Wild Tongues

by Urquijo-Ruiz, Rita E.

• ISBN13: 9780292723849
• ISBN10: 0292723849
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

Tracing the configuration of the slapstick, destitutePeladita/Peladitoand thePachuca/Pachuco(depicted in flashy zoot suits) from 1928 to 2004,Wild Tonguesis an ambitious, extensive examination of social order in Mexican and Chicana/o cultural productions in literature, theater, film, music, and performance art. From the use of thePeladitaand thePeladitoas stock characters who criticized various aspects of the Mexican government in the 1920s and 1930s to contemporary performance art by María Elena Gaitán and Dan Guerrero, which yields a feminist and queer-studies interpretation, Rita Urquijo-Ruiz emphasizes the transnational capitalism at play in these comic voices. Her study encompasses both sides of the border, including the use of thePachucaand thePachucoas anti-establishment, marginal figures in the United States. The result is a historically grounded, interdisciplinary approach that reimagines the limitations of nation-centered thinking and reading. Beginning with Daniel Venegas's 1928 novel,Las aventuras de don Chipote o Cuando los pericos mamen, Rita Urquijo-Ruiz'sWild Tonguesdemonstrates early uses of the Peladito to call attention to the brutal physical demands placed on the undocumented Mexican laborer. It exploresTeatro de Carpa(tent theater) in-depth as well, bringing to light the experience of MexicanPeladitaAmelia Wilhelmy, whose "La Willy" was famous for portraying a cross-dressing male soldier who criticizes the failed Revolution. In numerous other explorations such as these, the political, economic, and social power of creativity continually takes center stage.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Preface: Wild Tongues/Lenguas Necias	p. xiii
From The Carpa to the Novel: The Peladito in Las aventuras de Don Chipote, o Cuando los pericos mamen	p. 1
Las Peladitas: Gender and Humor in Teatro De Carpa	p. 32
Transnational Pachucada: Artistic Representations in Film, Theater, and Music Across the Border	p. 51
Of Wild Tongues and Restless Bodies: María Elena Gaitán's Performance Art	p. 106
Beyond the Comfort Zone: Dan Guerrero's $Gaytino!	p. 137
Conclusion: Connecting the Past with the Present	p. 159
Notes	p. 161
Bibliography	p. 197
Index	p. 207
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