Materializing Modernity
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CREATING MEXICAN CONSUMER CULTURE IN THE AGE OF PORFIRIO DÍAZ, 1876-1911 by STEVEN BLAIR BUNKER Bachelor of Arts, 1992 University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia Master of Arts, 1995 University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences Texas Christian University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May, 2006 Copyright by Steven Blair Bunker 2006 Acknowledgements The support of mentors, institutions, friends, and most of all, family, made this dissertation possible. First I’d like to express my gratitude to my mentors at Texas Christian University and the University of British Columbia: Dr. William H. Beezley for his persistent recruiting effort, his sage advice, his funding generosity, and for graciously agreeing to direct my committee from afar; Dr. William E. French for first interesting me in Latin American history and then overseeing my first two degrees; and Dr. Susan Ramirez for ensuring the completion of my dissertation with her timely support and counsel. TCU faculty helped immensely, from the editorial knives and conceptual assistance of Dr. Claire Sanders and Dr. Sara Sohmer on my earlier chapters to the constant support of Department Chair Ken Stevens and his wife, Nancy, and the guidance of outstanding committee members Dr. Don Coerver, Dr. Mark Gilderhus, and Dr. Arturo Flores. Dr. William B. Taylor at UC-Berkeley not only taught an excellent course on the Colonial Church and Society but offered a professional and personal friendship for which I am most grateful. Scholars such as Jürgen Buchenau at UNC-Charlotte and Glen Kuecker at DePauw University sharpened my thoughts on consumption. Javier Pérez Siller at the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and his team of fellow researchers advanced my understanding of the French in Mexico from the moment they introduced themselves after they noticed me reading French newspapers in the UNAM Hemeroteca. Almost simultaneously, my introduction to Dr. Susan Gauss now at SUNY Albany resulted in many years of both intellectual sparring and a cherished friendship that only months of co-existence in Mexico City can produce. Funding for this project came from a number of sources. A two-year research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Green Fellow ii from Texas Christian University, and additional funding from the Graduate Studies Committee at TCU and the Paul Boller Travel Fund allowed me to concentrate on preparing for, researching, and presenting my work to a much broader community of scholars than I could have done otherwise. Beyond his abilities as an historian, Dr. Beezley also knows how to assemble a great team of students and foster a sense of camaraderie. His students—including Victor Macías, James Garza, Daniel Newcomer, Shannon Baker-Tuller, Claudia Gravier, Glenn Avent, and Laurie Jurkat—along with students from other fields with a predilection for things Porfirian—forged bonds not only through mutual classes but also social events such as memorable nights at the Blue Bonnet Pub that will endure long past graduate school. I consider them all colleagues and friends. Victor not only sullied our kitchen floor with chiles rellenos but also connected me with important sources and individuals in Mexico as well as accepting our offer to be the padrino to our eldest child. Daniel flew to Vancouver for our wedding in addition to awing me with his critical analytical skills. James’ effusive offers and deliverance of assistance on any occasion matches his remarkable ability to recall every fact and historiographical citation he’s every read. Finally, Shannon’s patient guidance of her junior colleague through the housing and archive maze of Mexico City could only be matched by her assistance during an untimely scorpion sting. Assistance in Mexico came from many individuals. Special thanks go to Kitzia Nin- Castillo Poniatowska de Romero de Terreros for allowing me access to the archives of the Palacio de Hierro and to Victor Macías for arranging our introduction. Verónica Zárate Toscano at the Instituto Mora shaved off hours of bureaucratic hassles for me at both her institution and several others. In general, I found the staff at all the archives to be helpful but iii special appreciation goes to the friendly and efficient staff at the CONDUMEX, the AGN, the Instituto Mora, and the UNAM Hemeroteca who consistently provided assistance above and beyond what I could have expected. This dissertation made me understand the value of supportive family members, both new and old. Our newest members are our Texas neighbours, Willie and Gracie Bocanegra. I thank them for their friendship, good conversation, and for taking care of our house on too many occasions. We will always be indebted to them and the whole Bocanegra clan who so readily embraced us, became our family support system in Texas, and who we will miss terribly. Semana Santa will not be the same without them. Ultimate praise goes to our immediate families, the Bunkers and the Chatametikools, for their good humour, assistance, and suspension of disbelief over these many years. To my mother-in-law, Susanna, whose support covered the field, not the least with her understated Mainer patience. To Dad, whose belief in my success never wavered. To Mom, whose early and continuous advocation of scholarly excellence, persistent proofreading (“Who’s Porfirio Díaz?), and a desire for a doctor in the family finally paid off. I love you all. To my children, Ian, Kitzia, and Alex: you arrived during a break in my career and gave me reason—if not the time!—to continue. Yes, Ian, Dad’s “distertation” is at last completed. And finally, to the one I love the most: to my wife, Barb, whose patience I have taxed the greatest and whose solid support never cracked. Conversant in Mexican historiography, supportive of research and conferences, and level-headed during highs and lows, you know what you mean to me. I promise you Enchiladas Suizas for life. I dedicate this project to Mom, who finally got to see this moment; and to Pong, who I dearly wish had. iv Table of Contents Chapter Page Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………… ii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………....... v List of Tables……………………………………………………………………….. vi Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 1 1. Personalized Progress: The Production and Marketing of the Machine-Rolled Cigarette……………………………………………… 32 2. “For a Peso More”: Porfirian Advertising……………………………………… 95 3. Capital Investments I: Porfirian Department Stores and the Evolution of Mexico City Retailing …………………………………...166 4. Capital Investments II: Constant Innovation and the Expression of Progress………………………………………………….225 5. An All-Consuming Passion: Department Store Criminality and the Modernization of Crime…………………………………………....277 6. Hot Diamonds, Cold Steel: The La Profesa Jewelry Store Robbery…………...323 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………364 Selected Bibliography………………………………………………………………373 v List of Tables 1. The Departments of the Palacio de Hierro Department Store……………………..272 2. Department Stores and Important Almacenes de Novedades in Late-Porfirian Mexico City……………………………………………………274 vi Creating Mexican Consumer Culture in the Age of Porfirio Díaz, 1876-1911 Introduction All the world’s a store, The importance of the Almighty Dollar, there’s nothing more Its retail counter stretches across the planet all, Where the daring win and the fools fall. --“Mercantilismo Puro,” a poem. México Gráfico, April 27, 1890, 6.1 This dissertation identifies and analyzes an accelerating modern consumer culture in Mexico during the rule of Porfirio Díaz, 1876-1911. It considers both the local and national experience of a global process. In doing so, it outlines the growth of a domestic consumer market and manufacturing base, the transformation of retailing and advertising, and the implications for social and cultural development within the context of the economic and cultural modernization program of Porfirian Mexico. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the usefulness of consumption as a category of analysis in Mexican history. This topic requires definitions and clarifications. To begin, culture is the production of meaning; it is the ideas, activities, and objects with which we construe and construct our world. By the Porfiriato, the influence of consumption upon national culture, especially but not solely urban culture, was well established. Consumption is defined as the processes by which consumer goods and services are created, bought, and used. Consumption, while usually perceived to possess only an economic function (and that as a mere byproduct of production), is thoroughly cultural in character. Among other purposes, individuals and societies use consumer goods to express cultural categories (such as gender, class, race, and 1 The original text is: Es una casa de comercio el globo,/Sin otro principal que don Dinero/Y sin más mostrador que el mundo entero/Donde gana el audaz, y pierde el bobo. 1 age), to cultivate lifestyles, to construct notions of the self, and to create and survive social changes. While an inquiry into the nature of Porfirian consumption could proceed in a myriad of directions this dissertation will concentrate on the relationship between consumption and the modernization process. In particular, it emphasizes the way in which consumption intertwined with the leadership’s drive to modernize both the economy and the people. This consumer culture helped to define the visual reality of cities as manifested in the architecture, street life, and private spaces of urbanites. Equally important, its presence permeated public language, with consumer goods, institutions, and values providing the vocabulary and metaphors many used to help explain and understand the increasingly rapid changes that characterized their lives. In other words, goods and the language of goods gave shape and form to the abstract condition of modernity in which many people believed they lived. The study of consumption raises basic questions pertaining to its scope and deserves discussion of many areas not fully addressed in the text.