Half of the World. Women in Indigenous Mexico

Lady Tz’aka’ab Ajaw, the ‘Red Queen’ of Palenque is the title of a special presentation at the Museo Thyssen of the funerary regalia of this historical figure from the 7th-century Mayan civilization, the wife of K’inich Janaab’ Pakal (known as Pakal the Great) who was one of the most important rulers of the city-state of Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico). Loaned from the Museo de Sitio de Palenque Alberto Ruz L’Huillier, the regalia consists of bracelets, necklaces and a funerary mask, among other objects, which demonstrate the power and relevance of women of the ruling elite of the time. 

The display is part of the exhibition Half the World. Women in indigenous Mexico organised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation – through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) – and the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the Ibero-American General Secretariat. 

Curated by Karina Romero Blanco, the exhibition brings together more than 435 pieces loaned from collections in the different regions of Mexico with the aim of strengthening ties between the country and Spain and of celebrating Mexico's indigenous peoples, particularly women, whose contributions, resilience, spirituality and dignity merit recognition. The exhibition coincides with the declaration of 2025 as the Year of Indigenous Women in Mexico, a tribute to the presence and contributions of the peoples who have shaped the country's identity for more than thirty centuries. Indigenous women, the foundation and pillars of this cultural heritage, are the guardians of memory, languages, traditions and ancestral knowledge, which they have preserved and adapted over the centuries. 

The Museo Arqueológico Nacional, the Casa de México, the Instituto Cervantes and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza are the four venues for this collective exhibition that looks at different aspects of the indigenous female universe.