The Art of Mexico’s Banknotes

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The Art of Mexico’s Banknotes

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Bibliographic details

• Authors: MELINDA WEIR
• Published: March 1, 2022

Design and technology

• The vibrant red and yellow, vertically oriented polymer 100-peso banknote debuted in November 2020 as part of a newly designed series.
• The 100-peso bill is Mexico’s first vertical polymer banknote.
• Anti-counterfeiting and accessibility features include:
  • color-shifting ink with a sliding bar movement effect and color change from gold to green;
  • a clear window with embossed security features and metallic iridescent ink;
  • a design revealed by fluorescent ink under ultraviolet light; and
  • raised ink.
• The Bank of Mexico aimed to feature “a more design-forward nod to Mexico’s cultural and natural heritage,” telling more inclusive stories while incorporating the latest technology.

Portrait and cultural symbolism

• The front of Mexico’s 100-peso banknote pays tribute to Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648–1695), described as a prolific poet, playwright, philosopher, and nun who wrote in Spanish, Latin, and Nahuatl.
• Sor Juana is characterized by the Bank of Mexico as “a learned and determined woman, who fought against the conventions of her time that limited women’s access to culture and freedom of thought, in order to become the greatest figure of the Hispanic American letters of the 17th century.”
• Sor Juana is sometimes referred to as the “Founding Mother of Mexican literature” and considered “the most important poet and writer of New Spain’s literature,” according to the Bank of Mexico.
• The banknote also depicts the arches of the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, an 18th century baroque building in Mexico City’s historic center, noted as the birthplace of the country’s 20th century muralism movement where artists including José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera painted early murals.

Monarch butterfly and environmental significance

• The back of the banknote depicts the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the forests of Michoacán and the State of Mexico.
• The reserve welcomes millions of migratory orange-and-black monarch butterflies (mariposas monarcas) every autumn.
• The monarchs fly thousands of miles from the northern United States and parts of Canada to hibernate in the oyamel fir trees of central Mexico, 9,000 feet above sea level.
• The Bank of Mexico’s Alejandro Alegre notes that the monarch butterfly has “an important symbolism for Mexicans, as important spiritual and cultural values have been attributed to it.”
• The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) describes the monarchs’ long-distance trips as the world’s “most highly evolved [migration] of any known species of their kind.”
• The WWF reports that monarch butterflies’ numbers are declining drastically due to climate change, deforestation, conversion to farmland, increased use of pesticides in their US breeding grounds, and disappearing milkweed, the exclusive food of monarch caterpillars.
• As climate change and biodiversity gain attention, the monarch on the banknote serves as “a powerful reminder of the importance of a flourishing environment,” echoing Sir Partha Dasgupta’s observation that “A thriving natural environment, underpinned by abundant biodiversity, is our ultimate safety net.”

Recognition and implications

• The 100-peso note was chosen “Bank Note of the Year” by the International Bank Note Society (IBNS), a first for the country.
• The IBNS stated, “Mexico’s award-winning entry may provide a template as other countries reconsider how they design and promote new banknotes.”
• The redesign reflects a broader trend of using physical currency to tell inclusive stories of cultural and natural heritage while integrating advanced security and accessibility features.

F&D Magazine. MELINDA WEIR. March 2022.

Content in this bundle

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