A Window on Mexican Society and a Changing Point of View

It’s late at night but I’m fighting sleep so as to watch “Mirada de Mujer,� (“A Woman’s Glance,�) the telenovela almost banned in Mexico that deals with divorce, spousal abuse, and horror of horrors, a love affair between an older woman and a younger man. Jesus, Maria y Jose!

Few of my friends admit watching Mexican telenovelas. But last year, while at a Comision Femenil of the San Fernando Valley meeting (Latina educators and professional women), we moved the agenda so as not to miss the final episode of “Esmeralda,� then the current hit, to escape into another world.

Mexican telenovelas, or soap operas, like those in this country often verge on fantasy and are rarely realistic. Most tell of los ricos: the beautiful, educated rich, or los pobres, the poor. Rarely do we see a homely face or body gone to seed. Although race and class permeate every aspect of life, they are rarely discussed. As in Mexican movies, light-skinned folks own the haciendas; dark-haired natives do the dirty work.

Each episode lays bare a facet of Mexican culture that reeks of feudalism, patriarchy. Women are subservient to men; within la familia, they act as buffers. Rather than demand respect, they pray nonstop to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Unlike American women, said to emasculate males, Mexicanas manipulate their men; everyone saves face and the sanctity of marriage is upheld.

Skin color usually separates the haves from the have-nots. In “Esmeralda,� the leading lady (named Esmeralda) has green eyes and auburn hair; her mother was a blue-eyed blond. Aurorita, a pretty ranch girl, wears braids, ribbons and peasant dresses like those in 1940s Jorge Negrete movies. Los novios, the lovers, Esmeralda and Jose Armando, are caught up in a plot so convoluted it put “Gone With The Wind� to shame. In the end, love wins out and el patron accepts Esmeralda, abandoned at birth because she was female and blind, as his heir. With his wife as buffer, all is forgiven. Ta, ta!

But Mexican telenovelas, like the society they reflect, are changing. Fem, Mexico City’s feminist magazine, analyzed the outrage over “Mirada� by conservative (and Catholic) Mexicans frothing at the mouth, who felt the program ridiculed all held sacred by Mexican society. Set in bustling, modern Mexico, “Mirada� chronicles the end of the 27-year-old marriage of pretty, plump Maria Ines and Ignacio, her handsome husband, a successful, middle-aged man. Alex, Maria’s lover, a freelance writer, barely makes the rent. His ex (a pretty blond) makes more money than he does. When they meet to discuss their young son, she pays. The dialogue reflects an educated and affluent society. Muy articulate; folks analyze and discuss everything. But, in last week’s episode Maria Ines screams at Ignacio; he roars back. In their respective rooms, their children cringe. In “Mirada,� women demand respect, except for Maria’s mother, la abuela (grandmother), whose sleek suits and silver hair reek of money and position. She yearns for the old days when men wore the pants. She faults Maria for not making her marriage work for the sake of los hijos, the children, like a good Mexican wife.

Why would educated U.S. Latinas want to watch Mexican telenovelas? For one, they educate and change our perceptions of Mexican society. When it comes to family (and love) we are sisters-under-the-skin. We in America fight the same battles, with different results. In sum, we are not so different.

Unlike “Esmeralda,� which condoned patriarchy and elevated submissive women to near-sainthood, in “Mirada,� women and men grapple with universal issues. Often they offer solutions. The makers of “Mirada de Mujer� have thrown caution to the winds. And with it antiquated notions of women’s role. And the impossibility of love between an older woman and younger man.