Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization [Paperback]

Guillermo Bonfil Batalla (Author), Philip A. Dennis (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0292708432 | ISBN-13: 978-0292708433 | Publication Date: 1996

This translation of a major work in Mexican anthropology argues that Mesoamerican civilization is an ongoing and undeniable force in contemporary Mexican life. For Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, the remaining Indian communities, the "de-Indianized" rural mestizo communities, and vast sectors of the poor urban population constitute the México profundo. Their lives and ways of understanding the world continue to be rooted in Mesoamerican civilization. An ancient agricultural complex provides their food supply, and work is understood as a way of maintaining a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Health is related to human conduct, and community service is often part of each individual's life obligation. Time is circular, and humans fulfill their own cycle in relation to other cycles of the universe. Since the Conquest, Bonfil argues, the peoples of the México profundo have been dominated by an "imaginary México" imposed by the West. It is imaginary not because it does not exist, but because it denies the cultural reality lived daily by most Mexicans. Within the México profundo there exists an enormous body of accumulated knowledge, as well as successful patterns for living together and adapting to the natural world. To face the future successfully, argues Bonfil, Mexico must build on these strengths of Mesoamerican civilization, "one of the few original civilizations that humanity has created throughout all its history."

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292708432
• ISBN-13: 978-0292708433
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, November 23, 2008

By 

Carlos Sibaja (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization (Paperback)

This book helps us understand our own identity issues. Great book, great narrative. Very engaging. Once you start reading, you can't stop.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, January 19, 2012

By 

Alex - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization (Paperback)

I am very pleased with what I purchased the book was still in the wrap!! Thank you so much it even got here like 5 days before !

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply excellent, May 16, 2010

By 

C. M. Cornejo (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization (Paperback)

México Profundo is a must-read for anyone attempting to understand the complexities and contradictions found throughout Latin American in general, and within Mexican culture, specifically. The book is written in a clear, direct and eloquent manner that gets to the core of present-day Mexico's predicament.