Rethinking Ingendismo When Cultures Clash

In Garro’s La dama boba the concept of the less sophisticated and superstitious indigenous person is confronted. When Lupe’s father mistakes the actor Francisco as a real life teacher, the initial reaction of many is of that the people of Tepan are infantile and backwards in their beliefs. In Indigenous Bodies Conested Texts it say
“Garro deftly exposes the nationalist illogic underlying indigenismo by linking it to the still unresolved question of indigenous self-representation. For the cultural emissaries in the play, the indigenous communities exist as people to be acted upon; when these people act, as does the mayor the mayor of Tepan, they may as well not exist for all the attention they get. But they are not powerless as illustrated through the figure of Lupe. “(p35)

I think La dama boba reacts to the phenomenon of when the oppressor takes a paternalistic view of the oppressed. In the indigenismo genre of literature the Indians were shown in a sympathetic light and injustices were criticized. In La dama boba the clash of the two worlds is more sharply illustrated. However the convergence of the two worlds is represented in the character of Lupe. Through Lupe’s direct access to the system of the Mexican state through Francisco she can see clearly short comings of the city and the rural world views.
As Lupe is able to live in the duality of the indigenous world view and the urban world view we see the acceptance of the various approaches to viewing the universe. The play provides a scenario where neither form is rejected or elevated. This phenomenon is important when different concepts of the world collide.