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Written by Jamakaya
Sep 8, 2010
Mexico is throwing the biggest fiesta in its history and the world is invited.
This year Mexico is celebrating its Bicentenario marking the 200th year of independence from Spain. The partying is expected to reach fever pitch on Sept. 16, Mexico’s Independence Day.
The country has spent millions preparing for the observance, funding an array of history projects, art exhibits and cultural events. It’s developed Ruta 2010, similar to our Freedom Trails, mapping historic buildings and sites, encouraging Mexicanos as well as tourists to explore the nation’ history.
Many Spanish language stations will air entertainment spectaculars the week of Sept. 12 - 18. You don’t have to be fluent in Spanish to enjoy fabulous singing and dancing.
I hope some of the excitement of the Bicentenario will rub off on people in the U.S., where mainstream media seems to cover Mexico only when it involves drug gangs or “illegal aliens.” We’re so narrowly focused that few Americans seem aware of the varied, vibrant culture of Mexico, the diversity of its people, and the enormous impact its writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, educators, scientists and investors are having around the world.
What prompted this column was the venomous nativism on display in the past few months regarding both Muslims and Spanish-speaking migrants. Despite all our hallowed democratic principles, we have a regrettable history in this country of demonizing newcomers. I think that as gay people, with our own long history as pariahs and scapegoats, we have a responsibility to speak out against this ignorance.
I am a historian, and this is what I have learned: The history of the world is the history of migrations. All people in all times have traveled down rivers, through valleys and deserts, across oceans and continents. Sometimes it has been for conquest, sometimes for survival. Human migration is inevitable. Walls cannot hold people back. Laws will not stop them. Armies cannot shoot them all.
There was a time when the entire American southwest was Spanish. It could very easily become Spanish-speaking again in the next century. Anglo Americans can spread bitterness and shed blood in fruitless attempts to prevent this possibility, or they can learn to respect Hispanic culture and adapt. Mexico’s Bicentenario is an opportunity to jumpstart the learning process.
So join the fiesta on Sept. 16!
Call the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce or Latino service agency in your area to find out about local events. Many Mexican restaurants will be offering specials and featuring entertainers. Watch the Bicentenario specials on Spanish stations like Univision and Telemundo. Sign up for a Spanish language course at your college or tech school. Google “Mexican Bicentennial” and learn about our neighbor to the south.
Finally, I recommend that you rent, download or buy the movie “Lone Star.” Written and directed by independent filmmaker John Sayles, it stars Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson and Elizabeth Pena.
“Lone Star” is a gripping murder mystery set in a Texas border town. It keeps you entertained while exploring a profound theme: the borders that divide us, whether between countries, between parents and children, between races and classes, citizens and immigrants, myths and reality.
In light of recent debates about immigration, “Lone Star” is one of the most thoughtful and prescient American movies of the last 20 years. It deserves a wider audience than it got in 1996. It is an American classic.
