Monday, February 28, 2011

For my cultural outing, I attended the on-campus presentation "Indigenismo, Order and the Nation- The Transnational Circulation of Mexican Independence During the 1910 Centennial" given by Raul Ramos, Associate Professor at the University of Houston. Throughout his 90 minute presentation, he explored the role of celebrating the Mexican Independence in the United States and the effects of transnationality, specifically focusing on the 1910 Mexican centennial parade and the process of organizing it on the US side of the border.

Prof. Ramos displayed an array of archived photos from the 19th century and from the 1910 Mexico City celebration. His contextualization of the region made it apparent that the borderlands during that period were divisive; Mexican identity as well as American identity were difficult to articulate given that the Mexican Revolution was brewing in 1910 and the Texas revolution of 1835 was still fresh on the minds of many borderland Americans. This was an area whose peoples were not complacent to be sedentary.

The presentation made me think back to our lecture focusing on how to represent chicanismo and exploring how memory operates in terms of place and people. Surely it was strange for some living north of the Rio Grande to one day celebrate Mexican Independence and later fight against Mexico in the Mexican American War. Even more curios is how the 1910 Mexico centennial celebration was largely a commemoration of the indigenous as a strong and successful people, yet within Mexico at that period- and sadly, continuing today- any full blooded Aztec or Mayan was more than likely extremely impoverished. The cultural image perpetuated at that time clashed with the reality of the situation. Why?

Prof. Ramos notes that the celebration had a principal aim of attracting foreign investment by presenting to the world a united Mexico that was politically stable; electricity, for example, immediately became available in Mexico City specifically for the foreign dignitaries visiting the parade. However, "juntas patrioticas" were springing up frequently throughout the countryside as discontent swirled amongst the common people. Clearly this was attempt to distract the naysayers with the recent jewel of technology- electricity- from the campesinos organizing in arms outside of Mexico City.

This discordant atmosphere has many implications today in the chicanismo movement. Language, for example, is no longer the dividing line between American and Mexican. The modern day "mestizo" is perhaps most visible in language; Tex-Mex and Spanglish are examples of the ever evolving borderlands identities. Indeed, as in the 1910 centennial parade demonstrated, the cultural images and icons used to allude to a once powerful people indirectly highlights the great chasm from what they were remembered for compared to what they are today. What will the use of proper Spanish allude to in the future in light of the evolving combination of Spanish and English frequently used in the borderlands? What memories does Nahautl, the language of the Aztecs, conjure?

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