Date of Award

6-2011

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Modern Languages and Literatures

First Advisor

Victoria Martinez

Language

English

Keywords

identity, Mexico, border, divisions, globalization

Abstract

This thesis explores the concept of Mexican identity on the border between Mexico and the United States. The essay focuses on two stories by Carlos Fuentes - "La capitalina" and "La frontera de cristal" - but also considers the theory of Mary Pat Brady, Gloria Anzaldúa, Pablo Vila, and some other theorists to understand and better articulate the message of Sources. Important to the concepts that are discussed in the essay is the phenomenon of globalization and its role in motivating relations between the two countries. The main argument of the essay consists of two parts. The first focuses on the American influence on the Mexican identity and the notion of the border as a place of fluidity and cultural exchange. The second part considers a theory of Pablo Vila and Arjun Appadurai that globalization has caused a desire on the part of many people to reinforce the internal borders that exist within their own country, and applies this theory to the stories of Fuentes. The discussion concludes, through this analysis, that both the adoption of all the elements of the American culture and the reaction of the Mexican people in redefining the divisions cause a loss of the Mexican identity. Only the rejection of the superficial elements of the capitalist culture of the United States and the transcendence of the divisions within Mexico allows the creation of an own identity that retains the unique essence of Mexicanness.

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