Contemporary Colonialities in Mexico and Beyond explores the changing dynamic of coloniality by focusing on how modern cultural products connect to the foundational structures of colonialism. The book examines how these structures have perpetuated discourses of racial, ethnic, gender, and social exclusion rooted in Mexico’s history. Given the intimate relationship between coloniality and modernity, the volume addresses three central questions: How does the Mexican colonial history influence the definition of Mexico from within and outside its borders? What issues rooted in coloniality recur over time and space? And finally, how do cultural products provide a concrete and tangible way of studying coloniality, its history, and its evolution? The book analyses how literary works, movies, television series, and social media posts reconfigure colonial difference and spatialization. Supported by careful historical and cultural contextualization, these analyses will allow readers to appreciate contemporary Mexico vis-à-vis culture and borderland issues in the United States and debates on imperial memory in Spain. Ultimately, Contemporary Colonialities in Mexico and Beyond presents a handbook for readers looking to learn more about coloniality as a pervasive part of global interactions today.

The Improbable Conquest offers translations of a series of little-known letters from the chaotic Spanish conquest of the Río de la Plata region, uncovering a rich and understudied historical resource. These letters were written by a wide variety of individuals, including clergy, military officers, and the region’s first governor, Pedro de Mendoza. There is also an exceptional contribution from Isabel de Guevara, one of the few women involved in the conquest to have recorded her experiences. Writing about the conditions of settlements and expeditions, these individuals vividly expose the less glamorous side of the conquest, narrating in detail various misfortunes, infighting, corruption, and complaints. Their letters further reveal the colony’s fraught relationship with the native peoples it sought to colonize, giving insight into the complexities of the conquest and the colonization process. Pablo García Loaeza and Victoria Garrett provide an introduction to the history of the region and the conquest’s key players, as well as a timeline and a glossary explaining difficult and archaic Spanish terms.

For many years, scholars of the conquest worked to shift focus away from the Spanish perspective and bring attention to the often-ignored voices and viewpoints of the Indians. But recent work that highlights the “Indian conquistadors� has forced scholars to reexamine the simple categories of conqueror and subject and to acknowledge the seemingly contradictory roles assumed by native peoples who chose to fight alongside the Spaniards against other native groups. The Native Conquistador—a translation of the “Thirteenth Relation,� written by don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl in the early seventeenth century—narrates the conquest of Mexico from Hernando Cortés’s arrival in 1519 through his expedition into Central America in 1524. The protagonist of the story, however, is not the Spanish conquistador but Alva Ixtlilxochitl’s great-great-grandfather, the native prince Ixtlilxochitl of Tetzcoco. This account reveals the complex political dynamics that motivated Ixtlilxochitl’s decisive alliance with Cortés. Moreover, the dynamic plotline, propelled by the feats of Prince Ixtlilxochitl, has made this a compelling story for centuries—and one that will captivate students and scholars today.