Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Coco: Capitalist Appropriation of Mexican Tradition

In the midst of heightened xenophobia and anti-Latino sentiment in Donald Trump’s USA, Disney’s newest animated hit, Coco, appropriates an old Mexican tradition.

Juan Castellanos

November 22, 2017
Facebook Twitter Share

Image from Vix. Walt Disney Pictures/Coco.

Coco effectively reflects some of the most beautiful Mexican traditions: the importance of family, our folk music, the parties in the cemeteries and the cempasuchil flowers (Mexican marigold). It portrays our ancestors’ voyage through Mictlán, the mythical city of the dead. There’s even a Xolo dog who guides the dead to the next life.

The fact that Coco is a beautiful film should not stop us from recognizing capitalist appropriation of Mexican traditions. Just like capitalism made a commodity and a cliché out of Frida Kahlo’s life, Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) has now become a profitable commodity. Using the beauty of our culture, Disney will make billions of dollars to line the pockets of Yankee capitalists. The profits they make from Mexican culture flow freely into the US while at the same time, Trump, like his predecessors, deports Mexicans and other immigrants.

Disney, the massive profit-driven entertainment multinational does not produce “art for art’s sake.” On the contrary, it is a mega-corporation that makes billions off of children’s movies, 11 theme parks, television programs, films and merchandise. In 2016, it had a revenue of $55.6 billion and total assets of $99 billion . Disney purchased Pixar in 2006 at $7.4 billion, bringing together two of the most important children’s film production companies.

In 2013, Disney attempted to copyright the “Day of the Dead, ” but faced a powerful backlash. Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican holiday, with its roots pre-Columbian indigenous cultures; it dates back to Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the “Lady of the Dead”. On this multi-day holiday in early November, people honor deceased family members by building altars, decorating gravesites and providing offerings. Families cook the diseased favorite meals, as well as Pan de Muertos (Bread of the dead) and spend time in graveyards, playing music and celebrating the dead.

Disney’s attempts to copyright Dia de los Muertos faced a massive backlash. A change.org petition received over 21,000 signatures. How could a US-based corporation, such as Disney, trademark a centuries-old holiday and profit from it? If they had succeeded, what could stop them from trademarking the Popol Vuh or the Chilam Balam for their next movie?

Disney was forced to back down from their trademark attempt and now, 4 years later, Coco is finally coming out in theaters. It was released in Mexico in late October and was released on November 22 in the United States.

Capitalism profanes all that is holy; like a cancer, it spreads, vulgarizing all that is beautiful and unique about our culture. As Karl Marx put it in the Communist Manifesto, “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.” Today the return of our ancestors, our tradition of celebrating Mictlán, and Dia de los Muertos has become a mass commodity, aimed straight at the heart of Mexicans on both sides of the border.

As I watch Coco it’s hard not to think of the undocumented Mexicans who are unable to visit family on the other side of the border; those Mexicans in the US who break their backs for the profits of the capitalists while at the same time being discriminated against and living in fear of ICE; those Mexicans who can’t come home to spend Dia de los Muertos with their loved ones, or decorate the grave of their mother or father — those for whom the lights, the music and the celebration is a memory.

Disney made $43 million after less than a month in Mexican theaters. It is the highest grossing film in Mexican history.

Facebook Twitter Share

Latin America

Solidarity with Myriam Bregman, Socialist Congresswoman in Argentina, Under Attack for Her Defense of Palestine

Myriam Bregman, the candidate of the Workers Left Front, received almost 3 percent of votes in Argentina’s presidential election. She has been subject to false accusations of antisemitism due to her consistent defense of Palestinians. Hundreds of activists and politicians from around the world expressed their solidarity with this open letter.

Nicolas Del Cano and Myriam Bregman

In Argentina, a Surprise Finish for the Establishment While the Trotskyists Add to Their Congressional Seats

The far-right Javier Milei suffered a setback in Sunday’s elections. But voting the lesser evil won’t deal a definitive blow to the Right. That’s only achieved through building a socialist alternative for the working class.

Robert Belano

October 25, 2023

International Statement in Support of the Left and Workers Front — Unity (FIT-U) in the Argentinian Elections

Hundreds of activists, intellectuals, trade union leaders, and political organizations from all over the world have signed this declaration in support of the Workers Left Front — Unity (FITU) in the Argentinian elections this Sunday.

Anti-Imperialism: The Socialist Candidate in Argentina Refused to Meet with the US Ambassador

We republish a letter by Argentinian socialist and presidential candidate Myriam Bregman, declining to meet with the U.S. ambassador, expressing solidarity with the U.S. working class and oppressed, and denouncing imperialist intervention in Latin America.

Myriam Bregman

October 10, 2023

MOST RECENT

Protesters in NYC for Palestinian liberation.

Uniting Workers for Palestine Is a Fight for the Future of Labor

The struggle for Palestine shows the potential for the rank and file to push unions to break with imperialism and to build a new, combative, and internationalist unionism.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

November 27, 2023
Haverford College student Kinnan Abdalhamid and Brown University students Tahseen Ahmed and Hisham Awartani, Palestinian college students who were shot in Burlington, Vermont.

Haverford Faculty for Justice in Palestine Releases Statement Supporting Pro-Palestinian Students

Haverford College Faculty for Justice in Palestine have published a statement following the shooting of three Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont.

A Pause in Genocide Is Not Enough: Jewish Voice for Peace Shuts Down the Manhattan Bridge

Amid a pause in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, Jewish Voice for Peace is showing that the movement for Palestine will continue. Civil disobedience must lead to broad protests which bring all sectors of the movement together.

Samuel Karlin

November 26, 2023
Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, and Tahseen Ahmed wearing Keffiyes. They were shot in Burlington, Vermont, USA.

The Three Palestinians Shot in Burlington Are Victims of Rising Islamophobia

Three Palestinian men were shot in Burlington Vermont while walking down the street. The campaign against Palestine has dehumanized all Palestinians and left them more vulnerable to these types of attacks.

Enid Brain

November 26, 2023