'Me cae que no me entiendes': Multi-Language Text in the Mexican Onda

Author: Carpenter, Victoria

Source: Romance Studies, Volume 27, Number 3, July 2009 , pp. 199-210(12)

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Abstract:

This study examines multi-language texts in the body of the works of the Mexican Onda movement (1964–1971). The aim of the study is to analyse foreign language inclusions from a transcultural perspective. The inclusions to be considered are words and phrases in foreign languages (used in their original form or in translation), and quotations from contemporary pop and rock songs (both original and in translation). By applying a number of theories, such as hermeneutics, transcultural hybridity, and diasporic writing, the study will determine the purpose of such inclusions as part of a complex linguistic coding used in the Onda works. The system of closed codes created by the Onda may appear elitist because it limits the readership of the texts to those who are knowledgeable enough to understand the hidden meaning of the texts. This study argues that the seemingly elitist nature of the Onda is an attempt at bridging the gap between high (mainstream) and low culture (subculture) by challenging the constraints of cultural dominance. This challenge is based upon the rejection of a canonical high cultural framework and its replacement with a transcultural reference system.

Keywords: CULTURAL HYBRIDITY; POPULAR CULTURE; ONDA; TRANSCULTURATION; MEXICAN LITERATURE

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174581509X455132

Affiliations: University of Derby, UK

Publication date: 2009-07-01

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