Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

246 reframing latin america
figure 14.3 A main structure at the ruins of Monte Albán in central Mexico,
2004. It is the kind of pre-Hispanic archeological site that inspired the young Che
Guevara during his journey. Photograph by Scott McPherson
Temple of the Sun served a base for the Church of Santo Domingo, a
lesson and a punishment from the proud conqueror. And yet, the heart
of America, trembling with indignation, still twitches the docile back of
the Andes every now and then, sending huge shock waves up to the surface.
The dome of proud Santo Domingo has come crashing down three
times to the roar of broken bones and its walls have tottered, cracked
and fallen too. But the foundation they were built on, the grey stone
block of the Temple of the Sun, remain impervious, and however great
the disaster befalling the usurper, not one of its huge rocks shifts. 10
These observations can be seen as nothing more than the musings of an impressed
tourist. But something deeper is also at work. Whether or not Che
was aware of it, his attention to Latin America’s Indian past was typical of
nationalists living in the middle of the twentieth century who sought to
bring dark-skinned masses and light-skinned elites together. Writers, artists,
and politicians all began to celebrate their nation’s Indian heritage,
evoking a powerful neoromanticism that sought out their nation’s uniqueness.
Variations on this theme are evident in Jose Martí’s celebration of the
natural man and the rescue of barbarism by Gallegos in Doña Bárbara. A
form of Indianism also contributed to the rise of magical realism, as we will