LITERATURE WITHOUT BORDERS (PART IV)
(An Introduction to the Literature of Mexico)
(Extract of an interview with Nayeli Ceceña Alvarez on my television programme, Oral Tradition, Georgetown, Guyana, August 2010. Nayeli Ceceña Alvarez is attached to the Mexican Embassy in Georgetown as the Cooperation Affairs and Trade Promotion Officer.)
PP: One of the better ways of learning about a country is through its literature. Now continuing the series on ‘Literature Without Borders’, we’ll take a look at the literature of Mexico. This year, Mexico is celebrating two landmarks: 200 years of Independence, and 100 years of the Revolution with matching literature; a literature spanning a long period of time over various dispensations.
NCA: Well, yes. In Mexico, we have a very wide range of literature movements and writers, and all along our history, there have been very important and extraordinary writers. In fact, this year, as you said, we are commemorating 200 years of Independence and 100 years of Revolution, and those two history periods have also marked our literature as well as our culture. Before Independence, and even before the Spaniards came, we had literature from pre-Hispanic civilizations, such as the important poems of Nezahualcóyotl. Then, during the colonial period in Mexico, most of the literature dealt with mestizaje, which is the mixture of indigenous and Spanish people and culture. Famous writers from that time are, among others, Sor (Sister) Juana Ines de la Cruz and Bernardo de Balbuena. And then when Independence comes, after 1810, there is a whole new range of different movements of literature. The Revolution Period is another very important period for our literature because the revolutionary novels deal with all the problems involved in the armed conflict and how people from all types of social classes deal with it. So, some of the most important types of novels in that period are ‘Los de Abajo’ (Mariano Azuela) and ‘Vámonos con Pancho Villa’ (Rafael F. Muñoz). After the Revolution we also had several literature movements, but one of them is the Nationalist Movement, which, of course, deals again with what Mexico is, what being Mexican means, and, for example, a very important poet, a female poet from that time is Rosario Castellanos, and well, after different periods, we have also a whole range of contemporary writers.
PP: As you said earlier, Mexican literature covers a wide spectrum; and as I said also, it has a long history. Mexico has produced a number of famous writers, including Octavio Paz, who won the Nobel Prize in 1990; Carlos Fuentes; Amado Nervo and a number of others. Now this is just an introduction to Mexican literature, but if we were to select a writer to illustrate some of these things you spoke about, like the contemporary history of your literature, who would that writer be, and why such a choice?

NCA: That is a very difficult question because there are several significant writers. Of course, as you said, Octavio Paz is one of our most famous and most important poets, essayists and novelists. Carlos Fuentes is very important as well; most of his work has been translated to English too. Another writer that allows us to understand what Mexico is would be Carlos Monsiváis; he actually just passed away a few months ago, and he was a very active critic. He participated in many cultural, political, and artistic events, and he is known to be the chronicler of Mexico. Another very prominent Mexican writer nowadays is José Emilio Pacheco, who actually won the Cervantes Prize 2010, which is known as the Spanish-speaking Nobel Prize of literature. It is awarded by Spain, and it has been awarded for 35 years now, and Jose Emilio Pacheco has been the fourth Mexican writer to receive it. So, he is a fantastic poet; he has written novels, and he deals with a wide range of issues, including what Mexico is.
PP: Right! We have one of his books here; could you use one of his novels to illustrate some of the things that we’re talking about — the influence of the English language on Mexico, about identity. Let’s also talk about translation, because some of his work has been translated to English. Let’s go into … Pacheco.
NCA: Yes, of course! ‘Las Batallas en el Desierto (The Battles in the Desert)’ has been translated to English. It is really the story of the narrator, Carlos, who recalls an episode in his school life when he fell in love with his friend’s mother, Mariana. And one day he’s in school, and he decides to run out and go to his friend’s mother’s house and tell her. He sees it like pure love, and so does she. But his family, his friends and society in general see it as a huge problem. He was a school boy, probably junior high, and his friend’s mother, Mariana, was maybe 20 years older than he. So they couldn’t believe he had done that; they even sent him to the psychiatrist. But, aside from the story of Carlos itself, Pacheco describes Mexico in an excellent way. It is Carlos speaking from the 80s, remembering the late 40s or early 50s of Mexico; so he describes the Rome quarters where he lived. There was no television yet; he describes several streets and the atmosphere of those days, and he even also describes a bit of Mexican politics and socio-economical aspects, because this was the period of President Miguel Aleman, during which Mexico went through what is known as ‘The Mexican Miracle’. So, you can even sense that in the book, because Carlos’ father used to own a soap factory, and he loses his job because he can’t compete with the new American detergent companies, so he ends up working for them. But the curious thing about this is that towards the end of the book, you realise that even though he lost his company, they do ‘upgrade’, to say so, in society, because by then, they are about to travel to New York. His brother is studying in Chicago, so they kind of upgrade, because of all this new industrialization process in Mexico.
PP: Great work dealing with cultural changes.  One of the things that I’m interested in is how he deals with the ‘Invasion of the English Language in Mexico’; talk about that…
NCA: During the book, you can see how Carlos and his family use some English words; even his dad has to go to English night school. Carlos says he doesn’t have a choice; he has to learn English; there’s no other way. In Mexico nowadays, we use a few English words on a daily basis, such as: Ok! Bye! Jeans, [and] sorry, and in ‘Batallas en el Desierto’, you see how that is beginning to impact the society itself. Even Carlos’ best friend is called Jim, which is, of course, not a Mexican name. Pacheco’s book has even transcended literature. In 1986, the film ‘Mariana, Mariana’ was an adaptation of Pacheco’s book, and even a popular Mexican Rock band, Café Tacuba, wrote the song ‘Las Batallas’, inspired by it.
PP: Lovely as an introduction to your literature. Pacheco is also a poet. I think we could squeeze in a piece of his poem, a very short piece of his poem, in closing.   
NCA: Sure! This is ‘Alta Traición (High Treason)’, and it deals with the love that one has for his country, which us Mexicans have. People should love their country because of all the good things, and in spite of all bad things. So, it deals with that.
Alta Traición
No amo mi Patria. Su fulgor abstracto
es inasible.
Pero (aunque suene mal) daría la vida
por diez lugares suyos, cierta gente,
puertos, bosques de pinos, fortalezas,
una ciudad deshecha, gris, monstruosa,
varias figuras de su historia,
montañas
(y tres o cuatro ríos).
High Treason (The translation)
I do not love my country. Its abstract splendour
is beyond my grasp.
But (although it sounds bad) I would give my life
for ten places in it, for certain people,
seaports, pinewoods, fortresses,
a run-down city, gray, grotesque,
various figures from its history
mountains
(and three or four rivers).
PP: Thank you very much. This is just an introduction into your rich literature, which means you will have to come again to take us deeper into your literature.
What’s Happening
•    The Guyana Annual magazine 2010-2011 issue is under production; submissions of poetry, short stories, articles welcome.
•    The first eleven titles of the Guyana Classics Library are now available to the public. Please contact me for more information.
•    Poetry is back at ‘Upscale’, this time under the theme, ‘Caribbean Moods’ on Tuesday, October 5, 2010.
(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)