mexico peru

8/3/2019 Mexico Peru

1/16

Plus:

1. What do you now know about Afro-Latin@s?

2. This semesters film preferences3. Options for future film classes


2/16

Eva Aylln

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7IRF-FFgY


3/16


4/16

Tlacotalpan

fandango


5/16

Memn Pingun is a fictionalcharacter from Mexico. Storiesfeaturing him, a very poor CubanMexican boy, first appeared in the1940s and have remained in printsince.

Memin is a restless child, not a very goodstudent, not for lack of intelligence, but fornot being able to pay attention (he issurprisingly good at arithmetic). He helpshis mother working in the street, sellingnewspapers, and as a shoe shine boy.

Memin reflects the life of a poor Mexicanboy in Mexico City. Memn and his motherare the only Afro-Mexican characters.

While Memn suffers a degree of racist taunting, especially in the first issues,the characters mocking him are depicted as either cruel or ignorant. As thestory progresses, his race becomes less of an issue.In one famous issue, Memn,having read that Cleopatra VII of Egypt took milk baths to lighten her skin,tries the same treatment. His mother weeps with sorrow that her son wouldwant to change his skin color. A repentant Memn decides to be proud of his

race and color to honor his good mother.


6/16

In June 2005, as part of a "History ofMexican Comics" series, the MexicanPostal Service (SEPOMEX) issued a seriesof postage stamps featuring the character

of Memn. The stamps were deemedoffensive by a number of AfricanAmerican community groups andpoliticians in the United States, includingJesse Jackson, prompting the Mexicangovernment to assert that Memn had done

a lot to oppose racism and that thestereotypical Warner Brothers' characterSpeedy Gonzales was never interpreted asoffensive in Mexico.**LULAC and NCLR,Hispanic Americans civil rightsorganizations, also issued statements

calling the stamps racist.

The charges of racism stemfrom the manner in whichPingun and his mother arerendered, in the style of

"darky iconography" (aform which, in the UnitedStates, has its roots inblackface and the Americanminstrel show tradition.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%ADn_Pingu%C3%ADnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%ADn_Pingu%C3%ADn


7/16

According to Enrique Krauze, thesedifferent opinions may owe to the verydifferent racial attitudes held by the British

colonizers in the United States and theSpanish in Mexico, the much earlier, andnonviolent, abolition of slavery in Mexico(1810 through federal decree in Mexicoversus 1865 through a civil war in theUnited States) and the nonexistence in

Mexico of what in the United States wereknown as the "Jim Crow laws.

The criticism from United States officials was not onlyridiculed by public opinion leaders in Mexico and by most

of the Mexican population, but it also spurred interest inthe stamps: from the day they were criticized, they wereoffered in Internet auction sites for several times their facevalue, and Mexican collectors bought the full edition of750,000 copies in a few days.


8/16

http://www.meminpinguin.org/
http://www.meminpinguin.org/http://www.meminpinguin.org/


9/16


10/16


11/16

Peruvian TV show; the actorJorge Benavides is in blackface.The show was removed afterviewers protested its racist

content, and then returned tothe airwaves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJCqFDp0Uw&feature=related

MAY 27, 2011Racist Character Returns ToPeruvian TV ScreensAfter a briefsuspension, popular Peruvian televisionstation, Frecuencia Latina, has brought

back controversial comedy character ElNegro Mama despite being attacked forbeing a racist caricature of a black man.http://racismdaily.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJCqFDp0Uw&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJCqFDp0Uw&feature=relatedhttp://racismdaily.com/http://racismdaily.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJCqFDp0Uw&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJCqFDp0Uw&feature=related


12/16

Historical figures and incidents that surprise Gates [and you?]

Gates reactions vs. reactions of natives

Anything else that catches your attention


13/16

The racism in the stamps and TV showis there a cultural or nationaldifference in how they are perceived?

Do we have the right to protest popular culture in other countries?

In general, do you think that Gates presentation of information in the 3

episodes that we viewed was totally neutral? Can you think of an examplewhen it wasnt?

Any last comments (or forever hold your peace)?

The rats on the streets ofRio look like Skittles!


14/16


15/16

In Fall 2012 I will offeranother film course,similar to this instructure, but different in

content.

I have previously offeredCuban and Mexican film

courses [in conjunctionwith a reader].

There are also readers forPeru, Brazil andArgentina, along with ageneral Latin Americanreader.

Please indicate any

preferences orobjections on the ratethe films sheet.


16/16

mexico peru

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