Dancing Alone in Mexico: From the Border to Baja and Beyond (review)

Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 265 at the Museum of Modem Ait entitled "'Primitivism ' in 20th Century Art," a rekindled debate ensued. Previous works, such as Lovejoy and Boas's A Documentary History ofPrimitivism andRehted Ideas in Antiquity, were reprinted in the nineties, along with new contributions by Barkan and Bush, Gombrich, Napier, Price, Rhodes, Torgovnick, and Wasermann. Up until recently, Western scholars employed the concept of ptimitivism to view nonWestem cultutes and to justify their actions when needed. Yet, more iecent studies, especially those focused on Latin America branch our and analyze primitivism from the context of tace, gender, pop culture, postcolonialism and exoticism, among others. According to Camayd-Freixas, this volume continues this new approach and seeks to produce a critical view of primitivism in which the center of analysis is how Latin American subjects employ a Western constiuct to look at themselves and appropriate it for their own purposes. Erik Camayd-Freixas and José Eduardo González have clustered the foutteen essays in this volume by thematic gioups. The first two essays by Roger Bartra and Amaryll Chanady focus on primitivism in Mexico and how that culture has appropriated many aspects of this European constiuct into a basic Mexican peisonality. The next two essays by Delia Annunziata Cosentino and Eli Bartra also srudy Mexico, but concentrate on folk art as related to issues of national identity. And the last essays in this group by Fernando Valerio-Holguin and José Eduardo G onzález examine Angel Ramas concepr of transculturación narrativa. The next four essays by Erik Camayd-Freixas, R Lane Kauffmann, Jorge Marcone and Ivete Lara Camargos Walty continue the theme of primitivism in narrative, but expand its scope by incorporating diverse themes and authors from all ovei Latin America. Essays eleven and twelve by Luis Fernando Resrrepo and Gabriel Weisz touch on the primitive body in film and theater. Finally, the last essays by Wendy B. Faris and Tace Megan Hedrick continue the theme of body and relate it to Fiida Kahlo's self portraits and César Vallejo's indigenist poetry. At times some of the essays seem to stray from some of the goals set forth in the introduction , i.e. how Latin America uses a Westein construct of primitivism to observe itself. Overall, this anthology is a timely addition to the field of primitivism in Latin America. Its multi-thematic essays should be appealing to scholars from a wide array of disciplines. Sarah E. Owens College of Charleston Dancing Alone in Mexico: From the Border to Baja and Beyond The University of Arizona Press, 2000 ByRonBuder An autobiographical collection of travel essays beginning and ending in Nogales, Butlet's book relates his own expeiiences discoveting or revisiting key Mexican cities such as Veracruz, Mazatlan, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Mexico City. His memoirs freely mix historical data, iun of the mill guide book style recommendations on what and where to eat and a fait numbei of cliches reminiscent of books of generations past. Although at times offering interesting data about museums, restaurants or artists, the general scope of his memoirs reinforces common and negative stereotypes held by many Americans vis-à -vis Mexicans. The first and shortest section of the book merely recounts his separation from his gorgeous model German wife who moves rheir kids to Guadalajara. The crux of the book is in Part two titled "Traveling Mexico thtough Sunlight and Shadow." Its title is suggestive of its many cliches found throughout the book: "colorful Spanishstyle ," "if the matador's plane makes it on time," "dark Mexican jail" and references to Puerto Vallaita as "the most exotic." In fact, reference to Mexico as the "land ofmañana' is mentioned twice verbatim (135, 144) in addition to "Mexico's casual, carefree mañana mood" (122) and such statements as "the only thing that starts on time in Mexico is the bullfight" (201). Archeological Jalisco figures possess a "naïve charm". Butler finds a "naivete" in 266 Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies one of Mexico's leading painters, Manuel Lepe and quores a Swiss national living in Mexico who describes Mexico's "unhurried gentleness" (130). Part three compiles the writer's notes on Frida...