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| There is an old Mexican joke
that goes like this..... |
by Prof. German Estrada
May 25, 2003 |
There was a big, big ship that was
carrying people from all over the world. One day there
was a terrible storm and this ship went down, but all
the people on board were able to get to shore. Once
hey were on solid land, some of the people integrating
the different groups, began talking to everybody and
saying that the first thing they all had to do was to
start getting the materials in order to begin the construction
of houses for everybody, etc…
However, there was a Mexican amongst
them who would immediately oppose such idea saying that…
the first thing they had to do is to form a government.
Then came another group who said that the first thing
they had to do was to set up some business so that there
would be an income for everybody, and they would all
have the means to buy, etc.
To this other suggestion the Mexican said again and
again, "No, the first thing we have to do, is to
form a government…"
A third group came along and proposed
something else, which the Mexican guy would immediately
refuse, saying… (you guessed right), that they
needed first to form a government, etc.
After some days of arguing back
and forth, with our Mexican friend against everything
that came up as a proposition, everybody was so fed
up that someone finally said: "Okay, let's form
a government and YOU (addressing our main character),
will be our first president…", to which our
José guy immediately said "NO, I don't want
to be the president!
Everybody looked shocked, taken
by surprise. After all they had been through with him
and now that they had all finally agreed to form a government,
he was refusing to be the first president. When the
surprise was over, someone asked him… "Okay,
if you don't want to be the president, what is it that
you want then?" To which he responded, "Yes,
we have to form a government, but I want to be in the
opposition…"
This joke came to my mind while
reading the history of Mexico, the old history of this
country.
When the first tribes began arriving
and settling down in the areas that later came to be
the territory of our country, there were 36 different
languages in use, and about 160 different dialects.
How in heaven could each tribe understand what the others
said or wanted? Well, they didn't! And there were constant
wars between them.
These small and big groups of people
were scattered all over this immense territory, and
the only contact they had was when there was a conflict,
a war. Each of these folks had their own king and high
priest, and each had their own culture.
This difference in language, culture,
etc., was one of the main reasons (if not the main)
that gave the Spaniards the upper hand in the conquest
of the Aztecs and the great Tenochtitlan. When they
(the Spaniards) arrived in what they called the Americas,
Hernán Cortez had 600 men, around 16 horses,
some Arcabuzes (the original version of the bazookas),
and some rifles. And with that amount of people in his
army, and with that amount of "artillery"
in their possession, they conquered a country of some
millions?
Well?!
All the other tribes (some were
called nations) were against the Aztecs. Everybody hated
the Aztecs! And for the first time, under the command
of the invader, <Hernan Cortez>, who had been
mistakenly taken by the natives as the person whom Quetzalcoatl
(the most revered god-figure in most of the traditions
of these nations) had reincarnated, they joined forces
to help the Spaniards defeat the Aztecs. Although all
these folks had been fighting each other until the Aztecs
became the main force in their world, and although their
armies were independent of each other, they saw their
chance to destroy the Aztec Empire and decided to join
the invaders in the fight.
 The
great Tenochtitlan was really conquered by the native
folks that had lived under the oppression of the hated
Aztecs.
Once the final battle was fought
and the Aztec Empire destroyed, all these nations became
easy prey for the Spaniards. These native folks had
been fighting all their lives against each other, and
there was no union amongst them. And some of those cultures
- that had been equal to or even more advanced than
the Europeans - became extinct.
36 different languages… 160
different dialects… each fighting the other…,
all those facts contributed to the end results that
were applied after the war: the submissive acceptance
of the new culture that was based mainly on the spade
and the cross. They had never done anything together
before the Spaniards came, and now it was almost impossible
to get the people together to fight the invaders.
Is it a wonder that we are a folk
of so many contradictions?
Well, the facts and figures are
there.
(This is only my personal interpretation of whatever
history had let us know)
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán Estrada is the
author of the best selling book, "México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know About... But Nobody Told
You..." available in Puerto Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc.,
Books, Books as well as directly from the author by internet. Archives
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