México de afuera in Northern Missouri: The Creation of Porfiriato Society in America’s Heartland

• Main Author: Craig Dennison
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AesthetixMS: Aesthetics Media Services 2010-08-01
• Series: Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities
• Subjects: Mexican-American literatura; Mexico de afuera; Teodorro Torres; Immigrant literatura; Porfiriato; Mexican Revolution
• Online Access: http://rupkatha.com/V2/n3/MexicodeafuerainNorthernMissouri.pdf

This essay examines the ideology of México de afuera in the novel La patria perdida byTeodoro Torres. Torres, who fled Mexico after the onset of the Mexican Revolution, found ajob as lead editor of La Prensa, the successful Spanish-language newspaper owned byIgnacio Lozano. Living in San Antonio during the 1910s, Torres became familiar with theideology of México de afuera before returning to Mexico. His novel, which begins in northernMissouri, follows the return of Luis Alfaro to his homeland only to discover that he feels moreat home, more in Mexico, on his farm north of Kansas City. When studying the work and thelife of Torres, the plot of this novel become problematic. A man who lived in the United Statesfor nine years before returning to Mexico, Torres certainly had the insight to providepsychological and emotional analyses of the immigrants and the understanding to write aboutthe thoughts and feelings that many had experienced upon their return to the homeland. Yet,why does Torres, who had returned to Mexico and done well for himself for over a decadebefore he penned this novel, invent an immigrant utopia on a farm in Missouri? It is not aquestion that is easily answered, but after examining Torres’s life, the basic tenets of Méxicode afuera and the novel itself, a conclusion can be reached. Torres idolized Porfiriato societyand Luis Alfaro’s farm is an idealized version of fin-de-siècle Mexico.