Constructions of Mexicanidad in Australia: Mexico as an Exoticized, Postcolonial Other

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines the constructions of the so-called authentic Mexico, mexicanidad, in Australia. The limited contact between Australia and Mexico means that this phenomenon is still in its infancy, and as such, there is a gap in the literature. The aim of this article is to begin to fill this by examining the presence of mexicanidad in urban Australia, and the impact of this on young, urban Australians’ imaginings of Mexico. This study, conducted among Australian university students, examines how imaginings of Mexico, both positive and negative, are constructed by young Australians. The interviewees (re)produced a stylized pastiche of Mexico. Made in urban Australia, this imaginary comprises Frida-Kahlo-themed restaurants, Day-of-the-Dead exotica, and a fascination with the drug cartels. There are few Mexicans in Australia who might contest the misty-eyed Disneyfication of their cultures, and thus, mexicanidad in Australia operates as a vacant conceptual category into which cool yearnings can be inscribed. This article theorizes the construction of the social imaginary of Mexico in Australia, proposing that there is a presence in Australia of a pastiche version of mexicanidad, made up of both positive and negative imaginings. In the absence of a significant local expatriate population, Australian constructions of Mexico draw upon discourses of an exoticized, postcolonial Other. These imaginings operate as a largely empty conceptual box that serves as a holding space for Australians’ myriad desires, expectations and interpretations.