Abstract
This reflection explores the crane-and-nopal motif in Talavera Poblana ceramics as a lens for understanding artisan knowledge, cultural identity, and the impacts of globalization on Indigenous communities. Through my own painting of a Talavera-style vase, I trace the layered colonial history embedded in this motif — including the quiet resistance of Indigenous artisans who encoded Aztec memory into colonial art forms by replacing the eagle with the crane. The reflection examines how globalization threatens artisan traditions through fast-fashion appropriation, the limitations of Mexico's 2022 cultural heritage protection law, and the displacement of Indigenous artisans in Mexico City. Ultimately, I argue that artistic practice itself functions as a form of transdisciplinary inquiry and cultural resistance — a way of preserving, transmitting, and reclaiming knowledge that dominant systems continue to undervalue.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Urbina, Mayra
(2026)
"Art as Resistance, Art as Hope: The Crane, the Nopal, and the Knowledge They Carry,"
The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal:
Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 20.
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/vol6/iss1/20
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Cultural Heritage Law Commons, Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Latin American Studies Commons
Author/Artist Bio
Mayra Urbina is a transdisciplinary scholar at Claremont Graduate University, where her work examines the intersections of art, policy, and cultural identity. A first-generation woman of Indigenous roots from Puebla and Oaxaca, Mexico, she navigates structural systems shaped by class, race, and gender — and uses her art to create space for the voices those systems were not designed to include. Her practice bridges painting, storytelling, and policy analysis, centering working-class and Indigenous communities in conversations about law, culture, and public policy.