAHAMAS
Miami
THE BAHAMAS
Dry Tortuga [U.S.]
S
Key West [U.S.]
S
Andros [Bah.]
Havana
CUBA
Cockburn Town
CUBA
Yucatán Peninsula
TURKS & CAICOS
Campeche
Guantánamo Bay
Georgetown
Isla Cozumel [Mex.]
HAITI
Chetumal
Guantánamo Bay
Georgetown
Belize City
MEXICO
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Swan Islands [Hon.]
BELIZE
JAMAICA
Isla Saona [D.R.]
Belize City
St John’s
Swan Islands [Hon.]
San Salvador
Miskito Coast
CARIBBEAN SEA
Lake Managua
San José
PACIFIC OCEAN
Isla de la Providencia [Col.]
NICARAGUA
PANAMA
Panama Canal
Colón
ARUBA
Portobello
Panama
City
Isla de San Andrés [Col.]
Managua
Islas del Maiz [Nic.]
Barranquilla
Maracaibo
Cartagena
Magdalena
River
Caracas
VENEZUELA
GRENADA
BONAIRE
Los Roques [Ven.] Isla Margarita [Ven.]
Port of
Spain
BARBADOS
Bridgetown
St. George’s
MARTINIQUE [France]
Port of
Spain
Castries
TRINIDAD
& TOBAGO
BARBADOS
Kingstown
Bridgetown
Orinoco River
St. George’s
Georgetown
TRINIDAD
& TOBAGO
GUYANA
Paramaribo
SURINAME
Caracas
COLOMBIA
Cayenne
FRENCH
GUYANA
[France]
Orinoco River
VENEZUELA
PANAMA
Panama Canal
Maracaibo
Lake
CURAÇAO
Willemstad
Castries
Kingstown
Maracaibo
Lake
COSTA RICA
Limón
GRENADA
Los Roques [Ven.] Isla Margarita [Ven.]
ST. VINCENT &
THE GRENADINES
Isla La Tortuga [Ven.]
Lake Nicaragua
San José
Fort-de-France
ST. LUCIA
Maracaibo
COSTA RICA
Limón
Miskito Coast
Roseau
Isla La Tortuga [Ven.]
Barranquilla
MARTINIQUE [France]
ST. VINCENT &
Marie-Galante
[Gua.]
THE GRENADINES
BONAIRE
Willemstad
Islas del Maiz [Nic.]
Cartagena
Cayos Miskitos [Nic.]
Tegucigalpa
San Salvador
CURAÇAO
Marie-Galante [Gua.]
Roseau
Fort-de-France
Basse-Terre
Isla de San Andrés [Col.]
Managua
Lake Nicaragua
HONDURAS
EL SALVADOR
ARUBA
DOMINICA
ST. LUCIA
GUADELOUPE [France]
DOMINICA
Isla de la Providencia [Col.]
NICARAGUA
EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
St. Croix [U.S.V.I.]
Basse-Terre
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
MONTSERRAT
Cayos Miskitos [Nic.]
Tegucigalpa
ST. MARTIN
SINT MAARTEN
ST. KITTS
& NEVIS
ST. MARTIN
SINT MAARTEN
ST. KITTS
& NEVIS
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
HONDURAS
Kingston
Guatemala
JAMAICA
BELIZE
IC OCEAN
Culebra
[P.R.]
San Juan
Vieques
[P.R.]
Isla Beata [D.R.] SEA
CARIBBEAN
ANGUILLA
Culebra
[P.R.]
Vieques
St John’s
[P.R.]
BRITISH
Isla Saona [D.R.]
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
VIRGIN ISLANDS
GUADELOUPE [France]
MONTSERRAT
ANGUILLA
Isla Beata [D.R.]
St. Croix [U.S.V.I.]
HAITI
GUATEMALA
Lake Managua
Domingo
PUERTO RICO
Port-au-Prince
Chetumal
Guatemala
Santo
Kingston
San Juan
Port-au-Prince
Veracruz
Campeche
BRITISH
VIRGIN ISLANDS
PUERTO RICO
Santo Domingo
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Tortuga [Ha.]
Mexico City
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
Tortuga [Ha.]
Great Inagua [Bah.]
Isla Cozumel [Mex.]
Isla de la Juventud [Cub.]
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Great Inagua [Bah.]
Cockburn Town
Isla de la Juventud [Cub.]
Mérida
Mérida
ATLANTIC OCEAN
TURKS & CAICOS
Havana
Yucatán Peninsula
Maya: a civilization in the
Yucatán Peninsula. Millions of
people speak Mayan languages
today. They were known for
their achievements in written
language, math, art, architecture,
and astronomy, the study of the
stars and planets.
E
E
Key West [U.S.]
Andros [Bah.]
N
W
W
Nassau
Nassau
Dry Tortuga [U.S.]
Great Abaco [Bah.]
Freeport
GULF Miami
OF MEXICO
ULF OF MEXICO
THE
Palabras:
Taíno: one of the native
Arawak-speaking peoples of
the Caribbean. In Arawak, Taíno
means “good or noble people.”
The Taínos were skilled farmers
and navigators, and they
were the first people to come
into contact with the Spanish
explorers. Many Taíno words are
part of the English and Spanish
languages today, like barbecue.
Portobello
Colón
Magdalena
Map © El Museo del Barrio, New York. Created for the publication
Crossroads of the World
Panama Caribbean: Art at theRiver
(New York: El Museo del Barrio in association with Yale University
Press, 2012), eds. Deborah Cullen and Elvis Fuentes,
City
published on the occasion of the exhibition, Caribbean: Crossroads of the World which opened in June 2012 at
El Museo del Barrio, the Queens Museum of Art, and The Studio Museum in Harlem.
Georgetown
GUYANA
Paramaribo
SURINAME
COLOMBIA
Cayenne
FRENCH
GUYANA
[France]
Hazlo:
Raphael Montañez Ortiz was inspired to make this artwork by Taíno zemis
and the Mayan god Kukulcán.
Look carefully at these two images. Compare them to the artwork.
How are they similar? How are they different?
Zemi: For Taínos, zemís (also
spelled cemís) can be sacred
ancestral spirits, animals, or
forces of nature with unique
powers. Zemís are also the
objects that were thought to
possess these special powers
and believed to protect the
people who carried them. They
often have three points, which
reminded the Taínos of the three
different parts of their world: the
ocean, the land, and the sky.
Kukulcán: a Mayan god whose
name means “feathered snake.”
He is the god of earth, wind,
water, and fire.
Sigue Explorando:
Raphael Montañez Ortiz was
inspired by his cultural traditions
to make this artwork. How does
your culture inspire you? With
your grown-up, think of some of
your family’s favorite holidays,
traditions, food and songs. Using
the materials you have at home,
create an artwork inspired by
your own cultural traditions!
1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th St. New York, NY 10029 212 831 7272 www.elmuseo.org
El Museo del Barrio’s Education & Public Programs are made possible by the Carmen Ana and Joseph Unanue Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers
Fund, Altman Foundation, Target Corporation, Unhate Foundation, Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, ConEdison, New York Yankees, Mount
Sinai Medical Center, White Rose, EmblemHealth, and the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Inc. With the support of public funds from the
New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council: Speaker
Christine Quinn, Council Members Gale Brewer, Daniel Dromm, Inez Dickens, Daniel Garodnick, Robert Jackson, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Annabel
Palma; The Hon. Domenic Recchia, Jr., Chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee; the New York City Council’s Manhattan Delegation;
Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer; and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.