Introduction to the Dialogues on Rethinking Interpretations of the Mudéjar and Its Revivals in Modern Latin America

Abstract

The architectural forms associated with the aesthetic phenomenon that has come to be known as mudéjar and visual elements tied to Iberian and Islamic architectural traditions more broadly have been interpreted across modern Latin America in various modes. A wide array of buildings spanning from the colonial era into the twentieth century engage with this architectural legacy and distinctly stand out within the urban fabric of the continent’s major capitals today. Whether reflected in the intricately geometric woodwork of colonial-era ceilings known as carpentería de lo blanco or via the mashrabiya-inspired screened breezeways that punctuate modern Brazilian pavilions, such architectonic techniques and design criteria evoke imaginaries tied to South America’s colonial past via references to an Ibero-Islamic aesthetic. Recent calls to reexamine diverse historiographic and architectonic interpretations of the so-called mudéjar or other revivalist forms associated with the Islamic world in Latin America, along with their connections to nationalism and orientalism, invite a critical reconsideration of these constructions from a decolonial perspective within this regional context. Responding to these inquiries, this dialectical collection of essays spans diverse geographies and periods to expand upon contemporary interrogations of modern historiographic and design interpretations of the built forms associated with the mudéjar and Ibero-Islamic architectural traditions in modern Latin America. Together, they present fresh case studies and perspectives while asserting that a strategic reading of the stylistic phenomenon and its architectural echoes in Latin America is not simply the result of an external influence in the region but part of a broader complex discourse of modernity.