The Mexico Reader is a vivid and comprehensive guide to muchos Méxicos—the many varied histories and cultures of Mexico. Unparalleled in scope, it covers pre-Columbian times to the present, from the extraordinary power and influence of the Roman Catholic Church to Mexico’s uneven postrevolutionary modernization, from chronic economic and political instability to its rich cultural heritage. Bringing together over eighty selections that include poetry, folklore, photo essays, songs, political cartoons, memoirs, journalism, and scholarly writing, this volume highlights the voices of everyday Mexicans—indigenous peoples, artists, soldiers, priests, peasants, and workers. It also includes pieces by politicians and foreign diplomats; by literary giants Octavio Paz, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Carlos Fuentes; and by and about revolutionary leaders Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. This revised and updated edition features new selections that address twenty-first-century developments, including the rise of narcopolitics, the economic and personal costs of the United States’ mass deportation programs, the political activism of indigenous healers and manufacturing workers, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mexico Reader is an essential resource for travelers, students, and experts alike.
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- A Note on Style
- Introduction
- I. The Search for “Lo Mexicano”
- The Mexican Character, Joel Poinsett
- The Cosmic Race, José Vasconcelos
- The Sons of La Malinche, Octavio Paz
- The Problem of National Culture, Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
- How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldúa
- Mexico City 1992, Alma Guillermoprieto
- Two Ranchera Songs, José Alfredo Jiménez and Cuco Sánchez
- II. Ancient Civilizations
- The Origins of the Aztecs, Anonymous
- The Feast of the Flaying of Men, Inga Clendinnen
- The Totocalli (Motecuhzoma’s “Zoo”), Andrés Bustamante Agudelo and Israel Elizalde Méndez
- The Meaning of Maize for the Maya, J. Eric Thompson
- Omens Foretelling the Conquest, Anonymous
- III. Conquest and Colony
- The Spaniards’ Entry into Tenochtitlán, Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Hernán Cortés
- Cortés and Montezuma, J. H. Elliott
- The Battles of Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco, Anonymous
- The Spiritual Conquest, Fray Jerónimo de Mendieta
- Why the Indians Are Dying, Alonso de Zorita
- A Baroque Archbishop-Viceroy, Irving Leonard
- On Men’s Hypocrisy, Sor Juana
- Whites, Negroes, and Castes, Alexander von Humboldt
- The Itching Parrot, the Priest, and the Subdelegate, José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi
- IV. Trials of the Young Republic
- The Siege of Guanajuato, Lucas Alamán
- Sentiments of the Nation, or Points Outlined by Morelos for the Constitution, José María Morelos
- Plan of Iguala, Agustín de Iturbide
- Women and War in Mexico, Frances Calderón de la Barca
- The Glorious Revolution of 1844, Guillermo Prieto
- Décimas Dedicated to Santa Anna’s Leg, Anonymous
- A Conservative Profession of Faith, The Editors of El Tiempo
- Considerations relating to the Political and Social Situation of the Mexican Republic in the Year 1847, Mariano Otero
- Liberals and the Land, Luis González y González
- Standard Plots and Rural Resistance, Raymond B. Craib
- Offer of the Crown to Maximilian, Junta of Conservative Notables
- A Letter from Mexico, Empress Carlota
- The Triumph of the Republic, 1867, Benito Juárez
- Porfirio Díaz Visits Yucatán, Channing Arnold and Frederick J. Tabor Frost
- Scenes from a Lumber Camp, B. Traven
- President Díaz, Hero of the Americas, James Creelman
- Gift of the Skeletons, Anonymous
- Special Section. What Can Photographs Tell Us about Mexico’s History?, John Mraz
- V. Revolution
- Land and Liberty, Ricardo Flores Magón
- Plan of Ayala, Emiliano Zapata and Others
- The Restoration of the Ejido, Luis Cabrera
- Zapatistas in the Palace, Martín Luis Guzmán
- Mexico Has Been Turned into a Hell, William O. Jenkins
- Pancho Villa, John Reed
- La Punitiva, Anonymous
- Pedro Martínez, Oscar Lewis
- Amelio Robles’s Gender Battles in the Zapatista Army, Gabriela Cano
- Juan the Chamula, Ricardo Pozas
- The Constitution of 1917: Articles 27 and 123
- An Agrarian Encounter, Rosalie Evans
- Ode to Cuauhtémoc, Carlos Pellicer
- The Socialist ABC’s, Anonymous
- The Ballad of Valentín of the Sierra, Anonymous
- Mexico Must Become a Nation of Institutions and Laws, Plutarco Elías Calles
- The Formation of the Single-Party State, Carlos Fuentes
- The Rough-and-Tumble Career of Pedro Crespo, Gilbert M. Joseph and Allen Wells
- A Convention in Zacapu, Salvador Lemus Fernández
- The Agrarian Reform in La Laguna, Fernando Benítez
- The Oil Expropriation, Josephus Daniels
- VI. The Perils of Modernity
- They Gave Us the Land, Juan Rulfo
- Mexico’s Crisis, Daniel Cosío Villegas
- Struggles of a Campesino Leader, Rubén Jaramillo
- Art and Corruption, David Alfaro Siqueiros
- The Two Faces of Acapulco during the Golden Age, Andrew Sackett
- The Dark Deeds of “El Negro” Durazo, José González G.
- The Sinking City, Joel Simon
- Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl: Souls on the Run, Roberto Vallarino
- Roma Exposes Mexico’s Darkest Secret, Marcela García
- Modesta Gómez, Rosario Castellanos
- La Costa Chica and the Struggles of Mexico’s “Third Root,” Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán
- Images of Afro-Mexican Mobilization on the Costa Chica in the 2010s, Various Photographers
- VII. From the Ruins
- The Student Movement of 1968, Elena Poniatowska
- El Santo’s Strange Career, Anne Rubenstein
- After the Earthquake, Victims’ Coordinating Council
- Letters to Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Anonymous
- Identity Hour, or What Photos Would You Take of the Endless City? (From a Guide to Mexico City), Carlos Monsiváis
- The Political Manifesto of the COCEI of Juchitán, Oaxaca, The COCEI
- Women of Juchitán, Jeffrey W. Rubin
- EZLN Demands at the Dialogue Table, Zapatista Army of National Liberation
- A Tzotzil Chronicleof the Zapatista Uprising, Marián Peres Tsu
- Debtors’ Revenge: The Barzón Movement’s Struggle against Neoliberalism, Heather Williams
- VIII. The Border and Beyond
- The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Nicholas Trist, Luis Cuevas, Bernardo Couto, and Miguel Atristain
- Plan of San Diego, Anonymous
- The “Wetback Invasion,” Timothy J. Henderson
- The High Cost of Deportation, Julia Preston
- A Honduran Teenager’s Journey across Borders, Sonia Nazario
- Two Poems about Immigrant Life, Pat Mora and Gina Valdés
- The Maquiladora Workers of Juárez Find Their Voice, David Bacon
- Dompe Days, Luis Alberto Urrea
- Two Songs about Drug Smuggling, Paulino Vargas and Chalino Sánchez
- “We Are More American,” Enrique Valencia
- IX. From the Perfect Dictatorship to an Imperfect Democracy
- Mexicans Would Not Be Bought, Coerced, Wayne A. Cornelius
- Assessing NAFTA: Before and After, Mark Weisbrot and Vicente Fox
- Ayotzinapa: A Father’s Testimony, John Gibler
- The Narco Who Died Twice, Ioan Grillo
- AMLO on Corruption, Andrés Manuel López Obrador
- The Promise and Peril of López Obrador, Denise Dresser
- Traditional Medicine in Modern Mexico and the Challenge of COVID-19, Gabriela Soto Laveaga and the Nich Ixim Midwives Movement
- Should I Die Abroad, Bring Me Back to Mexico, Jorge Ramos
- Suggestions for Further Reading
- Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources
- Index
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