Slave Girl as Goddess
Since this is a history text, Chasteen avoids any language that might manipulate the reader toward or away from a particular emotional response, and he avoids projecting his own cultural values onto other societies. He therefore avoids metaphors, similes, or picturesque speech unless he is quoting from a primary source or a common phrase repeated by period writers. He does this in Chapter 3, quoting an 1862 traveler to Rio de Janeiro who described a slave wet nurse that was "as majestic as an ancient goddess" due to her smile, her fine clothing, and her head which was held high. This is a very ironic simile because one paragraph later Chasteen quotes a newspaper ad where the services of a similar woman were offered for rent by her owner.
Mexican Governor as Monkey
Benito Juárez, of Zapotec descent, was the first indigenous person to become a governor of a Mexican state. Upon embarking on a career in politics he distanced himself from his Zapotec cultural identity, embracing European-like values and modes of dress so as to better represent all Mexican people. His detractors mocked his dark skin, which he tried to hide under powder, and called him "a monkey dressed up as Napoleon". This somewhat racist insult stung because, to Juárez, being called an indio was insulting: he believed that by educating himself and practicing law he had risen above his humble origins and also his ethnicity. He was embraced by many Mexicans as a better leader than the invading French, and he ultimately became President. The city of Juárez, across the river from El Paso, is named for him, and yet in his own day there were people who called him a monkey to imply that he was stupid and backward because of his appearance and his humble origins.
Independence Fighters as Unruly Children
Chasteen includes a copy of a 1898 cartoon from Harper's Weekly Magazine showing an Uncle Sam character acting as an impatient schoolteacher presiding over, punishing, and even physically beating a group of dark-skinned students who are dressed in different types of world costumes. Two barefoot children, Cuban independence fighters, are shown squabbling like children. They are shown, metaphorically, as people incapable of self-government. The title of the cartoon, "Uncle Sam's New Class in the Art of Self-Governance" reinforces the neocolonial message, believed by many Americans at the time, that only people of European descent are fit to govern other lands.
Cannibalism as Metaphor for Artistic Development
Chasteen quotes the Brazilian writer Oswald de Andrade as suggesting that instead of trying to imitate the Europeans Brazilian artists should metaphorically emulate the dietary habits of the Tupi indigenous people, "cannibalizing" other cultures by consuming their artistic, intellectual, and cultural material, digesting it, and using it to create something uniquely Brazilian. He is making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Tupi custom of literal cannibalism.
Latin America as U.S. "Backyard"
During the Cold War, many American politicians and journalists feared the encroachment of Communism, particularly in Latin America which they described as being "in our backyard". The backyard was a metaphor for territory which was not quite part of the house or home, but close enough for an enemy to strike quickly. The word "backyard" also carried connotations of ownership and of a moral duty of the owner to care for and maintain.
