indigenism as a form of culture chic......

[micc]

Dear alberto,

I too am a mexican. to be specific, I am a chilango, yet I have spent
all of my life in the U.S., not by choice, but by destiny.  I understand
your anger, and (dare you admit it ) hatred of us who " ...LEFT and went
for the MAcdonalds
> and Sears life instead of eating the dust of the poverty and wars that > came"

my father is from singuilucan Hidalgo (also la Huasteca, if not
ethnically, spiritually). We are nahautl-Otomi (ñañu). on my mothers
side we are Purepecha, and nahuatl from puebla.  Yet my father brother
and now my son have green eyes (those naughty spanards got into
everything everywhere...)

So true, we are mestizos.

however, I believe your anger is misidrected. true ther are many
chicanos who are trying to be "more indian than ther indains"
but i KNOW that the majority of us understand and appreciate, the many
turbulent, tragic, herooic, and yes, even great moments in Mexico's
blood.

Unfortunately, YOU ARE VERY WRONG in saying that Mexico is NOT a state
of mind.  it is the state of mind of the true Mexicano, that makes
Mexico so heavenly beautiful, yet devilsishly horrific.

to blame us "pochos, agabachisados, etc...." for the mixed up psychology
of the modern mexicano is sad at best, tragic at worst.

You see we are only a reflection of the conflict within Mexico's
self-identity.

Mexicans see themselves as first world (YES I DID SEE MACDONALDS, HARD
ROCK CAFE, AND COSTCO in el D.F.)
third world (give us a break on pollution, democracy and labor ethics,
we need to catch up to you rich people up north.

you say:
>
> I have run into many revivalist Americans of Mexican heritage that seem to
> think that because they read some books and because the Americans of
> english-Irish-scottish-german-welsh or Italian descent discriminate on
> them that makes them feel more Mexican that I am, given me the "you don't
> know better because we are enlightened you poor little 3rd world country
> wanna be WE ARE THE TRUE INHERITANTS OF THE AZTEC culture".

This is very true, but for only a small, rabid, manipulative, and
slefish few.  Such as "the Nation of Aztlan" , some blondie white guy
who says he is Quetzalcoatl (even has a website wwww.toltecs.com or
something like that.  There are also people who follow a dangerous
(allegedly child molesting)  guy named PASTEL in L.A.

there are also MANY young innocent chicanos, many wgho are first
generation college students who follow any crackppot that comes out of
Mexico claiming to hold the secrets of cuauhtemocs
prophecy...(Xoconochtle... and his band of viennese Azteca dancers comes
to mind...oh don't forget the great tlacaelel).

so IF we chicanos are " revivalist Americans of Mexican heritage that
seem to
> think that because they read some books...WE ARE THE TRUE INHERITANTS OF THE AZTEC culture".
IT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE FROM MEXICO HAVE COME TO US AND TOLD US THIS
ROT!!!!


yOU SAY:

> I beg of all of you who are of Mexican ancestry to understand that Mexico
> is not only a state of mind, or a matter of academic study, or a matter of
> finding you "roots". We are a living nation that is fighting every day to
> survive, to progress, to evolve and to try to be more humane and equal.
> Yes, we have our terrible one party dictatorship, you have a two party
> dictatorship and I don't see you complain,  we have a terrible state of
> affairs in Chiapas, Oaxaca, veracruz and tabasco, yet I do not see America
> trying to help South dakota, montana, nevada or arizona, where the major
> and porest reservations are.
>

hERE YOUR IGNORANCE OF OUR POLITICAL REALITY CONVICTS YOU....

We chicanos are very much involved with the fight for big mountain in
Arizona, the reZ battles at wounded Knees
and many other places.

As a matter of fact... the truth is that until the CHICANOS-
MEXICANO-AMERICANOS started to come back to Mexico to"discover their
roots" AND BRING HARD CASH TO THE REMOTE PUEBLOS THAT THE BIG CITY
PEOPLE CHOOSE TO IGNORE
("HALL EN LA PROVINCIA... EN EL INTERIOR...) most mexicans were more
than happy to ignore, disparage, AND EXTERMINATE the indigenous people
you so proudly defend.


>
> Let US the Mexicans that decided to STAY and die if necesary fix our
> problems and not be judged by those Who LEFT and went for the MAcdonalds
> and Sears life instead of eating the dust of the poverty and wars that
> came. We are a nation after all, respect us at least for that.
>
> Respectfully to our brothers in the north, which they forget that they are
> OUR brothers and not OUR TUTORS.....
>

True we are not your tutors, yet you are not our elder brothers either!
Those of us that HAD TO LEAVE, or WHOSE PARENTS WERE MADE TO LEAVE, are
not to blame for the perpetual crisis of Mexico.... I believe that that
honor goes to YOU, compa.
Instead, we are in reality bringing BACK TO MEXICO WHAT YOU " the
Mexicans that decided to STAY" send out of the country everyday on
champagne, Armani suits,guns and sotch whiskey..... (does the term "saca
dolares" refer to us farmworkers, dishwashers, and gardners that send
money home every month so that our abuelitas can eat?)

As a matter of fact, you intelectual elite of Mexico could do better if
you learned from the rest of the educated world about honesty,
democraacy and true defence of the disenfranchised.

Every time you go to one of your discos night clubs or trendy
restaurants in the zona rosa, please remember to treat  your waiters
well, like human beings,and not to brush off the indigenous children
trying to sell you chicles at the doorway.




Alex Perez wrote:
>
> I will catch a lot of flak but I feel morally oblidge to write the
> folloowing, specially in this kind of list where the lenguage and culture
> are supposed to be taken into consideration.
>
> First of all, I am Mexican, by birth, by raising, I lived most of my life
> ther and I have enjoyed the good times and bad times of MY country. Yet I
> am not named Cuahutemoc, axayacatl or tonatzin, as some of my classmates.
> I have been learning nahuatl because my brother lives in the heart of the
> huasteca potosina and I have many friends that only speak marginal spanish
> and mostly a dialect of nahua. I have to deal with the realities of
> everyday life there and with the goodness or badness of MY country wether
> many people might consider it a backward 3rd world country or not I am
> proud of it and I wish not to stay in America but to return to were I was
> born.
>
> I have run into many revivalist Americans of Mexican heritage that seem to
> think that because they read some books and because the Americans of
> english-Irish-scottish-german-welsh or Italian descent discriminate on
> them that makes them feel more Mexican that I am, given me the "you don't
> know better because we are enlightened you poor little 3rd world country
> wanna be WE ARE THE TRUE INHERITANTS OF THE AZTEC culture".
>
> I am very frustrated and angry and I want to make all of you AWARE that we
> looked on you all as OUR OWN people, but my experience here has been so
> disapointing that makes me want to cry. Nobody here knows that WE are all
> Mexican, thet The Nahuas, as well as the Otomies, the Mazahuas, the
> Tarahumaras, the purepechas the Tzotziles, the tarascans as well as the
> GREAT MAJORITY OF MEXICO who is MIxed, we share a same culture tradition
> and Nationality. To divide Mexico is to dismember the soul of our nation.
>
> I beg of all of you who are of Mexican ancestry to understand that Mexico
> is not only a state of mind, or a matter of academic study, or a matter of
> finding you "roots". We are a living nation that is fighting every day to
> survive, to progress, to evolve and to try to be more humane and equal.
> Yes, we have our terrible one party dictatorship, you have a two party
> dictatorship and I don't see you complain,  we have a terrible state of
> affairs in Chiapas, Oaxaca, veracruz and tabasco, yet I do not see America
> trying to help South dakota, montana, nevada or arizona, where the major
> and porest reservations are.
>
> Let US the Mexicans that decided to STAY and die if necesary fix our
> problems and not be judged by those Who LEFT and went for the MAcdonalds
> and Sears life instead of eating the dust of the poverty and wars that
> came. We are a nation after all, respect us at least for that.
>
> Respectfully to our brothers in the north, which they forget that they are
> OUR brothers and not OUR TUTORS.....
>
> Alberto Alejandro Perez Pulido
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> A. Alejandro Perez        "After many years in which the world has
> Graduate Student           afforded me many experiences, what I know
> Int. Political Economy     most surely in the long run about morality
> 347 Smith Hall             and obligations, I owe it to futbol"
> University of Delaware
> Newark, DE 19716