Category: We Became Mexican American, a book

Cate, Curtis. Friedrich Nietzsche (Woodstock: Overlook Press, 2005), p. 689.

Many history students usually cross paths with Nietzsche’s name, at one point or another. In a university setting, for example certain ideas may be described as “Nietzschean,” even though his intellectual creativity ranged widely from musical composition to poetry to philosophy and culture. Truly, he possessed an amazing intellect. After his death, German Nazis are said to have appropriated his sharply worded assertions of man’s ability to forge his own destiny, assertions that were revolutionary in many ways. He wrote at a time when democracy, capitalism and socialism were virtually unknown. In fact, he was an early critic of Christianity and other forms of organized religion, encouraging his detractors to label him as nihilistic and anti-authoritarian.  

Cate’s work gave me a glimpse of his humanity and how Nietzsche gradually formed the philosophy that bears his name. He enlightens the reader about the limited means that Friedrich’s mother and sister could command and why they became beholden to relatives in raising him. It could be said that in the absence of a father Friedrich grew up hen-pecked by them and this may have had something to do with the fact that he was unable to form a normal relationship with women. He suffered from headaches so severe that they literally incapacitated him for days. Still, he excelled in school, benefitting from Germany’s best teachers in a way that brought him to the attention of luminaries like Richard Wagner, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He died in a storm of headaches.

I came across Nietzsche’s name at the university too, both as a graduate student and later as a professor. I wanted to have a better grasp of him. It was a good read, though tedious at times, depending on the amount of detail I wanted to soak up. Cate is credited with writing the biographies of other distinguished European writers and so this volume obviously enjoys proper company on library shelves.

Bauer, Shane. American Prison. A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment (New York: Penguin 2018), 351 pp.  What I learned from this book is that prisons in America, especially in the South, have been centers of unmerciful torture, and that private prisons today, especially those run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), do a worse incarceration job than they claim.

Bauer gives the reader a double perspective on prisons in America in this volume. One is a survey of the rise of prisons in the U.S. alongside the argument that penitentiaries, as we know them today, arose as a unique vision of our young democracy. Before this time, someone who committed a crime would receive capital punishment in the form of hanging or the cutting of a hand or nose, and such. Afterward, it meant going to prison and, ideally, getting the opportunity to become a new person, rehabilitating.

The author advances his review of prisons in America by focusing on the South in the 1870’s, specifically, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. It may have been a response to Reconstruction policies (an argument he does not make but I surmise it) but in any case, these states practiced convict leasing. This means that the respective governors rented the convicts under their responsibility, Blacks mostly, to plantations, railroad companies, mining companies, and so on. The prisoners would work 12 hours a day with minimal food and negligible medical services and the state governments would get paid by the lessees about 25% of the prevailing wages. The state budgets would thus benefit and so would the lessees because they were getting labor at the cheapest price, while the prisoners would be worked to death, practically. The author claims a death loss rate of 16% to 25%, greater than the death rates associated with Stalin’s gulags in the 1920’s. This was worse than slavery because the prisoners no longer represented an investment to be protected, so they could be abused to death or near death and no one would ask any questions. The author further asserts with withering detail that today’s private prison system arose from the convict leasing experience.

The other perspective, serving as the book’s main contribution, is a personal and comprehensive report on the author’s undercover experience investigating a prison, a private prison in the south.

The author became a prison guard at the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana in 2014 and secretly videotaped and recorded the training he received and the work he had to perform as a CO (corrections officer). “Winn” was operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), one of the largest private companies that manages many prisons and detention centers. Today it is known as CoreCivic.

The main argument in Bauer’s book is that because the CCA was a for-profit enterprise, the welfare needs of the prisoners were chronically disregarded to save money on facilities, food, medical services, and so on. “Winn” did not run better because it was administered with the efficiency of a business. In fact, CCA lost its contract months after Bauer ended his undercover study because it was mismanaging the prison to squeeze out every penny possible. For example, a Louisiana Department of Corrections report accused CCA of charging prisoners for the toilet paper and the toothpaste they used.

Another lesson for me is the impact that guarding prisoners had on Bauer, a good-hearted, liberal-minded reporter. His prison work began to darken his view of the prisoners he sought to understand at the start. Toward the end of his undercover work he found himself looking for opportunities to punish them and otherwise belittle their situation. It was a downhill slope for him and he recognized it.

I admire Bauer’s overall efforts including his careful rendering of the sources that helped him understand private prisons in America today. His bibliography is valuable and exceptional at the same time. These two approaches to prisons in America, and a clear and casual writing style, like a novel, made me read with great interest.

Día DE LOS MUERTOS

October 31– November 2

By Anamaria Gil (and with a lovely contribution by Leslie Birnbaum)

My family and I have been to Mexico several times to visit cities and small towns which celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  To some North Americans, El Día de los Muertos sounds macabre.  On the contrary, Día de los Muertos celebrates the circle of life, family, ancestry and tradition.  It is a fusion of Christian and pre-hispanic traditions, which commemorates the transitory return to earth of deceased relatives and loved ones.  During this special time, souls are said to return to earth to enjoy the pleasures that they once had in life.  Day of the Dead celebrations provide an opportunity for remembrance and solemnity, and also, for a bit of irreverence and fun.

The Day of the Dead has gained recognition and popularity in the U.S. over the last few years.   Recall the 2017 Disney animated movie “Coco”, where a little boy is transported to the Land of the Dead.  In this Land of the Dead, the deceased are only permitted to visit the Land of the Living if they are still remembered.  This movie was widely celebrated in the U.S. and Mexico.  It was Disney’s first movie with an all Latino principle cast, and won two Academy awards.

Also, don’t forget the opening scene of the 2015 James Bond film, “Spectre”, where Daniel Craig strolls through a Día de los Muertos parade in Mexico City wearing a skeleton costume, complete with skull mask and top hat.  (Ironically, Mexico City did not have a Día de los Muertos parade until after that movie was filmed.)

This year, even Mattel got into the fray and launched a Day of the Dead Barbie (for $75).

  History & Observance

El Día de Los Muertos originated in Mexico, before the Spanish conquest, possibly as much as 3,000 years ago.  The original Aztec festival was held in July.  It was believed to have been presided over by the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, or Lady of the Dead.  Following the Spanish conquest of Mexico during the 16th century, there was a strong effort to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism.  Ultimately, however, the indigenous population was disinclined to give up old customs, and a compromise of sorts was reached where old customs were blended with the new religion.  All Saints’ Day and All Hallows Eve (Halloween) roughly coincided with the preexisting Día de Los Muertos, resulting in the present day event which draws from both traditions.

Día de Los Muertos is observed at home and also in the public square.  Families create altars in their homes to honor their loved ones.  These alters can be quite elaborate with marigolds, food, alcohol, bread, candles, incense and sugar skulls in an effort to help guide and welcome the souls of the deceased for their brief visit home.   Families also visit and decorate grave sites of loved ones.  In some places, the entire town will be at the cemetery at midnight decorating grave sites, visiting, and telling stories.  These events can feel like street fairs with vendors selling food, drink and decorations, mariachis playing, and plenty of beer and tequila.  Strange as it sounds, it is very special.

One of the traditions for Día de los Muertos is to make “tapetes”, the Spanish word for “rug”.  Tapetes are large, colorful pieces of art made on the ground.  They are made of colored sand, sawdust, or other organic material.

The Spanish brought this tradition to the Americas during conquest and colonialization. Tapetes can depict religious imagery, or playful images of death and skeletons.

Skulls are a popular symbol that make their appearance at Day of the Dead celebrations.  Sugar skulls are a tradition and are made with granulated and powdered sugar, meringue powder, food coloring and water.  They are often decorated with icing, sequins, feathers, beads, glitter and colored tin foil.  Want to take a bite?  Some are edible, but many are decorative. Sugar skulls are not typically for eating and are viewed as folk art.

Sugar skull making dates back to the 1630s.  Want to create one?  They take time.  Sugar skull makers start four to six months in advance to accumulate enough sugar for the season.  The process involves boiling a granulated white sugar mixture, getting the mixture to the right temperature to get a translucent (bone-like) color, pouring/pressing it into a mold, and decorating it.  A sugar skull can last for five years.  Fantástico!

Día de los Muertos is not celebrated everywhere in Mexico.  It is best known in the southern part of Mexico, and in areas with larger indigenous populations.  Some of the best places to attend this ancient and wondrous festival is in Oaxaca, Patzcuaro, Guadalajara and Chiapas.