David Bowie soaks up Mexican culture in set of previously unpublished photos
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Version 0 of 1. Previously unpublished photos from David Bowie’s only visit to Mexico show the star soaking up the local culture, from the work of legendary artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to ancient Aztec architecture. Bowie’s concert promoters commissioned Mexican photographer Fernando Aceves to record these intimate moments between the legendary musician and the cultural heritage of Mexico. The UK music star was preparing an article for the magazine Modern Painters and wanted to document his visits to major cultural institutions, including the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Frida Kahlo Museum and the archaeological site of Teotihuacan. “Those photographs would be only a reference for him, that was the goal, recording the visit and nothing else,” said Aceves. “He knew exactly what he was talking about and what he wanted to see,” recalled the photographer. The singer-songwriter arrived in Mexico City three days before his concert at Foro Sol, in October 1997 during the world tour to promote his Earthling album. Aceves snapped Bowie appreciating the work of the muralists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. “Bowie was a nice guy, but reserved. He addressed me as the photographer that accompanied him, he agreed to what I asked. He told me: ‘Anything you see, you ask me,’” says Aceves. Before leaving Mexico, the rocker wrote Aceves a letter thanking him for the time they worked together on the photoshoot and gave him some instructions of the formats he required the images to be for his magazine article. “An agreement was reached at the end. It’s funny, because he said: ‘Fernando, I have no money to pay for this [the photoshoot], because it is not a project that will make me richer, it’s a personal project,’” the photographer recalls. Benjamín Salcedo, editor of Rolling Stone Mexico, was one of the lucky attendees to attend the concert at Foro Sol. “It was a magical night, with a setlist of all his periods, from the electronic Earthling to the classics like Ziggy Stardust,” said Salcedo. “I saw many musicians from the music scene in Mexico among the audience, some connoisseurs of Bowie’s work, and some others that were there out of pure curiosity,” he added. In Mexico, Bowie has been a marked influence on several generations of artists, including musicians, theater directors, designers, photographers and visual artists like Javier Pulido “Monster Truck”, who in 2014 presented the exhibition “Cosmo Epiphany” at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (Muac) in Mexico City, inspired by the career of the British composer and musician. The exhibition, which brought together 30 pieces including installation, video and a collection of two-dimensional pieces, was based on Diamond Dogs, Bowie’s studio album inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984. In the field of music, Bowie was also a creative inspiration for Mexican musicians such as singer Julieta Venegas, rock band Zoé and jazz fusion group Troker. In recent weeks, Troker, a band who has performed twice at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival, recorded a version of Bowie’s final single, Blackstar. “His music level was always trend setting, very few artists can enjoy such a thing. He had a great style, even to say goodbye,” said Christian Jiménez, Troker’s pianist. Bowie only played in Mexico once, but his fanbase remains loyal. A remastered version of Bowie and Brian Eno’s 1977 hit “Heroes” ranks second on Spotify’s list of Mexico’s 50 Most Viral. The list also includes other songs of the British artist, such as Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World and his epitaph, Lazarus, the first single from his latest album, Blackstar, released just two days before he died from cancer last month. “What happens with Bowie, that does not happen with other musicians and artists, is that his work is transverse and transgenerational,” says Uriel Waizel, head of music content of Ibero 90.0 FM, one of the most important music stations in Mexico City. “He knew how to change between ages, genres, art movements. And that is what kept him strong. His work and music was always of great taste: refined and edgy. There are few factors that could make him undesirable: few would dare to assert that they do not like Bowie or that they cannot find a point of connection with his work,” concluded Waizel. |