The Picture
By Dave Gutknecht • December 2008
The mid afternoon sun beats down mercilessly in the narrow streets of Tonala’s shopping district; no breeze finds its way into the narrow streets to provide relief. I’m hot, tired, and bored but the girls relentlessly press on to the next shop. We’ve been browsing through shop after shop since mid morning. Glassware, clay pots, metal work, mirrors with decorative borders, and day of the dead dolls have for me melted into an incoherent mass of unneeded merchandise. Tonala is famous for its shops and bargain prices but at this point I’m more interested in a cold Pacifico than a bargain. I enter the next shop not really looking at anything or seeing anything when a group of photographs catch my eye. They’re of the icons of the Mexican revolution, Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata in various heroic poses. Among photos was a group picture of Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Vestustiano Carranza, and others happily celebrating the removal of the dictator Victoriano Huerta. Standing inconspicuously off to the side in the picture is Jose Vasconcelos who was to have a more profound and longer lasting impact on Mexico than any of the others in the picture. He is usually shown sitting, quietly at a desk in a business suit holding a book, it is a misleading image for he was arguably the greatest revolutionary of them all. Poncho and Emiliano fought for the oppressed: Jose Vasconcelos restored and defined Mexico’s soul.
 Jose was born on February 28, 1882 in Oaxaca of Indian and Portuguese ancestry. Although a mestizo he was of the middle class and received a first rate education. He was awarded a law degree in 1905 and seemed destined for a distinguished legal career but those were tumultuous times. Strong man, Porfirio Diaz, had ruled Mexico ruthlessly for over thirty years. The living conditions of the masses were intolerable; the country was on the verge of revolution. When Porfirio announced his candidacy for yet another four year term, Francisco Madero led an uprising that rallied behind the slogan “no reelection”, Diaz was driven from power. Jose was caught up in the politics of the times. Because of his middle class background and upbringing he had little exposure to the problems facing the vast majority of Mexicans but as he was exposed to a broader cross section of the Mexican people his views shifted from liberal to revolutionary. His advice was sought by many of the leaders of the revolution. In 1920 he was named the Rector of the National University of Mexico. He immediately initiated change. In his inaugural speech he said, “At this time, I do not come to work for the university but to ask the university to work for the people.” He proceeded to add many free adult education and cultural events to the University’s functions. At that time eighty percent of the Mexican population was illiterate. He felt very passionately that education was crucial to the emancipation of the people and so he launched a massive literacy campaign utilizing “honorary teachers”, so called because they were unpaid volunteers. Jose was a dynamic, charismatic leader and convinced many young people to become volunteer teachers. He instilled in them a passion and determination that bordered on religious fervor. The volunteers went to the rural peasants to “save” them from their illiteracy. Teaching became a very honorable profession. Women were welcomed into the band of honorary teachers which was a huge break from the traditional role of women in Mexico. Women were expected to remain at home. Jose Vasconcelos, the human dynamo, had declared war on illiteracy.
 In nineteen twenty one he became the Minister of Education. There he coupled his passion for education, his love of Mexico and its culture and peoples into a three pronged program. First, build schools and make education available to all Mexicans. Second, establish libraries and make books available to all Mexicans and finally encourage the arts to recognize and enrich Mexican culture. The literary classics were translated into Spanish, printed on government printing presses, and distributed to rural libraries. Publishers were irate because literary copy writes were ignored but the rural libraries, much to their amazement, received books. His support for the arts included encouragement of architecture, murals, and music celebrating Mexico’s history and people. Diego Rivera painted murals showing Aztec culture in a positive way. Artists depicted people who looked like the Mexicans one saw in the fields and on the street, a radical departure from previous art which tried to look and feel European. Architecture utilized images and structural shapes from the pre-Columbian Indian designs; a cultural revolution was launched and embraced by the people. At long last it was acceptable to be Indian, to be Mestizo. Mexicans became proud of being Mexicanos. The literacy rate doubled.
The Cultural Revolution was extremely important because Cortez’s conquest of Mexico began almost four hundreds years of shame for the Indians and people of partial Indian blood (mestizos). The Spanish conquered Mexico and winners write the history. The cultural and technical achievements of the Indians were minimized. The negative aspect of their culture was emphasized to justify the actions of the conquerors. To be lighter skinned (more Spanish) was definitely better. President Benito Juarez, one of the most beloved men in Mexican history, was a full blooded Zapotec Indian. But even he was not comfortable with his heritage, describing his parents as “Amerindians of the primitive race of the country.” Porfirio Diaz, who ruled Mexico for the thirty five years following Juarez, disrespected the capabilities of the mestizos and Indians although he himself was mestizo. It was said that he powdered his face to appear lighter skinned (more European). Porfirio felt that to educate the rural poor was a waste of time and money. He felt that to progress Mexico needed to become less Indian so he encouraged immigration from Europe. He utilized French artists and architects to redo Mexico City and make it more European. Little wonder Mexicans suffered from a low self image. Jose’s program changed that, pride in being Mexican and mestizo was instilled in the culture. Pedro, who operates a horseback riding concession in Mismaloya, told me with pride “I’m mestizo.” What a change from Bento’s apology for his Indian heritage. Mexico desperately needed to address, understand, and respect its Indian heritage and with Jose’s leadership they did.
A clerk intrudes into my daydreams about Jose and his accomplishments, “So you like the pictures of our revolutionary heroes, Pancho and Emiliano. We have very good prices,” she said. “Yes, they are very interesting but who is this man?” I asked pointing at Jose Vasconcelos. She inspected the picture then shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know but it isn’t anyone important.” I didn’t comment but I left without buying the picture. Email to a friend Dave Gutknecht
E-mail: DaveGutk@aol.com
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