In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Hispanic American Historical Review 82.4 (2002) 760-761



[Access article in PDF]

Hernán Menéndez Rodríguez


When historian Hernán Menéndez Rodríguez died suddenly on 6 January 2002, just after his beloved Sunday game of béisbol, scholars of Yucatán lost both a friend and an admired colleague. The scion of one of the most distinguished intellectual families in Yucatán, Hernán had been raised and trained as a journalist, working since the 1960s with his brother Mario Renato. They directed the famous leftist Mexico City magazine ¿Por Qúe? (1968-74) and since 1991 the Mérida daily Por Esto! As editor of the Sunday arts and literature supplement, Unicornio, Hernán gave many international scholars (including myself) the chance to publish for an appreciative Mexican public.

Hernán was a working journalist for more than two decades before he came to seriously practice his second vocation: the writing of history. His annotated reedition of Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona and Juan Francisco Molina Solís's Historia antigua de Yucatán (1988) launched this second career. Hernán's interest in the power of the conservative press and in the state's distortion of regional history led him to write several articles culminating in his pathbreaking monograph on church-state relations Iglesia y poder: Proyectos sociales, alianzas políticas y económicas en Yucatán (1857-1917) (1995). Hernán planned to publish four more volumes on the history of modern Yucatán, following the long trajectory of modern Yucatecan history. The second volume, which covered the revolutionary era, was to have gone to press this year.

As formidable as Hernán Menéndez's historiographical legacy is, it is more than matched by his contributions to improving the quality of the academic milieu in Yucatán. Under Hernán's guidance, Unicornio became a source of employment and an intellectual forum for a generation of young historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and critical students of literature and contemporary culture. And in the conferences he helped organize with the Colegio de Antropólogos de Yucatán over the past several years, most notably the commemoration the 150th anniversary of the Caste War of the Yucatán in 1997, Hernán insisted on raising the caliber of historical research in Yucatán, above all by demanding rigorous archival investigation.

At a recent conference at Yale, Allen Wells spoke of the experience many North American scholars had of mentioning some seemingly overlooked figure or publication or event in Yucatecan history to Hernán, only to have him produce a rare document or unknown folleto—as if by magic—from his superb private collection. Few scholars failed to come away from these encounters with a deeper understanding of the Byzantine intricacies of Yucatecan politics and society as well as an appreciation for Hernán's keen mind and playful sense of humor. [End Page 760]

Full-time commitment to journalism and history could not absorb all of Hernán Menéndez's energy and talents. A sportsman, devotee of bullfighting and baseball, and an avid horseman, he is credited with the introduction of Equestrianism to Yucatán. He is survived by widow Elena Larrea Peón and daughter Claudia Menénez Cantón.

Hernán's premature passing left a rich but sadly incomplete legacy. Only six days before his death, Hernán called me—brimming with his usual enthusiasm—about converting his magnificent private library into a historical research institution open to international and national investigators. He left behind more than one generation of scholars inspired by his commitment to painstaking archival research and his appreciation for the power exercised by the church and regional elites throughout Mexican history.

Selected Works by Hernán Menéndez Rodríguez

"El retorno de los dioses: La construcción de la hegemonía menendista en Yucatán, 1918-1924." Unicornio10, no. 500 (2000): 4-12.

"Metamorfosis guadalupista: Proyectos y estrategias en la lucha por el poder en la iglesia católica." Unicornio10, no. 483 (2000): 3-9.

With Federico de Waldeck. Viaje pintoresco y arqueológico...

pdf

Share