A review by lauren_endnotes
68, by Paco Ignacio Taibo II
"[He] told me that I had to write this book because my memories were not my private property -- that there are loves that last, even for those who have not lived them in the first place."
From '68 by Paco Ignacio Taibo II, translated from the Spanish by Donald Nicholson-Smith, 1991/2004 by @7storiespress
The student movement of 1968 in Mexico City - now often referred to as the 'Tlatelolco Massacre' - is remembered for the numbers of students murdered and disappeared by the military. It's still not known how many people - but in the hundreds - killed on October 2, 1968.
Taibo, present during for weeks in the Movement, but not there on "the night" steps back a few months before the massacre & notes the 123 preceding days of "heroic strike". In many ways this book is a processing of the guilt he feels for being absent that day/night...
Poetic and anecdotal, musings, calls to action, and some passionate writing.
"All those guys who lied, who kept us down, who kissed ass, who threatened us - they were the real Mexico. But then we, the NEW we, made from the many that we had been, decided that, fuck it, we were also the real Mexico."
"Memory tends to simplify, whether by retaining absurdly trivial anecdotes or by seeing the big picture strictly in balc and white. The Movement was, in fact, many things at once. For thousands of students, it was an unmasking of the Mexican state as an emperor with no clothes."
.
.
While Taibo's book describes the emotions of being a student activist "on the ground", I'm still learning the details of the what / why of Tlatelolco. My reference points before "68" were secondhand literary sources, primarily Roberto Bolaño's fictional work - the Massacre is part of his AMULET, and also is mentioned in THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES. I'd like to acquire Elena Poniatowska's journalism work on the events too, the translated English title "Massacre in Mexico".
A major cultural touch point in modern Mexican history.
Taibo is a VERY prolific writer - some 80 titles - and a giant of the literature scene in Mexico, organizing book festivals and literary gatherings. Many of his works are translated into English - much more to explore.
From '68 by Paco Ignacio Taibo II, translated from the Spanish by Donald Nicholson-Smith, 1991/2004 by @7storiespress
The student movement of 1968 in Mexico City - now often referred to as the 'Tlatelolco Massacre' - is remembered for the numbers of students murdered and disappeared by the military. It's still not known how many people - but in the hundreds - killed on October 2, 1968.
Taibo, present during for weeks in the Movement, but not there on "the night" steps back a few months before the massacre & notes the 123 preceding days of "heroic strike". In many ways this book is a processing of the guilt he feels for being absent that day/night...
Poetic and anecdotal, musings, calls to action, and some passionate writing.
"All those guys who lied, who kept us down, who kissed ass, who threatened us - they were the real Mexico. But then we, the NEW we, made from the many that we had been, decided that, fuck it, we were also the real Mexico."
"Memory tends to simplify, whether by retaining absurdly trivial anecdotes or by seeing the big picture strictly in balc and white. The Movement was, in fact, many things at once. For thousands of students, it was an unmasking of the Mexican state as an emperor with no clothes."
.
.
While Taibo's book describes the emotions of being a student activist "on the ground", I'm still learning the details of the what / why of Tlatelolco. My reference points before "68" were secondhand literary sources, primarily Roberto Bolaño's fictional work - the Massacre is part of his AMULET, and also is mentioned in THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES. I'd like to acquire Elena Poniatowska's journalism work on the events too, the translated English title "Massacre in Mexico".
A major cultural touch point in modern Mexican history.
Taibo is a VERY prolific writer - some 80 titles - and a giant of the literature scene in Mexico, organizing book festivals and literary gatherings. Many of his works are translated into English - much more to explore.