The soul of ancient Mexico,
by  B. Christine Arce
Category: History

2016 Victoria Urbano Critical Monograph Book Prize, presented by the International Association of Hispanic Feminine Literature and Culture Analyzes cultural materials that grapple with gender and blackness to revise traditional interpretations of Mexicanness. México’s Nobodies examines two key figures in Mexican history that have remained anonymous despite their proliferation in the arts: the soldadera and the figure of the mulata. B. Christine Arce unravels the stunning paradox evident in the simultaneous erasure (in official circles) and ongoing fascination (in the popular imagination) with the nameless people who both define and fall outside of traditional norms of national identity. The book traces the legacy of these extraordinary figures in popular histories and legends, the Inquisition, ballads such as “La Adelita” and “La Cucaracha,” iconic performers like Toña la Negra, and musical genres such as the son jarocho and danzón. This study is the first of its kind to draw attention to art’s crucial role in bearing witness to the rich heritage of blacks and women in contemporary México. “No one has written as lovingly and profusely on Mexican minorities as the wonderful B. Christine Arce. Here she writes about soldaderas, women of color, and camp followers—the courageous women who followed the troops during the Mexican Revolution. Without these women, soldiers would have deserted and the men would have run back home. Arce has not only captured the essence of Mexican women but also of Afro-Mexicans, who are typically forgotten and purposefully neglected.” — Elena Poniatowska, author of Massacre in Mexico