Word: mexicanization
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Carlos Reygadas' name is rarely mentioned as part of the recent surge of Mexican cinema. The directors usually cited are the three amigos Alfonso Cuaron (Y tu mamá también, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores perros, Babel) and Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy). Yet Reygadas, 37, has made the biggest noise at international film festivals and among the more intellectual critics. His Japon and Battle in Heaven won praise for their filmmaking rigor, caustic view of Mexico's social ills and often frank take...
Several weeks ago, Mexican police in Ciudad Juarez had some unexpected visitors—or at least parts of them. In a cooler left by a station near Ascension, the police discovered the heads of four men between the ages of 25 and 35. Officers reported some difficulty in identifying the severed heads, as they could belong to any of nearly a dozen local victims who were kidnapped by gunmen the previous week...
...unusual consequence of the ensuing chaos has manifested itself in the Mexican world of fashion. Colombian designer Miguel Caballero has opened a new shop in Mexico City that is drawing worldwide attention for its merchandise: luxury bulletproof clothing. With prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to $7,000, Caballero’s leather jackets, polo shirts, coats, shorts and ruffled tuxedo shirts are becoming increasingly popular with political leaders and celebrities from around the world...
Although they have not offered exact figures, Caballero’s spokespeople have reported that increased crime rates have helped business significantly. Caballero’s success speaks to a disturbing trend among the Mexican elite. Bulletproof clothing is emblematic of a greater divide between Mexican problems and Mexican money; as a BBC report revealed in October, the Mexican wealth gap is the largest in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with “some parts [comparable] to Spanish or German cities, but other parts…more like the poorest parts of Africa...
...just because the Mexican elite can afford to forget about the social issues of their communities doesn’t mean that they should. That wealthier individuals can pay for the resources necessary to survive social turmoil is a given in any society, but what distinguishes Caballero’s customers is that they seem to embrace their greater access to security in a particularly conspicuous and inconsiderate manner. No one would insist that all Mexican citizens bear the burden of the heightened crime rates equally or that wealthy and influential Mexicans pour all their excess funds into law enforcement...