José María Mesa Martín is the author of the biblical nativity scene that can be seen these weeks in the Tenerife Council. He is the artist of this type of work who has exhibited the most in the Insular Palace. but youHe has also taken his works to cities such as Seville or Malaga, to island museums and municipalities such as Güímar or Los Realejos. He assures that «I like to innovate, but not provoke; “The controversy arises from the ignorance of some people.”
Graduated in Fine Arts and History, Mesa Martín, a native of Guía de Isora, received his first nativity scene as a gift when he was less than a year old. In his family, the recreation of these scenes was experienced with great intensity. As a child, he remembers planting wheat in the Conchita guava candy boxes to collect it at the precise moment to make the nativity scene. And the powdered milk caps were used as a base for mountains and planting lentils.
Until he was ten years old, he helped make the montages, with contributions to the landscapes, with corks and aniline-dyed paper. From that moment on, he began to make his own nativity scene alone. As time passed, he performed his first great Nativity and Adoration of the Kings in his home. The following year, the work was exhibited in the History Museum, in the Lercaro Palace in La Laguna. And, later, it was shown at the Museum of Ibero-American Crafts in La Orotava. And he had the opportunity to be present at the Fairgrounds, at a craft fair dedicated to nativity scenes. And the first big controversy arose. In one of the scenes you could see “the slaughter of Santa Claus by the Three Wise Men.” He clarifies that it was a symbolic gesture of vindication of the figure of the Three Wise Men, “in the face of acculturation and the influence of Nordic culture on Christmas.”
From that moment on, he had the opportunity to exhibit his figures and landscapes in the Cabildo de Tenerife. But first, the responsible authorities summoned him to a meeting, in which he was informed that the scene of “the massacre of Santa Claus” should be removed. As he already sensed what they were going to tell him, he brought the decapitated head of the Nordic symbol to the meeting in a napkin.
Some people were also scandalized by his figure of the Virgin breastfeeding the Child. José María clarifies that it is “a medieval iconography of the Virgin of La Leche, as a representation of the human nature of Christ, which has existed since the 13th century.” The artist admits that some people “may not be aware of the existence of these images.”
The “ethnographic” nativity scene
It has a large “ethnographic nativity scene”, that is, one that recreates Tenerife customs with settings and clothing from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a “biblical” one, which incorporates buildings, clothing and places from Judea. Furthermore, in the year of the canonization of Holy Brother Pedro he also recreated scenes from Tenerife and Guatemala, where the Chasnero pastor carried out his great work of solidarity.
It highlights the importance that the researcher Juan de la Cruz has had in the Bethlehem of the Cabildo of Tenerife. He remembers that De la Cruz, who then worked in the island administration, had the idea of exhibiting a nativity scene in the Insular Palace, “at a time when these representations were not given importance.” However, as a result of the success of the exhibit in the Tenerife corporation, the experience was repeated in other councilstown councils and public institutions.
He explains that, for the traditional figures, he makes the heads and hands with clay, following the tradition of baroque sculpture. And these elements are incorporated into the rest of the body, manufactured on a wooden or wire structure. These are the so-called “candlestick images”, clarifies the Isorano artist. In the “Hebrew” or “biblical” images, he uses plastered napkins and glued fabrics for the clothes.
Exhibitions outside the Island
In Seville he has exhibited at the Higher School of American Studies, in the Yandurí Palace and, this year, in the Sala del Peadero of the Seville City Hall. His works have also been seen in the Provincial Historical Archive of Malaga. On the Island, he has also taken his nativity scenes to town halls such as Güímar or Los Realejos.
Regarding the nativity scene that can be seen these weeks in the Tenerife Cabildo, the “biblical” one, points out that only a part of the entire set is shown, since there are scenes, such as the Three Wise Men in the Desert or the Massacre of the Innocents, that They do not fit in the space available in the Island Palace.
When Mesa Martín is asked if there is a union between the artists who dedicate themselves to this type of work, he points out that in Gran Canaria there are several associations and, in addition, they have a kind of island federation. But the same does not happen in Tenerife, where there are some municipal groups, such as in Puerto de la Cruz or La Orotava, but there are no island-based organizations. And he warns that almost all provinces have entities of this type, such as Rondana, in Seville.
And is there any work with these characteristics that you admire? José María responds that a very interesting one is that of the Círculo Mercantil de Sevilla, “which is very careful, in its figures, setting, colors and technical resources.” He points out that “there are some very good things”, but regrets that others are not interesting, since “they are poorly made, pretentious or presented in a careless way.”
