Mexicanidad: A Cultural Analysis

A tourist walks down a busy Mexico City street towards the Zócalo expecting mariachi bands, authentic Mexican food vendors, and an extravagant cathedral. As the tourist nears the plaza, these expectations are partially met; the Cathedral of Mexico City towers over the National Palace, mariachi bands rush to perform, and a Kentucky Fried Chicken sits next to a McDonald’s (Guillermoprieto 42). The tourist’s expression is now one of confusion as he wonders how fast-food chains and other United States based retailers established thriving businesses less than a block from one of Mexico City’s key cultural centers. When the tourist asks a passerby if the indigenous and Spanish culture is threatened by United States’ capitalism moving in, the local
At first, the tourist may think that the unexpected sights represent a clash between United States and Mexican culture. However, “Mexican” culture is a blend in itself. The product of mixed Spanish and indigenous influences, the concept of Mexicanidad never matured to a clear and concise meaning. The concept of Mexicanidad is nebulous because the process of cultural exchange between the Spanish and indigenous varied depending on the context. Defining characteristics of how the two cultures mixed include geographic location, time period, and the ethnic configuration of the community or
After September 11, 2001, citizens nationwide felt grief and sorrow for the loss of their anonymous countrymen. Only a minute fraction of United States citizens personally knew victims of the attacks, but citizens grieved nationwide due to the shared membership of the nation. This sense of nation is not to be confused with the geographic definition of a state; borders can bring people together governmentally, willfully or not, whereas this sort of nation is an identity that goes far deeper than the lines on a map. Borders do not define the sort of nation that Anderson describes, that the local in Mexico City whom the tourist addressed, and the Mexico to which the farmer and urban dweller equally belong, but rather an intangible connection that draws all of these groups together. Initially, after the Spanish conquered the lands which are now Mexico, there was no more political Aztec nation. There was no geographic area set aside for only the Spanish to develop. After the state of Mexico declared independence, the government had no choice but attempt to forge a political nation. As part of this process of trial and error, difficult and trying economic conditions, and political unrest, a social, imagined community took root. A nation