Part 3: Sanchez, Tepoztlan, and Mexico Today

19781No. 21 by Richard Critchfield Lookto Suffering, Lookto Joy South America Part Ill: ~anchez,~e~oztl6n, and Mexico Today The central figure in The Children of famous old restaurant long cele- producer Hall Bartlett came to his Sanchez is the authoritarian, self- brated as a meeting place of Mexican house for a meal in April while filming centered father, whose absence of intellectuals. It is not far from Mexico location shots in Mexico City's affection toward his four oldest City's main plaza, or the Zocalo, with Tepito slum, La Lagunilla market, children, who tell the story, made the its great Cathedral and Presidential and Chapultepec park. He said they book such a moving, strange Palace. Hernandez lives in the same assured him that the picture would tragedy. house in Casa Blanca vecindad or be "decent" and "an example for slum tenement-"Casa Grande" in other families." As Oscar Lewis described his first the book-in the poor Tepito impression in October 1956: "The section, a ten-minute walk away. He "They promised to pay me and the father, Jesus Sanchez, walked in invited me to his home for an inter- children some money when the brusquely, carrying a sack of food view. picture comes out," Hernandez said, supplies over his shoulder. He was a "I'll take anything they give me. short, stocky, energetic man, with Hernandez, who looks incredibly fit Unless it's just a little. But they told Indian features, dressed in blue and who smiled and laughed fre- me, they'd show the picture all over denim overalls and a straw hat, a quently during our talk, guessed, the world." He said the author's cross between a peasant and factory "I'm about 70, but I still feel young." w~dow,Mrs. Ruth M. Lewis, visited worker." At that time Sanchez had His daughter Cristina (Consuelo) is h~min early February and also been "food buyer and kitchen married with two children and lives in promised the family some earnings manager for almost thirty years" of New Laredo, Tamaulipas, near the from the film. the "La Gloria restaurant" which Texas border. Berta (Marta) lives "catered to the middle class." He with her husband in Acapulco and In the 14 years since The Children of was then "about 48 years old." has "nine or ten kids-it's cheaper Sanchez was published, Hernandez by the dozen." Pedro (Roberto) sells continued, he and his 4 children Twenty-one years later, on June 1, clothes and furniture from his home together have received only a total of 1977, 1 watched a short, stocky, and occasionally works in an auto- 125,000pesos, which, even before energetic man, with Indian features, mobile factory "whenever they call devaluation, came to only $1,000, or blue denim overalls, a straw hat, and him." He is recovering from a broken $200 apiece. Hernandez also dis- a peasant look, approach very leg suffered in a car accident three puted Lewis's claim he did not pay brusquely up Mexico City's Tacuba months ago. Luiz (Manuel) also the four Hernandez children for their Avenue. Incredibly, he was carrying "sells thingsfrom his house." long tape-recorded autobiographical a sack of food supplies over his interviews, mostly done in the study shoulder. With considerable excite- Hernandez said his family originally of h~sMexico City home. In his intro- ment and mustering what tourist preferred to be anonymous because duct~onto The Children of Sanchez guidebook Spanish I could, I stopped "we didn't want people to know our In 1963, Lew~swrote (see xx-xxi): him and asked, "Perdon, per0 Usted real names as long as we didn't era Jesus Sanchez?" understand how SeRor Lewis was In obtaining the detailed and intimate going to use those interviews." Now data of these life stories, 1used no Indeed he was. that a film version of The Children of secret techniques, no truth drugs, no Sanchez is due for release in Octo- psychoanalytic couch. The His real name is Santos Hernandez ber, the Hernandez family prefers to Sanchez family learned to trust and Rivera. Now, after almost 50 years, be identified. Hernandez said An- confide in me.. I did not follow the he is still food buyer and kitchen thony Quinn, who plays Jesus common anthropological practice manager of the Cafk de Tacuba, a Sanchez in the film, and Hollywood of paying them as informants. 1 was struck b y the absence of "simpatico, very correct, very hard Hernandez said he felt Lewis tried to monetary motivation in their working." He said his family first met get at the exact truth, but that "the relationship with me. Basically, it Lewis when his daughter Cristina children were too young to know was their sense of friendship that led was engaged as his secretary.(Lewis what to say, to know how to answer them to tell me their life stories. himself said he first met the family in his questions. They made up what- They have often toldme thatif their their vecindad.) Hernandez said, "I ever came into their minds." (The 4 stories would help human beings didn't want to tell him my story" but children ranged in age from 25 to 32 anywhere, they would feela sense of that he had finally agreed to a few when the book was published, but accomplishment. interviews when Lewis showed him Lewis had been interviewing them an agreement "I had signed sixteen off and on during the previous 7 Challenging this, Hernandez said the years ago." (This may have been in years.) 4 children received "$50 to $100 from connection with Five Families, in time to time." Playwright Vicente which the Sanchezes are first intro- Hernandez, of course, has a highly Lenero, who adapted the book to the duced. Sanchez's own story takes prejudiced viewpoint, as the portrait stage in 1972, when it had a success- up only 28 of The Children of San- of Sanchez is not a flattering one. ful four-month run in Mexico City, in chez's 499 pages and Lewis wrote "it Playwright Lenero, who made both a a separate interview also said Lewis was difficult to gain his confidence.") careful study of the book and Mexico had told him he had paid the Her- City slum life while working on the Hernandez said he had read "parts" nandez children for the original stage version, contended "Every- but not the entire book, though as ~nterviewsand had shared some of thing in the book was true." De- Los hijos de Sanchez it was a best the book profits with them. Journa- scribing life in Tepito, he broke off to seller in Mexico. list Joaquin Diez Canedo, who made exclaim, "Oof! Terriblement!" a study of Lewis's work, "Eleditor de "Was it true?" Lewis en Mexico," was also under Hernandez had not read the screen- the impression the Hernandez play but said his daughter Cristina He grinned. "Five percent. Not even children were paid. (Contrary to had. In March, in an interview with El half of it was true." Lewis's remark, few anthropologists Sol de Mexico, she claimed Italian do pay their informants. One who Screenwriter Cesare Zavatini (who "What, specifically, was not true?" did, George Foster, stated frankly in played the role of Elia Kazan in his study of Tzintzuntzan village that "He wrote that Cristina was a prosti- "America, America") had badly dis- he found it became "sometimes tute." (This appeared to be a refer- torted the book, especially by adding necessary to pay a man to devote ence to Consuelo's account of being a scene in which a mother gives birth time to the ethnologist which he coerced into sexual relations while In front of the entire Sanchez family. would otherwise devote to his cus- trylng to break into the Mexican film Cr~stina(who like all four children has tomary manner of earning a living.") industry.) Hernandez said Roberto's the last name of Hernandez Ramirez, prison history, one of the more sen- in the Mexican custom of taking both Hernandez spoke of Oscar Lewis sational parts of the book, was, how- parents' names) denounced the w~thadmiration, describing him as ever, in the main accurate. scene as "against Mexican tradition" and declared "This picture is against the dignity of my family and my country." (In Tepoztlh, Sara Rojas, a friend of the Lewises, told me Mrs. Lewis had told her during her visit in February that the movie would not be like the book. Cristina has claimed she possesses "promises and agreements made when we originally agreed to help Dr. Lewis write one of the most honest portrayals of lower-class family life ever written." She has said, "I have sufficient documents from 0scar Lewis with me, including arrange- ments for payment to be made if the book was translated to the screen. At last- the author (right) finds the raal Jesus Sanchez (Santo Hernandez Rivera)on a Mexico City street. No matter. Oscar Lewis was an "Oscar said, 'No, I'm writing about The Film honest man, very good, but his someone else,' " Mrs. Rojas went on. Can a serious anthropological study promises have been ignored." The "And he brought another man and of slum life in Mexico City be a box family appears anxious to get pub- said, 'This is the Sanchez of the office success? Hollywood is betting licity and Hernandez said National book. He works in a restaurant.'" it can and is finally filming "The Geographic magazine had recently Children of Sanchez" to prove it.

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