Pan-Mexicanism through Radio, 1936–1942

Abstract

Between the 1920s and 1940s, Mexican culture became the subject of enthusiastic interest across the Americas and several European countries. This interest was due, among other things, to transnational networks, pan-Americanism, and the development of mass communication technologies. In the late 1930s, facing a wave of negative perception abroad and domestic pressure to fulfill the promises of the revolution, the Lázaro Cárdenas government embraced all available means of communication. In addition to graphic and visual media (crafts, mural paintings, literature, cinema, etc.), radio added an audio dimension: music, reports, historical and tourist narratives, news, radio-theater, conferences, and advertising. Pan-Mexicanism refers to the convergence of the appropriation of Mexicanness abroad and the efforts of Mexican propagandists to construct a positive national image. Pan-Mexicanism by radio originated in the educational missions of the 1920s as government stations sought to strengthen public knowledge of national culture and spread what they called “good taste.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ station, XECR, wielded the greatest power and international prominence. However, the demand for Mexican sounds sprang up in several countries in the Americas and Europe. Networks between diplomats, politicians, intellectuals, artists, musicians, businessmen, owners of radio stations, and independent consumers contributed to turn Mexican culture into a transnational phenomenon. The Mexicanist programs abroad varied according to their designers, technical resources, local demand, and reception. The contents and structure of these programs reflect different intentions, attitudes, tastes, and preferences, from the Hispano-American devotion to music to the exoticism, idealization, and romanticism of European and North American programs.