The Mexicans

Edgar, have you read The Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan Boyle?

If not, I would suggest you do so. It's a fantastic book and gives good insight into a subject matter which appears to be quite important to you.

http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/tortilla_curtain.asp

Thanks Boss!

gus
I have not read the book, but I will look for a copy at Amazon.

The epitome of "manifest destiny" was the Gadsden "robbery" (a government/corporate deal making Halliburton look like a mole hill) of Mexico and the Mexican People which included lands of Tejas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. With the objective of providing a cheaper railroad to the Pacific. The territory ceded to the United States by Mexico constituted about 200,000 square miles or two-fifths of all her territory and unknown numbers of people. Rave on Southern Pacific.
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, signed February 2, 1848

Febrero 2, 1848

February 2, 1848, the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - why does el Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida consider this day to be important to our people and struggle?
In entering into an investigation on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, one will quickly discover that very little has been written on the subject by European-American Historians. On the other hand, much has been written on this event by the Mexicano counterpart, and some Chicano Historians. The reason why the European did not publicize this very important event, not only important for Mexico but just as important to the United States of North America who "bought" more than 50% of the then Mexican Republic, will become clearer.
There are two points of view to the history of an oppressed people, or a colonized nation. There is the "Official" version that has been projected by the oppressor. Then there is the "popular" version which it told by the people, ourselves. This side of history has not only been expressed in written form, but also by way of "Cuentos, Corridos, leyendas, art, dichos," and by word of mouth. The book, "To serve the Devil," by Jacob Paul discusses in depth some of the ways by which our people have recorded our history.
Be aware that the oppressor brands anything that is not their interpretation of events as, "Subversive, non-sufficient, non-qualifying," or even "Communist." The difference in interpretations can be seen in how our people and the colonizer view the Mexican American War. The European-American tends to "blank out" all facts on the war, with the intent that it be forgotten, or at best s/he refers to it as the "Settlement of the West," "How the West was Won," or the "Great Race West." Most Mexicanos of that day, and Chicano Mexicanos of today simply see it as a war of conquest by an avarice and expansionist Capitalist Nation.
In addition with those two points of view one must keep in mind that, what was actually written as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was not the same as that which was signed on February 2, 1848. This is clear in Article 8 and 9, which deal primarily with the question of land and the guarantee that the Mexicanos would be able to keep their lands. Article 10, which was also believed to be important , was not part of the final version of the Treaaty. This Article guaranteed respect for our language, culture, and religion, which was deleted because "it was already implied in the rest of the articles." However, even the inclusion of these articles would not guarantee that they would be observed. These articles also do not address themselves to the reall issue of our struggle, which is our struggle for self-determination and national liberation.
Our point here is not that we see the Tratado as our salvation, but rather a fact of history, a part of our history that has formed who we are as Chicano Mexicanos.

Chicano Mexicanos and Chicana Mexicanas reacted in the same way most colonized people react, they became marginal and retreated to the safety of their own people. For a time till about 1920 there were in fact two nations, the conquered, and the one of the people.
The Mexican American was provoked by the USA to expand it's domain of the land for it's wealth and the natural resources, and consequently it created a cheap labor force needed to develop the new territory. It is because of this that we, Chicana Mexicanas and Chicano Mexicanos, indigenous to this land, haave resisted the conquest of our people and land in all shapes and forms.
As Chicano Mexicanos and Chicana Mexicanas continue to develop and grow as a people, our Chicanismo becomes more present and clear. The way we speak, our beliefs, our social ways, and our political direction becomes distinct from that of our Mexican brother and sister. This is not to say that we can not establish unity, but what it firmly states is that politically, socially, and economically we are Chicanas and Chicanos, and that culturally, historically, and spiritualy we are Mexicanas and Mexicanos. It is for this reason that we have affirmed that we are "CHICANO MEXICANOS/CHICANA MEXICANAS."
Even though Raza from here and Raza from across the border have the same cultural background, our social and political experiences are different. Even the concept of "Chicano Studies" demonstrates that we have our own history and socio-political experiences.
It has been pointed out the the Chicana Mexicana and the Chicano Mexicano has been marginal, that purposely or consequently we have been excluded from political power, while this is true, it is also true that throughout the world, as well as in this Imperialist Nation of North America, the Margin is quickly becoming the center. Our task is difficult, but our resistance as Indigenous people, and the love for liberty, justice and our land is greater.
To the conqueror our land means profits and power, to us they mean life, history and unity.
It is in this spirit that we recognize and commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on february 2, 1848, as the birth of the Chicano Mexicano Nation.




Febrero 1997
http://larazaunida.tripod.com/docs/feb2.htm

Excellent! Boyle is one of my favorite contemporary novelists and of all his books Tortilla Curtain is my favorite. It's a hell of a good read.

Let me know when you finish it.

Will do, Gus. I am slow, but it will get done.

http://masrc.arizona.edu/



A Brief History of the Mexican American Studies & Research Center

In 1968 a group of Mexican American faculty members at the University of Arizona came together to form the Mexican American Studies Program in response to student and community demands for change. By 1975 it became the Mexican American Studies Committee. Then, on March 22, 1981, the Mexican American Studies & Research Center was formally inaugurated. Two years later, the Center received state funding and began to realize its interdisciplinary research program. The need for a Center was a result of the failure of higher education to perform the necessary research on Mexican Americans in Arizona and throughout the country. In its short history, the Center has served as an extension of the University into the state's Mexican American and non-Mexican American communities.

MEXICAN AMERICANS. People of Mexican descent in Texas trace their biological origins to the racial mixture that occurred following the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1520s. During the Spanish colonial period, population increases occurred as Spanish males mixed with Indian females, begetting a mestizoqv race. By 1821, when Mexico won its independence from Spain, the mestizo population almost equalled the size of the indigenous stock and that of Iberian-born persons. Mexicans advanced northward from central Mexico in exploratory and settlement operations soon after the conquest, but did not permanently claim the Texas frontierland until after 1710. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the French became increasingly active along the Texas Gulf Coast, and in response, the viceroy in Mexico City made preparations for the colonization of the Texas wilderness. The first expedition in 1716 peopled an area that subsequently became the town of Nacogdoches; a second in 1718 settled present-day San Antonio; and a third established La Bahíaqv (Goliad) in 1721. During the 1740s and 1750s, the crown founded further colonies along both banks of the Rio Grande, including what is now Laredo. At this early time, the crown relied primarily on persuasion to get settlers to pick up and relocate in the far-off Texas lands. Those responding hailed from Coahuila and Nuevo León, though intrepid souls from the interior joined the early migrations. In reality, few pioneers wished to live in isolation or amid conditions that included possible Indian attacks. They feared a setting that lacked adequate supplies, sustenance, and medical facilities for the sick, especially infants. Frontier living inhibited population growth so that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Spanish Texasqv neared its end, the Mexican-descent population numbered only about 5,000.

Between then and the time of the Texas Revolutionqv in 1836, the number of Hispanics fluctuated, but then increased perceptibly, so that the first federal census taken of Texas in 1850 counted more than 14,000 residents of Mexican origin. Subsequently, people migrated from Mexico in search of agricultural work in the state, and in the last half of the century, moved north due to a civil war in the homeland (the War of the Reform, 1855-61) and the military resistance against the French presence (1862-67). But they also looked to Texas as a refuge from the poverty at home, a condition exacerbated by the emergence of President Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911), whose dictatorial rule favored landowners and other privileged elements in society. The Mexican Revolutionqv (1910-1920) increased the movement of people across the Rio Grande. Mass relocation persisted into the 1920s as agricultural expansion in the southwestern United States also acted to entice the desperately poor. The total Mexican-descent population in Texas may have approximated 700,000 by 1930. Continued - http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/MM/pqmue.html

Wonderful thread, Edgar; I think that the breaking of such anti-Mexican bias needs to be done.I can't see, above all, how people can call them lazy: I bet that hardly anyone could live the way that many do. In cheap terms, they work their asses off... do the jobs 'Americans' don't want to do... and all for nothing, no gratitude, just the cold shoulder of prejudice nudged in their faces.

I'll revisit this thread when I'm more coherent and less sleepy (it's 10.13 pm here); I have written many things about this particular issue over the last six or seven years; when I dig out my old folders, I'll make sure that anything worthwhile is posted here.

For the best short history of the Mexican-American War of 1845-48, i recommend So Far from God, by Steven D. Eisenhower. The title is taken from a quote of Porfiro Diaz, President of Mexico in 1876, and again from 1878-1911. He said: "Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States."

Thanks, drom. I truly appreciate the people who have stopped in and spoken kindly. The novel I am writing features a Mexican who is central to the plot, simply because I desired to see such a character being made use of for once.

Brilliant, Edgar! I didn't know that you were writing a novel. How much have you written so far? If you ever need exposure in Europe, I would be delighted to help you.

Incidentally, you might be interested in a novel called 'The Tortilla Curtain' by T. C. Boyle, although I thought that it was rather histrionic.

Drom
You are the second on this thread to recommend The Tortilla Curtain. I definitely plan to get it. The book set suggests sounds good too.

Oh, Gus suggested it too! I didn't see that, unfortunately. Who'd have thought that frolicks on tractors could have such an impact on one's sensibility!

Getting back to more serious things: the book was good, if a bit too allegorical. It provided a good window on a society centred around selfishness. If you can't get it, I could send a copy to you.

I look forward to hearing more about your novel, whenever you want to talk about it. But it's hugely difficult to summarise a novel, I think. What is its setting?

The Gods of Mexico:

1. Quetzalcoatl (The Plumed Serpent): John Goss. Patron of wisdom, patron of the priesthood. As Ehecatl, god of the wind; as Tlahuizcalpantechtli, god of Venus as the morning star. As Ce Acatl* (One Reed), a warrior. Special friend and patron of mankind, inventor of writing and the calendar. Reputed to have opposed human sacrifice, but this was likely an invention to please the Catholic priests.

2. Tezcatlipoca (The Smoking Mirror): Herbert North, Jr. Patron of war and warriors, sower of discord, rewarder of the valiant; highly capricious, unpredictable. Often seen as a dual opposite of Quetzalcoatl. He had many synonyms; Itzli (knife), Itzlacoliuhqui (curved flint knife), Yaotl (enemy), and many more.

3. Xipe Totec (Our Lord the Flayed?): David Hallsten. Perhaps the most mysterious of the Teotl; usually assumed to be the patron of springtime and planting, he also probably has sexual/fertility connotations. In the story he is identified as synonymous with the plant god group including Cinteotl (corn god), Xochipilli (Flower Prince) and Macuilxochitl* (Five-flower).

4. Tlaloc (Land-lier): Frank Wasserman. The God of Rain, purely and simply. The source of the name is obscure. Always pictured with fangs and eye-rings, he has no common synonyms.

5. Huehueteotl (Old, old God): the Old Man, Old One of the Fire, Eduardo Arias. Also known as Xiuhtecuhtli (Precious Lord), he is the ancient fire god, sometimes identified with the creator-diety Ometeotl (Dual God).

6. Xolotl (Monster): the phantom. Sorceror, dog-face god, twin to Quetzalcoatl; he is identified with Venus as the evening star, and as Quetzalcoatl's Nagual. In the story, he is also considered a dualistic twin to Tezcatlipoca.

7. Patecatl (He from the Medicine-Land): Patecatl. Patron of medicines, pulque god.

8. Mixcoatl (Cloud Serpent): Sam Cloud. Patron of hunters, Quetzalcoatl's father in his incarnation as Ce Acatl*.

9. Xiuhnel and Mimich (True Turquoise and Arrow Fish): Shownell and Mims. Sacrificial gods, followers of Mixcoatl.

10. Tonatiuh (Heat-giver): Tonatiuh. The sun-god, originally the "scabby" god Nanahuatzin, who sacrificed himself in fire to become the Fifth Sun. Many authors identify Nanahuatzin with Xolotl, and a few of the old sources say he was Quetzalcoatl's son, but these identifications are not used in the stories. His "date name" is Nahua Ollin* (four movement).

11. Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird From the Left?): Huitzilopochtli. God of War and personal deity of the Aztecs; he was probably unknown before their dynasty began.

12. Mictlantecuhtli (Dead-Land Lord): Mictlantecuhtli. God of the dead, nearly identical to the Roman Pluto.

13. Yohualltecuhtli (Night-Lord): Yohualltecuhlti. Lord of Night, or of the "Temple of the Night"; usually considered a personification of the night sun, that is, the sun below the horizon. In the stories, he takes Mictlantecuhlti's place as the possessor of the bones of mankind.

14. Tecciztecatl (He from the Innermost Twist of the Conch Shell): Tecciztecatl. Lunar deity, personification of the moon; an upstart sun, his face was darkened when a rabbit was thrown into it.


For goddesses and other names visit the link.
http://www.mindspring.com/~coatl/pages/append.htm

Bobby Vaughn's Black Mexico -

Blacks in Mexico - A Brief Overview
To begin a discussion of the Black Experience in Mexico, it is important to establish the quantitative significance of the black slave population in the colonial era. One of the most frequent responses I get when discussing my research with Mexicans, or Americans for that matter, is "there couldn't have been more than a handful of slaves in Mexico." This assumption is made because in most parts of Mexico, today, you don't see many black people at all. The assumption is made that if there aren't many blacks in Mexico, now, there never were. As we will see, this is not entirely true.
The first African slave brought to Mexico is said to be one Juan Cortés, a slave who accompanied the conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1519. The Indians, spellbound by his dark skin, for they had never seen an African before, took him for a god! Another of the early conquistadores, Pánfilo Narvaez, brought a slave who has been credited with bringing the devastating smallpox epidemic of 1520. Mexican anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán estimates that there were 6 blacks who took part in the conquest of Mexico.

These early slaves were more personal servants of their masters, who may be thought of as squires. These slaves were most likely taken from Africa, then transported to Seville, where early slaves were christianized, and they probably spoke Spanish by the time they reached the New World. These slaves didn't come over on slave ships as part of an overt slave trade. The slave trade that changed the demographic face of Mexico began when King Carlos V began issuing more and more asientos, or contracts between the Crown and private slavers, in order to expedite the trans-atlantic trade. At this point, after 1519, the New World received bozales, or slaves brought directly from Africa without being christianized. The Spanish Crown would issue these asientos to foreign slavers, who would then make deals with the Portuguese, for they controlled the slave "factories" on the West African coast. Aside from these asientos, the Crown would grant licenses to merchants, government officials, conquistadores, and settlers who requested the privilege of importing slaves.
The Crown had very few problems doling out these asientos and licenses, as a direct correlation was seen between the number of slaves imported to the new colony and the colonization and economic development of the colony. For these economic reasons, the black population soared to over 20,000 by 1553. According to early census data and allowances made for escaped slaves, Aguirre Beltrán arrives at the following estimates of the black population:
continued at this site:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/ethnic/bv/brief.htm

http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/james/jamesint.html

Three Years Among the Indians and Mexicans, by Thomas James
Introduction
Thomas James (1782-1847) published this book in 1846. It tells about his adventures on the Upper Missouri in 1809 with the Missouri Fur Company, and his later adventures as one of the first American traders in Santa Fe and with the Comanche Indians. His book is an important historical source for both of these events.
"By a plain, unvarnished tale of Western life, of perils and of hardships, I hope to amuse the reader who delights in accounts of wild adventure, though found out of the pages of a novel and possessing no attraction but their unadorned truthfulness."

I have been reading this thread all along, trying not to butt in, with my tendency for recent news developments.

I'll contribute with some explanations about Aztec gods.

Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent.. Quetzal is a beautiful feathered bird. Coatl is a serpent. Quetzal flies. Coatl creeps. There is Quetzalcoatl in every man. Height and lowliness coexist in every one of us.

Xipe-Totec, Our Lord the Flayed. The One Without Skin. His sginficance is that our skin is a mask. We are what lies underneath.

Huitzilopoztli, the Hummingbird of the Left. The Left is the East, the cane, the color yellow and certain years of the calendar. Hutiziloptztli is Venus.

Quetzalcoatl, an old god from the Toltecs and Huitzilopoztli, a distinctly Aztec god, were political rivals in the later days of Aztec society.
Followers of Quetzalcoatl were the more civilized and tollerant and wanted some sort of cooperation with the "tributing peoples" (tribes conquered by the Aztecs): they wanted to rule by conviction. Followers of Huitzilopoztli were fanatical and bloodthirsty (almost literally): they wanted to rule by fear and by spectacular acts against the enemies(pints of blood running down the piramids).

Thanks fbaezer
I am far from an expert in any of this. I am learning as I progress.