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Laura TurpinOctober 17, 2010

Gender and Social Hierarchy

The hierarchies of the colonies in Latin America were an important aspect of daily life

between the classes. Before contact with the Europeans, the Americas experienced a relatively

egalitarian hierarchy system between the sexes in which the different roles of men and women

were viewed as uniformly important. While there was a ruling class, both women and men had

fairly equal rule. With the contact of the Iberian Peninsula, however, the New World experienced

a shift in society. Latin America was changed completely through European colonization

because it utilized a new hegemonic hierarchy of caste systems and a new patriarchal dominated

society under its new rule.

There has always been a system of social order among the empires of Pre-Colombian

Latin America. The Aztecs, the Incas, and the Mayans all had their individual ruling classes

governing the business of their territories, but one of the biggest differences between the

American and the European societies was the roles and views placed on women. The Pre-

Contact Era of the New World was much more egalitarian in that the jobs expected of women

were equally important to society as the jobs expected of men. While the work of women in both

the Americas and Europe mainly centered on the home and the family, the indigenous Latin

Americans viewed this to be just as crucial to their well being. On page 17 of The People of the

Corn, Jeffery M. Pilcher says that “the Mexica [ruling class of the Aztecs] believe women had

the basic responsibility of feeding men, and men, in turn, took up the duty of feeding the gods.”

Without the job of feeding the men, the gods would not be fed. Each role was equally significant.

The men and women considered themselves a labor team. Without both of their jobs fulfilled, the

work of the empire would not be completed as stated by Karen Vieira Powers on page 32 of Pre-

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Hispanic Gender Roles. It was the women who took care of the home while the men took care of

the empire. Without each, society would not survive.

This parallelism between the sexes continued into the political spheres as well. Both the

Aztecs and Incans had societies in which women had their own officials and priestesses in

addition to the men’s, which created an equilibrium between the two. Also, unlike the beliefs in

Europe, children were equally owned between the mother and the father because each made up

half the fluids in the offspring (Powers 17). While the men protected the empire, women were

especially important because they were the ones who gave birth and cared for the children,

meaning that they were responsible for the well being of the proceeding generations (Powers 34).

The women in these societies were never seen as inferior to the men because of their ability to

give life.

In European societies, however, the hierarchy between the classes was slightly different.

In Gender and Disorder of Early Modern Seville, Mary Elizabeth Perry refers to the distrust in

women in Seville, Spain. “Symbolically, women performed roles of critical importance to a

patriarchal order, signifying virtue and evil, provided a negative foil against which men could

define themselves, and permitting a justification for male authority” (Perry 5). The roles of

women were vital to males, but only to give them what almost seemed like a divine right to rule.

A woman’s status depended on two things: her religion and her marital status where marriage

served as “an antidote for the problem of disorderly women” (Perry 12). Women were no more

trusted than thieves. While many worked as healers, if they offended the Church in anyway, they

could be prosecuted as heretics (Perry 21). Very few women were actually praised for breaking

social codes. Justa and Refina are a prime example of this. The two sisters became martyrs when

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they were tortured and killed because they refused to deject their Christian faith (Perry 35). The

two eventually became local heroes, but stories like this were rare.

Another example of the patriarchal rule of the Europeans comes from the slave trade.

David Eltis cites a story of a female slave impersonating a male slave on a ship to the Americas

on the 85th page of Gender and Slavery in the Early Modern Atlantic World. While she worked

just as hard as the men, once she was discovered as being a woman, she was immediately forced

to perform tasks more traditional of European women. For the Africans, “task performance was

more important than social status” (Eltis 86). In many parts of Africa, polygamy was common

and many wives would buy new ones for their husbands to show their economic well

being (Eltis 91). Women’s status in Western Europe, however, was not attributed to their roles in

the economy (Eltis 93). Their societies less reflected the egalitarian views of Pre-Columbian

Latin America compared to the societies of Africa. Eventually, European slave owners

recognized the ability of female slaves to perform labor, but they only accepted this of African

women, not European (Eltis 102). Perhaps a reason for this is that because they owned the

slaves, they could still control their patriarchal power over them, but if they allowed the same of

European women, they would lose a bit of that same power.

After contact with the Europeans, the social structures of Latin America changed. The

European’s took over most of the ruling class and became the decision hand of the king of Spain.

Hegemony was introduced into the colonies. This worked by domination from those at the top

(Europeans) with consent from those who are being ruled over (the indigenous, slaves, and

mixed races) at the bottom (Chasteen 66). The idea of patriarchy from the Iberian Peninsula was

brought over to the Americas. Labor was now the most important part of society. It no longer

focused on the betterment of the empire but the betterment of the King and of the mother

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country. Religion became unified under Catholicism and its “ecclesiastical hierarchy” was made

up of Europeans (Chasteen 67). With the introduction of new races, a gradual blending began

between them through interracial marriages. A caste system was developed in which Slaves,

Mestizos, Indigenous peoples, Creoles, and Europeans were ranked upon hierarchy (Chasteen

84). This new system was developed and the indigenous gradually accepted it with the help of

customs created after the previous conquering between empires done before contact with Europe.

One of the biggest differences to the indigenous lifestyle after contact with Europe was

the new placement of the patriarchy. Women no longer held roles of importance in politics and

their roles were no longer seen as equal to men. Their expulsion from the political sphere left

them only in the now less prestigious domestic circles. “Women’s names became well-known

either because of their connections to powerful men or because they broke the gender rules”

(Chasteen 139). Camila O’Gorman of Argentina, for instance, created scandal after falling in

love and running away with a priest. The two were later executed but not before symbolizing

“danger to the social order” (Chasteen 140). Another example of women breaching social order

comes from Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. She broke order by educating herself despite the fact that

education was meant for males only. Even when the Bishop banned her from reading books, Sor

Juana continued with her learning. She observed the world around her. “There can be no doubt

that in order to understand many passages, one must know a great deal of history, customs,

rituals, proverbs, and even the habits of speech of the times in which they were written in order

to know what is indicated and what alluded to by certain sayings in divine letters” (Sor Juana

23). She believed the only way to fully understand God’s word was to learn everything including

things that religion did not encompass. Her argument stood up to the male dominated world of

the Catholic Church and she became known throughout history for her perseverance.

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While this new hierarchy was strict, there is evidence to support upward mobility.

Overall, those at the bottom of the caste system remained there, but the Spanish Crown “allowed

people to buy an official exemption that made them legally white and eligible to occupy

positions of distinction and authority” (Chasteen 85). In Kingdoms of Peru, Juan and Ulloa

recognize the mobility of the new colonies. “With the aid of relatives and friends and by hard

work and application, a new arrival [to the New World] can improve [one’s] status” (Juan and

Ulloa 218). These upward shifts, however, occurred mainly within the Creole castes. Juan and

Ulloa noticed the Creole hatred of their European counterparts but also the complexity in which

they used their statuses to their advantage. On one hand, hatred stemmed from the jealousy of the

Creoles because the Spaniards were given high positions over them (even though the Creoles

have been around longer and are more committed to the land) and on the other hand, the Creoles

still saw it as an honor to give their daughter’s hand to a Spaniard in marriage (Juan and Ulloa

226). Marrying someone in a higher caste brought higher economic status to the family of the

daughter. Family ambition, therefore, further created the blending of races despite the hatred

between them. The lines between African, Indian, and Spaniard peoples were no longer so clear.

This ambition for higher social status additionally led to much corruption in the new

colonies as pointed out in Huaman Poma’s Letter to a King. The clerks, secretaries, and

treasurers were accustomed to taking money from Indians in exchange of appointment

scheduling, fraudulent tax receipts, and allowing them to win disputes (Poma 134). Many

Spaniards would become “burdens” to businesses. They were in the habit of eating all they wish

or staying at inns without payment (Poma 137). The innkeepers were no better. They were often

Spaniards who would hire the indigenous without pay as well as prostitutes who were many

times forcibly taken from their husbands and families (Poma 138). Many Spanish parents would

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put their children into the priesthood or military, not for honor, but for the money and ambition

(Poma 144). Very few positions were given based on actual right but to those that the Crown felt

an obligation towards. They, in turn, would go about town with an air of nobility. Many go

around doing what they wish with no pay and even commit treason (Poma 142). Finally, the

priests proved to be no more religious than any one else. They often hired labor without payment

and entered businesses for their own well being. They used Church property for themselves and

even charged money for funerals and ceremonies (Poma 144-146). All of these corruptions

eventually would lead to the ultimate downfall of the Spanish Crown in New Spain after

provoking an uprising from the Creoles.

The introduction of European culture, specifically that of Spain, led to a new social and

gender hierarchy in the New World. An area that was once ruled in an egalitarian manner, where

the roles of men and women were equally important, was taken over by a new patriarchy and

caste system that worked under the idea of a hegemonic society. While the castes did see some

upward mobility through intermarriage and the blending of races, for the most part, those coming

from Spain were in the highest caste leaving those who have lived on the land, and committed

themselves to it, disadvantaged. The ambition to increase one’s status also led to the corruption

and eventual downfall of the hegemonic colonial system set up by the Spanish Crown. Overall,

the colonization of Latin America has transformed the culture under which the area once

survived and flourished under.

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Works Cited

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: a Concise History of Latin America. 2nd ed.

New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. Print.

Eltis, David. "Gender and Slavery in the Early Modern Atlantic World." The Rise of African

Slavery in the Americas. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000. Print.

Juan, Jorge, and Antonio De Ulloa. Kingdoms of Peru. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1749.

Print.

Perry, Mary E. Gender and Disorder in Early Modern Seville. Princeton: Princeton UP. Print.

Pilcher, Jeffery M. "The People of the Corn." Que Vivan Los Tamales. Albuquerque: University

of New Mexico. 7-24. Print.

Poma, Huaman. Letter to a King. New York: E. P. Dutton. Print.

Powers, Karen V. "Pre-Hispanic Gender Roles Under the Aztecs and the Incas." Women in the

Crucible of Conquest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico. 15-38. Print.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, The Answer/La respuesta, ed. & trans. Electa Arenal & Amanda

Powell (New York: Feminist Press, City University of New York, 1994) [LAm

861.39/J870.187]

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How Has the Iconography of the Day of the Dead Led to the Travel of the Holiday

Across the Mexican Boarder?

More than five centuries ago, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in what they

later called Latin America, they found the natives practicing in all sorts of rituals revolving

around death, including one that celebrated and even mocked it. Through the years, these

peoples have been assimilated into European culture and have been forced to accept the

Christian religion as their own. To hold on to their culture they have adapted their own

practices to revolve around the Christian traditions with their own twists. Thus, the Day of

the Dead, or el Día de los Muertos, has evolved. The holiday, taking place on the first and

second days of the month of November, has become a celebration of the lives of those who

have passed to the afterlife. Because its iconic traditions are so rich with symbolism and

beauty and because of its unique perspective on death, el Día de los Muertos has sparked a

curiosity within other cultures and has led to the adoption of this holiday in new countries.

Halloween, an autumn tradition of dressing up like someone else for night and

asking your neighbors for candy, might seem like it resembles el Día de los Muertos to

those who do not know much about the holiday. Certainly, Halloween revolves around

candy, skulls, and death, but the greatest difference between it and the Day of the Dead is

the aspect of fear. The aim of Halloween is to scare, to tell stories of gruesome events, and

watch movies that evoke nightmares about death. Meanwhile, the most unique quality of

the Day of the Dead, and perhaps even Mexican culture, is that its aim is to celebrate and

even mock death. Everything about its traditions, from the sugar skulls to the altars, serves

to remember the deceased and to celebrate the afterlife, not to fear it. According to Shawn

D. Haley and Curt Faukuda in their book The Day of the Dead: When Two Worlds Meet in

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Oaxaca, the Zapotec Indians from Oaxaca, believe there is a “very fine line that separates

the world of the living from the supernatural world where the dead live” and el Día de los

Muertos is the season when that line disappears and the dead come back to spend time

with their family. In his article, Day of the Dead History, Carlos Miller further explains how

“the natives viewed [death] as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they

embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.”

The holiday is about celebrating with those that have gone into the afterlife, not mourning

their loss.

This unique perspective on death is illustrated further in its customs. Though each

region celebrates differently, they all have common elements. According to Sarah Klein in

her article The Birth of the Day of the Dead, respect is shown through the use of altars,

which are made for the deceased. Adorned with marigolds and skulls, each altar needs to

represent the soul that has passed which includes a picture of the deceased, pan de muerto

(bread of the dead), water to freshen up before returning, and the favorite foods and drinks

of the once living. According to Alma Martinez in the video About How Mexicans Celebrate

Day of the Dead from the British Museum, it is believed that when the spirits return on this

day, they consume the essence of the food and drinks presented for them. In the same

video from the British Museum, Gaby Gower explains that the marigold is the flower most

representative for the day of the dead. She illustrates that by using its petals on the altar, it

guides the spirit to the offerings left by their loved ones and directs them to the altars they

have made for them. Every aspect of the altar serves to welcome and comfort the deceased

back into the living world for the holiday.

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Mexican culture respects death, and often uses mockery to show they are not afraid.

This is perhaps best illustrated in the carnival-esque celebrations in the streets of the

towns in Mexico, especially in Oaxaca. These traditions are humorous in nature. As Stanley

Brandes points out in his article Iconography in Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the customs are

meant to spark joy, not sadness. The streets become covered in everything from traditional

Mexican dancing to large papier-mâché skeletons to people dressed in skull masks. Parades

take place all over Mexico and even include mock funeral processions. They use vibrant

colors and throw candy for the children. People dress as devils and ghosts to make the

audience laugh, not to frighten them. In no way is it a somber or scary event.

Some of the most common candies for the holiday are sugar skulls and coffins.

Usually decorated in icing, each skull or casket is unique. Most stores sell these treats with

individual’s names on the forehead of the skull or top of the casket (Brandes 181-182).

Unlike the skulls in the rest of Northern American culture, the skulls of Mexico are

charming and colorful, not scary and morbid. They even sometimes resemble the deceased.

The other important food of the Day of the Dead is the pan de muerto. As mentioned

earlier, it is used as apart of the decorations for the home altars. It is sweet bread usually

depicting bones and skulls and is sold in many storefronts. So much is sold that it even

serves as a boost to the economy during this part of the year. Its primary function is to

attract the spirits to their altars with their sweetness and to represent the spirit’s style and

serve to comfort them when they return to the living world.

The skull is possibly the most recognized symbol of the day of the dead. It is used in

almost every aspect of the holiday. The altars, the food, the toys, and even the costumes

revolve around the skeleton. The skull, clearly representing death, is used in many cultures

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but its imagery is different for each. In most other western and even eastern cultures, it

represents fear. But as mentioned before, the Mexican people do not fear death. Instead of

dreary skulls adorned in dark tones, they are painted with vibrant colors and are adorned

with flowers. These are known as calveras. The skeletons are dressed in formal attire and

traditional costumes while being paraded in the streets. Artists use calveras to also

represent famous people in history and several writers create satiric poems about those

people, which is consistent with the mockery theme and illustrates how the people

embrace and welcome death as a part of life.

While this is a traditionally Mexican custom, the Day of the Dead has started to make

leaps to other countries including England and, most notably, the United States. Probably

most likely due to the immigration of people to the United States to Mexico, the Day of the

Dead traditions have already begun to penetrate in popular culture. Not only are there

regions in the US, particularly those with large Latino populations, that have started to

have their own celebrations on November first and second, the holiday’s imagery has

managed to become a trend, especially the use of the calveras. Several bands, designers,

and artists use the skulls in part of their artwork. The Misfits, and band from New Jersey, is

always seen dressed as skeletons and even their logo features a hooded skull. Lucky Brand

Jeans has a line featuring calveras on everything from jeans to IPod cases. As Regina M.

Marchi points out in her article Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and

Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon, iconic Day of the Dead images and ideals have

also immersed into movies and video games like Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride. Despite its

title, the movie is not mean to provoke fear, but to see death and the deceased as still living,

just in a different world. Finally, several museums around the world feature exhibits

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centered on this traditionally Mexican custom because its imagery is transcending into

paintings and photography. For example, there are several photographs of pin-up style

women painted like calveras. Because of the immersion of these new art forms in these

other countries, a fascination has erupted with the holiday and that former fear of death

seems to be slipping away in some regions and has led to Day of the Dead celebrations all

over the world.

When the conquistadors first discovered South America, they believed the traditions

of the Aztecs and Mayans were truly barbaric with human sacrifices and even cannibalism.

One particular tradition, which is forefather of el Día de los Muertos, includes displaying

the heads of those sacrificed in the town of Chichén Itzá and Tula, the Toltec capital, as a

form of respect known as a tzompantli (Brandes 190). Remnants of wooden skeletal toys

are also found in the ruins much like the ones currently made today. In the past, most

Christians have seen the celebrations of the Day of the Dead as disrespectful, but with the

increase of immigration and global citizens, a new perspective has formed on this holiday

for those outside of Mexico. One notable celebration of Day of the Dead outside Mexico

takes place in Detroit where there is a large Latino community (Klein). Hundreds of people,

including non-Hispanic participants, come to learn about the unique view of death and

celebrate the afterlife with this new viewpoint. Day of the Dead celebrations in the United

States are “a distinctly U.S. hybrid cultural practice…[they] serve as a positive market of

ethnic, political, and religious identity for Chicanos, Latinos, and Latin American

immigrants” (Marchi). The practice allows immigrants and those of Mexican decent to

celebrate their heritage while also introducing their customs to new cultures. While there

might be some “American” influences upon the holiday, it does not make it inauthentic.

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Another example of Day of the Dead celebrations outside Mexico comes from the

British Museum. In 2009, the museum held cultural day complete with traditional dancing,

sugar skulls, food, music workshops, and art exhibits (Day of the Dead Celebrations at the

British Museum). In attendance were both people of Mexican and European decent coming

to witness the festivities. It served as entertainment and excitement but also educated

people around the world about a different culture much like it does in the United States.

The uniqueness of the imagery behind el Día de los Muertos is the pushing factor

behind its immersion into new countries. In the current political climate, where it is

increasingly important to realize that a person is not simply a citizen of a country, but of

the world, more and more people have begun to learn about new cultures and their

traditions. Fascination almost always occurs when new things are encountered; things that

are unique to specific cultures. Mexico’s perspective on life and death are rather rare and

its celebrations upon those ideals are so exclusive that it poses curiosity around the world

and therefore has begun to merge into new countries.

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Works Cited

About How Mexicans Celebrate Day of the Dead. Dir. Kate Meynell. Perf. Alma Martinez, Gaby

Gower. The British Museum. British Petroleum. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

<http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/all_video_and_audio/events_vide

o_and_audio/the_meaning_of_day_of_the_dead.aspx>.

Brandes, Stanley. "Iconography in Mexico's Day of the Dead: Origins and Meanings."

Ethnohistory 45.2 (1998): 181-218. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.jstor.org/stable/483058>.

Day of the Dead Celebrations at the British Museum. Dir. Kate Meynell and Patricia Wheatley.

Perf. Martha Acosto-Nino. The British Museum. British Petroleum. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

<http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/all_video_and_audio/

events_video_and_audio/day_of_the_dead_celebrations.aspx>.

Haley, Shawn D., and Curt Fukuda. The Day of the Dead: When Two Worlds Meet in Oaxaca.

Berghahn, 2004. Print.

Klein, Sarah. "The Birth of the Day of the Dead." Metro Times. 27 Oct. 2004. Web. 11 Nov.

2010. <http://www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=6892>.

Marchi, Regina M. "Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a

Cultural Phenomenon." Cultural Anthropology 25.4 (2010): 684-87. Print.

Miller, Carlos. "The Day of the Dead History: The Indigenous People Wouldn't Let 'Day of

the Dead' Die." The Arizona Republic. AzCentral.com. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html.>

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1. Similarities and Differences Between Caudillos and Populists

Since the end of Spanish rule in Latin America, the region has had a long history of

political revolutions. While today, much of the area seems to be relatively stable politically

specking (of course there are always exceptions), two political movements have made a

huge mark on the history of Latin America: Caudillismo and Populism. It would be easy to

believe that the two are remarkable different, because most ruling ideologies differ

drastically, but it is surprising to learn the similarities between the Populists and the

Caudillos.

Caudillismo began in 19th century Latin America. According to John Charles

Chasteen in his book Born in Blood and Fire on page 125, caudillos were usually

landowners who used charisma and resources to gain power and then created large armies

to keep that power. They all were heroes from wars and represented “bravery, loyalty,

generosity, and sex appeal” (Chasteen 126). Leaders include men such as Mexico’s Antonio

López de Santa Anna, Francisco Morazán of Honduras, and Paraguay’s Dr. José Gaspar

Rodríguez, or El Supremo. Perhaps the most famous of the caudillos, however, is Juan

Manuel de Rosas of Argentina. On the other hand, in the 20th century were the Populists.

Once again, the populists of the era, Juan Perón of Argentina, Getúlio Vargas of Brazil, and

Lázaro Cárdenas of Mexico, were charismatic and used their appeal to win votes for offices.

Many were also in the army and represented a hero to the people.

The two movements, nonetheless, are more similar than the characteristics of their

leaders. Each movement seemed to follow a revolution. Caudillismo took place after

separating from Spain (Chasteen) and Populism took place after the Great Depression

when there were riots for social reform. Both movements also focused on the people. The

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people of Buenos Aires, Argentina, for example, revered Juan Manuel de Rosas, which only

gave him more power. “Caudillos were defined by their army of followers, not by formal

ranks, offices, and institutions” (Chasteen 126). Rosas identified himself with not only

those of the higher classes, but also with the workers and ranchers in the pampas. It was

believed that he protected them and their interests. As seen in the film Camila by María

Luisa Bemberg, images of Rosas were everywhere from homes to church altars. Everyone

was required to wear a red ribbon in honor of Rosas. It was Rosas that the people of

Buenos Aires sought to fix their troubles.

Populism was much the same. It was a movement by the people for the people. As

depicted in the A&E Biography video on Eva Perón, when Juan Perón was captured and

imprisoned due to the government’s fear of his power, the people of the working class of

Argentina rioted in the cities until he was let free. He eventually became president with Eva

at his side. It was she who earned the love of the people. She was born illegitimately to a

poor family in the slums of Argentina, and the los descamisados, or shirtless ones, related

to her. To them, she represented what they could become. Perón worked to unionize the

working class and form better treatment of workers with better conditions as depicted in

the article Populism in the Working Class. Meanwhile, Eva, or Evita as she became to those

that loved her, created a charity to help house and feed those too poor to afford a home of

their own. The people’s love for her only helped to aid Juan in gaining more power in

Argentina.

Another similarity between the two ideologies is how the leaders dealt with

opposition. Leaders of both Caudillismo and Populism would control the media and pretty

much get rid of those that opposed their views. As seen in Camila, men were murdered who

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sold books opposing the beliefs of Rosas. Those caught without their red ribbon would fear

being abused, and sometimes murdered, in the streets like animals (Chasteen 126). Juan

and Eva Perón were not much better. According to Eva’s A&E Biography, Juan would shut

down newspapers for writing anything against him. He would find reasons to close

businesses that had not given to Eva’s charities. It is also believed that Eva would place

those who crossed her on a black list and effectively remove them from society. While both

parties claimed to be working for the people, they actually got rid of the people who

opposed them.

The one major area of difference between Caudillismo and Populism is how they

viewed progress. Rosas cut off Argentina from other nations. In the Caudillo’s Order by Juan

Manuel de Rosas, Rosas explains why he believes that they needed to go slowly in making a

national constitution. “The unitarists in their fury even tried to disrupt our most sacred

institution, the only one that might save us: the church. In this lamentable state we need

now to create everything anew, working modestly at first, and then, gradually, introducing

a general system that embraces everything.” It was the unitarists who destroyed the

country’s resources to create a centralized government and “turned citizens against each

other.” Though a constitution is what the people wanted, he said it was a leader’s

responsibility to guide them in the right direction: a slow gradual movement forward.

Populism, on the other hand, was quite different. It took place during the industrial

period after the Great Depression that had left the region severely crippled. Perón wanted

work to move forward quickly to restore their prior glory. He even created a Workers Bill

of Rights as shown in the article, Populism in the Working Class, to help speed development

along. Development was the slogan and driving force of the era. Also, the Peróns did not cut

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off Argentina from the rest of the world like Rosas attempted. Eva even went on goodwill

tours throughout Europe (A&E Biography). They relied more upon foreign countries to

rebuild their economy from the fall of the Great Depression.

Although the topic of progress seems to be the factor that mainly separates

Caudillismo and Populism, the two ideologies had a lot in common. Not only did the most

famous caudillo and the most famous populist have the same name and came from the

same country, the way their leaders acted and their characteristics are more parallel than

expected.

2. Is Latin America Still Patriarchal?

Before contact with Spain and Portugal, the civilizations occupying present day

Latin America were different than what we might expect. Instead of a highly patriarchal

system that we might imagine from 17th century Spain, we saw a rather equal treatment of

men and women. They both had their own ruling class and they both had equal jobs. On

page 17 of The People of the Corn, Jeffery M. Pilcher says that “the Mexica [ruling class of the

Aztecs] believe women had the basic responsibility of feeding men, and men, in turn, took up the

duty of feeding the gods.” Each role was equally significant and vital to their society. After

contact with Western Europe, however, Latin America underwent a change. European ideals

were adopted, customs introduced, and society changes implemented. Latin America began to

identify itself with a more patriarchal dominated society.

Overtime, however, things began to change again. Fights for justice and revolution

spurred and rulers were overthrown. Dictatorships and military authoritarian law took over the

once ruling monarchies. Through this time, women slowly started to become heard. For instance,

during the rule of caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas in 19th century Argentina, comes a story of

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female power. In María Luisa Bemberg’s 1984 film Camila, we are introduced to the true story

of a young woman who fell in love with a town priest and ran away with him. They quickly fell

to their demise but beforehand we see Camila’s strong headedness and her persistence. She was

the one to seduce Father Ladislao and the one to convince him to run away with her. She

basically made the decisions on how they were going to live their lives.

During this era in Latin America, however, Camila might be one of the exceptions

exemplifying feminine power. Argentina still seemed to have a highly patriarchal society. Her

father was the head of the family and “made” the rules that his family had to follow. But even

then, we see something very important to the evolution of gender equality in Latin America.

There is a saying that the man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck and can turn

the head in whichever way she wants (I believe I got this from the movie My Big Fat Greek

Wedding). Camila’s mother effectively did this with her husband. Her mother was the one to

convince her father on several decisions and she had some influence upon the letter he wrote to

Rosas explaining the crime that had been committed. As seen in his letter Long Live the

Argentine Federation! Death to the Savage Unitarians!, Adolfo O’Gorman, Camila’s father,

writes to Rosas describing the loss of his family. But instead of depicting Camila as the seducer,

he describes her in a way such as to show that she was innocent and suggests that she was the

one seduced by the manly priest. He is trying to protect her upon her mother’s request. So while

he still had pseudo control, it was a female who instigated it.

We see the same scenario of women persuading and seducing men play out later in the

century. In Aluísio Azevedo’s The Slum, we are shown a slum in modern day Brazil. Here, we

see more equality between the sexes. Both the men and women are expected to work, and their

incomes are equally important to their family’s well being. In this slum, created by Joao Romao,

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most men worked in the quarry while the women worked as washerwomen. Also, the women

were far more influential than the men. For instance, Rita, a single women living in the slum, has

no real interest in marriage. She lives her life day by day and does not want to be tied down to

taking care of a man in matrimony. She, however, is able to seduce Jeronimo, a married man,

away from his wife. She was always in control throughout their relationship and even changed

the way Jeronimo lived and thought. Before her, he was strict and worked very hard; after her, he

enjoyed life more and slacked on his work. He became as carefree as Rita. Also throughout the

novel, we see women controlling their own lives. Women are depicted living on their own,

raising children by themselves, earning their own living, and even running businesses. That was

the case for Bertoleza, a “former” slave working with Joao Romao. While he was the front man

for the business, she ran the inn and the tavern by herself for the most part. When Joao Romao

tries to get rid of her by selling her back to her slave owner, she takes her life into her own hands

and commits suicide. She does not want to lose that control she has earned by becoming a slave

again. This is just another example of the women in the novel having more power that is more

dominant and prevailing than the men.

We see this feminine power again in the mid-20th century with Eva Perón, or Evita. As

portrayed in A&E’s Biography on Eva Perón, Evita was a radio and film actress from the slums

of Argentina. She eventually made her way to the bigger cities where she met Juan Perón. She

became his second wife and helped him become elected as president of Argentina in the 1940s.

While he was clearly in charge of national affairs, it was Evita who gained the respect and love

of the people of Argentina. She was involved in several charities helping the poor. She became

their icon because she too had been in their position; she knew what it was like to be poor. It was

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the people’s love for her that helped reelect Juan for a second term in office. Without her help,

his rein would not have ever taken place.

Next, we see examples of gender equality in Alma Guillermoprieto’s memoir, Dancing

with Cuba. The story takes place during the early days of Fidel Castro’s rule in Cuba after the

Cuban Missile Crisis. In these memories, Alma describes how both men and women were

expected to work for the ten million ton harvest and how everyone was expected to live like Che

Guevara, not just the men. Because Cuba is a communist country, both the men and women

received the same things. No one sex was better than the other. Nonetheless, the more feminine

arts were not as valued as the more “manly” pastimes were. Several male dancers were suspected

of being gay, therefore not being masculine enough. Also, no dancer received respect when it

came to Cuba’s revolutionary society. It was the men in the military and the people living for the

revolution that were revered. So there still existed some disparity between the sexes.

Finally, we see a more modern example of feminine influence in Joshua Marston’s 2004

movie, Maria Full of Grace. Maria, a worker in a flower factory in Colombia, takes charge of

her own life when she quits her job after being treated unfairly by her male boss. She also learns

that she is pregnant, but refuses to marry the father because she does not love him. She insists on

taking care of herself unlike what her sister did when she became pregnant. She eventually

makes her way to New York, through a job of being a drug mule, and realizes that to better

herself and the life of her unborn child, she has to stay in the US even though she barely has

anyone she knows in the states. She represents women who do not depend upon men to live.

Though the father of her unborn child tries to do the “right thing” by trying to marry her, he

really has no control over her life or their relationship.

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So to answer if Latin America is still under a patriarchal society, the answer is not

entirely clear. While the majority of presidents and leaders are still male, the gender gap has

begun to close. Maybe the reason behind men feeling the need to take charge comes from the

idea of machismo. It is their responsibility to lead and to take care of their families. But today, it

is obvious that women are just as capable of leading their families and even their countries on

their own. So no, the societies of modern day Latin America are no longer completely

patriarchal, they are more equal. Even if the men believe that they are still superior, they know

they could not survive without the work of women.

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