Gypsy Jan - 5-14-2012 at 09:31 PM
By Mimi Pollack
LA JOLLA, California - "Hybrid Culture." Those words resonated with me because I was brought up in a hybrid culture. On Wednesday, May 9, there was an
interesting platica [discussion] given at the Lawrence Family JCC by Isaac Artenstein, a well-known producer, writer, and director of such movies as A
Day without a Mexican and documentaries like Tijuana Jews. Artenstein also teaches at UCSD.
His passion is documenting life on both sides of the border. He is also a product of a hybrid culture, a Jew who grew up in Tijuana, and graduated
from UCLA.
In his discussion about "Jews in Mexican Cinema" and the influence they had, Artenstein said that most of the great producers in Mexico [as in the
United States] were of Jewish descent.
He showed clips from various films, including Baisano Jalil starring Joaquin Pardavé. It is about the life of a good-hearted Middle Eastern peddler.
The movie was made in the early 1940's during the "Golden Age" of Mexican Cinema. In 1942, the producers were nervous about openly showing a Jewish
peddler to the general population, so Jalil was portrayed as an Arab immigrant. On a side note, my former husband was a Mexican actor in the 1960's
who was encouraged to change his last name, so it "would not sound Jewish".
The first movie that portrayed the Jewish immigrant experience in Mexico, Novia Que Te Vea {May I See You As A Bride} was made in 1994. Based on the
book by Rosa Nissan and directed by Guita Schyfter, that movie is a personal favorite of mine because it not only reminded me of my older sister, but
also of Angelica ****** who plays the mother. She and I went to school together in our youth.
The movie affectionately portrayed the experiences of immigrants arriving in Mexico as well as of their Mexican-born children. It showed how Jews
growing up in Mexico lived between two worlds: Catholic and Jewish.
It also examined the modern world clashing with tradition, and the tensions between AshkeN-zi and Sephardic Jews, something that happened much more in
Mexico than in the United States. I wish Artenstein had spoken more on this subject as he himself is a product of such a "mixed marriage."
Finally, one of the families portrayed in the movies was Turkish, thus part of the movie was in Ladino, a language that has always fascinated me. It
was a good choice to show us, and I highly recommend this movie.
The next two movies were dark comedies, set in present-day Mexico. My Mexican Shiva can be summed up as Mariachis meet Kletzmer, a funny movie about
the experiences of a family sitting shiva and all that happens during those days of mourning.
Nora's Will is about how a mother's suicide affects her divorced husband, and her family. That movie won several "Arieles" which are the Mexican
Oscars.
Both movies touch upon culture and the collision of Jewish and Mexican ways, and their strong beliefs and superstitions about death. They are a good
introduction for someone who wants to know more about Jewish experiences in Mexico.
The last film discussed was Tijuana Jews, a wonderful documentary by Artenstein himself. It is a personal look at the lives and history of the Jews in
Tijuana. I found it so interesting, I bought the DVD!"
Artenstein gave a charismatic presentation about a subject that is near and dear to his heart.
Pollack is a freelance writer who focuses on cross-cultural issues.
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