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Spanish influence mexico architecture
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The Great Divide
University of California-Berkley geographer and author Michael Johns argues in his novel, The City of Mexico in the Age of Diaz, that the central Zocalo of Mexico City does more than geographically segregate the East from the West, but Mexico’s national mentality as well. During the years of Diaz’s democratic façade, the upper classes thrived upon plantation exports, feudalist economics and the iron fist of Diaz’s rurales while struggling to maintain European social likeness. East of the Zocalo, shantytowns housed thousands of poor pelados that served as societal blemishes of a suburbanite’s experience. In Johns’s work, the penniless and indigenous serve as the scapegoats for the priviledged and their obsession with grooming Mexico City to be a little Europe.
A growing affluent class called upon the Diaz regime and imported architects to construct buildings in the Zocalo to reflect a “proper” image that drew on influences from Europe and the United States. Johns recognizes the architectural dependence of the influential Mexicans constructing Mexico City when he states, “Mexican architecture, on the other hand, was an expression of a city run by a people who were looking to create their own culture while entirely dependent on the industry and ideas of Europe and America” (22). The same construction that the elite felt was a celebration of a newfound dignity in the Mexican people was criticized, by visitors and locals alike, as grandiose and a futile effort to shield the native roots of a circle of imposters. Johns’s argues that the “Mexicans knew little of their adopted European tradition, had acquired even less of its taste, and enjoyed none of its tranquility” (23). While the influence on the Westside led to development, the squalor and lack of authority of the peasants on the Eastside created mesones, or as Johns described them, “…a little more than ‘a bare spot to lie down in, a grass mat, company with (the) vermin that squalor breeds…’” (48). Politics on the Westside of the Zocalo were concerned little with the living conditions of the majority. No one would undertake the unglamorous task of assisting the poor, but rather they attempted to veil the masses in the shadow of their refined buildings and recent assumption of culture.
Another shield of the upper classes was t...
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...rural hamlets, many in
the big city drowned their sorrows in pulque … it accounted for over 90 percent of all the alcohol drunk in the capital … The suggestive power of a bright scene or an exotic name painted on the façade was at times enhanced by a slogan like ‘Drink Pulque, Be Happy” (50-51).
The little solace the masses gained from their wages was usually happily wasted in one night after the paycheck had arrived. Aspiring to drown their social inferiority, pulque crippled the east side’s population. In essence, both rich and poor yearned to gain acceptance, at conscious or subconscious levels.
Mexico City in the Age of Diaz is a literary illustration of one country’s struggle to define itself as a modern, cultured nation. Written mainly in the upper class point of view, the poor masses are defamed as lesser, indigenous beings. This anxiety of the Westside population and “President” Diaz lead not to reform but to exploitation and ignorance of social dilemmas. Europe and the United States served as a model for these citizens who craved status and acceptance due to the inherent inferiority complex gained by a historically conquered people.
Judas at the Jockey Club, written by William H. Beezley, is used as a tool for those observing Mexico’s history during the Porfirian Era. This supplemental text addresses the social and political issues that were prominent during the Porfirian Era under the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz; whose goal was to lead the modernization of Mexico. Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico in 1876; he made a false promise to resign in the Creelman interview in 1908 but did not officially resign until 1911. Beezley displays an analysis of the segregation between the common people and how they attempted to deal with an oppressive government. Judas at the Jockey Club is important to this Latin American course because of the extensive background Beezley provides to shed light on the tensions that allowed the socioeconomic gap to exist.
In Richard Rodriguez’s “Proofs,” Mexican immigrant’s destination is described, as well as their perceptions and expectations of America. Rodriguez describes the passage to the United States as difficult, yet worthy. He states: “The city will win. The city will give the children all the village could not- VCR’s, hairstyles, drum beat. The city sings mean songs, dirty songs. But the city will sing the children a great Protestant hymn.You can be anything you want to be.” He also states: “Mexico is poor. But mama says there
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light.
It is important that historians use Díaz’s account because it was his own eye witnessed manuscript on the Spanish conquest after reading slanted, inaccurate, and fabricated stories. Díaz wrote this document for Spain and its people to clarify the rumored false statements about natives. It is important to consider his audience because they were the ones who stood by the falsity. From the start historians can use the manuscript to rule out that early American society was primitive and uncultivated. Seeing that Díaz participated in all major events of the Conquest, he described what he saw when he and the other Spaniards first ...
There was a long list of leaders/presidents in the Mexican revolution. Some of them were not qualified one bit and didn’t know what it took. The less ready or qualified you were the better chance you had of being killed or starting a war. The main man originally in this story was Porfirio Diaz; but as time passed you realized the bad decisions of other presidents. For instance Francisco Madero; he ran for office just to get someone else out. He should’ve known that without experience and a plan that he wasn’t going to do well. You need a plan to succeed as a president. War was the only option in the beginning but it wasn’t in the end. The Mexican revolution was an extremely bloody conflict between the people of Mexico and the presidents they had to live under.
Rosales, F. Arturo. Lecture 2/14 Film The US-Mexican War Prelude. Weber, David J. - "The 'Path of the World'" Foreigners in Their Native Land: The Historical Roots of Mexican Americans.
...ewish enclave to a predominantly Mexican community” (Sanchez, 2004, p. 640) due to the fact that the “Jewish community of Los Angeles as a whole was transformed by the demographic changes, clearly becoming “white” in the racial hierarchy of the region both geographically and politically” (Sanchez, 2004, p. 640). The place of the Jewish community changed along with their identity. Once they became “white” they no longer were restricted to living in Boyle Heights. In Los Angeles, it is clear through what happened to this one group of people that one’s metaphorical place in society, meant to be one’s racial and class status in what Sanchez refers to as a hierarchy, has a direct link to one’s literal or geographical place in the city. The ongoing divisions within society caused by stratification have become the basis of the meaning of place in contemporary Los Angeles.
The history of political instability in Mexico and its need for revolution is very complex and dates back to the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards in the 1500s. However, many aspects of the social situation of Mexico when the Revolution broke out can be attributed to the thirty-year dictatorship of President Porfrio Diaz, prior to 1911. The Revolution began in November of 1910 in an effort to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. Under the Diaz presidency, a small minority of people, primarily relatives and friends, were in ...
The problem of cultural adaptation is extremely complicated. In diverse situations immigrants are forced to question their original belief system due to the pressure of their new environment. Elias Miguel Munoz’s and Omar S. Castaneda’s essays in Muy Macho capture’s two interesting aspects of the internal war happening within the common immigrant. Both essays analyze the effect of the American society on the macho image. However Munoz deals with a second-generation crisis; whereas Castaneda’s essay is interested in the first generation immigrant’s feelings. In other words, while Munoz confronts the macho father, whom he feels disconnected from; Castaneda tackles his own cultural identity. Yet they seem to arrive at different conclusions: the passage from “From the land of machos” points out the deficiencies of holding on to certain traits and customs; whereas the “Guatemalan macho oratory” shows signs of pride in the macho identity. My own immigrant experience in the United States has led me towards thinking that the American society is extremely materialistic. As a result, many immigrants are put into a losing position, as most of them are not representatives of the higher-class. In reaction, some immigrants turn to the use of a more physical communicational strategy. This is what led to the fall of the macho image in the American environment. It is money fighting physical strength and this war divides the immigrant population into sort of “Munozes” and “Castanedas”. Perhaps, the golden way lies in balancing obedience and individuality. If the two behaviors were not considered exclusive, overcoming both types could prove to be useful.
The old city of Tenochtilàn is not what it used to be. To begin with, it has a new name: Mexico City or the doomed city as people would like to put it. But it is not doomed on account of a joint Russian-Chinese invasion. No, it’s doomed because of what it is, and let me tell you, Mexico City is something. To fathom the sheer massiveness of the cities current population and density is to sit in awe and wonder if the people are squashed into large anchovy tins. Many factors led to the sad state that is Mexico’s today. Major population growth and the negative effects of geography and climate affected Mexico City dearly. Pollution and the housing crisis also took a toll on the City and its people. But the real question is, how did these factors lead to getting the City in possible peril?
After a 10 revolutionary years, in 1920 Mexican political leaders wanted to develop a program to cultivate nationalism through education and art. They rediscovered folkloric Mexican elements; they highlighted the Mexico’s pre-Hispanic past. They made the native Mexican the protagonist of the revolution. Despite the glorification of indigenous people, the most of them were actually socially and economically isolated from Mexican society. This was a failure, because they failed to convey the richness and the depth of the indigenous
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...
The pre-revolution life was generally comfortable for people, despite the bad circumstances for the workers, many grew dissatisfied and plotted to be rid of Porfirio Diaz. Population rates were normal with satisfied inhabitants. Soon, this was to change with a revolutionary civil war. Life was normal; women were at home, men were working, and children went to school, played, and did chores. Women and men felt happy doing work they had done for years while children continued a short-lived innocent life. Despite a social difference between many, even the privileged could see past Diaz’s thirst for power. The poor grew discontent with poor working conditions while the rich grew irritated with Diaz being the only power.
Because a lot of people resisted against the Anglo-American point of view, criminality was on the top of everyday life. Execution manifested against Mexican people causing hundred of death because of the hatred between both sides. “The “Monte Boys” sought to become the “recognized disciplinarians” of all Mexicans, who they assumed “harbored and assisted” criminals and therefore encouraged criminality. This process tended to criminalize all of la gente Mexicana” (Monroy, 209).