Dentimundo: A Nostalgic Exploration of Early Web Art, Dental Tourism, and Evolving Latinidad

Dentimundo is on view now as part of ArtBase Anthologies 003: Post(border)codependency

During the final part of the introductory video to Ricardo Miranda Zuñiga’s online artwork Dentimundo [World of Teeth, 2005], we see a middle-aged man in a blue suit, pointing to the sky, while a speech balloon appears, welcoming us to a “cybernetic tour of the Mexican border!"

As a Chilean, I recognized him immediately. It’s Don Francisco, a fellow countryman who successfully hosted the variety show Sábado Gigante [Giant Saturday] on Univision for 39 years, continuing the original show he had in Chile since 1962. What was he doing here, in an internet artwork developed 20 years ago by an American artist of Nicaraguan descent?

Originally, Dentimundo's main goal was to offer a critical perspective on dental tourism, providing valuable—though now outdated—information for those seeking dental treatment in Mexico. Using the tools of the internet of its time – basic HTML coding, left-aligned menus, MP3 music, static images, frames, and Adobe Flash animations – the work evokes a time when the Web felt like a new horizon, filled with creative and forward-looking possibilities. Today, it serves as a reminder not only of the mid-2000s internet, with its slow loading times, broken links, and low-resolution content, but also of the urgent need to preserve early web-based artworks in their original form, especially as many have already been lost forever. As someone who began using the Internet in 1994, Dentimundo makes me nostalgic for an era when we accessed the net exclusively from computers, encountering simple webpages adorned with pre-Instagram graphics.

Dentimundo welcomes us with the unsettling sound of a dental drill and images of tiny figures quickly migrating between the U.S. and Mexico. Then, these humanoids transform into teeth to form the Dentimundo logo, all while the Corrido del Dentista [Dentist's Corrido] plays—a rhythmic tune narrating the story of a dentist who chases the American Dream without ever leaving Mexico. On the left side, under the "Resources" title, a menu offers links to the pages that structure the website: “Home,” “Interviews,” “Directory of Dentists,” “Suggest a Dentist,” “U.S. Health Insurance,” “Links,” “Credits,” and “Download MP3.”

Since Zúñiga created Dentimundo, dental tourism has only grown more popular with Americans. In response, border cities in Mexico have developed a thriving market for this type of medical tourismn, a trend that began with pioneers like Dr. Bernardo Magaña, In 1969 he migrated to the town of Los Algodonesn, discovering a niche in US dental tourists. Furthermore, in 1980 he became the municipal delegate, influencing the shift of Los Algodones from sexual tourism, to the medical one. During the 20th Century, migration within Latin America was rural-to-urban. However, Magaña was a part of an emerging and still ongoing trend where medical professionals move from major cities like Mexico City or Monterrey to less urbanized border areas. 

Similarly, in the previous model of medical migration, individuals from less privileged regions traveled to wealthier areas for treatment, mirroring the broader issue of individuals moving from economically struggling regions to wealthier ones. 

In medical tourism, relatively high-income individuals also travel to more affordable economiesn, facilitated by digital information and favorable exchange rates, while enjoying the chance to vacation. Beyond the cost of dental treatment, there are benefits such as the concentration of dental providers, the experience of the professionals, and the comparative quality of Mexican dental care. This counters stereotypes about Mexico being unsafe for American tourists. Thus, the artwork critiques misinformation and simplistic views about Mexico, symbolized in the Dentimundo logo—a circle of arrows around a molar crossed by a red line, possibly representing declining exchange rates, Mexican mountains, or the border itself.

This brings us back to Don Francisco. I grew up with a local, more intimate version of the star, who filled the TV every Saturday afternoon, dressed and speaking like any middle-class Chilean of the 1980s. It still surprises me how he became not only the most well-known Chilean in Latin America and among the U.S. Latinx communityn, but also a symbol of the American Dream for millions of them. He arrived in Miami alone in the mid-1980s carrying a taping of his work, with the goal of selling his show to the then-emerging Spanish-speaking U.S. television. After finding an opportunity with Channel 23, a relatively small station, he started to build his entertainment empire from scratch. In his farewell show in 2015, he was even celebrated by then president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. This narrative not only illustrates how the U.S. Latinx community has expanded his influence, but it is also reinforced by the history of his German Jewish parents who arrived in Chile escaping from World War II, and by his perfect, bright, and flawless smile.

In Dentimundo he symbolizes the American Dream, the pursuit of perfect dentition, and a friendly Latinidad that blends seamlessly with American culture. Curiously, while Don Francisco’s figure in the U.S. is highly romanticized, in Chile he has been questioned – especially since he abandoned his local audience to favor the international one. From accusations of corruption to questioning the migration narrative of his parentsn, he is not as well-regarded in his home country as he is in the U.S.

This discussion requires us to talk about Latinidad. Aparicion describes Latinidad as an experience involving the shared cultural and economic challenges of Latin American groups in the U.S. Corridos—a type of Mexican folk music that is also a literary and social phenomenonn—and figures like Don Francisco are integral to this idea and both are elements of Dentimundo. But while Corridos connect local and historical themes with contemporary issues, Don Francisco embodies a more porous and globalized Latinidad. In fact, the rise of digital media now allows for quicker, organic and dynamic creation and dissemination of new Latinidad representations. Consider how many viral videos not only have helped to import regional terms and practices to other territories in Latin America, but also have become part of the Latinx experience in the U.S.

While evoking an important moment in early digital art, Dentimundo also offers a critical look at economic and cultural exchanges, globalization, and the evolution of Latinidad. It serves as a reminder of the relevance of preserving digital art as historical and cultural artifacts, but also of the dynamic physical and digital implications involved in the lives of Latin American migrants in the United States and their descendants.