Describing the Other, Struggling with the Self: Hungarian Travel Writers in Mexico and the Revision of Western Images

Abstract

This article provides an overview of nineteenth-century Hungarian travel accounts on Mexico and examines their relationship with Western European and United States travelogues. How did Hungarian travelers relate to images projected by Western accounts? How did their Hungarian/Central European background influence and alter such images? This article shows that the first Hungarian travel writers not only built on but also identified with concepts promoted by "imperial" travelers, calling attention to the power of Western texts in the representation of Mexico. A new wave of travelers at the end of the century tried to break away from the previous discourse and began to call for alternative approaches to Mexico. Based on texts so far unstudied in this context and mostly available in Hungarian only, the analysis offers new insights into the mechanics of travel writing and describes a struggle for a more just depiction of Mexico, a process also influenced by Hungarian self-perception.