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In 2021, Mexico marks the five hundred years of its nuanced history by reflecting on the tragic events that led to Spain’s conquest of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Empire’s capital, in 1521. If 1521 was the end of one chapter in Mexico’s long history, the other equally watershed moment that transformed Mexico was the Mexican Revolution of 1910. This exhibition focuses on celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. The year 2021 marks the bicentenary of Mexico’s Independence from Spain (The declaration of Independence took place on September 28, 1821, after the Treaty of Cordoba signed on August 24, 1821. This signing marked the end of the hostilities between the royalists and troops for Mexico’s Independence. Still, Spain did not officially recognize Mexican Independence until 1836.

In 1910, yet another revolution engulfed Mexico that fundamentally altered the societal structure in Mexico. This exhibition focuses on the Mexican Revolution that began in 1910 and, by some definitions, ended in 1920 with Álvaro Obregón's election as the 46th President of Mexico. This exhibition was initially planned to be released in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic-related closure upended its initial release date. Instead, the exhibition was curated and completed on the eve of the November 10, 2021 conference.

This exhibition acknowledges the resilience of the Mexican nation and its ceaseless drive to be free. It acknowledges Mexican-Americans, Chicanx and Latinx activists, and civil rights fighters in the US context.

This exhibition was organized to commemorate the Mexican Revolution as a part of a UC Berkeley Library Conference: México: La Conquista-Independencia-Adaptación, 1521-1821-2021. The conference was organized by the librarian for Latin American Studies Collections: Dr. Liladhar P.

For this exhibition, the curator chose to use the images of print items from both University of California-Berkeley Library’s collections and other Open Access resources and previously hosted exhibitions on the Mexican revolution.

The Mexican Revolution was a long-drawn series of complex social, political, and military conflicts that shook and radically transformed society in unprecedented ways. The revolution resulted in lasting changes in Mexico as it modernized. For the convenience of the visitors, the curator has divided this exhibition into several historical periods. This division is arbitrary, and for simplicity, the beginning of each period is marked by a specific historical event. Below are some of the critical facets of this exhibition. Please scroll down and click on each link below to access more information.