Octavio Paz and the origins of macho culture
Octavio Paz briefly characterizes the origin of machismo in “The Labyrinth of Solitude,” his seminal work on the Mexican character. Paz labels the macho person the “gran chingón.”
He writes: “Some of his more obvious qualities are unshakable self-confidence, a paternalistic attitude toward family and employees, and an unwillingness to take advice from others. He tends to be xenophobic, and distrusts foreigners. He is both outspoken and demonstrative about his love of his wife, yet he often has a mistress and flirts with other women. In business or in politics he will not only try to defeat his competition but will go out of his way to humiliate them. From this latter trait he got his name. Chingón is derived from the verb chingar, which means to rape, or to screw.”
The gran chingón does not show his emotions or let anyone get the better of him, Paz explains. He drinks but he never gets drunk or loses control. He is often smug or a braggart.
These character traits do not describe one man, but rather a type of man who will be recognized immediately in business and politics by his contemporaries. Anyone who has lived in Latin America has met the gran chingón in one guise or another: a boss, a political figure, a father, a brother, a husband. How did this personality develop? Why is it so endemic, especially in Latin countries? Why does it persist, despite criticism, especially from the affluent and well-educated middle class?
The answers to these questions can be found in the Greek epic “The Odyssey,” which has been taught from the Middle Ages to present today to young boys, though not to girls, as education was a male prerogative. Classical stories were used to mold the characters of young men, who were to be the future leaders of society. What models presented themselves for their study in the Greek classics?
Odysseus was courageous. He was able to think three steps ahead. He was crafty and self-reliant, but he also believed in a deity that doubled his strength. Odysseus left his homeland in search of honor and wealth — a quality much encouraged by European empires looking to conquest westward. By the 16th century, Odysseus’ heroic qualities could be found in Magellan, Balboa, Columbus and Cortez, as they set forth on their own odysseys in the New World. This pantheon of heroes would be models for coming generations in the Americas.
Although he loves his wife, Odysseus was seduced by Calypso, the “loveliest of goddesses,” and by “Circe, the enchantress” who “detained me ... but in my heart, I never gave consent.” Like the gran chingón, he loves his wife, the mother of his children, but he spends time with paramours, although they are frivolous.
“The Odyssey” is still popular with young people. It is exciting, violent, colorful and adventurous. While its influence today in building the character of young men is certainly overshadowed by action films, biographies of rock stars and exploits of athletes, the character formation that took place in Spain during the Middle Ages, when it was the central work taught, cannot be easily discounted. Moreover, since the friars and the conquistadors brought this educational background to Spanish America, and passed it on to their sons and male charges in mission schools and universities, its impact was relatively undiminished by its export to the New World.