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The Influence of the french in Mexico
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by Ana Luz Velázquez
July 8, 2002. |
The influence of France on world
history is undeniable. It appears in the works of many
people and nations, and Mexico is no exception.
The Independence of Mexico
French influence can be clearly established
in time, as of the 1810 War of Independence. The leader
of the movement was the priest of the town of Dolores,
Miguel Hidago y Costilla, a learned man. The basis of
his libertarian principles can be found in the books
written by philosophers Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau,
and in the principles of equality, fraternity and liberty
engendered by the French Revolution.
But all did not end here. Liberal thinkers of the recently
acquired independence of Mexico in 1821 carried a patina
of French ideology in their intellectual heritage.
In the end, the French - who claimed
to be enemies of absolutism and supporters of liberty,
while belonging to a culture that was highly influential
on all things Mexican - were able to settle in this
country with great ease, dedicating themselves to commerce,
small industry and handicrafts.
The French Intervention (1862
- 1867)
In the second half of the 19th Century,
French culture was slowly seeping into Mexican society.
The arrival of Maximilian of Hapsburg in Mexico, called
Emperor of Mexico by the conservatives, imported the
European social etiquette that Mexico's conservative
high class adopted.
From that time on and until the end
of the Porfirian period, men's and women's fashion was
dictated by French fashion.
The French established themselves
in various areas of Mexico where they opened restaurants
serving French dishes, cheeses, wines, liqueurs and
pastries. They also set up bakeries and pastry shops.
To this day, you can find croissants and French baguettes,
pastries made with "crême pâtissière"
(crema pastelera), Chantilly cream or Lady Fingers.
Furthermore, it is common to find items on menus such
as compota (from the French compote), mousses, soufflés,
etc.
Blue-Eyed People in the Highlands
of Jalisco
Following the withdrawal of the French
after the loss they suffered at the hands of the Mexican
army and the chinacos (a native community from the State
of Puebla), many French chose to remain on Mexican soil,
mostly in the States of Michoacán and Jalisco.
And they married, resulting in a strange mix. Everyone
knows that men and women living in the rancherías
and little towns of Jalisco's Highlands (Tepatitlán,
Lagos de Moreno, San Juan de los Lagos) are tall and
blond, with green or blue eyes.
About the Mariachi...
They say that the word mariachi derives
from the French word, marriage, a result of the answer
given to some French soldiers when, back in those tragic
days of the French Intervention, they witnessed the
celebration of a marriage of some rancheros, enlivened
by a rustic band of musicians. They say that when the
soldiers asked the interpreter what was going on, he
answered "C'est un mariage" (it's a wedding)
and that ever since then, the French continued to call
them "mariachi", not just at weddings, but
also when referring to town bands, which later gave
birth to the Mariachi.
The "Porfiriato" (1876-1911)
Porfirio Diaz was the Mexican General
instrumental in the 5th of May or Cinco de Mayo defeat
of French troops near Puebla. During his dictatorship,
called the "porfiriato", a tendency to imitate
European styles, especially French ones, took hold among
those in high society. This applied to everyday customs
as well as architectural styles. Consequently, at the
beginning of the 20th Century, small palaces arose in
the big cities.
Along some avenues in Mexico City
and Guadalajara, we can still admire the beauty of great
mansions that once belonged to the so-called "Porfirian
nobility". Most of them clearly show the French
influence, with fluted columns, fountains, avenues,
sculptures in the great symmetrical gardens, stairways
and staircases, lamps, marble floors. Many of them were
abandoned during the decline of the Porfiriate, preserved
as monuments to the megalomania of a social class. Most
inhabitants of those huge houses chose France as their
final refuge.
analuz@pvmirror.com
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