The Guilded Statue

Tonight, tonight is yet again filled with cool air and the many unusual experiences that await us in the central district of Oaxaca City. Tonight I had a lady ask me for change while her infant was breast-feeding. The poverty here is at times overwhelming, and the variety of ways in which people come up to us, tourists, and ask for money is surprising. Perhaps it is because I am simply not used to being in a place with so many needy and uncared for people, but I think it goes beyond that. I have found, as foreigners in this city, we are held up in some sort of role, or social position, that demands from us a certain kind of posture. In part it is the lack of full, or genuine, communication with the people, due to the various barriers that occur naturally from our unique disposition (language, skin color, socio-economic status, knowledge base, etc). In fact, the position I have found myself in while being here may even be represented by the phrase “the gilded statue.”

 

In contrast to the “golden cage,” in which undocumented Mexican entrants find themselves, while living and working in The United States, the “gilded statue” is given as an analogy for the position of wealthy foreigners who come to visit Mexico’s cities. In particular I find it is especially fitting for the city of Oaxaca, in that its many statues, and monuments, adorn the city with memories of great leaders and revolutionaries. From the best of my understanding, some of the leaders portrayed in the statues were, and are, remembered by the Mexican people as great leaders who fought exclusively for the people, while other leaders are remembered less dearly. Regardless of the merit of the persons depicted in the statues, the presence of them serves as a constant reminder of the Mexican people’s unique history. Also, the presence of foreigners in Oaxaca serves as a constant reminder of Mexico’s history, as foreign influence has remained a major influence in Mexico since the arrival of Cortez in the 16^th century.

 

The Porfirian era of Mexico’s late 19^th-early 20^th century saw many of these statues and monuments erected, in an effort to modernize, and normalize, Oaxaca City; Dr. Overmeyer-Velasquez points out in the introduction to Visions of the Emerald City, “provincial capitals like Oaxaca City were showcases for [Porfirio] Diaz’s modernizing and state building practices.” However, the enactment of such projects of modern “progress and order,” subjected the “traditional” to scrutiny, requiring the development of it thereof; the idea and enactment of the “traditional,” in lieu of the push towards “order and progress,” allowed for the development and refinement of what it would mean to be “traditional.” Again, “What emerged from these multiple and competing currents in Porfiran Oaxaca City was not an abrupt end to “traditional” society and the beginning of a “modern” one but the simultaneous and mutual construction of both.” (O-V, 3)

 

Overlapping with the Porfirian era, The United States was also experiencing a period of growth and development known as the Gilded Age, the time period in which Rockefeller and Carnegie made their fortunes. During this period, America became imbued with the modern capitalistic image, while at the same time workers unions formed with greater strength and influence than ever before. The Gilded Age was marked by the wealth and excess of America’s elite; major philanthropic endeavors and endowments were created during this time, and the people of America, rather than turning to the government, would readily turn to the private sector for financial opportunities and assistance.  Hence, the gilded statue refers to the relationship of tourists, Americans in particular, in providing financial opportunities and direct assistance to the people of Oaxaca.

 

Modernity provides insight into the development of interaction between tourists and natives since the Porfiriato. The “traditional” dress of little indigenous girls helps them “look the part” while walking about, asking strangers to buy their “dulces y chiclets” (candy & gum); beggars on the street are seldom without child, and even at times it is the three year old who holds up the cup. There is no possibility for modern linguistic conversation between the two parties, as most of us speak very little Spanish (or English); at the same time there is the development, and enactment, of lines of traditional communication through the use of strong emotive forces, empathy, and sympathy. This serves as yet another example of the power of modernity, the simultaneous development of either side of the coin, the “traditional and modern” discussed in the work of Dr. Overmeyer-Velasquez’s work. A sense of the entropy obtained through growth and progress, contrasted by the disorder of poverty, at the same time, the development of more sophisticated means of coming to be perceived as poor. Not to belittle the actuality of poverty in Oaxaca City, but in many ways I have found that the people have become good at being poor L. A sense of victimization has been produced on both sides. Personally, I wrestle with these prospects each and every day while walking down the streets of Oaxaca. What keeps coming to mind is the question, what is the most responsible course of action here? The answer I have found is secondary to the actuality of the experience at hand, insofar as the individual arbiters are accountable solely to themselves in this case. In contrast to the expected results of modernization, it is not a matter of rational directed science, but that which takes precedent is a matter of the ethereal nature of ones own conscience.

- Jeremy -