Veracruz

There are many descriptors one may use to characterize Mexican literature, but the feature of contemporary literature commonly cited focuses on the split between "provincial" and "central" literary production. In the arts and culture in general, Mexico is a centralized pyramid structure which makes demands on the writer and other artists. For example, to achieve national status, the Mexican author must not only be read in Mexico City, the country's capitol; s/he must also be published, reviewed, and revered there. For the Mexican writer, to have an audience in the outer lying regions of the country is rarely significant; what really matters is the audience one may garner in the capitol city. That said, one quickly discovers, however, that an audience in the State of Veracruz does matter; Veracruz, a long strip of land facing the Gulf of Mexico, lies almost 300 miles east of Mexico City. This alleged condition of marginality—while viewed as a crippling descriptor for other regions on the outer fringes of the Mexico City axis—has certainly been scoffed at and left aside by the narrators Veracruz has produced. Even a writer as prominent as Carlos Fuentes has taken time on numerous occasions to inform his readers that his ancestors trace their lineage to the Gulf state, perhaps a hidden desire to latch on to Veracruz's rich literary history

Art · Aside · Ethnology · Literature · Mexico city · Cultural and Social Studies in Latin America · History · Latin American Literature Studies · Literacy and Educational Practices

• Author and Title Index to Callaloo Volume 26 (Whole Numbers 94-97)

  Chassati Thiele•Callaloo•2004

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