Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Machismo ??? NOT! : The "Mandilon" in Mexico

In this week's lecture we talked about machismo and the portrayal of a "Macho" man in traditional Latin culture. I feel that this conception of a macho is in fact mainly used in the U.S. and not so much in Mexico. I agree with a comment made in class about how "macho" is used to promote a view of sexism among Mexicans. Rodriguez's article highlights the constructed notion of male domination over the family and how the Chicano movement is centered in the man, however this is not always the case. The term "Mandilon" is highly used in Mexico and used to describe any men ( a lot of whom I personally know); "mandilon" is the complete opposite of "macho." There is no direct translation for the word, but basically it describes a male (husband) who is a pushover, is docile, and completely obedient to the wife. The wife yells at him, uses some sort of violence against him, and the mandilon is usually seen doing some sort of housework whether it be cooking, washing, or cleaning. He is mainly characterized by wearing an apron (apron=mandil in Spanish, thus this is where the term deviates from).
Here is a video of a mandilon and his wife:
The man, Hector Suarez, is a famous comedian in Mexico
So basically the lady ( a neighbor) comes to ask for a cup of sugar and asks him why he puts up with such bad treatment. He is wearing the typical apron a mandilon should have. The wife overhears and tells her to go to the store to get some sugar. She also says it took her effort to master this "idiot" so the neighbor should work to get her own mandilon. The husband just stammers and pretty much stays quiet. The wife threatens to kill them both if he were to cheat.


Here is a song by Banda Machos (a really famous band in Mexico) about the mandilon:
Ya no pude salir, mandilon mandilon
a pasear por ahi, mandilon mandilon
ya no pude gozar pues le estorba el mandil
mandilon mandilon.

Mandilon es aquel que lo manda la novia
la esposa, la suegra y lo manda acostar
cuidense de casarse, cuidense de la hembra
cudense de la esposa o les diran
mandilon mandilon mandilon
te pondran a lavar, a barrer, a trapiar
le daras al bebe cuando quiera comer
te pondran a planchar no te pudes negar
o te puden dejar el ojo de chofer
no no, no lo niego si si, si yo lo soy
no no, no sere, si si, ya veras
mandilon mandilon,

Ya no pude salir, mandilon mandilon
a pasear por ahi, mandilon mandilon
ya no pude gozar pues le estorba el mandil
mandilon mandilon.

Con la liberacion, liberacion de la mujer
a todos nos va a caer el apodo de mandilon
no no, no lo niego si si si yo lo soy
no no, no sere si si ya veraz
mandilon mandilon.

Ya no pude salir, mandilon mandilon
a pasear por ahi, mandilon mandilon
ya no pude gozar pues le estorba el mandil
mandilon mandilon
Mandilon es aquel que lo manda la novia
la esposa, la suegra y lo manda acostar
cuidense de casarse, cuidense de la hembra
cudense de la esposa o les diran
mandilon mandilon mandilon.

I could not go out anymore, mandilon mandilon
to walk around, mandilon mandilon
I could not enjoy because the apron is a hinder
mandilon mandilon.

Mandilon is he who get bossed around by the bride
wife, mother and gets sent to bed
beware of marriage, beware of the female
beware of the wife or you will be called
mandilon mandilon mandilon
she will put you to wash, sweep, Mop
you will give her the baby when he wants to eat
she will make you iron, you cant say no
or she can leave you a driver's eye
no no, i do not deny it yes, yes, yes I am
no no, I do not deny it, yes, yes, yes I am a
mandilon mandilon,

With the liberation, liberation of women
we are all going to get the nickname mandilon
no no, I do not deny it Yeah yeah yeah I am
no no no yes yes I will be a
mandilon mandilon.

I could not go out anymore, mandilon mandilon
to walk around, mandilon mandilon
I could not enjoy because the apron is a hinder
mandilon mandilon.

Mandilon is he who get bossed around by the bride
wife, mother and gets sent to bed
beware of marriage, beware of the female
beware of the wife or you will be called
mandilon mandilon mandilon

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3 comments:

  1. Nisha HariharanOctober 12, 2010 at 10:36 AM

    That's really interesting! Is being a mandilon like the English equivalent of "being whipped" by a woman?

    I don't know the background or history of the term really, so I'm just going off of what is mentioned here, but it seems like both terms are problematic! Being macho vs. a mandilon posits men at one of two extremes, and as Aparicio says "stereotypes establish associations that may entail either 'negative images' or 'positive idealizations,'" thus creating "two poles," which are really ultimately unhelpful, as the vast majority of people do not fall at these ends, but somewhere in the middle.

    It also seems that the mandilon is the antithesis to machismo - it's very meaning is based in what it means to be macho, such that the absence of that machismo (of patriarchy, familial dominance, etc.) is what creates the mandilon. And I think it's also really interesting to look at the power play between the mandilon and his wife - their gender roles are switched. So now, if the woman is the dominating one who bosses her spouse around (as opposed to the stereotypical macho man), she must also adopt more stereotypically masculine characteristics. In the video you've posted, the wife is dressed in a pant suit, while the neighbor is wearing a dress. The harsh and demanding wife is clearly dressed in a more masculine manner than the soft-spoken, feminine neighbor - this masculinity thus would make her domination of the mandilon more acceptable than if she were an "effeminate" woman.

    I don't know if I'm totally wrong in how I've interpreted what a mandilon is exactly, but hopefully this has makes sense!

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  2. La ProfeOctober 12, 2010 at 10:30 PM

    This is a really helpful and smart post Nisha, I really agree that these two poles need each other to define themselves against, but both are upholding a system that limits expressions of masculinity. Very well stated. In english the Mandolin is the sort of the equivalent of a hen-pecked husband, so that idea is not unique to Latinos.

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  3. JuanafvOctober 13, 2010 at 2:12 PM

    I really enjoyed reading your post. I also happen to know a number of men that fit the description of the mandilon quite perfectly. It is actually kind of painful to watch how their partners treat them like their personal servants(at least that is how I feel). I am all for female rights and liberation, but I think that those women who take it so far as to become the oppressor are becoming exactly what they are supposedly fighting against:disrespect and oppression. Treating everyone with respect, as cliche as it might sound, is what I believe is best. But maybe that cannot ever be fully achieved.

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