porterand mena

To begin with, I will be discussing the life of Maria Cristina Mena who as Amy Doherty states was born in Mexico City, to “a Spanish mother and Yucatan father” and had an upper class background that allowed her to later immigrate to New York City at the age of fourteen, before the Mexican Revolution. During Mena’s time in New York, she began writing of the oppressions that Mexico had endured during the Revolution to well-known magazine publishers, some of which include the “American Magazine” and “The Century Magazine.” One of Mena’s first works as a young writer was “The Gold Vanity Set,” which was published in 1913, in the Century Magazine, a distinguished publication whose audi

ence was mainly Anglo-Americans members of the middle to upper class society.

During this time, the Mexican Revolution was in full play, readers were desperately seeking to be acquainted with the subject matter of Mexico and it’s people’s native way of life. Furthermore, Doherty affirms how “most writers would write their stories with photographs of Mexico, focusing on the stereotypes of the inept lower-class Mexican peon.” Doherty also goes on by saying that while Mena was writing for The Century Magazine, she “had to entertain a privileged, conservative Anglo audience with a passion for travel and the exotic.” It is during these instances for example in “The Gold Vanity Set” that we begin to realize the stereotypical turn out as Mena begins to give the description of the stereotypical drunken wife beater Manuelo, who also hardly even works. Miss Young is also portrayed in this story as a stereotypical Anglo-American tourist, who is immediately intrigued by Petra’s extrinsic qualities. These stereotypical illustrations go on by describing Petra as the subordinate child-like indita, who refuses to take a picture for superstition purposes, as Miss Young prepares to take the photograph. Another instance in which this could be illustrated is when Miss Young is invited into the home of Don Romulo’s tenants, in which he precedes by telling her “this house is your house.” Miss Young’s reaction towards Don Romulo’s kind words clearly show the invasion of Mexico by the Americans, when Miss Young literally believes that house really is hers.

In summary, both Mena and Porter were two very truthful interpreters of Mexican culture, but one more than the other. One of Mena’s weakness as a writer is that she already sees you as a member of her culture even though Mena and Porter were both from Texas. Mena still has her roots as an individual of Mexican decent, which automatically gives Mena a closer look into her stories culture. Although, Porter was born in Texas she does in a sense have some authority as well as the ability to write about the Mexican revolution. Porter has a way that makes her readings easier for the American reader or anyone who is interested in reading a novel with an exotic picturesque tone about the postcolonial period. Porter also makes clearer references to the religious aspects of their culture than does Mena. Overall, Mena I feel is still the more truthful interpreter of Mexican culture. We have now seen through the course of this paper whether Mena or Porter was the most truthful interpreter

Some topics in this essay:
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