Beezley Secondary Source Summary

The first theme of the book is the life of Carmen, “My mom was born in a place called Piedras Negras…a small town in Aguascalientes, Mexico…. I understand that my grandparents were very wealthy and had disowned her when she married my grandfather because of the class issue”(Romero 17). In this quote,

Diaz was proud of what he and his fellow conquistadors had accomplished. By writing about his accounts of the conquest he hoped to receive some recognition and reward from Spain. The possibility of power, and economical growth motivated these writings. But it was not all about money for him. He was a hard working man who wanted everyone to know his and his fellow conquistadors true achievements.

Diaz used this philosophy to make reasons for his policies. Diaz kept his old slogan "liberty, order, progress", but, the word liberty was removed from the slogan. Another slogan "few politics, much administration” also became common and popular. Foreign firms began to invest in Mexico because it became more structurally and economically stable. These investments gave Diaz the money he needed to construct highways, railroads, telegraph lines, and new industries. The city of Veracruz used the money to create oil fields, and elsewhere the mining industry was brought back. Mexico, fifty years before was seen as a third-world nation, became the standard for developing countries because of its high tech industry and technology. Although these were all big steps for Mexico's economy, in the end it was responsible for the bringing down of Diaz. (Encarta 98, www.eh.net.htm)

The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela is arguably the most important novel of the Mexican Revolution because of how it profoundly captures the atmosphere and intricacies of the occasion. Although the immediate subject of the novel is Demetrio Macias - a peasant supporter of the Mexican Revolution -, one of its extensive themes is the ambivalence surrounding the revolution in reality as seen from a broader perspective. Although often poetically revered as a ‘beautiful’ revolution, scenes throughout the novel paint the lack of overall benevolence even among the protagonist revolutionaries during the tumultuous days of the revolution. This paper will analyze certain brash characteristics of the venerated revolution as represented by Azuela’s

She is offered a job as a maid in the home of a wealthy landowner located in Guatemala City, and she jumps at the chance, seeing it as an opportunity to learn Spanish. However, after arriving in Guatemala City, she begins to understand the discrimination against her people. Even the dog at the landowner’s home is treated better than her. It is here that she meets Candelaria , an Indian woman like herself, working for the same wealthy landowner, but who speaks Spanish and dresses like a ladino. Candelaria often rebelled and disobeyed by neglecting chores and talking back to the mistress of the house. Rigoberta doesn’t follow in Candelaria’s footsteps immediately, but Candelaria’s rebellious and defiant disposition has an impact on Rigoberta soon after Candelaria is fired and kicked out of the house.

Although Azuela leaves out some true historical events, the appendix comments on how Azuela’s unique and descriptive style of writing still leaves a meaningful connection between the novel and the reader. For example, in one passage, Azuela describes the Villista airplanes in action, referring to them as something the peasants in Mexico can relate to. He first compares them to a canoe, then to an automobile, and then to bombs to the act of feeding chickens. However, it is important to note that Villa and his legendary Division del Norte are never seen in the novel, but the

Villa’s exploits on and off the battlefield have broadened into legends that remain an integral part of Mexican history and folklore, especially as a champion of the poor and landless. (Johnson)

Another reason that Mexico feels that their close proximity to the United States can be considered negative is that it is difficult having a three thousand mile border with one of the most powerful and industrialized nations in the world. Mexico is in the shadows of the United States. During the time of the Pofiriato the West in the United States was developing, technology was expanding and their importance on the global scene was increasing. Mexico wanted to be able to follow the United States in some of these aspects. Pofirio Diaz believed that if Mexico was to obtain foreign investment, they would have to portray an image of prosperity and peace. In order to display this desired image Diaz would spend exorbitant amounts of money on buildings so that other nations would see this growthand becp,e confident in Mexico’s potential for investment. To obtain this image, Diaz silenced the people in Mexico and ruled as a dictator. This image of Diaz can be observed in the film Viva Zapata.

Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico when the Revolution broke out. He was elected in 1877, and although he swore to step down in 1880, he continued to be reelected until 1910. He claimed that he was justified in this because he brought stability to Mexico. However, this was hardly the case. Diaz's regime aimed to industrialize Mexico, and foreign investors such as the United States and Britain

Judas at the Jockey Club written by William H. Beezley provides an accurate description of a struggling and developing Mexico while during the rule of president Porfirio Diaz up until 1910. Being divided into three sections such as Sport & Recreation (elite class), Rocks & Rawhide in Rural Society (lower class) and the title itself Judas at the Jockey Club. Beezley covers the changing class of Mexico through the view of sports and leisure activities. I believe Porfirio Diaz allowed the social tensions to occur causing Mexicans to separate from unity even though destruction and chaos reigned much of Mexico before him. During the presidency of Porfirio Diaz its often remembered as a period of oppression and social degradation of freedoms in Mexico. Diaz has also been associated with the general decline of quality of life of an average Mexican and the decline of social welfare institutions. Diaz was a liberal whose sole goal was to modernize Mexico and put a stop to any ethnic uncivilized actions. Mexico during that time was in a crossroads of two very different cultures: the industrial and the traditional.

Continuing in the theme of conformity; if the boys are united by their heteronomy, Cuellar’s castration, in contrast, is the source of his ostracism. His unfortunate accident is a wound that ‘time opens instead of closes’, and as the story progresses, Vargas Llosa juxtaposes the boys socially inclusive youthful pastimes of football and studying mentioned earlier in the novel with his comparatively solitary penchant for the ocean and surfing “a puro pecho o con colchón” (94) in chapter five. In this passage, his distance from the others is symbolised by the isolation of the sea; the narrator says the water “se lo tragó” (95) and later, the boys state that “se perdió” (96). Clearly, Cuellar’s failure to partake in the testosterone fuelled rituals of sexual maturity in the city has seen him shunned from the rest of the boys and resigned to hanging out with “rosquetes, cafichos y pichicateros” (96) instead – the modern, metropolitan outcasts. Evidently, Cuellar is incapacitated by this highly heteronormative lifestyle, as the inherent masculinity of the city is a fixed identity that will perpetually exclude him, or anyone else who cannot fulfil Peruvian societies idea of gender appropriate behaviour.

Scholes, Walter V. "Bibliography: Benito Juarez (president of Mexico) : Additional Reading."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2013

3. Diaz was also known for his involvement in the battle commemorated by Cinco de Mayo. It celebrates the victory of the Mexican troops in La Batalla de Puebla in 1862. Despite tremendous odds, the humble Mexican army defeated the most powerful fighting unit in the world.His army's victory over the French forces made the people regard him as a powerful and successful leader. At the time, he wanted democracy for his country; however, when he became ruler, the dictatorship was already in place. how the victory was a major point in Mexican history and why it’s still remembered and celebrated to this day.) ? The battle also marks the arrival on the political scene of Porfirio Díaz, then a brash young general who disobeyed Zaragoza in order to chase down fleeing French troops. Díaz would eventually get a lot of the credit for the victory and he used his new fame to run for president against Juárez. Although he lost, he would eventually reach the presidency and lead his nation for many

The book is a non-fiction book written by, Alan Knight and was Published on May 5, 1980.The Mexican Revolution began in 1910, it began as a movement of a middle-class protest against the long standing dictatorship of Porfirio DIaz. In 1876, Diaz, an Indian general in the Mexican Army, took control of the nation and continued to be elected until 1910, he also had held power in 1876-1911. From 1884 to 1911, he was an unofficial ruler from 1880 to 1884, he was a respected political leader. In 1908, DIaz had an interview with an United States journalist James Creelman, and Diaz told James that would be ready for free elections in 1910, so in 1910, Diaz promised the people that he was going to let there be free elections. Porfirio Diaz was born

The purpose of Octavio Paz’s collection of prose essays entitled The Labyrinth of Solitude: Life and Thought in Mexico, is to find an identity for the Mexican people so they will no longer be wondering who they are. Paz tries to answer the recurring question, “who are we?” that still hunts Mexicans today. On the search for the answer, Octavio Paz has found various themes that I strongly agree with. The two themes that I strongly agree with Paz is what he considers the wear of a Mexican mask, and been like a Pachuco.