Hispanic Heritage Month is also a time to take a look at the cultural foundations of Americans of Mexican and New Mexico descent that constitutes the majority of Latinos in the United States. The Chicano Movement attempted to do that as part of the effort to promote justice for the community in the social and political landscape, especially in the 1960s and 70s.
The activities of the Movement largely achieved recognition of the proper space for that community. However, it did not complete its other mission of coming to terms with its history both as Mexicans and as Americans.
The question of “identity” calls for embracing historical contradictions caused being a blend of Europe and indigenous America that most activists were not ready to accept. The expression of those very contradictions in the epic poem I Am Joaquin escaped many of the readers’ attention who, instead, celebrated Gonzalez’ work only as an eloquent lyrical experience with a universal message and inspirational motif.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to observe and listen to many of outgoing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s 3-hour-long daily briefings. In addition to presenting and discussing the projects that have described the development of the nation in his 6-year term, Lopez Obrador has gone out of his way to set in motion the dynamics of his people’s reconciliation with their continental origins.
He has indicated that rather than just accepting the modern social, economic and political theories intended for modern democracies, Mexico should also look to anchor its identity in a-cultural past that is among the longest and richest in the world. Lopez Obrador comes from the State of Tabasco, a region that is among the closest to the place where the first Mexican civilization began over three thousand years ago.
Tabasco borders the State of Veracruz and their dividing line is the Tonala River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico. On an island located at the mouth of that river is where the earliest Olmec city, La Venta, was constructed.
Lopez Obrador appears to see this place and its original civilization that spread its influence to the North, the South and to the West and helped to create the greater civilizations of the Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, among others, as somewhat forgotten givers of Mexican identity that in time were obscured by the strong colonial European cultural stream.
By comparison, the Chicano Movement effort took the community back to a cultural context that mainly featured the Aztecs that, together with the Toltecs, were the later inheritors of their founding ancestors trappings.
In Mexico, the new cultural emphasis is, in part, driving what is referred to as the 4th Transformation, an effort that seeks to redraw the social and political foundations of the Mexican State. The legacy of its pre-Colombian past is again at the forefront of what it is to be Mexican.
Americans of Mexican descent have had the advantage of receiving from the strong waves of Mexican immigrants a sense of history, nationality and language, three major characteristics that attend to the notion of identity that generally had been lacking in the American-born community. The indicated route for Mexico, however, is to go even further into the past and make peace with origins.
For those of Mexican descent in America, the road to cultural reconciliation is much harder and longer. Being bilingual and bicultural is both a major advantage and a challenge because there are two world views competing for attention.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of laVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
