In this essay I explore how Mexico served many purposes for popular culture and for modernist writers and intellectuals of the 1920s and ‘30s. These different groups found various points of contact during this era of increased travel to Mexico following the violent period of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Although Mexico is often romanticized as “primitive,” “exotic” and “colorful” by these figures, much of their work can be characterized as the search for a more genuine cultural experience contrasting with a rapidly modernizing U.S. society. Although representative of a persistent trend, the political climate and general cultural enthusiasm for pan-Americanism marks the significance of the interwar period in the continuing cultural exchange between the U.S. and Mexico. In the eyes of many travelers from the U.S., Mexico seemed poised to embrace its history, finding its “usable past” in an authentic, Mesoamerican heritage that retained its character while blending with the imported Spanish culture. This visible and sustainable indigenous culture, coupled with a liberated, progressive and revolutionary spirit, allowed diverse visitors from the U.S. to imagine a fully reciprocal Mexican-U.S. relationship as integral to the future of both countries. I ground this essay in contemporaneous theories of regionalism written by geographers, planning practitioners and social critics to explore how certain writers from across genres— including guidebooks, travelogues, journalism and short fiction— encouraged readers to view Mexico as a country from which the U.S. had much to learn. For them, Mexico was a country where the North American continent continued and expanded its rich and diverse history, culture, climate and topography. While sometimes idealistic, the sensitivity of these writers to regional geography and local culture guides their projects, presenting a clear picture of how local concerns frequently underpin the international character of U.S. modernism.
About the presenterNathaniel R. Racine
I am a Ph.D. candidate (“ABD” status) in the Department of English at Temple University in Philadelphia, I also hold a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from McGill University in Montreal. I am interested in the intersection of architecture, urbanism, geography and literature in American Studies, particularly in the context of the discipline’s “hemispheric turn.” My dissertation focuses on the cultural exchange between the U.S. and Mexico during the 1920s and ’30s.