Some Things Never Change: Attitudes about the Foreign in Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi

Sheila Casalett Meredith College Faculty Mentor: Kevin Hunt Meredith College

ABSTRACT This paper examines representations of foreign elements as part of modern, or post-Revolutionary, Mexican national identity in two recent Mexican films, Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi. While the filmmakers succeed in presenting modern realities about the pervasiveness of the foreign in Mexi- co, traditional attitudes prevail throughout. To facilitate interpretation of the films, the paper begins with an historical framework that includes a brief history of modern Mexican national identity, highlighting contributions by traditionalist scholars Vasconcelos and Paz as well as modern critics Bartra and Monsiváis. While Mexicans have historically denied foreign influence, going as far as to do so by legal means, the realities of globalization have made its removal from the country impossible and lend weight to the idea of a Mexican identity in transition. While both films demonstrate this reality, suggesting an inevitability of the impact of the foreign, the overall treatment of such elements suggests a negative, traditionalist outlook, alluding to Mexico’s reluctance to adopt progressive at- titudes in the face of its changing cultural landscape.

We tried not to make a judgment; we just tried (mixed European and indigenous) cultural tomake an observation. For us, this movie is about influences, the Cuaróns perpetuate a care- identity… an observation of a country that in our fully constructed idea about mexicanidad opinionis a teenage country looking for its identity as (“Mexicanness”) that has been cultivated agrown-up country…This transition toward a new since the Revolution of 1910. To whatever identityis part of what Mexico is going through now. extent they succeed in presenting these – Alfonso Cuarón, Director,Y tu mamá también ideas as accurate reflections of mexicanidad falls outside the scope of this paper, how- n various interviews, Alfonso and Carlos ever, as this study exclusively examines the I Cuarón, the filmmakers behindY tu role of foreign influence in Mexico as pre- mamátambién ( AndYour Mother, Too )and Rudo sented in each film. The analysis establishes y Cursi (Rude and Tacky), have signaled their that while the films do appear to reflect a intention to accurately reflect Mexico’s na- changing Mexican identity in a general tional identity. In highlighting aspects such sense, they fail to let go of traditional senti- as a unique relationship with death, a cyni- ments with regard to the foreign. cal view of politics, and appreciable mestizo This paper focuses on the foreign as a

51 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts key element to the presentation of Mexican welcomed foreign investment, and its elite national identity each film. While some maintained a long-standing tradition of scholars (e.g., Hind, Acevedo-Muñoz, sending their children to be educated in Saldaña-Portillo) have alluded to this facet Europe and the United States. Under dic- of identity in their studies of Y tu mamá tam- tatorial president Porfirio Díaz, in power bién, such consideration has yet to be given from 1876 to 1911, the government opened to Rudo y Cursi. Further, while extant analy- up large parts of Mexico to foreign invest- ses of Y tu mamá también tend to focus on a ment, a major contributing factor to the broader picture of national identity or on Revolution. After thirty years of dictator- combinations of more well known themes ship and seeing their rights diminished and (e.g., sex, class, gender roles), this study ex- their lands stripped in favor of foreign in- clusively considers the lesser-acknowledged vestment and industrialism, Mexico’s work- but foundational role of the extrinsic and ing classes revolted. its representations in each film. By the time the Constitution was ratified A general understanding of the role of in 1917, the power elite had recognized foreign influence in Mexico’s modern, or a shared distrust of the foreign as a way post-Revolutionary, national identity is vi- to help unite the country. A common re- tal to best interpret such representations. sentment toward the foreign would trans- As such, this paper first provides a brief late into a political rejection of it, a cause historical overview, citing contributions Mexicans of all races and cultures could made by leading Mexican cultural figures embrace, despite their differences on socio- Vasconcelos, Paz, Bartra and Monsiváis economic and other levels. Excerpts from and focusing their opinions about the for- the Constitution of 1917, as published by eign that have helped shape this vital fea- the Organization of American States, illus- ture of mexicanidad. This historical frame- trate the effort: work, as well as a brief introduction to each …Only Mexicans by birth or naturaliza- film that includes critical and popular re- tion and Mexican companies have the right ception, makes way for an informed analy- to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and sis of how foreign elements are presented their appurtenances, or to obtain conces- in each film and whether such representa- sions for the exploitation of mines or of tions take a traditional or modern view. waters… Under no circumstances may for- Just after the Revolution of 1910, in the eigners acquire direct ownership of lands early 1920s, Mexico’s ruling elite identified or waters within a zone of one hundred ki- the need to unify the country as a means lometers along the frontiers and of fifty ki- of preventing further uprisings. To ac- lometers along the shores of the country… complish this, they set to constructing a (art. 27) new national identity that would give the …Mexicans shall have priority over for- country a shared sense of history and cul- eigners under equality of circumstances for ture, incorporating the country’s attitude all classes of concessions and for all em- toward the foreign as a major component. ployment, positions, or commissions of the Since the Conquest, Mexico had always Government in which the status of citizen- been influenced by external forces, first as ship is not indispensable. In time of peace a Spanish colony for 300 years and then as no foreigner can serve in the Army nor in an independent nation greatly influenced the police or public security forces… (art. by Western Europe and the United States. 32) During the century between Independence …Foreigners may not in any way partici- and the Revolution of 1910, Mexico pate in the political affairs of the country.

52 Sheila Casalett

(art. 33) rather than created. Long since rid of Spanish imperialism The dissimulation on the part of and now also free from the foreign influ- Mexican elites vis-à-vis their personal in- ence of the more recent past, Mexico volvement with foreign education and would stand on its own for the first time. business went unchecked at the time, and To help lead the transition of the new na- the new national identity began to flour- tional identity from idea to policy, Mexican ish. The lasting effects of this cultural re- philosopher and educator José Vasconcelos invention can easily be spotted today in was appointed head of the Secretariat of the murals that adorn public buildings, the Public Education (SEP) in 1924. As head “native” Mexican handicrafts that fill tour- of the SEP, Vasconcelos oversaw not only ist markets, and the structure of Mexico’s the nation’s education system but also the educational system. Much of the credit for national arts and libraries, making him the this goes to Vasconcelos and the ideas set de facto minister of culture. Perhaps the forth in La raza cósmica. Decades later, an- single most influential person in Mexico other work would come along that would when it came to forming a nationally rec- prove instrumental to sustaining post-Rev- ognized cultural identity, Vasconcelos’s olutionary ideas about mexicanidad through philosophy about Latin American cultures the twentieth century. became foundational to the SEP’s work. By the time Mexican Nobel laureate This philosophy – outlined in his highly Octavio Paz first published his influential influential workLa raza cósmica (The Cosmic set of essays El laberinto de la soledad (The Race) – touted Mexico as a standalone cul- Labyrinth of Solitude) in 1950, he was al- ture that was to reject “white” ways. North ready a well-known author, poet and cul- Americans, as Vasconcelos saw it, were ture critic. Today Paz’s work – like that of “mere continuators of Europe in the re- Vasconcelos – figures into the education gion of the continent they occupied” (21). of all Mexican students in one form or an- By contrast, Latin Americans were creating other, indicating how influential these two an entirely new race and culture inspired men’s ideas still are. The essays that com- from within. prise El laberinto examine different aspects Under the direction of Vasconcelos, the of Mexican culture, all of which Paz asserts SEP built schools, printed books at astonish- are influenced by an underlying sense of ing rates, implemented literacy programs inferiority to white cultures that has been in among the poor and indigenous, started the works since the Conquest. The “laby- the Mexican Muralist movement, and initi- rinth of solitude” that gives the collection ated a revival of indigenous arts and mu- its title refers to a complicated and lonely sic that ultimately flourished. In school, history in which Mexican notions about children were taught Mexican songs and culture have always been at odds with those dances while they learned about the great of European-descended cultures, what Paz indigenous contributions to their culture calls the “white” or “Western” cultures. and the mestizo leaders who helped shape Throughout, Paz demonstrates that the their country into the sovereign nation it Vasconcelos-inspired, post-Revolutionary had become. Apart from acknowledging push to distance Mexico from the foreign the Conquest and colonization, little men- other has had a lasting impact.1 tion was made of the tremendous foreign influences that had shaped the country in 1 In his chapter “The Day of the Dead,” for example, reality, making it seem as if Mexico’s na- Paz distinguishes between attitudes about death in New tional identity were being re-discovered York, London and Paris versus those prevalent in Mexico (57-58).

53 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Among the several passages reinforcing opinions vary about whether this effort the idea of Mexico as a stand-alone cul- will see continued success, but it is clear ture is Paz’s exploration of the legacy of that Mexico did see a significant decline in Malinche.2 Her legacy, argues Paz, is two- foreign investment between the Revolution fold: she is the traitorous tramp who be- and the 1990s and that Mexican identity trayed her own people by interpreting for is still closely associated with indigenous Cortés and living as his lover, and she is the influences. The doubts that come into betrayed mother-figure used and abused play regarding Mexico’s continued cul- by her Spanish oppressors. The Mexican tural sovereignty primarily come from two word malinchista also comes from the leg- significant changes that have taken place end of Malinche. An insult for a person since the 1990s. In 1992, the government who prefers foreign things, malinchista la- enacted constitutional reforms intended to bels Mexican xenophiles as little more than increase foreign investment, and two years traitors, exhibiting an us-or-them mental- later saw the ratification of NAFTA, the ity that again echoes Vasconcelos’s ideas of North American Free Trade Agreement. separateness. The combination of these two events con- Mexican policy has also been argu- tinues to have a marked impact on Mexican ably hostile toward the foreign since the culture. According to modern culture crit- Revolution, always giving preference to ics, these changes have led to a national the internal over the external, in an effort identity in transition, lending weight to to restrict outside influence. Some provi- what scholars call a hybrid culture – a mix sions have changed over the years, but of urban and rural, traditional and mod- many policies are as strictly adhered to ern, internal and external. today as they were in 1917. In May 2002, NAFTA has been cited as a major con- for instance, seventeen American college tributor to these changes in the Mexican students and their professor saw their visas cultural landscape and to the idea of an revoked and were on their way home one emerging hybridity, as much of Mexico’s day after attending a political demonstra- economy has become NAFTA driven, not tion (Eskenazi). Though they insisted their to mention the accessibility of foreign goods interest in the demonstration was purely such as fashion, music, movies and other academic, the government quickly acted cultural instruments. As María Josefina under the authority of Article 33 of the Saldaña-Portillo points out, NAFTA Constitution, which bars foreigners from has “radically altered…the character of participating in politics in any way and for Mexican sovereignty,” a key component of any reason. Such cases of visa revocation Mexican national identity extending back and visitor expulsion make clear Mexico’s to the Constitution of 1917 (753). Two of continued take-no-chances approach to Mexico’s foremost modern culture critics, foreign influence in political matters and Roger Bartra and Carlos Monsiváis, bolster underscore Revolutionary Mexicans’ effec- this perspective. tiveness in making it a permanent part of Bartra, Mexican sociologist and anthro- the country’s national identity. pologist, argues that what was presented in Owing to more recent changes in the first half of the twentieth century as a Mexico’s policy about land ownership, unified Mexican identity cannot exist or- ganically. Regional and cultural differences 2 The chapter “Sons of La Malinche” discusses the throughout Mexico make the idea of a legacy of Malinche, a legendary (but real) indigenous unified, monolithic Mexican culture noth- woman best known for her role in history as interpreter ing more than a constructed myth, what and lover to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

54 Sheila Casalett he refers to as “un espejismo,” or “mirage” accepting of the foreign, as supported by (Moore 498). Instead, he points to what Bartra and Monsiváis. he calls the “post-Mexican condition,” Written by brothers Alfonso and Carlos summed up by Josh Kun as a “post-NAFTA Cuarón, and directed by the former, Y tu reconsideration of the basis of Mexican mamá también was released in Mexico in identity and re-visioning of Mexico as a 2001 to critical acclaim and commercial multicultural constellation of multiple tra- success. Nominated for more than 40 ditions that do not necessarily add up to a awards – over half of which it won – today singular, integrated whole” (273). Y tu mamá también holds the distinction of Monsiváis, Mexican writer and culture being one of Mexico’s top-grossing films of critic, also promotes the view of a Mexican all time. The basic plot centers around two identity in transition toward hybridiza- Mexican best friends – Julio and Tenoch tion. He argues that long-held ideas about – and Luisa, the Spanish wife of Tenoch’s Mexican identity have been broken down pretentious cousin. The boys, each about thanks in large part to globalization and a 18 years old, see their girlfriends off to Italy greater awareness of the plight of indig- for the summer, and a few days later they enous Mexicans, often calling attention meet Luisa at a family wedding. Because to the whitewashing of history for which Luisa is new to Mexico, the three make the education system under Vasconcelos small talk about things for her to do while is now criticized. In a 1999 interview with her husband goes to a conference. In try- The Journal of American History, he asserts ing to impress the alluring 30-year-old, that the old ideas of nationalism ignored Julio and Tenoch tell her they know of an contemporary indigenous groups in favor idyllic beach that hardly anyone visits and of a unified Mexican front that rejected that she should join them on a trip there. Americanization and idealized an indig- A few days after this conversation, Luisa’s enous past. Now, says Monsiváis, young husband confesses infidelity by telephone, Mexicans want the internet, technology and the next day she desperately accepts and American fashions: “Youngsters are the boys’ false invitation. Stunned by her fed up with tradition… all of this is trans- sudden acceptance, they scramble to put forming and eroding what we used to know. together a road trip to the fictitious beach And that is unavoidable” (qtd. in Thelen and the three take off in a matter of hours. 618). A couple of days into the trip, Luisa has Given this background, there are cur- sex with Tenoch, and Julio catches them in rently two dominant, contrasting schools the act. He becomes terribly jealous, threat- of thought regarding Mexican national ening his lifelong friendship with Tenoch. identity, both of which are examined here The next day, Luisa decides to even the in the context of the filmsY tu mamá también score by also having sex with Julio, and the and Rudo y Cursi. The words “traditional,” boys tell one another that they have slept “modern” and “hybrid” are applied with each other’s girlfriends. In the end, throughout to describe the dominant points they discover that the fictitious beach they of view. For the purpose of this analysis, were looking for is actually real, the three “traditional” refers to a Vasconcelos-Paz participate in an alcohol-saturated ménage model of mexicanidad that rejects the foreign à trois, the boys discontinue their friend- and views foreign influence in a negative ship, and Luisa is out of the picture for light, while “modern” or “hybrid” synony- good, having died of cancer. Throughout mously refer to recent ideas about hybridity the film, the boys’ relationship is tested and an identity in transition that is more and some recurrent Mexican themes of

55 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts sexuality and masculinity come into play. thanks to his crude personality and play- Such a reductive summary substantiates ing style, becomes known as Rudo (“tough” the popular view of the film, which includes or “rude”) Meanwhile, his brother Tato, descriptions of it as a “lighthearted, risqué a talented striker with a passion – but not romp” (Puccio) and a film featuring “friv- talent – for music, is dubbed Cursi (“tacky” olous exploration of sexuality” (Keller). or “corny”) by the media, thanks to his Other critics, meanwhile, deride it as little silly post-goal dances and garish personal more than soft-core pornography, with one style. After a chance meeting with a scout reviewer suggesting that potential viewers who recruits them, the brothers rise to “skip this mild stuff and rent some honest- short-lived fame as soccer players, and it to-God porn” (Scribbs). These perceptions is against this backdrop that the viewer ex- notwithstanding, Mexicanists view the film periences the main themes of the brothers’ as a treasure trove of mexicanidad, as it show- love-hate relationship and their rise and fall cases such well known Mexican themes as from working-class rancheros to top-seeded a prevalence of death, challenging gender soccer stars and ultimately back to rancheros. roles, and the cultural disparities between Also prevalent in this film, however, are the urban and rural Mexican populations. Also marked influences of the foreign over the notable in the film, as this paper examines, characters, the story and Mexico itself. is the role of foreign influence on the char- Throughout both films, representations acters and on Mexican culture in general. of foreign influence are evident, beginning Rudo y Cursi, released in Mexico in 2008, with the character of Luisa in Y tu mamá was written and directed by Carlos Cuarón, también. Luisa’s symbolic connection to the co-writer of Y tu mamá también and also Conquest in Y tu mamá también becomes opened to critical acclaim and commercial clear almost immediately from the time she success. According to Cuarón, the ideas is introduced. Best friends Julio and Tenoch that would become Rudo y Cursi began to first meet her at a wedding held in a bull- develop during promotional tours for Y tu ring, “[emphasizing] her Spanishness and mamá también (El Meikin, Cuarón). Because the Mexican nation’s cultural heritage” the films share several cast and crew mem- (Acevedo-Muñoz 42). In a Pazian fashion bers, as well as a few basic themes, Rudo y that recalls the “labyrinth” that is mexicani- Cursi is often referred to as the follow-up dad, Luisa is presented throughout the film film toY tu mamá también, though the two as a symbol of two seemingly oppositional share no characters or storylines (Arroyo). roles: that of the Spanish conquistador and Both films, however, were written by Carlos that of Malinche-as-mother. Luisa’s repre- Cuarón; both star Gael García Bernal sentation as Spanish agent of conquest lies and Diego Luna; both saw involvement in her Spanish nationality and surname by famed Mexican filmmakers Alfonso of Cortés, which she shares with Spanish Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and conquistador Hernán Cortés, famous for Guillermo del Toro; and both also saw a leading the conquest of the Aztec empire concerted effort on the part of the film- as well as for being Malinche’s lover. makers to accurately depict Mexican life It is Luisa who seduces the boys and and society. captivates their imagination, sparking the The story follows two talented, soccer actions that will ultimately destroy their playing half-brothers who live and work friendship. In this regard, she is associ- on a banana plantation. Beto, the older of ated with the Spanish conquistadors whose the two, is an unbeatable goalkeeper with aims were not initially understood by the a passion for soccer and gambling who, Aztecs but who eventually toppled their

56 Sheila Casalett empire. This same explanation can be used town where Rudo and Cursi are headed to justify Luisa’s representation of Maliche- to a soccer match. Here the narrator, as-mother: “she is the one who shows the none other than Batuta himself, says, “… boys their true desire… she is the one who and this... is where I enter into this story.” births their consciousness…” and brings 4 Leaning on the car next to Batuta is a together old world and new (Kemet). And younger, voluptuous woman, who we soon just as historically it is difficult to separate find out is one of his many female com- Cortés from Malinche – or Spain from panions. Throughout, he is featured with Mexico – so is it difficult to separate them no less than six such women, all notice- in the character of Luisa. Her death and ably younger than he, all of different races, the disintegration of Tenoch and Julio’s and all seemingly uninterested in anything friendship, however, create a final separa- deeper than being seen with him in public. tion, suggesting Mexico’s independence Batuta’s entry with the red Corvette is the from Spain. Her influence does last, how- first time any bright color is featured, an ever, as the boys never speak again, indicat- intentional move on the part of the film- ing Spain’s lasting impact on Mexico even makers, as pointed out by Artistic Director after Independence. Eugenio Caballero in the film’s DVD mak- That Luisa has had cancer throughout ing-of featurette. This classic American and later dies from it alludes to what Emily status symbol, and its noticeable contrast to Hind calls the “contaminated character” the color scheme, serves to emphasize the whose removal is necessary to facilitate a excitement and modernity of the foreign. “return to order” (108). This suggests the His many women, on the other hand, point foreign influence that has helped shape to a fast-and-loose foreigner who lacks sta- modern Mexico, but whose interference bility and takes advantage of the land in has been halted, allowing for Mexico’s own which he inserts himself. return to order, just as the framers of the At their first encounter, the blue-eyed Constitution of 1917 and identity archi- Argentine – smiling enthusiastically and tects like Vasconcelos sought to guarantee. donning an aloha shirt and a straw fedora In this case, a complete break has been – asks the brothers for help, using decid- made not only from Mother Spain, but also edly Argentine vocabulary to explain that from the United States and the “contami- he has a flat tire. He uses the word goma for nating” influence they exerted, allowing for “tire” – which Mexicans use for “chewing an “independent national identity” (Hind gum” – so when Batuta asks if there is a 108). This sets Mexico free to stand on its gomería (“tire shop”) where he can get the own and, as writer-direct Alfonso Cuarón tire repaired, Rudo asks if he is planning to would say, to grow up. 3 fix it with gum, asgomería in Mexico would In the case of another foreign character, be something akin to “chewing gum store.” this time from Rudo y Cursi, no such break is He chuckles at the thought as he asks, but made, though his end also suggests a nega- it is also clear by his face that he does not tive view of foreign influence on the pro- understand the stranger’s real meaning. tagonists. The character of Darío “Batuta” Batuta explains himself and, with ample Vidali enters Rudo y Cursi for the first time cash in hand, offers to “pay well” for their some ten minutes into the film as his cherry help, though unnecessarily. Cursi has wel- red Corvette has a blowout just outside the comed his presence from the beginning

3 This phrasing borrows from Cuarón’s comparison 4 Throughout this analysis, all of the English quotes of Mexico to an adolescent looking for its identity, as from dialogue and narration in the films come directly noted in the opening quote of this paper. from the films’ subtitles on their respective DVDs.

57 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts and gladly leads him into town to get the consequences of foreign influence on tire repaired. Mexico. But in contrast with Luisa in Y tu Batuta’s appearance alone draws an mamá también, the Rudo y Cursi character of obvious contrast between the well-to-do Batuta will repeat his actions, perhaps sev- foreigner and the homely Mexican ran- eral times. cheros. The difference suggests a poorer, Luisa, like Mother Spain and the less-educated Mexico in comparison with Conquest, will continue to have a psycho- a tantalizing, worldly foreigner. The mere logical impact on those whose lives she foreignness of Batuta, underscored by the affected, but her death precludes the pos- verbal exchange between the characters, sibility of her repeating her actions, mak- also speaks to the difference between the ing her future direct influence limited in protagonists and their new acquaintance. comparison with that of Batuta, who is Batuta’s noticeable Argentine accent and alive and well. Luisa’s influence – not un- use of colloquialisms – and the brothers’ like Spain’s – remains strong, but at least failure to understand them – serve to em- she cannot not build upon it or continue phasize Batuta’s otherness and the cultural with her actions in an active capacity. In distance between Mexico and the foreign. Luisa’s case, Mexico can begin to heal and In the cases of both Luisa and Batuta – move on while living with her memory. white outsiders5 – the foreign characters Batuta’s influence, however, may continue lead the characters down a path of self actively and repeatedly for years to come, destruction. In both films, a desire to expe- leaving Mexico to struggle with his contin- rience their respective journeys already ex- ued presence. The last couple of scenes of ists in the protagonists, but it is the foreign Rudo y Cursi provide a final comment on this characters that help make these journeys future. possible and act as enablers for their be- While Rudo and Cursi stand peacefully haviors. InY tu mamá también, Luisa encour- on a beach singing Cursi’s ranchera cover ages the boys to experience their fantasies of “Quiero que me quieras” (“I Want You to of having sexual relations with her while Want Me”), Batuta is shown driving the in Rudo y Cursi, Batuta opens the door to countryside in a red Volkswagen Beetle professional soccer for both men. In both that looks to be a 1980s model or older – cases, however, things turn out badly for still red, but definitely not the status symbol the protagonists as well as for the foreign- of the Corvette. The age of the car and its ers. Julio and Tenoch are so embarrassed ubiquity in Mexico could be interpreted as over their experience that they never speak a humbling of the foreign character, but again, and Rudo and Cursi end up back its color and the events to come render it on the banana plantation, minus half a leg more a statement about the persistence of in Rudo’s case. Luisa dies of cancer and the foreign. Here Batuta-as-narrator ex- Batuta loses everything, including the red plains that though he lost everything, he is Corvette – suggesting long-term negative still “gallivanting around” looking for “dia- monds in the rough.” The last scene shows him looking on with interest at a rural soc- 5 Though Luisa and Batuta are part of the Hispanophone world, it is worth noting that Luisa is cer field, not unlike the one where he found wholly European and Batuta, while South American, Rudo and Cursi, asking another onlooker is European descended, as indicated by his physical who two of the players are. Upon being appearance and Italian last name. While both characters speak the same language as the Mexican protagonists, informed that those are the Morales twins, the two foreigners are part of what the Vasconcelos-Paz the best players in the state, Batuta looks model of mexicanidad would call “white” or “European- directly into the camera with a mischievous descended” cultures.

58 Sheila Casalett smirk and raised brow, shrugging his shoul- That Chuy and his family will meet such ders as if to say, “Hey, what can I say?” a life-altering fate at the hands of develop- From this action, we instantly infer that ers speaks to the negative influence of for- Batuta will repeat his actions at least once eign investors on local populations.Though more – and that possibly Rudo and Cursi the film does not specifically recognize the were not his first exploits – indicating the developers as foreign, it is reasonable to active influence the foreign will continue surmise that most of the money for the to have on Mexico and the disruption it project will be, an intended result of the will cause, perhaps mirroring the inescap- 1994 changes in the Mexican Constitution able post-NAFTA influence of the United aimed at boosting foreign investment in the States and suggesting negative future Mexican tourism industry and economy at consequences. By contrast, the peace the large. It is also likely that a great many of brothers find together on the beach con- the tourists visiting the hotel will be foreign notes a happier Mexico without the for- as well, given Mexico’s widely recognized eign, despite being unable to ascend eco- status as an international tourist destina- nomically, and gives an optimistic view of tion known for its beaches. In this scene, Mexicans’ ability to overcome the devasta- the developers – as well as perhaps the tion the foreign can bring if they can ever future tourists – are embodied in the pigs rid themselves of it. that take over the protagonists’ humble Both films present other post-NAFTA camp and leave it an uninhabitable mess aspects to Mexican culture, sometimes sug- (Acevedo-Muñoz). gesting commentary and sometimes simply The detail that the hotel will be built presenting it as a reality of Mexican life. on a nature preserve is notable as well, as One obvious commentary on this influ- here a parallel to Mexico at the time of the ence is found in the character of Chuy in Conquest is apparent. Given that a nature Y tu mamá también. During a boat ride to- preserve is generally an undeveloped swath ward the protagonists’ camp, the narrator of land set aside to preserve the indigenous explains: flora and fauna of the area, this land par- At the end of the year, Chuy and his fam- allels the ostensibly pristine Mexico of the ily will have to leave their home to make Aztecs. That investors would be willing to way for the construction of an exclusive destroy a nature preserve in the interest of hotel to be built on the nature preserve of economic gain suggests a foreigner who San Bernabe. They will relocate to the out- takes without considering the lasting local skirts of Santa Maria Colotepec. Chuy will impact, further emphasized by the fact that attempt to give boat tours, but a collective Chuy will never fish again. Not only will he of Acapulco boatmen, supported by the be forced to succumb to the foreigners on local tourism board, will block him. Two an economic level, becoming a janitor at years later, he will end up as a janitor at the the hotel, but he will be so affected by it that hotel. He will never fish again. he will never fish again. This emotional and The boat then pulls up to shore where we economic toll reflects the burden that such see that the camp has been overrun by pigs, foreign investment has on Mexico’s poorer which the narrator explains had recently populations, again suggesting an emotion- escaped from a nearby ranch. He tells us ally healthier Mexico when left on its own. that fourteen of them will be slaughtered Further commentary is made in Y tu over the next two months and that three mamá también as well on the negative impact will cause an outbreak of trichinosis in at- of post-NAFTA foreign influence as the tendees at a local festival. narrator reveals the fates of the bricklayer

59 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts from Michoacán and Luisita, the girl rep- influence among the urban in 2001,Rudo y resented by a stuffed mouse, both of whom Cursi offers a more widespread view seven are suggested to have died indirectly due years later. Examining the soundtrack of to the impact of Mexico’s post-NAFTA Y tu mamá también partly reveals its urban- economy. As Saldaña-Portillo notes, sev- only foreign influence, as nearly half of the eral hundred thousand jobs were lost in songs featured in the film are from English- Mexico, mostly in the agricultural sector, as speaking artists, but in the film it is the a result of NAFTA, forcing an in-country urban teenagers who listen to this music. migration of many rural workers into the Once out of the city and in rural settings, cities as well as an influx of workers headed all music becomes Mexican. north to the United States and Canada Several details about Tenoch and his looking for work (756). The bricklayer, a family also suggest an elite Mexican class “migrant worker from Michoacán” whose significantly impacted by foreign influence: body is not identified for four days, and Tenoch’s choice of music, his intermittent Luisita, who “had died of a heat stroke… use of English words where Spanish ones crossing the Arizona border with her par- would be equally appropriate, his family’s ents, seeking a better life,” represent both vacation to Tahoe, their stint in Vancouver sides of this post-NAFTA migration, while when his father – the Harvard-educated their tragic deaths suggest the devastat- Undersecretary of State – was forced into ing impact such influence has on Mexico’s exile. These examples, especially in light of working poor. Tenoch’s professed support of the Zapatista Rudo y Cursi, while less editorial in its post- movement, suggest the extent to which NAFTA commentary, makes use of story Mexico’s elite are still influenced by the line to suggest a certain inevitability of foreign and recalls the post-Revolutionary foreign influence in Mexico. The opening leaders’ similar ties to the foreign and thus scene depicts a dirty, sweaty Cursi in soccer hypocritical actions. Other details showing gear running through a banana plantation the prevalence of foreign influence include with a large, heavy bunch of bananas to- minor ones such as the teenagers eating ward a truck. As he gets there, Rudo tells Ruffles potato chips in the car, rather than him not to run because he will bruise the a Mexican brand, and the boys’ nicknames bananas. “These are for export,” he says. of Charolastra, which comes from their Here we are presented with a look into the friend’s misunderstanding the lyrics of an reality of many Mexican lives. The film- English-language song. makers remove any doubt that this produce These details combine to lend weight to is for export, indicating the economy of the the idea of an increasingly hybrid Mexican Mexican countryside. Later in the film, the culture. Taking a Bartra-Monsiváis view, protagonists both fail to make a lasting ca- it is the small details in particular, such reer in Mexican soccer and they return to as the potato chips, clothing and music, the banana plantation, destined to live out which reveal this hybridity. The foreign is their lives there, suggesting a stronghold of so ingrained in the minutiae daily life that foreign interests that is unavoidable in the it is almost unnoticeable and therefore a lives of many rural Mexicans. true part of everyday culture. Where eat- Other indicators of the prevalence of ing Ruffles potato chips might have been foreign influence come in the many allu- rare in 1960s Mexico, now it is just one of sions in both films about the reality of the several brands available that no one thinks foreign in the daily lives of Mexicans. And twice about. whileY tu mamá también places most of this Rudo y Cursi also provides several

60 Sheila Casalett examples of the prevalence of foreign in- Mexico since just eight years prior, when fluence, though such influence extends into such examples were revealed only in the the rural as well as the urban. The theme urban settings of Y tu mamá también. song to the film is Rudo’s Spanish-language In the end, a study of both films in view ranchera-style cover of “I Want You to Want of Mexico’s post-Revolutionary identity Me” by American band Cheap Trick. Early building suggests that overall, the filmmak- in the film, before moving to the city, Rudo ers portray foreign influence in a negative asks his friends if they would rather him light and thus, cling to a traditionalist atti- play “Tea for Two” or “Goodbye Girl” on tude about this aspect of mexicanidad.While the accordion, rather an a Mexican tune, some representations of foreign influence of which there are many written for the in Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi are accordion. Later, Cursi buys his girlfriend presented in a neutral fashion, seeming to Maya a Hummer, Rudo’s wife, Toña, sells acknowledge a reality rather than com- WonderLife products back in their ru- menting on it, there is still an overall sense ral town, and nearly all of Rudo’s gam- of the negative impact of foreign influence bling takes place at the club of a Mexican on Mexico. The several tragic deaths, the bookie-entrepreneur who provides what he dismantling of friendships and livelihoods, calls“ entretenimiento tipoVegas ” (“Vegas-style and the mostly self-serving nature of the entertainment”). foreign characters and entities presented Several characters, such as the Rudo’s in the films maintain a nationalistic, post- bookie and Cursi’s girlfriend, also use Revolutionary negative outlook regarding English words where Spanish ones would the influence of the foreign in Mexico. suffice, and Rudo goes to the store with his While not ignoring a modern, Monsiváis- bookie looking specifically for Pampers, Bartra style reality of a hybrid identity in an American diaper brand. The bookie is the works thanks to unavoidable foreign under instruction from his wife not to get influence, the Cuaróns ultimately present any other brand and ends up having to a dominant traditional Vasconcelos-Pazian look at another store because the one he attitude regarding the effects of such for- goes to first is out. Again these details are eign influence. With this in mind, it is safe presented in passing, as part of everyday to say that at this time, while Mexico’s real- life, and serve as indicators of how perva- ity may be changing, its perception of for- sive this influence has become throughout eign influence has yet to follow suit.

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