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RMST 202 Literatures and Cultures of the Romance World II: Modern to Post-Modern
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Gringo

Fuentes, America and Mexico

 I found Fuentes’ fictional tale of Bierce’s demise interesting, but after looking into the background of the novel, I understand why he chose to write about Bierce. The idea of entering Mexico to fight in the revolution in hopes of death seems to me, despite the fact that no writing exists from this time, to be a very “gonzo”-esque idea (getting shot by a Mexican firing squad actually wouldn’t be that out of place in the weird world of Hunter S. Thompson). I guess in a way, the fact that what was probably a very colourful story in reality undertaken by Bierce was a catalyst for Fuentes to record his own imagination of the events which took place, guided by what little information he found. 

What’s interesting in this format, however, is that it is not from Bierce’s point of view. While the title “The Old Gringo” may not seem patronizing, the first portion of the novel’s opening chapter will soon set that straight. And in this sense, the tragedy unfolds—the gringo goes where shouldn’t have been and ends up paying the price for it. In a way, there are some interesting politics at play here that echo throughout modern journalism and geopolitical lines now. Is it a journalists right to be there? Is there a sense of falsehood, or intrusion? 

Ultimately, it’s interesting that it is a Mexican author who gets to famously fictionalize Bierce’s demise and rebellious end of days—in a sense, once he passed the border and joined the civil war, he lost ownership of his life and fate (as he may or may not have intended to) and perhaps in doing so, lost control of his ultimate story. 

One last thing I found interesting was the difference in contrasting the American and his Mexican counterparts, especially Arroyo. There is a level of visceral will to the “Mexican” side of the story, especially in the actions Arroyo takes, but in the end, we see that it is Arroyo who is also shot, out of fear of America. So on one hand, there is the derogatory nature towards the gringo and what he represents, but ultimately, the Mexicans greatly fear (or respect) the Americans, and they use this fear to kill Arroyo. 

Questions:

What did you think of the contrast between the two nations?

Why do you think Fuentes chose to fictionalize this story, and how true do you think it is?

Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with Gringo

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