Mexican Bedsides

Why Mexican furniture in Britain?
Considering that Britain has no strong historical, geographical or cultural links with the Republic of Mexico, it is somewhat surprising that a style of furniture allegedly from that country should have become so immensely popular.  If someone has a definitive explanation for this, perhaps they could contact me, but in the meantime it is worth considering the history of both countries.     

Mexico was originally governed by its indigenous civilisations such as the Olmec, the Maya and the Aztecs (none of whom had Mexican bedside cabinets!).  But in 1521 the country was colonised by Spain.  Mexico remained a Spanish colony for 300 years until it regained its independence in 1821.

It is not surprising that, after 300 years of Spanish control, Mexico had adopted many of the fashions or styles of its European rulers.  These included obvious features, such as the language, but also less obvious things such as a similarity in the style of furniture – although Mexican bedside cabinets were still yet to be invented.  A casual study of Spanish Colonial furniture shows the styling shares many similarities to that of Mexican furniture.  The native Mexican people adapted the style to their own tastes with, for example, the use of bold metal fittings demonstrating the skills of the country’s craftsmen in metalworking.

At independence in 1821 Mexico’s territory still included present-day Texas, California, Wyoming, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.  However, during the course of the 19th Century, these territories were all lost to the USA and, as if this wasn’t enough, in the 1860s the country was again invaded and colonised, this time by the French.  

Spanish or Mexican bedside?
Why is this relevant to the presence of Mexican furniture in Britain today? Well there is an undoubted Spanish influence on the overall style of Mexican furniture and the connection between Spanish styles and British tastes is easier to understand.  During the 1960s cheap package holidays were introduced to Britain.  Many ordinary British people were now able for the first time to travel abroad on holiday – particularly to Spain.  Perhaps due to their experiences and enjoyment of the country they may have developed a desire to emulate the Spanish look for interiors on their return home.  Any shrewd furniture importer could have seen the similarity between Spanish and Mexican-style furniture and taken matters on from there - hence a UK market for Mexican bedsides!

Some weight is perhaps given to this idea by the fact that, during the 1970s, many bungalows were built in the UK with Spanish-style architectural features.   

An alternative though weaker explanation might be that American tourists brought Mexican style furniture back to their homes in the USA and Mexican furniture in Britain then came about as a result of American influences on British consumers or, as some have termed it, American cultural imperialism.  In other words, Britain copied, acquired or borrowed so many style and design icons from the USA, including everything from denim jeans to bubble gum and Cocoa Cola, that a liking for the American taste in furniture was a logical progression.