Blood, Ink, and Culture: Miseries and Splendors of the Post-Mexican Condition

Guns and pens, violence and writing. According to Roger Bartra, two sorts of culture-one of blood, one of ink-intertwine to form the uneven battleground for leftist struggles in contemporary Mexico. In Blood, Ink, and Culture, a compilation of political essays by one of Latin America’s leading public intellectuals, Bartra explores the complex connections between popular culture, national ideology, and the state with the critical eye and optimistic outlook that have become his signature. Written over a period of twenty years, these essays-most translated for the first time into English-cover a wide range of topics and historical circumstances, from how the United States and Mexico differ in their treatment of indigenous peoples to the repercussions of the Zapatista uprising in 1994 to the meaning of postnational identity in the context of globalization and multiculturalism. Yet Blood, Ink, and Culture offers more than a stimulating inside look at political and intellectual life in Central America. The collection also provides a view of the author’s evolution as a thinker over a critical period of transition in Mexican history and a postscript discussing current president Vicente Fox. Blood, Ink, and Culture will prove a valuable resource for scholars and students of cultural studies as well as Latin American and Mexican culture. Bartra’s insights will also draw readers more generally interested in the interconnectedness of political and popular culture in a Latin American context.