The White Indians of Mexican Cinema theorizes the development of a unique form of racial masquerade—the representation of Whiteness as Indigeneity—during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, from the ...1930s to the 1950s. Adopting a broad decolonial perspective while remaining grounded in the history of local racial categories, Mónica García Blizzard argues that this trope works to reconcile two divergent discourses about race in postrevolutionary Mexico: the government-sponsored celebration of Indigeneity and mestizaje (or the process of interracial and intercultural mixing), on the one hand, and the idealization of Whiteness, on the other. Close readings of twenty films and primary source material illustrate how Mexican cinema has mediated race, especially in relation to gender, in ways that project national specificity, but also reproduce racist tendencies with respect to beauty, desire, and protagonism that survive to this day. This sweeping survey illuminates how Golden Age films produced diverse, even contradictory messages about the place of Indigeneity in the national culture.This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of Emory University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Learn more at the TOME website, available at: https://www.openmonographs.org/. It can also be found in the SUNY Open Access Repository at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/7153
The ongoing eruptive activity of Popocatépetl volcano has been characterized by emplacement and subsequent destruction of a succession of lava domes. Between the onset of the current eruption in 1994 ...and the time of this submission, 38 episodes of lava dome formation and removal have been identified. Each dome has showed particular features related to the magma extrusion process. Among other manifestations, dome-emplacement events have been usually accompanied by relatively low-intensity, protracted explosions referred to as exhalations. After variable times of residence, emplacements have ended in partial or total destruction of the domes by strong vulcanian explosions that produced sizeable ash plumes, with most of them also ejecting incandescent debris onto the volcano flanks. Here, we present a detailed account for the observed activity related to the domes’ growth and destruction, related seismic monitoring signals, and morphological features of the domes based on 19 years of visual observations and image analysis. We then discuss a model for the process of dome growth and destruction and its hazard implications.
The aim of this work is to constrain the provenance and depositional history of continental slope sediments in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico (~1089–1785m water depth). To achieve this, 10 piston ...sediment cores (~5–5.5m long) were studied for mineralogy, major, trace and rare earth element geochemistry. Samples were analyzed at three core sections, i.e. upper (0–1cm), middle (30–31cm) and lower (~300–391cm). The textural study reveals that the core sediments are characterized by silt and clay fractions. Radiocarbon dating of sediments for the cores at different levels indicated a maximum of ~28,000 year BP.
Sediments were classified as shale. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) values for the upper, middle, and lower sections revealed moderate weathering in the source region. The index of chemical maturity (ICV) and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio indicated low compositional maturity for the core sediments. A statistically significant correlation observed between total rare earth elements (∑REE) versus Al2O3 and Zr indicated that REE are mainly housed in detrital minerals. The North American Shale Composite (NASC) normalized REE patterns, trace element concentrations such as Cr, Ni and V, and the comparison of REE concentrations in sediments and source rocks indicated that the study area received sediments from rocks intermediate between felsic and mafic composition. The enrichment factor (EF) results indicated that the Cd and Zn contents of the upper section sediments were influenced by an anthropogenic source. The trace element ratios and authigenic U content of the core sediments indicated the existence of an oxic depositional environment.
•Mineralogy and geochemistry of 10 piston sediment cores from the SW Gulf of Mexico were investigated.•Radiocarbon dating of sediments indicated a maximum of ~28,000 year BP.•The enrichment factor of heavy metals indicated that Cd and Zn were influenced by anthropogenic sources.•The study area received sediments from intermediate source rocks.
Many areas worldwide are known to experience land subsidence due to groundwater extraction. It is traditionally assumed that subsidence extent and rates are controlled by groundwater extraction ...locations and volumes. Here, we reevaluate this assumption in the Mexico City metropolitan area by combining stratigraphic, hydrologic, geodetic, and demographic datasets. Integration of 115 years of leveling with 24 years of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and 14 years of GPS data reveals that subsidence rates have been mostly constant in Mexico City since at least 1950 and reach 50 cm/year. Analysis of InSAR and GPS data shows that no significant elastic deformation exists, demonstrating that the subsidence is almost fully irreversible. In Mexico City, no direct relationships exist between groundwater level fluctuations and subsidence rates or between pumping rates and subsidence rates. In contrast, a strong positive linear relationship is isolated between subsidence rates and the thickness of the upper aquitard. Through the integration of these long‐term datasets, we forecast that it will take ∼150 years to reach total compaction of the upper aquitard, which may lead to additional subsidence up to 30 m. With the potentiometric surface now deeper than most of the aquitard, clay's porewater rich in salts, chemical constituents, and pollutants is now flowing downward into the productive aquifer, hence decreasing water quality. Finally, our work shows that the consequences of land subsidence greatly influence the socioeconomic landscape in the Mexico City metropolitan area.
Key Points
Integration of 115 years of deformation data reveals subsidence up 50 cm/year in Mexico City
The majority of the subsidence is irreversible and its rates are linearly correlated to the thickness of the upper aquitard
Migration of low‐quality water to the productive aquifer sets the stage for a water crisis, which influences the socioeconomic landscape
Modernity at Gunpoint provides the first study of the political and cultural significance of weaponry in the context of major armed conflicts in Mexico and Central America. In this highly original ...study, Sophie Esch approaches political violence through its most direct but also most symbolic tool: the firearm. In novels, songs, and photos of insurgency, firearms appear as artifacts, tropes, and props, through which artists negotiate conceptions of modernity, citizenship, and militancy. Esch grounds her analysis in important rereadings of canonical texts by Martín Luis Guzman, Nellie Campobello, Omar Cabezas, Gioconda Belli, Sergio Ramirez, Horacio Castellanos Moya, and others. Through the lens of the iconic firearm, Esch relates the story of the peasant insurgencies of the Mexican Revolution, the guerrilla warfare of the Sandinista Revolution, and the ongoing drug-related wars in Mexico and Central America, to highlight the historical, cultural, gendered, and political significance of weapons in this volatile region.
The Rio Grande, a semi-arid river in the American Southwest, is a major source of surface water for agriculture and municipal purposes in New Mexico and western Texas. In addition to increasing ...salinity, considerable increases in nitrate (NO3−) concentrations have been observed in the semi-arid portion of the Rio Grande. It is possible that elevated water salinity inhibits denitrification on irrigated fields and, thus fails to mediate the excess nutrient load from anthropogenic activities. Therefore, the two major goals of this study were to i) characterize and quantify major NO3− sources, and ii) assess whether elevated water salinity affects microbial denitrification in the watershed. In fall 2014 and summer 2015, the Rio Grande surface water, irrigation drains, precipitation (urban runoff), and municipal waste effluents were sampled between Elephant Butte, New Mexico and Tornillo, Texas (∼260 km distance) for chemical and stable isotope analyses. The highest NO3− concentrations, up to ∼70–140 mg/L, were observed in waste effluents and agricultural drains irrigated with the reclaimed city water. Conversely, NO3− concentrations in the river and agricultural drains were significantly lower (<1–10 mg/L) in the areas farther away from urban centers. Two major NO3− sources were identified using isotope tracers: fertilizers, with low δ15N and high δ18O (average + 0.6 and + 18.3‰, respectively), and waste water effluents from cities, with high δ15N and low δ18O (average + 10.5 and −5.1‰, respectively). According to nitrogen isotope mass balance constraint, the contribution of waste effluent-derived NO3− was the smallest in upstream locations, between Elephant Butte and Las Cruces, and accounted for up to 0–25% (±10%) compared to the fertilizer-derived NO3−. Further downstream near big urban centers, the effluent contributions increased and accounted for up to 70–100% between Las Cruces and El Paso. The highest effluent-derived NO3− contributions of 90–100% were measured in the agricultural district located below El Paso where the reclaimed city water is commonly used for irrigation. Elevated salinity does not appear to limit microbial denitrification. Locally, the strongest isotopic evidence of microbial denitrification was observed in a couple of water samples showing elevated salinity (EC 2.9–4.2 mS/cm). The results of this study suggest that urban centers are important NO3− contributors into the aquatic system of the semi-arid Rio Grande watershed, and that microbial processes (e.g., denitrification) do not appear to significantly reduce NO3− loads from anthropogenic sources.
•Major nitrate sources in the Rio Grande are municipal effluents and agricultural runoff.•Precipitation contributes minor/negligible amounts of nitrate to the Rio Grande.•Elevated salinity does not limit microbial denitrification on irrigated fields.
Situational Identities along the Raiding Frontier of Colonial New Mexicoexamines pluralistic communities that navigated between colonial and indigenous practices to negotiate strategic alliances with ...both sides of generations-old conflicts. The rich history of the southwestern community ofCasitas Viejasstraddles multiple cultures and identities and is representative of multiple settlements in the region of northern New Mexico that served as a "buffer," protecting the larger towns of New Spain from Apache, Navajo, Ute, and Comanche raiders. Thesegenízarosettlements of Indo-Hispano settlers used shrewd cross-cultural skills to survive.Researching the dynamics of these communities has long been difficult, due in large part to the lack of material records. In this innovative case study, Jun U. Sunseri examines persistent cultural practices among families who lived at Casitas Viejas and explores the complex identities of the region's communities. Applying theoretical and methodological approaches, Sunseri adds oral histories, performative traditions of contemporary inhabitants, culinary practices, and local culture to traditional archaeology to shed light on the historical identities of these communities that bridged two worlds.
Focusing on the specific case of Acolhuacan in the eastern Basin of Mexico,Pueblos within Pueblosis the first book to systematically analyze tlaxilacalli history over nearly four centuries, beginning ...with their rise at the dawn of the Aztec empire through their transformation into the "pueblos" of mid-colonial New Spain. Even before the rise of the Aztecs, commoners in pre-Hispanic central Mexico set the groundwork for a new style of imperial expansion. Breaking free of earlier centralizing patterns of settlement, they spread out across onetime hinterlands and founded new and surprisingly autonomous local communities called, almost interchangeably,tlaxilacalliorcalpolli.
Tlaxilacalli were commoner-administered communities that coevolved with the Acolhua empire and structured its articulation and basic functioning. They later formed the administrative backbone of both the Aztec and Spanish empires in northern Mesoamerica and often grew into full and functioning existence before their affiliated altepetl, or sovereign local polities. Tlaxilacalli resembled other central Mexican communities but expressed a local Acolhua administrative culture in their exacting patterns of hierarchy. As semiautonomous units, they could rearrange according to geopolitical shifts and even catalyze changes, as during the rapid additive growth of both the Aztec Triple Alliance and Hispanic New Spain. They were more successful than almost any other central Mexican institution in metabolizing external disruptions (new gods, new economies, demographic emergencies), and they fostered a surprising level of local allegiance, despite their structural inequality. Indeed, by 1692 they were declaring their local administrative independence from the once-sovereign altepetl. Administration through community, and community through administration-this was the primal two-step of the long-lived Acolhua tlaxilacalli, at once colonial and colonialist.
Pueblos within Pueblosexamines a woefully neglected aspect of pre-Hispanic and early colonial Mexican historiography and is the first book to fully demonstrate the structuring role tlaxilacalli played in regional and imperial politics in central Mexico. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Latin American ethnohistory, history, and anthropology.
In Mexico: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Roderic Ai Camp will take readers through the myriad issues confronting Mexico domestically and internationally. Informed and contextualized by Camp's deep ...knowledge of Mexican political and cultural history, the book will address Mexican security and violence, economic and political development, its foreign relations with the United States, social development, and current cultural concerns.
We have evaluated slope stability conditions considering different triggering conditions for the Olinalá landslide, a paleo-landslide located in the northern front of the Sierra Madre Oriental, ...northeastern Mexico. Models included assessment of the influence of both aseismic (suggesting different groundwater levels) and a strong earthquake shaking scenario. Results suggest the Olinalá landslide is relatively stable even considering a fully-saturated hydrological stage through the slope (e.g., after the impact of major hurricanes), a typical situation in the study area. Considering these circumstances, there is no evidence of a reactivation of the landslide after the impact of hurricanes in the region. Conversely, hazardous scenarios result after evaluate a combined influence of moderate seismicity and extreme hydrometeorological conditions. This study suggests that some geomorphological features observed in northeastern Mexico are unfeasible without considering the effect of earthquakes. Our approach could model the behavior of pseudostable old landslides through the region, in the face of future reactivations and risk situations.
