The Museo de las Américas is a historical museum located near Moncloa station in the center of Madrid. It is full of artifacts from various cultures in north, south and central America. Within, there's a massive topographic map of the area, several maps from the age of exploration, and several videos/soundtracks made with the intent to immerse the audience in the sounds of a local South American village. The use of art, music, and tools helps create a sense of cultural understanding, but just how in-depth is it?
As we've just recently spent time celebrating Thanksgiving, I've found myself thinking once again about my own heritage and the cultural exchanges present in the U.S. specifically. The Museo de las Américas displays artifacts from Spanish cultures, as well as those from the Americas, and almost seems to juxtapose the two.
They place delicate and expensive Renaissance-era works next to chipped pottery, and do not explain the skill that went into crafting either piece. There's another similar instance where the gold-lined altar of a royal is placed next to a series of indigenous religious objects, but they receive different treatments by the curators.
