Cuauhtémoc's bones
Subtitle: forging national identity in modern Mexico
By: Paul Gillingham
Series: Diálogos; Diálogos (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Albuquerque
Language: eng
Number of pages: 338
ISBN-13: 9780826350374
Subjects: Politics and government; Mexican National characteristics; Civilization; Social aspects; Tomb; Nationalism
Description: In 1949, a Group of Villagers and Amateur Archaeologists Dug Up what they believed to be the body of the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtémoc, in a remote village in the mountains of central Mexico. State and local leaders enthusiastically promoted the remarkable discovery, and nationalist celebrations erupted across the country. The festivities ended when professional archaeologists declared the tomb a forgery, igniting the greatest scandal in the cultural politics of modern Mexico. In this innovative study of nationalism, Paul Gillingham pieces together an intricate puzzle that stretches across five centuries and moves from the forests of southern Mexico, where Cuauhtémoc was hanged, through the mountains of Guerrero, where he was re-created, to end in the streets and corridors of power of Mexico City. The analysis captures the complex interactions of everyday people and elites engaged in forging a nation.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-330) and index.
Table of contents: title: Acknowledgments --; title: Introduction: Who Makes Nations? -- -- 1.; title: Cuauhtémoc -- -- 2.; title: Resurrection -- -- 3.; title: Scandal -- -- 4.; title: The Usual Suspects -- -- 5.; title: Forgers -- -- 6.; title: Of Villagers and Bones -- -- 7.; title: Forging the Patria -- -- 8.; title: Using Cuauhtémoc I -- -- 9.; title: Using Cuauhtémoc II --; title: Conclusion: The Wealth of Nation Builders --; title: Appendix: The Florentino Juárez Journals --; title: Notes --; title: Bibliography --; title: Index.