Thanks
Glenn
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The citizens of Mexico and its neighbors to the south are mostly Indian
people or who have at least some Indian ancestry. The struggle being between a
tradition of Spanish rule verses the needs of a very American (indigenous)
population. Today there is a side to Mexico, its Spanish side, that keeps its
Indian background concealed, while at the same time wanting to celebrate all
that is Indian. Indianness is an essential ingredient in Mexico's national
character, as proudly displayed in its art, music, architecture, history, and
mythology. This is how Mexico defines its relationship to the rest of the
world. Native mythology of Middle America has escaped its Indian background
and entered the Spanish-speaking mainstream, but at the same time is very
prevelant in all indigenous communities.
Most all Mexicans venerate the "Virgin of Guadelupe", but what is not so well
known is how it relates to ancient Mexico. The site where the virgin was seen
is called "Tepeyacac", which was also the Aztec's shrine to Tonantzin, deity of
female power. Their 'Mother of the Gods' was called "Teteo Innan", the patroness
of midwives and healers. The Aztecs made pilgrims to this place much like
modern-day Mexicans do, in search of cures.
In 1973 in the state of Michoacan there was supposedly another miracle which
appeared on a piece of cloth. This was the Virgin of the Rosary. To many these
phenomena are the very essence of Mexico.
Many countries throughout Central America have chosen their symbols of
nationhood, based on the legends of the Aztecs and Mayas. Here are a few
examples:
In Nicaragua - the poet Ernesto Cardenal
Remembering Quetzalcoatl (the flying serpent of the Aztecs)
and the Legend of the Suns:
"If there isn't but dust in the pot
it is because mother Snake Women is grinding me as on a grindstone
and my blossoming will revive!
Quetzalcoatl will take me from the dead land."
Also from Nicaragua, the late husband, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, (of the current
president), is compared to the twin heroes mentioned in the Mayas sacred book
"The Popol Vuh". It was written by the poet, Pablo Antonio Cuadra:
"A hero struggled against the lords of the
House of Bats,
against the lords of the House of Darkness.
She approached...so that the myth could bring us together in its image."
>From El Salvador the novelist, Manlio Argueta writes:
"We mourn the loss of the ancients, who became monkeys at the close of the
third creation." He compares this to the monkeys, apes, and gorillas that
rule most of Latin America today.
Unlike in the United States, many poets enjoy considerable influence in this
area of the world. But no matter how much they invoke the memory of the
indigenous peoples of the region in their writings, native peoples still
continue to suffer untold misfortunes.
Another ancient celebration called Day of the Dead ("Dia del Muerte") or
Halloween was actually Aztec in origin. It was named "Miccailhuitl" (dead
feast or dead day). Another icon in Mexican art, literature, and film is
that of the "Weeping Woman" or hungry earth mother. She continues to haunt
the countryside.
This quote from Mexico's winner of the Nobel prize for literature, Octavio
Paz, sums up the concept of how Mexico differs from the United States:
"In the United States the Indian element has almost been forgotten, whereas
it can never be forgotten in Mexican culture. This is the biggest difference
between our two countries."
One last poem by the Vera Cruz writer, Aurelio Ballados, expresses the
attitude of the Mexicans. It is entitled "Patria Morena" (Dark Land,
literally Dark-complexioned Homeland):
"Dark land! With fervor I call your name,
bells ringing in my throat.....
I believe in the storied crimson of your myths.
I revere your thousand idolatries.
I love the abyss of your mythologies.
The blood of your rituals is my communion.
I believe in your sun stones, your infallible
calendars a thousand times millenariana...
Mexico! The forbidden pain is yours,
for you are a land of nobility and art...!"
References:
"The Mythology of Mexico and Central America" - John Bierhorst