The Two Faces of Acapulco During the Golden Age Article Discussion Part 1. As you read the following chapters and video, file. Talk about what you think. Y

The Two Faces of Acapulco During the Golden Age Article Discussion Part 1. As you read the following chapters and video, file. Talk about what you think. You must ask one question about this readings on this discussion (1 page only)

Instructions:

1. Required Readings:

Chapter 10 Introduction

Introduction to the Era through Short Story and Film

Read the document (I will send you)

Jaramillo, “Struggles of a Campesino Leader” (pgs. 482-487 and 490-491 only)
Sackett, “The Two Faces of Acapulco During the Golden Age” (pgs. 500-top 503 only)

2. Required Viewing:

“La letanía de los poderosos” by Gabino Palomares (song is in Spanish; an English translation of the lyrics is available her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVla2RPnXOw (Links to an external site.)

3. Complete Modernity and Its Price Reading Quiz

question 1

According to “Struggles of a Campesino Leader”

a. Jaramillo’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the peasant workers resulted in Carrera Peña offering bribes to Jaramillo

b. Jaramillo fought under Zapata and rejected Cárdenas’ manipulation of Zapata’s image

c. Jaramillo was excited about Camacho becoming President after Cárdenas

d. Jaramillo’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the peasant workers resulted in the government assassinating Jaramillo

question 2

“The Two Faces of Acapulco During the Golden Age” asserts that during the “golden age” of Mexican consumer culture

a. President Miguel Alemán crafted Acapulco into a center of modern desire and fantasy, and persuaded Mexicans and foreigners that “lo Mexicano” simultaneously was modern beach resorts and quaint folkloric culture

b. Mexico [the government] built a heightened sense of patriotism and Mexicanidad through the cultivation of a shared consumer language among Mexicans that was rooted in state-sponsored cultural nationalism, import substitution industrialization, and closer ties to the U.S.

c. The government prompted Mexico domestically and internationally as a politically stable, economically dynamic, and social progressive nation

d. The Mexican economy boomed, and economic prosperity grew evenly at every level of society

e. Acapulco has continued to preserve its “glossy veneer” and its image as a first rate tourist destination through the present day

question 3

According to “Introduction to the Era Through Short Story and Film”

a. President Miguel Alemán promoted a national history, national language, and allegories of progress

b. By the 1950s, the post-Revolution governments had eliminated nearly all corruption, racism, and socio-economic inequality from Mexican society

c. Mexican popular culture in the late 1940s and early 1950s included many cultural and material products from the U.S.

d. The term “indio” or “Indian” no longer had any negative connotation in Mexican society as a result of decades of post-Revolution cultural nationalism

Part 2. Reply those 2 question. (6-7 sentences)

1. I thought the “The Two Faces of Acapulco during the Golden Age” reading was extremely interesting because it underscored the role of the tourism industry in creating a national identity. While this golden age “was marked by a heightened sense of patriotism and mexicanidad,” this state-created image of Mexico as a politically stable and economically dynamic country covered up severe inequalities, especially in the city of Acapulco (500). Most of its residents faced issues such as a lack of “housing,” “municipal services,” and “water” (502). This was ultimately unsustainable as “the pollution of the streets spread to the entire bay” and “the city eventually grew too large to hide” (509). Unfortunately, Mexico learned from this and went on to create new resorts in places like Cancun and took more efforts to separate the tourism and residential areas. On one hand, it seems that tourism plays an important part in a country’s economy and creating a sense of Mexicanidad. From “La Construccion del Mexico Tipico” in last week’s readings, we also saw how the state deliberately created an image of Mexico to encourage tourism. On the other hand, as we saw in Acapulco, this projected image covers up extreme inequalities and does not paint an accurate picture of life for most residents. How would you evaluate this “golden age” image of Mexico? Is this projected image a true representation of mexicanidad? What are some of the pros and cons of Mexico’s focus on encouraging tourism, and do you think this is necessary for a state’s development?

2. The story of Acapulco is fascinating and compelling. Peasant ejiditarios were the great losers as building tourist facilities outweighed other considerations. The glaring gap between the opulence of the tourist sector and the poverty of the town largely remained invisible to tourists. Visitors were even less aware of the ongoing war against the ejidatarios to make room for their holiday resorts. In Andrew Sackett’s “The Two Faces of Acapulco during the Golden Age, we learn that government was knowingly working to create “a glittering locus of recreation and relaxation” which belied the harsh reality of ordinary life in Mexico (and Acapulco) (501). Sackett goes on to describe “[t]here was a lack of housing; municipal services such as paved streets, water, and sewage, were intermittent or completely absent; and the cost of living was very high,” painting a wide gap between the haves and the have-nots, not only in Acapulco but across Mexico (502). When we examine tourist resorts across Mexico between the 1960s and today, we can see that the cycle of exhilarating tourist development routinely gives way to faded over-development, and the search for new, unspoiled locations. Popular destinations today include Playa del Carmen and Cabo San Lucas. Why was tourism an essential part of the narrative of modernity for Mexico? Why has tourism remained a key component of the contemporary Mexican? What are the links between rise of tourism in Acapulco and were the push for industrialism across Mexico which remain in place even today?