Columbus Day, October 12th, commemorates the day Christopher Columbus brought Western Civilization to the New World. All New World nation-states, incuding both Mexico and the U.S. – are results of that.
In Spain, Columbus Day is known as Día de la Hispanidad (Day of Hispanicity). In Spanish-speaking Latin American countries it was traditionally known as Día de la Raza, Day of the Race, referring to the Mestizo Race, produced by a fusion of Spaniards and Indians.
In recent years though, in Spanish-speaking Latin America just as in the U.S.A., Columbus’ stock has been going down.
In 2020, then-President AMLO changed the name of the celebration in Mexico to Día de la Nación Pluricultural, Day of the Multicultural Nation.
On October 12th, 2024, on her Twitter X account,
President Claudia Sheinbaum posted this (my translation throughout): “The 12th of October is neither the Día de la Raza nor the Día de la Hispanidad. Christopher Columbus discovered America for the Europeans, but in our continent (Western Hemisphere) and particularly in what we now call Mexico, there were already great civilizations and cultures of which we females feel proud and we males feel proud [it’s awkward in Spanish too]. The arrival of the Spaniards more than five centuries ago represented subjection and even elimination of the original peoples. To offer apologies for the crimes committed is not shameful, on the contrary, it makes peoples greater and brings them nearer.”
Unsurprisingly the thread has many replies. A few examples:
From Ro: “I feel very proud that you are my President, Doctor. Thanks for defending the Original Peoples who deserve apologies for the barbarities and atrocities committed during the invasion of these lands. I love you very much.”
From Pedro_A: “To recognize abuses would be a good gesture on the part of Spain.”
From Andrés L.A.: ” ‘Great civilizations’ which sacrificed children and were cannibals. Madam, I remind you that you are tweeting in Spanish and that Mexico is one of the countries that most maintains the cultural heritage of Spain. It’s not bad to pick up a book from time to time.”
From Emilio Yitzhak: “Say it in Nahuatl [language of the Aztecs] and not from a palace constructed by the Spaniards.”
It’s true that the Pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Maya and Aztec, had some great accomplishments. There was a lot of violence in that area too, however. Were it not for the arrival of the Europeans, the current nation-state of Mexico would not exist. The majority of Mexicans have both Indian and Spanish ancestors, so none of them would exist either.
The best approach is for Mexico to respect both their Indian and Spanish ancestors, while working to make the Mexico of today a better place.
How about starting with bringing down the Mexican murder rate? People talk about the killings of hundreds of years ago, how about people being killed today?
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