John Steinbeck and Mexico

1
John Steinbeck and Mexico

• By Bill Wolfe, Wasco Union High School
• English 11-C
• 90 Hispanic, 33 LEP, 10 RSP
• Of Mice and Men, Jan.-Feb. 1998

CSU Bakersfield
2
Introduction--Background

• Did you know Steinbeck was fluent in Spanish?
• He first visited Mexico in the early 1930s and
  fell in love with the country and its wonderful
  people.
• This presentation will tell you all about
  Steinbecks experiences in, and writings about,
  Mexico and her people.

3
Steinbeck Un Hombre Muy Simpatico

• He was deeply affected by the similarities
  between the poor and working class in Mexico and
  the U.S. (esp. in California)
• He was a passionate supporter of labor unions
  and despised (hated) growers, big companies, and
  management types.
• He vigorously opposed exploitation of
  agricultural workers.

4
Steinbecks Fascination With Emiliano Zapata

• Zapata led Indian revolutionaries in the south of
  Mexico against the corrupt government of
  President Diaz.
• Better known is Pancho Villa, who led the
  revolutionaries in the north, and who fought U.S.
  soldiers on occasion.
• Steinbeck lived in Mexico in the late 1930s
  while doing research on Zapata.

5
Steinbeck Sails the Sea of Cortez

• Following the massive success (and controversy)
  of The Grapes of Wrath in 1939-1940, he fled to
  Baja California for peace and quiet.
• He and his wife joined his best friend, Ed Doc
  Ricketts, a marine biologist, in exploring and
  documenting this isolated but beautiful area.

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Steinbeck Sails the Sea of Cortez

• They also spent a lot of time eating, drinking,
  and partying in La Paz during their several weeks
  south of the border.
• Steinbeck kept a journal which he later expanded
  into a book, Travels in the Sea of Cortez.
• Several years later, The Log From the Sea of
  Cortez was published.

7
Making Movies in Mexico!

• The Pearl was filmed in Mexico and starred the
  great Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz in the role
  of Kino.
• It was the first movie filmed in Mexico to be
  widely distributed in the U.S., largely because
  of Steinbecks popularity and influence.

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Making Movies in Mexico!

• Steinbeck wanted Armendariz to star in Viva
  Zapata! but the movie studio insisted on an
  American actor Marlon Brando got the role
  instead.
• Steinbeck was nominated for best story and best
  screenplay Oscars.

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Making Movies in Mexico!

• Marlon Brando was nominated for a best actor
  Oscar.
• Anthony Quinn (who is half-Mexican) was nominated
  for and won an Oscar as best supporting actor,
  playing Zapatas brother.
• Viva Zapata! was very popular with the public
  and is one of the four classic movies from 1952.

10
The Forgotten Village

• Steinbeck returned to Mexico in 1940 to write a
  movie script about a village that resisted the
  efforts of doctors to prevent epidemic diseases.
• It became The Forgotten Village.
• It is available as a picture book with movie
  stills and a simple narrative.

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Steinbecks Love of Spanish

• Steinbeck returned to Mexico yet again in the
  summer of 1948 and in January 1949 to work on the
  Zapata screenplay.
• He told his publisher, I need the country and
  the language in my eyes and ears in order to
  write the screenplay for Viva Zapata!