the mexican macho

"The Mexican 'macho'-the male-is a hermetic being, closed up in himself, capable of guarding both himself and whatever has been confided in him.  Manliness is judged according to one's invulnerability to enemy arms or the impacts of the outside world." (Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, p.31)

Each time I read something by Octavio Paz, I can tell it's profound but I can't quite understand it at first.   It takes a little bit of reexamination and application to grasp what he is suggesting. This quote about the manly man appealed to me immediately.  I think we've all come across someone who fits the macho description;  an individual who, no matter what, won't let anyone into his fortress.  We wonder why they're so guarded and why they refuse relationships.  Paz not only presents us with an image of the Mexican macho but also an explanation for why he exists.

As Paz described the macho man I began thinking of good parallels.  Many examples came to mind but none better than Lieutenant Dan Taylor.  Lieutenant Dan is a character from the film Forrest Gump.  Lieutenant Dan is as manly and macho as they come.  Since the inception of the United States of America, Lieutenant Dan was destine to be a soldier. In fact, Lieutenant Dan had a family member fight and die in every American war.  There were few things Lieutenant Dan couldn't do, one of those was open up.  Not only is Lieutenant Dan concerned with the war against the Viet Cong, but also the war against candid relationships.

Paz uses a special word to describe the Mexican macho's view of life-"combat."  Life is a war and it requires strategy.  The warrior with the most defense and intelligence will win.  Once the enemy knows your secrets, then you've lost the fight.  Connections and relationships open us up and exposes our feelings.  Relationships expose our secrets. To a manly lieutenant or a macho Mexican, secrets cannot be released and therefore genuine bonds are never formed.  Why is protection and security so important to these stoics?  Paz suggests history and heritage.  Similar to Lieutenant Dan's lineage of American soldiers, the Mexican macho has an ancestry of pride, courage and skepticism. 

If you have spare time here is a link to 20 more minutes of Lieutenant Dan footage.