Guanajuato Mummies in Dallas

This weekend we were able to see the famous "Momias de Guanajuato" in our very own hometown of Dallas Texas.  We heard about this through a Facebook post that was promoting the event.  It turns out that a company  from Detroit has them on loan (more on this later) and they are touring the US.

The exhibit is called The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato and is located at the West End Marketplace and consists of five rooms.



Part of the exhibit was a replica of what the cemetery actually looks like.  Not too impressive.  What I did find very interesting were the actual mummified bodies of children.  The adult mummies didn't seem so unconventional, but to see small children in this state can be chilling.

 This is a little girl who passed around the age of one. Interesting to see how she was "posed" with her fingers intertwined.  The eyeballs were also still there which made it that much more creepy.

This other child was not posed as the prior one, but it was a smaller baby than the one above.

This is a mummy of an adult male.

This is a female mummy that they called "La Chimuela" or "Toothless."

Anyway, we did a little bit of research and it turns out that the company which is taking the mummies on tour has not paid Mexico the $3.2 million pesos that are owed under contract.  The contract for the 36 mummies expires at the end of 2012, when the mummies will need to be returned.










I'd love to hear your opinions on what you think of one's country's cultural patrimony being exhibited abroad.

Specifically on the issue with the contract, do you consider this to be exploitation?