President’s Committee Chairman Adair Margo Receives Aztec Eagle Award

President’s Committee Chairman Adair Margo received the highest decoration awarded by Mexico to people who are not citizens of Mexico at a ceremony held at the Cultural Institute of Mexico in Washington DC in mid November. The Order of the Aztec Eagle was bestowed upon Margo and three other arts and cultural leaders recognized for their contributions to strengthening the relationship between Mexico and the United States. The honor was presented to the recipients by Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan. First Lady Laura Bush, Margo’s longtime friend, was in attendance at the ceremony.

Chairman Adair Margo with Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Photo by Steven Purcell

“I feel like this award represents the true relationship between Mexico and the U.S.,” Margo said. “It shines a light on the sharing that goes on between our countries.” Margo cited the various monuments and pieces of artwork in the borderland, including the Don Juan de Onate monument at the El Paso International Airport and the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Juarez, Mexico, as evidence of this sharing and said residents should visit these and other sites to appreciate the relationship between the two nations. “Actually seeing works of art that communicate our history goes a long way in helping us understand,” Margo said.

“Arts and humanities have a fundamental role in breaking down barriers of understanding between countries,” said Henry Moran, director of the PCAH. “No one in the U.S. has done more than Adair to focus attention on and honor the rich cultural traditions throughout Mexico.”

Margo’s fellow honorees that evening were Earl ‘Rusty’ Powell III, Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Anne d’Harnoncourt, The George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, and Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, a scholar and former Rockefeller Foundation executive from New York.

For more information on the Aztec Eagle Award, click here.