Resources
Bibliography for Teachers
For a teacher who has not lived in Mexico City (I have not), I strongly recommend the entirety of John Ross' El Monstruo, a biography of Mexico City. It's a gritty, gonzoish portrayal of The Monster by a veteran journalist and activist. In a similar vein, I also recommend Pedro Ignacio Taibo II's introduction to Mexico City Noir. Both readings will help set an appropriate frame of mind for approaching Chilangolandia (the affectionate or deprecatory nickname for Mexico's capital, depending on the speaker) as a field of intensive study.
Before approaching the material relating to the events of 1520, I recommend a good overview of a history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Ross Hessig's 1994 book Mexico and the Spanish Conquest is a slim volume that gives a highly readable recounting of events.
I would strongly encourage as deep a reading as one can afford on Aztec civilization generally as an antidote to tendencies to romanticize or demonize them as a people. Elizabeth Brumfiel and Gary Feinman's 2008 richly illustrated The Aztec World, based on the exhibit of the same name at Chicago's Field Museum, shows us everything the Aztecs were doing when they weren't dancing around in their neighbors' flayed skins, like urban planning, teaching their children a livelihood, practicing medicine, writing books, and suffering from terrible gingivitis. It's an eye opener.
Student Reading List: Tlatelolco, 1968
With the exception of our detective story involving the enigmatic figure of Sócrates, students will approach the strata of history in reverse chronological order. The list I propose is not prescriptive.
From 2010, the late John Ross' El Monstruo is a marvelous read, perhaps the best biography of a Mexico City since Carlos Fuentes wrote La region más transparente. Chapter 9, "City of Dread and Redemption," gives an effective summary of the events of 1968. 41 John Ross never conceals his political leanings; he stands out with an insider's critique of the left that only a leftist could give.
Teachers wishing to dispense with English language materials altogether may begin directly with the official government report on the government's "dirty war" against dissidents, published by the Office of Special Prosecutor Ignacio Carrillo Prieto in 2006, available in its entirety from the National Security Archive of the George Washington University (http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB209/index.htm). The grammar is simple and the narration straightforward but the piece contains a good deal of civil and military jargon; coach students to ignore most acronyms and to skip long lists of names of military personnel. I caution teachers using this material to carefully redact excerpts: the report contains graphic details.
The most relevant segments for this unit come from Tema 3 - Movimiento Estudiantil de 1968. "3.2.4 Tlatelolco 2 de Octubre" on pages 118-119 of the report describes the plan of the student protestors on that day. "Operativos en distintos puntos de la Ciudad", pages 120 through the top of 123, describes the plan to trap student leaders and the posting of sharpshooters around the square. "Lo acontecido en la Plaza de las Tres Culturas", pages 125-127 describes the start of the violence. "El aseido a la plaza", pages 133 through 140, describes the siege of the plaza and ends with the placement of the commemorative stela with names of victims in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. It's a lot of reading, but more dynamic than most of the report, and goes quickly. Teachers should feel free to redact this last selection closely as some of the details may be extremely upsetting to some students. "Campo Militar Número Uno", page 144, deals with the detention of protestors after the march; beyond the first two paragraphs, the details once again may be highly disturbing.
Nick Caistor's 2000 entry, Mexico City: a Cultural and Literary Companion, 42 has a good chapter on the events. This reading may be appropriate for teachers concerned about the political slant of Ross' writings but desiring a highly readable account, albeit in English.
Having read an overview, worked through the official report, and having seen a dramatic recreation of the events, I recommend students move as quickly as possible to the oral histories collected by Elena Poniatowska in La noche de Tlaltelolco. Most testimonies are short, about a paragraph in everyday language. I leave it to the teacher to select readings.
There is a detective story embedded in our materials: what the 2006 report calls "The Emblematic Case of Sócrates Amado Campos Lemus." 43 Sócrates, known mainly by his first name, was a prominent leader of the student movement. Pages 119-122 of Poniatowska's book present us with the case of Eduardo Valle Espinoza, another student leader, who is told that Sócrates has denounced him to the authorities. We hear a vehement denial from Sócrates, followed by speculation that he may have cracked under the threat of torture. Sócrates, in a seeming admission, talks about the many that did break under torture. Some speakers comment on the impossibility of judging a young person in that situation. 44 From Poniatowska's 1971 vantage point Sócrates emerges as a pitiable character.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor, with access to Presidential records, paints another portrait of Sócrates. The young man in 1968 was well connected to relatives in government; he was a paid spy and provocateur; he did indeed denounce scores of comrades to the authorities. In the years following his interviews with Poniatowska he moved into careers in government and the military. It's rich material, showing how the historical narrative may be critically shaped by gaps in our knowledge.
Student Reading List: The Toxcatl Massacre, 1520
Students may wish to read Nick Caistor's chapter on the massacre at the Main Temple from Mexico City: A cultural and literary companion 45 along with Chapters 5 and 6 from Ross Hassig's book, "The March to Tenochtitlan" and "Moteuczoma's Tenochtitlan." 46 Caistor's book ties the events to the current geography of the city.
The Florentine Codex is the work of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún and his indigenous students from 1545 to 1590, a massive compilation of prehispanic lore. We'll use Miguel León-Portilla's translation, Visión de los vencidos: relaciones indígenas de la conquista, pages 75-87 of the 1961 edition. 47 From the same volume we'll read pp. 39-51, dealing with the Spanish and Tlaxcaltecs at Cholula.
We'll a translated excerpt from the Aubin Codex from León-Portilla's collection in Visión de los vencidos, pages 87-89. 48
The Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España of Bernal Díaz del Castillo was written 1568 and published 1632. We'll read Chapter 125, an account based on Alvarado's testimony of the massacre, pages 380-383. 49 We'll also read an excerpt of Chapter 128, relating the flight of the Spanish and their native allies from the capital, pages 384-409. 50
From Francisco López de Gómora we will read "Causes of the rebellion", pages 235-237 5 1 and "How Cortés fled Mexico", pages 246-250. 52
We will read an excerpt from Hernán Cortés, Cartas de relación, Second letter, October 30, 1520, pages 130-133. 53
We will read pages 34-39 of Francis McNutt's biography of Cortés. 54
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