Elena Poniatowska
Joseph Moseley
ES 394
Final Paper
Elena Poniatowska
In 1968, the world was politically on fire. The atrocities being reported about the Viet Nam war began to touch every corner of the globe and young people everywhere began challenging their governments demanding change, equality and peace. Mexico was no exception and in this particular year of unrest, they were going to be the first Spanish-speaking developing nation to hold the Olympic Games. Tensions were high and police brutality, hostility and enforcement were prevalently rampant throughout the nation resulting in an escalation of frustration and anger by Mexican citizens. Prior to the start of the Olympics, an event occurred that resulted in the imprisonment, disappearances and death of possible 3,000 students, during a peaceful protest on the 2nd of October at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, Mexico. The cover-up by the Mexican government was swift, vicious and devastating to the citizens leaving many of them uncertain of their future and lives. But in the midst of this chaos, there was one woman who stood up and decided that she would expose Mexico’s corruption and would not let the memories of those students killed on Oct. 2nd be forgotten. She fearlessly attacked social and gendered inequality and fought for “la gente” demanding truth and justice. Her name is Elena Poniatowska and I will further detail the importance of her actions into investigating Oct 2nd Massacre. I will also discuss some other of her other socially important literary work as well as her contributions and influence to the country of Mexico as a whole and for women globally.
Poniatowska was born in Paris to Prince Jean Joseph Evremont Sperry Poniatowska and Paula Amor Yturbe. Her father was a French nobleman who was a descendant of the brother of King Stanislaus II of Poland, the last king of Poland. The Poniatowska brothers of King Stanislaus were granted Princely titles as relatives to the King. She
ES 394
Final Paper
Elena Poniatowska
In 1968, the world was politically on fire. The atrocities being reported about the Viet Nam war began to touch every corner of the globe and young people everywhere began challenging their governments demanding change, equality and peace. Mexico was no exception and in this particular year of unrest, they were going to be the first Spanish-speaking developing nation to hold the Olympic Games. Tensions were high and police brutality, hostility and enforcement were prevalently rampant throughout the nation resulting in an escalation of frustration and anger by Mexican citizens. Prior to the start of the Olympics, an event occurred that resulted in the imprisonment, disappearances and death of possible 3,000 students, during a peaceful protest on the 2nd of October at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, Mexico. The cover-up by the Mexican government was swift, vicious and devastating to the citizens leaving many of them uncertain of their future and lives. But in the midst of this chaos, there was one woman who stood up and decided that she would expose Mexico’s corruption and would not let the memories of those students killed on Oct. 2nd be forgotten. She fearlessly attacked social and gendered inequality and fought for “la gente” demanding truth and justice. Her name is Elena Poniatowska and I will further detail the importance of her actions into investigating Oct 2nd Massacre. I will also discuss some other of her other socially important literary work as well as her contributions and influence to the country of Mexico as a whole and for women globally.
Poniatowska was born in Paris to Prince Jean Joseph Evremont Sperry Poniatowska and Paula Amor Yturbe. Her father was a French nobleman who was a descendant of the brother of King Stanislaus II of Poland, the last king of Poland. The Poniatowska brothers of King Stanislaus were granted Princely titles as relatives to the King. She
Cited: Anguiano, Arturo. (2013). Mexico 1968: Society Erupts onto the Political Stage. International Viewpoint – Online Socialist Magazine, Article 1495. http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?page=imprimir?articulo&id_article=145 Garcia, Alma. Chicana: Feminist Thought, The Basic Historical Writings. Copywright 1997 by Routledge, Inc. Harris, Christopher. (2005). Remembering 1968 in Mexico: Elena Poniatowska’s La Noche de Tlatelolco as Documentary Narrative. Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol 24, No. 4, pp. 481-495. Matthews, Kevin. (2009). Mexican Writer Decries Plight of Women Writers in Latin America. UCLA Today. Minister, Christopher. The Tlatelolco Massacre: A Gruesome Turning Point in Mexican History. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/20thcenturylatinamerica/a/tlatelolco.htm Miramontes, Luis E. Cardenas. (2011). Elena Poniatowska. http://amazingmexican.com/?p=63 Mirande, Alfredo and Enriques, Evangelina. La Chicana: The Mexican-American Woman. Copywright 1979 by the University of Chicago. Ponistowska, E. (1971). La Noche de Tlatelolco (2nd End), Ediciones Era: Mexico City, Corrected, second print, 1999.