In African Mexicans and the Discourse on Modern Nation, author Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas explores how the Africaness of Mexican mestizaje was erased from the national memory and identity and how national African ethnic contributions were plagiarized by the criollo elite in modern Mexico. The book cites the concept of a Caucasian standard of beauty prevalent in narrative, film, and popular culture in the period between 1920 and 1968, which the author dubs as the "cultural phase of the Mexican Revolution." The author also delves into how criollo elite disenfranchised non-white Mexicans as a whole by institutionalizing a Eurocentric myth whereby Mexicans learned to negate part of their ethnic makeup. During this time period, wherever African Mexicans, visibly black or not, are mentioned, they appear as "mestizo," many of them oblivious of their African heritage, and others part of a willing movement toward becoming "white." This analysis adopts as a critical foundation Richard Jackson's ideas about black phobia and the white aesthetic, as well as James Snead's coding of blacks.

About the Author
Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas is Assistant Professor of Spanish at Emporia State University, Kansas. He holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.


Book Information
ISBN 9780761828587
Author Cuevas, Marco Polo Hernandez
Format Paperback
Page Count 136
Imprint University Press of America
Publisher University Press of America
Weight(grams) 181g
Dimensions(mm) 215mm * 165mm * 12mm