• Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen

latinopia.com

Latino arts, history and culture

  • Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen
You are here: Home / Blogs / MIRÁNDOLO BIEN WITH EDUARDO DÍAZ 12.10.17 “WHEN HERITAGE TOURISM DOESN’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY”

MIRÁNDOLO BIEN WITH EDUARDO DÍAZ 12.10.17 “WHEN HERITAGE TOURISM DOESN’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY”

December 17, 2017 by Tia Tenopia

The Route of Hernán Cortes tour raises many questions.

When I received the email alerting me that there were only a few spots left on the tour, “The Route of Hernán Cortes: The Collision of Two Empires & the Forging of the New World,” I was puzzled and stunned. The tour, scheduled for next spring and inclusive of several stops in central Mexico, is a fundraiser for the New Mexico Museum Foundation, based in Santa Fe. Is it just me? Certainly I must not be the only Mestizo-Chicano who might view this sojourn as essentially a victory tour of Hernán Cortes’ deadly exploits in Mexico, an insensitive and hurtful reopening of deep, deep wounds.

Hernán Cortes at best was “ruthless, haughty and mischievous.”

Hernán Cortés was born in 1485 in Medellín, a city in present-day Extremadura, Spain. After failing at a formal education in Salamanca, he restlessly returns to Medellín. Biographer Francisco López de Gómara describes the young Cortés as “ruthless, haughty and mischievous,” characteristics that foreshadow his behavior once in the Americas. Inspired by Columbus’ exploits, Cortés sets his sights on crossing the Atlantic; however, his departure is delayed by an injury sustained while hurriedly escaping the bedroom of a married woman, another behavioral trait that would abet his conquering ways. The ambitious lad finally arrives in Quisqueya (Hispaniola), present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic. There he rapidly rises through the ranks, acquiring large plots of land and overseeing slaves, yet another unsightly notch on his conquistador helmet. Cortés then makes his way to Cuba, but really yearns for Mexico, spurred on by stories of gold, expansive land and other riches. He arrives in Yucatán in 1518 and hooks up with Malintzín, a Native woman pejoratively known as La Malinche, who serves as his concubine and translator (she bears his child). He proceeds to vanquish many Native peoples in present-day Yucatán, Tabasco and Veracruz, all the time scheming on how to topple the Aztec Empire, which he does soon afterwards.

How will they explain the Cholula massacre?

The upcoming Cortés tour includes a stop in Cholula (like the hot sauce), then the second largest city in central Mexico. Cortés and his men arrive there in 1519, and, sending an unambiguous message to the Aztecs, promptly massacre thousands of unarmed Natives in the city’s zócalo (central square). While there the tour will focus on the noted pyramid of Tepanapa. I have a sense that it may skip the part about the murders Cortés orchestrates, unless contracted tour scholars from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia convey a more complete narrative about his stopover in Cholula. According to the tour’s promotional material, as subscriber, you will “immerse your senses and imagine the experience of these Spanish explorers, left in awe of the beauty of central Mexico.” How about imagining and interpreting scores of dead Native bodies and burning cities?

 This April, I visited Badajoz and Alburquerque (it appears that an “r” was lost on the way to New Mexico), two cities in Extremadura, the land of well-known Spanish conquerors, including Cortés, Francisco Pizarro (his second cousin), Pedro de Valdivia and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. I went to this province to cleanse myself spiritually of the malevolence perpetrated by these men, and others, upon the Native peoples of the Americas. I wanted to step on tierra extremeña and say to them, “I see

Visiting Badajoz was an epiphany.

you. Look at me. I am the product of the ‘New World’ that you helped ‘forge.’” It was an epiphany. I spent many lovely hours with some wonderful new friends in Badajoz. Over cañas (beers) and tapas, we had interesting discussions on a variety of subjects, including my pursuit of catharsis. They seemed perplexed, leaving me to ponder how/if education curricula in Spain addresses the dark side of the conquest.

I’ve labored in the nonprofit cultural world for over 35 years. I understand its demands and the necessity of successful private fundraising, but a tour that touts, even if unintentionally, the exploits of a conniving and brutal conquistador, is problematic for me. On the upside, it’s great to see the itinerary include several Native sites. I can only hope that tour organizers ensure that the Mexican experts give their patrons a comprehensive picture of what really happened in central Mexico nearly 500 years ago. The opportunities for important teaching moments are many, and necessary.

_________________________________________

Copyright 2017 by Eduardo Díaz.

Filed Under: Blogs, Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz Tagged With: Mirandolo Bien with Eduardo Diaz

POLITICAL SALSA Y MÁS with SAL BALDENEGRO 01.17.21 “DECENCY IS NOT TRANSACTIONAL”

January 17, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Decency is not transactional… Again, by your leave, I’m going to deviate from my usual diet of politics and such and focus on a topic that is more personal, more intimate, yet just as important as (community-based or partisan) politics: gratitude. As I look around today’s political landscape, I see more enmity than friendliness. This […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 1.23.21 THE MCNAY ART MUSEUM EXHIBIT

January 23, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Latino Art: The Joy of Collecting and Giving In mid-January 2021 the McNay Art Museum opened an exhibit of Latino prints featuring the works of Richard Duardo, John Valadez, Cesar Martinez, Raul Caracoza, Melanie Cervantes, Juan Miguel Ramos, John Valadez, Barbara Carrasco, and Juan Mora. We took a special interest in its opening since nearly […]

FIERCE POLITICS with DR. ALVARO HUERTA 1.17.21 “THE WHITE NATIONALIST BARBARIANS STORM THE GATE(S) OF THE U.S. CAPITAL”

January 17, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

“The White Nationalist Barbarians Storm the Gate(s) of the U.S. Capitol” The white nationalist barbarians, aided and abetted by their Führer—President Donald J. Trump—stormed and entered the gate(s) at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The seditionists include those who brazenly entered the so-called people’s house,[1] responsible for death, destruction and mayhem, along […]

BURUNDANGA BORICUA DEL ZOCOTROCO 1.23.21 “CRISIS DE LA ESPERANZA- PARTE III”

January 23, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Burundanga de Zocotroco Crisis de la Esperanza Parte III Educación y Desesperanza La primera parte de este largo ensayo propone el diagnostico de desesperanza y presenta la evidencia demográfica como primera argumentación. La segunda parte aborda la dimensión económica, en esta tercer parte se enfoca la educación, por ser vehículo de movilidad social y aspecto […]

More Posts from this Category

New On Latinopia

LATINOPIA ART SONIA ROMERO 2

By Tia Tenopia on October 20, 2013

Sonia Romero is a graphic artist,muralist and print maker. In this second profile on Sonia and her work, Latinopia explores Sonia’s public murals, in particular the “Urban Oasis” mural at the MacArthur Park Metro Station in Los Angeles, California.

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

LATINOPIA ART SONIA ROMERO 1

By Tia Tenopia on October 7, 2013

Sonia Romero is a graphic artist, muralist and print maker. The daughter of Chicano art pioneer Frank Romero, she has boldly set out on her own artistic trajectory. Her art includes stunning prints, canvases and public murals. Latinopia visited Sonia at her studio in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles where she spoke about […]

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

LATINOPIA ART GASPAR ENRÍQUEZ 1 “RETROSPECTIVE”

By Tia Tenopia on May 4, 2014

Gaspar Enríquez is a renowned Chicano artist whose airbrush portraits of barrio youth are haunting and memorable. Drawing from museums and collectors around the United States, in April 2014, the El Paso Museum of Art mounted a retrospective of Gaspar’s art titled Metaphors of the Barrio. Latinopia visited the exhibit and asked Gaspar what inspires […]

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

© 2021 latinopia.com · Pin It - Genesis - WordPress · Admin