Of Jipitecas, Onderos, and Intelectuales: Countercultural Theory in Mexico

• In Event: Critical and Theoretical Approaches to Counter-Cultural Movements in Mexico: the sixties and seventies

Abstract

Within countercultural studies Mexico has frequently been viewed as a destination, an escapist utopia to which US hippies could turn for hallucinogenic mushrooms and a return to primitive indigenous ways of life. However little attention has been given to Mexico as an important locus for the production of countercultural thought. This paper considers the contribution of Mexican intellectuals to countercultural studies both in their own country as well as abroad. Of primary interest will be Enrique Marroquín’s La contracultura como protesta (1975), José Revueltas’s collected writings on the student movement in México 68: Juventud y revolución (1978), Federico Arana’s Roqueros y folcloroides (1988) and José Agustín’s La contracultura en México (1991). This paper argues that 1) these thinkers have been able to articulate a clear and meaningful understanding of their countercultural movements, oftentimes well in advance of more recognized foreign scholars; 2) despite the quality of their work, the contributions of these writers have been relegated to footnotes; and 3) a correct understanding of contemporary Latin American counterculture must stem from a careful reading of local texts.

Author

• Brian L Price, Brigham Young University