Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933
Racial Ideology of Mestizaje and its Whitening Discourse in Memín Pinguín
Paloma Fernández Sánchez Columbia College South Carolina, United States
Abstract In this essay I will analyze how the comic strip Memín Pinguín, applying Vasconcelos’ The Cosmic Race framework of mestizaje, presents an apparent harmonious yet deceitful image of racial democracy which ultimately reveals a whitening discourse. Though different races are given a space in this comic strip, their representation is far from even and the white character(s) are clearly privileged. The black characters—exclusively represented by Memín and his mother Eufrosina—are portrayed as physically and intellectually inferior and with no agency. Their actions are measured and directed by authority figures—which are racially white. Those authority figures judge Memín and his mother´s actions as mostly illogical or incorrect. All in all, these opinions reduce blackness to a minimal presence which has no reper- cussion on the others’ lives, in addition to presenting blackness as a recessive trait that will eventually disappear. The (mis)representation of the black presence and contribution to the Mexican society in the comic strip follows the same standards which are applied on a daily basis in Mexico. While the visual elements of the comic strip provide the reader with an apparent in- clusive image parallel to the one proclaimed by mestizaje, the discourse and character interactions incorporate other less all-encompassing dynamics.
Key words: mestizaje, whitening discourse, ideology, México, racial identity
Resumen En este artículo se analizará cómo la tira cómica Memín Pinguín, según la teoría del mestizaje de La razón cósmica de Vasconcelos, presenta una ima- gen de la democracia racial aparentemente armoniosa y engañosa que, en última instancia, revela un discurso sobre el blanqueamiento. A pesar de que diferentes razas tienen un espacio en la tira cómica, su representación es es- casa y los personajes blancos son los más representados. Los personajes ne- gros –representados exclusivamente por Memín y su madre Eufrosina- son retratados como física e intelectualmente inferiores e instrumentales. Sus ac- ciones son juzgadas y dirigidas por figuras de autoridad racialmente blancas.
Recepción: 9-2-15 Aceptación: 1-6-15 46 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933
Estas figuras consideran las acciones de Memín y de su madre como ilógi- cas o incorrectas generalmente. De todas maneras, estas mismas figuras reducen la negritud a una presencia mínima, sin repercusión en las vidas ajenas, además de presentarla como un rasgo recesivo que iría a desapare- cer. La no-representación de la presencia negra ni de su contribución a la sociedad mexicana sigue los mismos estándares aplicados diariamente en México. Mientras los elementos visuales de la tira cómica ofrecen al lector una aparente imagen inclusiva semejante a la que proclama el mestizaje, el discurso y las interacciones de los personajes introducen otras dinámicas menos inclusivas.
Palabras claves: mestizaje, discurso de blanqueamiento racial, ideología ra- cial, México
t is the first day of class in an would feel in communion with the rest. elementary school in Mexico Therefore, the indigenous, black and Iand students crowd the class- white races are supposed to mingle room. Among the group of students, and coexist in that imagined imme- Guillermo—a very light skinned1, well- morial community. However, as the dressed boy with blond hair sits at the adventures of Memín and his friends back of the classroom. Ernesto—a slim unfold in the comic strip, conflicts boy with straight black hair and no arise and the apparent racial harmony shoes, and Carlos—a boy with brown fractures showing the inconsistencies curly hair, slightly thicker lips and of that horizontal equality claimed by a snub nose—share the second row. the discourse and the imagined com- In the middle of the classroom is munity of mestizaje. This situation is Memín—a bald black tiny boy. This once again an illustration of Mexico’s image is the introduction to the first long history of misrepresentation of episode of the popular Mexican comic blacks since colonial times. strip Memín Pinguín,--first published This difference between the discur- in the 1940s and still in print—which sive imagined community of the nation presents the classroom as a microcosm and the actual dynamics among its of Mexico´s mestizo society. Guillermo, members is a rather truthful represen- Ernesto, Carlos and Memín represent tation of Mexico’s dealings with race the current Mexican national imag- for at least the last century. Once the ined community in which its different Revolution was over, a new national members feel represented in one of unifying identity was created and im- the main protagonists. For Benedict posed on the population. At that his- Anderson, the nation is “an imagined torical moment Mexico started to con- community, because, regardless of ceive itself as a mestizo society, giving the actual inequality and exploitation an apparent but misleading image of that may prevail in each, the nation harmonious multiplicity and equal- is always conceived as a deep, hori- ity among or between the races in the zontal comradeship” (7). Thus, each country. Though in the 1920s mestizaje individual—in spite of his/her race was new as national consciousness, it FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 47 was presented as ahistorical looking comic strip—, and its accessibility may “out of an immemorial past, and, still have been the reasons why, several more important, glide[ing] into a limit- years after its initial weekly publica- less future.” (Anderson 11-12). By pre- tion, the comic strip had achieved a senting mestizaje as an ever-presence very high popularity and a circulation in Mexico, the intellectual elite along of more than two hundred thousand with the new Mexican states success- copies a week (Aurreconechea). It be- fully overpower other racial expres- came a milestone of comics in Mexico sions. Mestizaje and its process of ra- during the 1940s. Juan Manuel Aur- cial and cultural fusion fostered the reconechea and Armando Bartra, two image of a conglomeration of races— comic strip book historians, declared the mestizo—that indeed lead to an at- Memín Pinguín as one of the biggest mosphere of delusion. Therefore, mes- best sellers of Mexican comic strip. In tizaje has made Mexico discursively the1960s, Memín was exported to oth- colorblind, not by erasing race, but by er Latin American countries: Colom- ignoring and therefore denying races bia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, any possible political and social rep- Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Puer- resentation. When this discourse—ar- to Rico, and the Dominican Republic ticulated by the intellectual elite and where the comic strip attained various promulgated by mass media and gov- publication successes (Hernandez 53). ernment officials—is contrasted with In fact, even though its author, Vargas everyday reality, one begins to see the Dulche and the illustrator Sixto Val- contradictions and the empty spaces era stopped producing new stories in that attest to the many racial frictions the 1990s, there have been—and still and suppressions that are overlooked or are—several reprints. Today, anyone ignored by most of those educated and can walk to a kiosk to buy Memín in living within the ideological discourse. Mexico. I argue that it is due to this The comic strip Memín Pinguín2 popularity and success that Memín is an excellent example of this double Pinguín has been and is a powerful edged reality where one side creates popular element that perpetuates a the illusion of an imagined homoge- whitening tradition. In other words, neous fraternity based on equality and this popular representation of Mexican the other one hides the practices of a imagined multiethnic reality claimed racial ideology. The comic strip was cre- and celebrated3 by Mexico officials ated during the 1940s, the high point and intellectuals rather than open- of mestizo aesthetics. This was a time ing a space for equal racial interaction period when people were being bom- perpetuates mestizaje whitening dis- barded through different popular cul- course as presented by Vasconcelos in tural representations that the mestizo The Cosmic Race. is more beautiful, stronger, virtuous, The (mis)representation of black- and all other manner of superlatives. ness in Memín is far from an isolated Memín Pinguín, through the depiction example; it follows a long tradition of an inclusive and mixed classroom starting with the first black popula- actively participated on the spread of tions in Mexico right after the arrival this mestizo aesthetic. Its format —a of Hernán Cortés in 1519. Taking this 48 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933 into consideration, I will first briefly miscalculated. Alejandro de Humboldt, present the history of misrepresenta- in his census stated that the total num- tion that black populations have un- ber of Africans in 1570 was 6100. Based dergone in this country since colonial on these numbers, he concluded that times. Then, I will revisit the concept “habiéndose introducido en la Nueva of mestizaje and the different ways in España poquísimos negros, los mesti- which it also undermines blackness in zos componen probablemente los 7/8 de favor of other races—mainly white. Fi- la totalidad de las castas”6 (Humboldt nally, I will analyze the role assigned 23). Humboldt´s records are extremely to blackness in the mestizo society relevant for two reasons: first, they staged in the comic. The study of racial reveal a long tradition of distortions dynamics in Mexican popular cultural when accounting for the black pres- productions during the heyday of mes- ence in Mexico; second, they show that tizo nationalism allows individuals to the concept of mestizaje was already in see how the image of the Mexican na- circulation early in the colonial period. tion and the racial ideals articulated Aguirre Beltrán in his study La po- by post-revolution intellectuals were blación negra en México revisits Hum- not a simple description of the society boldt’s analysis and other censuses but an imposition of a mythical homo- from the 16th to the 18th centuries to geneity which was —and still is— far put in perspective the numbers they from actual reality. provide and prove that, in fact, the Blacks are not a new race to Mexi- proportion is higher and even more rel- co; their presence goes back to colonial evant than once thought. According to times. According to the chronicles and Aguirre, Humboldt’s assertion regard- letters of the conquistadores, the first ing the presence of different races in Spaniards to set foot in the New World Mexico at that time, is incorrect and brought black people with them4. Pe- excludes many essential variables7. dro de Alvarado, Pánfilo de Narváez Even if there were only 6100 black and Francisco de Montejo among oth- people, that number represents 71% of ers included a considerable number of the total population which immigrated blacks in their expeditions (Aguirre to the area at that time. Therefore, by 20). During the first years of settle- the end of the 16th Century, only 21% ment, blacks were brought from Spain, of the people who had come to Mexico but they soon began to be imported were white (Aguirre 198). Addition- from the Antilles. There was a vast ally, during that time, the high lev- land to be conquered and the conquis- els of miscegenation quickly lead to a tadores needed bodies to fight for it and mixed population. The black and white farm it. Aguirre points out that due to binarism was soon unable to account this practice, in less than fifty years, for the wide spectrum of colors pres- the presence of blacks grew from a few ent in the society. Therefore, a system hundred to hundreds of thousands in of castes was implemented to classify the Virreinato de la Nueva España5. the population according to the propor- However, despite their relative high tion of white, indigenous and black. presence, their actual population has The creation of social categories such been repeatedly mis-represented or as mestizo prieto, or mulato black lead FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 49 to the dissemination of blackness into which mestizaje has been seen as an several mini groups and subgroups in accident, in Mexico in particular and in which black was diminished in favor of Latin America in general it has been the white and the indigenous. For ex- claimed as “the essence, the central ample, being classified as amulato was line” (Retamar 9). This idea of Latin socially worse than being identified as American uniqueness in term of its ra- white, yet it was a higher social posi- cial configuration started with Simón tion than being classified as black. Bolívar at the beginning of the 19th At this moment, the mestizo catego- Century, when the region was articu- ries become a buffer zone between the lating its own identity in contrast with extremes of blackness and whiteness. Spain. Following Bolívar, José Martí, When the census incorporated mestizo another prominent Latin American categories such as —mestizo blanco, intellectual in the second half of the mestizo prieto, mulato lobo— people 19th century, expanded the notion of were required to self-identify into one mestizaje as a fundamental essence of category. Aguirre points out that many Latin America heritage. By envision- tried to avoid being categorized or in- ing mestizaje as a progressive action, cluded as black due to the social conse- he proclaimed in Our America that the quences it entailed. Being categorized rise of the mestizo will guarantee Latin as black would deprive them from ac- American autonomy. Bolívar and Mar- cessing to some spaces and benefits. A tí’s notions of mestizaje had a large im- direct consequence of this adjustment pact on successive generations of intel- was that official accounts of that pe- lectuals in Latin America who tried to riod presented a drastic reduction of make sense of Latin America’s complex the presence of blacks in favor of the racial and multicultural reality. Anto- other two races, and so reversing the nio Cornejo-Polar, a Peruvian scholar, percentages presented in the previous wrote that “mestizaje was a conciliato- paragraph. Official documents showed ry and comforting utopia that seems to a small population of blacks because gather into one unique torrent of many those documents did not account for rivers that converged in this physi- the blackness present in the different cal spiritual geography we call Latin new categories included in the census. America” (Cornejo-Polar 23). However, In other words, by this time mestizaje scholars agree that the greatest articu- was —consciously or unconsciously— lation of Bolívar and Martí’s ideas into already being used as a whitening a discourse is La raza cósmica: misión strategy rather than an inclusive one. de la raza iberoamericana (The Cosmic As discussed above, the idea of Race: Mission of the Ibero-American mestizaje, understood as the mixture Race) written by José Vasconcelos. of different races and cultures, has The Cosmic Race fully developed been present in Mexico for centuries. the ideology of mestizaje and “tied po- However, it was not until the articula- litical and aesthetic self-definition and tion of the post-revolutionary identity assertion to a racial discourse at both that it became an essential part of the the national and regional levels” (Mill- new national imagined community. In er 27). Vasconcelos’ conception of mes- contrast to other places in the world in tizaje transcended its material aspect 50 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933
—exploited by Bolívar and Martí— by and identity. At the same time, Mexi- adding a spiritual perspective. In this can officials’ discourse promoted “‘ra- sense, The Cosmic Race does not ex- cial and cultural intermixture’ as the clusively call for a “race in the biologi- only way to create homogeneity out of cal sense, but as an attitude” (Zea 23). heterogeneity, unity out of fragmenta- The compromise of these two aspects tion, a strong nation that could with- —biological and spiritual— became stand the internal menace of its own the means for the construction of a failures to overcome the injustices of unified nation. According to Castro’s its colonial past” (Alonso 462). How- study, Mestizo Nation: Culture, Race, ever, this discourse did not increase and Conformity in Latin American Lit- the actual representation of the differ- erature, it is precisely this possibility ent ethnic groups. On the contrary, it of reconciliation that made mestizaje allowed elites to construct a deceitful the way to “conceptualize the creation image of a common nation while con- of a unitary nation from a heteroge- tinuing to exploit the indigenous and neous population” (21). In the post black population. revolutionary period of the 1920s, mes- In his book Deep Mexico, Silent tizaje is not only a discourse to differ- Mexico, Claudio Lomnitz explores how entiate Latin America from an exter- the articulation of an immemorial past nal enemy —namely colonial power or —what he calls depth— and silences the USA— but the very basis to build are mutually implicated in the nation. a new, united, stronger national iden- “Images of a nation´s rootedness are tity: the Mexican identity. also used to displace or ignore par- Mexico’s current national official ticular claims.” (xiii) In other words, racial discourse was constructed and each articulation of a nation displaces, imposed over the general public at the ignores and, in worst cases, silences end of the Mexican Revolution in the large portions of the population to the 1920s. At that time, a group of mod- benefit of the imaged chosen by those ernizing intellectuals8 —whose most in power. One can clearly see this in prominent official was the minister of Vasconcelos’ articulation of mestizaje education José Vasconcelos— faced the since through the Cosmic Race, white- task of creating a new identity for the ness is exalted, portrayed as active fragmented country. It was urgent to and developed while indigenous and find a thread that would incorporate blacks are described in many negative the whole Mexican society under a terms. They are generally exposed as common ideal, so the country could be passive and recessive, “El blanco ha unified leaving behind the social and puesto al mundo en situación de que racial stratifications created during todos los tipos y todas las culturas pu- the colonial period such as criollos, es- edan fundirse” (Vasconcelos 4). (The pañoles, indígenas, mestizos, mulatos, White man has put the world in a situ- and negros. Thus, the project of mes- ation in which all types and cultures tizaje proposed by post-revolutionary can mix). Besides creating the oppor- intellectuals aimed at the elimination tunity for the mixture, the whites also of racial distinctions, claiming mixture created “una raza nueva con el indio y as the basis of the Mexican population con el negro” (5) (A new race with the FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 51
Indian and the black). Though Vascon- sexual and barbaric stereotypes, and celo advocates mixture and cultural as being dominated by carnal passions. acceptances, the truth is that the fu- They are so wild that just one drop is sion of indians, blacks and whites is all that they will pass on to the mes- not presented as such. Instead, it is tizo race. Finally, the white race will described as an incorporation of “the organize and makes sense of this cha- best features of blacks and Amerindi- os. This description of the mestizaje not ans races into the criollo mainstream” only denies an active participation of (Castro 22). In this sense, mestizaje is, the black race, it also perpetuates one in fact, very close to the process of ac- dimensional racist images. culturation, in which the relationship Throughout the book there is an between the parts involved is still de- emphasis on the superiority of the termined by a power structure. white race. Once white intellectual This inequality is also explicit in superiority is established, the text em- the contributions that each race is phasizes the indigenous role mainly making to the coalescence to come: by reclaiming their ancestry. In his essay “L’Indigénisme et la marginali- How different the sounds of the Ibero- sation des noirs en Amérique latine” American development! They resemble (“Indigenism and marginalization of the profound scherzo of a deep and in- black people in Latin America”), Victo- finite symphony: Voices that bring ac- rien Lavou Zoungho explores the vari- cents from Atlantis; depths contained in ous effects the attempt to reclaim the the pupil of the red man, who knew so role of indigenous groups had on other much, so many thousand years ago, and racial and ethnic groups also present now seems to have forgotten everything. in Latin America. He claims that “ese His soul resembles the old Mayan ceno- mismo afán de desagraviar a los indios te of green waters, lying deep and still, contribuyó indirectamente a ocultar in the middle of the forest, for so many todavía más la presencia y las reivindi- centuries since, not even its legend re- caciones de los negros” (62).10 Vascon- mains any more. This infinite quietude celos’ cultural perspective of mestizaje is stirred with the drop put in our blood was a façade that allowed “the oppres- by the Black, eager for sensual joy, in- sion of Amerindians and black groups toxicated with dances and unbridled under the banner of their incorporation lust… The clear mind of the White, that into the national communities; that is resembles his skin and his dreams, also a cover up for ethnocide” (75). Zoungho intervenes. (22) 9 argues that the white race was the only beneficiary in The Cosmic Race and in Vasconcelos turns to nature when the mestizaje ideology in general. In describing indians and blacks. Howev- his analysis, indians and blacks were er, he comes back to rationality when equally eroticized, marginalized and referring to whites. When referring to used for the convenience of the white the indian race, Vasconcelos sentences ruling elites. However, further reading that their time has already past; not of the text challenges and negates this even its legend remains. Regarding the conclusion. I argue that although there black race, it is represented through is a certain amount of negation and 52 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933 suppression of the indian role in the At first sight the images stamped formation of mestizaje, they were in- on the comic strip depict the post-rev- corporated into the mestizaje ideology olutionary imagined community, and to a greater extent than the black race. present the Mexican nation as a mixed, Though, as we have seen, Vascon- multiracial society in which blacks, in- celos originally acknowledges the con- dians and whites interact on a daily ba- tribution—one drop of blood—of the sis and share the same spaces. Memín black race, later on in the book he pro- and his friends live in the same neigh- ceeds to erase its presence and mini- borhood, participate in the same activi- mize its contribution. His articulation ties and share the typical concerns of of the Mexican post-revolutionary na- a school boy whose life consists of at- tion in The Cosmic Race highlights the tending school, doing homework and contributions of the white race while it playing with friends. Each race that silences blackness. He points out that contributes to the mestizo society, as the presence of people of African de- conceived in The Cosmic Race is pres- scent is very minimal, and those black ent in the book. However, as Benedict people who exist are already mixed. Anderson argues, the horizontal com- Also, when describing the actual pro- radeship within the imagined commu- cess of mixture, he simply leaves the nity is not such a manifestation of egal- black race out and acknowledges the itarianism and its appearance hides a white for “profusely spreading White strong power structure and discrimi- ancestry through the soldier who be- nation. Memín Pinguín as a comic strip gan a native family, and Occidental and its protagonist present metaphors culture through the doctrine and ex- that have been in use for a long time ample of the missionaries who placed to undermine blackness. Robert Mckee the Indians in condition to enter into Irwin, in his essay “Memín Pinguín, the new stage, the stage of the world Rumba and Racism: Afro-Mexicans in One” (17)11. The Cosmic Race presents Classic Comics and Films”, suggests an illusion of multiplicity and racial that at the end of each episode there integration —parallel to the one cre- is a clear moral which “teach[es] racial ated by the post-revolutionary na- tolerance on multiple occasions” (253). tional imagined community— but its I argue that these little morals, though discourse actually “erases by omission present, fall short. They are included the ethnic African heritage of Mexican in the comics as a strategy to pre- mestizaje while reinforcing the Cos- serve the superficial image of frater- mic Race belief that blacks and their nity among the actors of the imagined “minor” ethnic legacy have been “in- community, while at the same time, tegrated” or disappeared through ab- they conceal greater acts of inequality. sorption into a major European based They denounce blatantly racist acts culture” (Jackson 56). This same illu- performed by specific characters, but sion is apparent in Memín Pinguín as at the same time, there are a lot of im- evidenced by the character’s intrepid agery and everyday interactions tinted experiences, and the reader of the by the same racial standards which are comic strip receives this illusory mes- overlooked, accepted and even encour- sage as well. aged. Episode after episode, Memín is FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 53 consistently presented as an inferior comic. Little Black Sambo and Aunt burlesque character without agency of Jemima could be Memín and Eufro- his own. His appearance is laughable. sina alter egos in the visual culture in His grades are the lowest and his ac- the United States. There are also im- tions—when productive—are directed ages in Latin America which resemble by authority figures. Memín´s representation, like for ex- The classroom described at the be- ample the Cuban icon Mamá Inés12. ginning of this essay is the setting for However, in the Mexican case, these a lot of the adventures protagonized exaggerations, which make Memín a by Memín and his three friends. The laughable figure, contrast clearly with characters are: Memín; Carlangas- the realistic and sober portrayal of the -nickname for Carlos, who lives with other characters. While his eyes, nose his widowed mother close to Memín; and lips are disproportionately big, the Ernestillo, the poorest of the four rest of his body is excessively small. He friends who sometimes wanders the is half the height of his classmates. In streets without shoes; and Ricardo who different vignettes he is standing up in is part of a wealthy family “whose pro- the middle of the classroom while the gressive-thinking father believes, to rest of the students who are sitting in the chagrin of his mother, that it will their chairs still look taller than him. be healthy for him to study in a pub- Memín’s “half-chimp” appearance lic school” (McKee Irwin 251). These sets him apart from the rest of the char- four friends represent on a small scale acters in the comic. Compared to the the racial interweaving and attitudes rest, he does not look even reasonably occurring in Mexico: black —Memín— human. Memín is dehumanized up to and white —Ricardo— represent the the point where it is not possible for the extremes of the spectrum, while Car- reader to see him as a representation langas and Ernestillo with their mixed of a “real” human being who is part of features stand for the present and fu- the Mexican society in which they live. ture: the mestizo. However, Carlangas, the teacher or Though the four school boys spend any other character could be identified most of their time together, and are as archetypical characters represent- given relatively the same amount ing different sections of the Mexican of time in the comic, Memín always mestizo society. For instance, Ricardo stands out. For instance, his physical and his wealthy family distinctively features are exaggerated making him represent the white —with his hand- look like a “bug-eyed, big-lipped half- some features, intelligence and money. human, half-chimp hybrid” (Asim 1). Ernesto is an exemplary student but This practice by itself might not call the poorest of all. This character stands our attention, for it is common prac- as an example of the potential of the tice in cartoons, caricatures and comic mestizo race which is to be developed. strip strips to achieve comedy or to By dehumanizing Memín and only he, point out certain features in the hero the comic strip is perpetuating the ste- or protagonist. Moreover, the stereo- reotypical image presented in Vascon- typical presentation of blacks as mon- celos’ mestizaje that blackness is bad, keys, chimps, is not unique to this ugly not beneficial to Mexican society 54 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933 and will eventually disappear. This (Memín 225-12)15. This passage again dehumanization also marks Memín can be read as a reflection of the role -and blackness- as foreign. Reinaldo assigned to blackness within mestiza- González defends the fact that Vargas je. It cannot be completely eliminated. Dulche created Memín as a reaction to At least it has to be acknowledged, but the negrista movement in Cuba13. “Su it is enough to be ranked last, weakest creadora, la escritora Yolanda Vargas and as a meaningless link. Dulché, tuvo como modelo un negrito Don Romero is not the only charac- cubano, de ojos enormes, labios carno- ter who reacts to Memín’s behavior and sos y orejas prominentes, parecido a mischievous actions with a he-doesn’t- muchos niños que conoció en La Ha- know-better attitude. Even his best bana de los años 30.” (González) (Her friends patronize him. Behind these creator, the writer Yolanda Vargas Dul- attitudes lies the presupposition that ché use as model a little black Cuban, black is inferior and needs to be guid- with big eyes, lips and prominent ears, ed. For this reason, this paternalistic similar to a lot of kids that she met in attitude is as bad as the openly racist La Habana in the 1930s). Memín is not comments of the other characters. Both a Mexican, he is a visitor, a tourist and of them deny the possibility that the an outsider. Therefore, he is presented racial group he represents has equal as part of the future, but as temporal rights to other groups. Without excep- presences which will eventually go back tion, the characters that represent the to where it came from or disappear. white race either present an openly Memín is also presented as silly, racist behavior toward Memín—and simple minded, good for nothing. He mestizos—or assume a paternalistic would rather spend the day running attitude. The first group is criticized around and getting in trouble than and ridiculed by other characters or by studying. In the course of the 300 epi- the way they are portrayed in the com- sodes, he gets expelled from school sev- ic strip while the later are presented as eral times, and he always regrets the the voice of reason. day that he has to go back to the class- For example, Doña Refugio room. In an episode, the teacher talks -Ricardo´s mother- is depicted as to him about the purpose of studying. very pale, blue-eyed and blond. In an Memín answers: “con letras o sin ellas, episode in which Memín is invited to igual de sabroso le sabría a un león…¿ Ricardo´s house, Doña Refugio in- para qué estudio?” (225-1)14. The class stantly faints when she sees Memín. laughs at Memín’s wit and the teacher Ricardo’s father -Rogelio- comes to immediately expels him. The following help her and when she finally recov- day Eufrosina —Memín’s mother— ers she exclaims: “Te aseguro que vi accompanies him to ask for mercy. Fi- un mico… era espantoso; tenía los ojos nally, Professor Romero allows Memín como un toro” (Memín 4) 16. Rogelio to come back to the class making the smiles and comforts his wife. A few following remark: “Bien Doña Eufro- episodes later, a similar situation hap- sina no se preocupe. Le aseguro que pens. In this case Memín is visiting a Memín entrará en razón y cuando me- friend of Carlangas’ father. While they nos figurará como el último de la clase” are waiting to have dinner, the son of FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 55 the host arrives and exclaims irately very wise man who makes it his task to “¿Quién permitió a este negro sentarse make him the top student of his class: en nuestra mesa?... ¡Lárgate!... Los ne- “de mi cuenta corre que se convierta en gros no deben mezclarse con nosotros” el primero de su clase” (Memín número (Memín 299) 17. In this case, there is 235-7). Thanks to Nicéforo’s guidance no follow-up or answer of any kind but Memín learned all the rivers and capi- later on in the episode the character tals of all the European countries. Af- that made the comment is embar- ter a week of study Memín becomes the rassed in front of everyone, and he is hero of the class, giving the right an- also proved wrong. swers to all the questions. Don Nicéfo- These repeating rectifications have ro feels he has accomplished his task— been interpreted by some critics as to show Memín the right way—and proof that Memín Pinguín is not a rac- leaves the house and the comic strip. ist comic strip but rather that it edu- However, immediately following Nicé- cates and raises awareness in the audi- foro’s good bye, Memín suddenly loses ence. For example, Robert Irwin in his his way and becomes the same good- essay “Memín Pinguín, Rumba, and for-nothing and gets expelled from the Racism” argues that by scolding and class. This event shows, once again embarrassing the openly racist char- that blackness by itself has no future in acters the comic strip “preaches time the mestizo community. Only with the after time that racism is wrong” (Irwin strict supervision of a wise white man 253). While Irwin defends the way the can blacks succeed. However, once that comic strip preaches race harmony, supervision stops, so will the advances I argue that only the blatantly rac- of the blacks because they do not know ist acts are denounced. Though some by themselves what is best for them. characters are scolded for their acts, All in all, Memín’s character and there are other less obvious forms of his presence are the protagonists of the racism and racial oppression that are comic strip but not as a way of pointing overlooked and even presented as the out the contribution and active role of proper way to act. blackness in the Mexican mestizo so- For instance, Professor Romero’s ciety but quite the opposite. As it hap- paternalistic attitude towards Memín pens in Vasconcelos’ depiction on The can also be seen in Ricardo´s father and Cosmic Race, the character of Memín, Don Nicéforo Melquiades. These two and by enlarge blackness, stands as authority figures in the comics show an one isolated drop that will eventually apparently tolerant, inclusive position be diluted. At first sight, the classroom towards Memín but they never get to and neighborhood seem to represent the point of treating him like any oth- the multiplicity and racial integration er character in the comic. The case of promulgated by the post-revolutionary Nicéforo Melquiades is quite curious in national imagined community. Howev- this regard as well. This character only er, when considered more in depth, one appears in three episodes. He is a fifty realizes that the interactions among year old homeless man who appears the different races (black, Indian, and in Memín’s life while his mother is in white) are in reality hierarchical and the hospital. Melquiades is a poor but patronizing at best. Memín falls short 56 Revista de Lenguas Modernas, N° 23, 2015 / 45-59 / ISSN: 1659-1933 once and again in the eyes of the rest Vasconcelos’ mestizaje. It provides an of the characters and therefore in the image of racial democracy but at the eyes of the readers. Only when closely same time the attitudes and actions of monitored by a white male authority the characters in the comic strip show figure, Memín is able to accommodate a whitening discourse. It is true that the standards but, even under great openly discriminatory comments are guidance, he is not able to excel. His ap- rejected or punished in the comic strip; pearance is mocked by others when the however, paternalistic attitudes are rest of the characters are not. Memín’s applauded, and they undermine the classmates and teachers look down on little social or political agency blacks him for his lack of skills at school and could aspire to have. mischievous tendencies. On the other hand, the rest of his classmates are rarely if ever critique for similar be- Notes haviors. By making such a big differ- ence on the way authority figures re- 1 Guillermo’s pale skin and dress are indica- act to and behave towards Memín and tors of his upper class and wealthy family. the rest of the boys at school, the comic 2 The character was created by Yolanda strip is perpetuating a patronizing and Vargas Dulché. It was originally drawn “he doesn’t know better” attitude to- by Alberto Cabrera in 1943, and later wards blackness also presented in Vas- was drawn by Sixto Valencia Burgos. concelos’ work. There are different theories and opin- Therefore, the images and dis- ions about the influence of each of these course present in Memín Pinguín are members to the appearance of Memín. a re-enactment of the whitening ideol- See McKee Irwin, Robert. ogy of mestizaje proposed by Vasconce- 3 In summer 2005 Mexican government los’ The Cosmic Race. The apparently issued a series of five postage stamps harmonious yet deceitful image of ra- commemorating the figure of Memín Pin- cial democracy presented in the comic guín, one of the protagonists in the comic. strip ultimately reinforces stereotypi- 4 See Aguirre Beltrán, Gonzalo. cal and discriminatory ideas towards 5 Virreinato de la Nueva España or Vice- blacks. By reproducing the aesthetics royalty of New Spain was the first of four proposed in The Cosmic Race and im- viceroyalties created to govern Spain’s posing it on the general public, the gov- territories in North and Central America. ernment denied the different races the It was ruled by a viceroy from Mexico possibility to determine their own ra- City who governed many territories on cial identity and political articulation. behalf of the King of Spain. It included Moreover, the government also elimi- present American Southwest as well as nated the possibility for future politi- present day Mexico. cal claims based on race, racial differ- 6 “Being that so few blacks were brought ences or racial discrimination. Mexico into Nueva España, the mestizos prob- is a mestizo nation, there are no racial ably represents about 7/8 of the castas” distinctions there is only one race. The (Humboldt). comic strip Memín Pinguín works as a 7 For example, Aguirre points out that dur- way of perpetuating the teachings of ing these centuries the total population of FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 57
blacks and whites together were approxi- na and a kerchief on her head, drinks mately 2% of the total population, while coffee, and smokes cigars.” (Mckee Ir- the 98% were indigenous. (Aguirre 198). win 254). This image has been used by 8 As part of the reconstruction process un- coffee companies in Puerto Rico and derwent by Mexico during and after the the Dominican Republic. Mexican Revolution, a group of intellectu- 13 The negrista movement was formed by als called El Ateneo de la juventud was a group of Latin American and Caribbe- formed by Alfonso Reyes, Antonio Caso, an writers and poets who incorporated Pedro Henríquez Ureña, and Samuel Ra- black themes of folklore, religious prac- mos among others. See Llinás Alvarez, tices, music, and dance in their work. Edgar for more information on this matter. Writing principally from the 1930s to the 9 “¡Cuán distintos los sones de la for- 1950s, the group included such writ- mación iberoamericana! Semejan el ers as Nicolas Guillén, Ramón Güirao profundo scherzo de una sinfonía infinita and José Zacarías Tallet of Cuba. For y honda: voces que traen acentos de more see Lesley Feracho “Legacy of la Atlántida; abismos contenidos en la Negrismo/Negritude: Inter American pupila del hombre rojo, que supo tanto, Dialogues.” hace tantos miles de años, y ahora pa- 14 With knowledge or without, I would rece que se ha olvidado de todo. Se pa- be equally tasty to a lion… Why rece su alma al viejo cenote maya, de should I study? aguas verdes, profundas, inmóviles, en 15 Well, don´t worry Doña Eufrosina. I as- el centro del bosque, desde hace tantos sure you Memín will be reasonable and siglos que ya ni su leyenda perdura. Y at the very least will remain in the class se remueve esta quietud de infinito con as the student with the lowest marks la gota que en nuestra sangre pone el 16 I assure you I saw a monkey…It was negro, ávido de dicha sensual, ebrio de horrifying. He had the eyes of a bull danzas y desenfrenadas lujurias… Inter- 17 Who let this black boy sit at our ta- viene asimismo la mente clara del blan- ble?... Get out of here!... Blacks should co, parecida a su tez y a su ensueño” not mix with us! (Vasconcelos 18). 10 Same urge to make amends to the in- dians indirectly contributed to hiding Bibliography even more the presence and demands of the blacks. Asim, Jabari. “Stamp of Disap- 11 “Prodigando la estirpe blanca mediante proval for Mexico”. The Wash- th el soldado que engendraba familia indí- ington Post. July 5 2005. http:// gena y la cultura de Occidente por medio www.washingtonpost.com/wp- de la doctrina y el ejemplo de los mis- dyn/content/blog/2005/07/05/ ioneros que pusieron al indio en condi- BL2005070500674.html.
Aguirre Beltrán, Gonzalo. La población . “Memín Pinguín: uno de los com- negra en México. México: Tierra ics mexicanos más populares como Firme, 1972. instrumento para codificar al ne- Alonso, Ana María. Conforming Dis- gro.” Afro-Hispanic Review 22.1 conformity: “Mestizaje”, Hybridity, (Spring 2003): 52-59. and the Aesthetics of Mexican Na- Humboldt, Alejandro de. Tablas tionalism. 459-490. geográficas políticas del reino de Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Com- Nueva España que manifiesta la munities: Reflections on the Origin superficie, población, agricultura, and Spread of Nationalism. Lon- fábricas, comercio, minas, rentas don: Verso, 2006. y fuerza militar. México, diciem- Aurreconechea, Juan Manuel and Ar- bre de 1803, Archivo General de la mando Bartra. Puros cuentos III: Nación, Vil, 72, Exp. 266. historia de la historieta en México, Jackson, Richard L. “Black Phobia and 1934-1950. Mexico City: Consejo the White Aesthetic in Spanish Nacional para la Cultura y las American Literature.” Hispania 58 Artes/Grijalbo, 1994. (September 1975): 467-480. Castro, Juan E. de. Mestizo Nations: Lavou Zoungho, Victorien. Culture, Race and Conformity in “L’Indigénisme et la marginalisa- Latin American Literature. Tucson: tion des noirs en Amérique latine”. University of Arizona Press, 2002. Imprévue, 1993: 61-77. Cornejo Polar, Antonio. The Multiple Llinás Alvarez, Edgar. Revolución, Voices of Latin American Litera- Educación y Mexicanidad: la ture. California: Doe Library, Uni- Búsqueda de la Identidad Nacional versity of California, 1994. en el Pensamiento Educativo Mexi- Feracho, Lesley. “The Legacy of Ne- cano. México: Universidad Nacio- grismo/Negritude: Inter-American nal Autónoma de México, 1979. Dialogues”. Langston Hughes Re- Lomnitz, Claudio. Deep Mexico, Silent view 16.2 (1999-2001): i-xx. Mexico: An Anthropology of Nation- Fernández Retamar, Roberto. “Cali- alism. Minneapolis: University of ban: Notes towards a Discussion of Minnesota Press, 2001. Culture in our America”. The Mas- McKee Irwin, Robert. “Memín Pinguín, sachusetts Review 15.72 (1971): Rumba, and Racism: Afro-Mexi- 7-72. cans in Classic Comics and Film.” González, Reynaldo. “Memín Pinguín Hemispheric American Studies. provoca un incidente diplomático,” Eds. Levander, Caroline F. and La Jiribilla 218 (July 2005), online Levine, Robert S. London: Rutgers at http://www.lajiribilla.cu/2005/ University Press, 2008. 249-266. n218_07/218_03.html (accessed 15 Miller, Marilyn Grace. Rise and Fall of March 2007). the Cosmic Race: The Cult of Mes- Hernández Cuevas, Marco Polo. “La po- tizaje in Latin America. Austin: blación negra de México: Parte del University of Texas Press, 2004. discurso blanqueador para ‘poner al Vargas Dulché, Yolanda (arguments) negro en su lugar.” Afro-Hispanic and Sixto Valencia Burgos (illus- Review 23.1 (Spring 2004): 3-9. trations), Memín Pinguín. México FERNÁNDEZ. Racial Ideology of Mestizaje ... 59
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