Latin American Cinematography:

Danzon by Maria Novaro: Contemporary Mexico from a Woman's Point of View

A couple of week's ago, I reviewed 'Como agua para chocolate', a Mexican novel / film by Laura Esquivel. I highlighted that although the narrative appears to be progressive and to celebrate women's willingness to break from tradition, it is clear that neither the novel nor the film achieve true liberation for the characters. Feminine power is derived through the fulfilment of traditional roles such as marriage and motherhood and it is the masculine gaze and agency that determine the course of the novel. Men are physically present only occasionally, yet the legacy of sexism and the confinement of women to the domestic sphere persist. 'Danzon' by contrast does attempt to define contemporary Mexican society through the feminine experience. It is a film from which masculine gaze and agency are genuinely absent.

Mexico City People dancing the Danzon

From the late 1970s there were various forces at play in creating a more hospitable environment for female participation in the Mexican film industry:the initial and most influential being the formation of the Colectivo Cine-Mujer (Women Film Collective). This collective was dedicated to telling women's stories on film and to expanding employment opportunities for women in the film industry. Although the collective disbanded in the mid-1980s, its legacy remains significant. A characteristic of all women directors who are once active in the collective, is a strong directorial voice. They each participate actively in the central creative aspects of their projects - directing, screenwriting and editing. Novaro's own personal narrative techniques, thematic concerns and visual style are evident throughout her work.

Maria Novaro wrote and directed 'Danzon' in 1991 and is arguably the most successful woman in Mexican cinema to date. She studied Sociology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Film Production at the University Center of Film Studies in Mexico City. Having worked in the industry as a sound mixer, a cinematographer and an assistant director, she made her first feature as a director with 'Lola' in 1989. She was also an active member of the Colectivo Cine-Mujer. Her work was well received in Europe, particularly in Spain, France and the United Kingdom. In Mexico, she's considered a pioneer in an industry mostly dominated by men. Her 1991 film, 'Danzon', was an instant hit in Mexico and soon became popular overseas.

'Danzon' is the tale of the transformation of the key character, Julia Solorzano, who is a phone operator living in Mexico City with her young daughter. Her world and personal relationships are structured through her friends at work and through the people she meets at the dance hall. She is fascinated by dancing and in particular with the danzon. For many years, Julia has been with a steady dance partner, Carmelo Benitez and they have won awards in competitions. However Julia's partner suddenly disappears with no warning and her life loses direction. Carmelo, as the absent character in the film is the focus of the search that frames the plot. Since the audience never sees Carmelo until the end of the film (and then only from a distance), he is reconstructed by viewers through Julia's descriptions and emotions.

During the course of her search, Julia travels to Veracruz where she encounters various situations that force her to confront herself. She experiences life in two contrasting places; the first in Mexico City, a place characterized by work, routine, social convention and dancing; a sensual activity that gives Julia's life meaning. The second place is the port of Veracruz, which functions as a place of openness, festivity and the unconventional. This is represented by the resident sailors, prostitutes, and transvestites. It is here that Julia forges new friendships, first with Susy, an artist and transvestite who helps her, then later with Ruben, her younger lover. Throughout her trip, Julia faces challenges to her social prejudices and consequently her ideas on love and life waver.

'Danzon' breaks with traditional forms of gender representation in which women are mere objects, or at best subjects controlled by male desire. However, it does this in a subtle way that is likely to be non-threatening to a male audience.

The film's central characters are women, all of who seem willing to take control of their lives and dreams. Although we see these characters in scenarios and life roles typically ascribed to women, the difference is that in 'Danzon' these are seen from the point of view of the women involved.

The film subverts the classic representations of gender, reorienting and questioning traditional gender roles. Unlike representations of women in prior Mexican cinema, 'Danzon' tries not to define the feminine in opposition to the masculine. Men are virtually absent from the film and when they do appear, they are constructs of feminine discourse and imagination.

In 'Danzon' the narrative and visual elements which traditionally characterize melodrama are expressed through the female body and emotions. This is achieved through the transvestite whose body is decorated and fetishized, through Ruben's body and through the romanticised feelings that Julia holds for the mysterious Carmelo.

It is she who takes the role of seductress, conqueror and the one who desires Ruben. This gaze is that which is traditionally ascribed to the male in traditional Mexican literature and cinema. Another way in which the film breaks with traditional forms of representation is that while it substitutes feminine figures and roles in place of their masculine counterparts, it seeks to document, narrate and represent the subjective, social reality experienced by women.

Port of Veracruz

Scene from Danzon

Novaro attempts to document the journey of a woman who goes in search of a man to be a friend / dance partner rather than a financial supporter. However, in the course of this search, the key character, Julia, finds herself rather than Carmelo. The complexity of the film does not lie in the plot but in Julia who is a complex character full of doubts and contradictions. Carmelo seems to be a trigger and an excuse to continue the film. The plot evolves precisely because he never shows up but the story is essentially about Julia's liberation from social expectations. It also addresses the need for change in Mexican society.

There are two life experiences that are quite different: one is very traditional, mired in routine and stereo-types and the other is a freer and more ludic existence.The film addresses the possibility of personal change, in that Julia dares to risk her job for the sake of something which has real meaning for her; a life beyond Carmelo, within which she has the central role to play. The possibility of change in a female character composes a subversive element that upsets the distribution of power in gender relations.

Another way that 'Danzon' breaks with the traditional ways of representing women is that it presents the feminine perspective in a very ordinary way, in a tone, as Novaro herself suggests "relajado y gozoso" (relaxed and joyful), with a musical rhythm that invites conversation and reflection without complication.

The simplicity of the plot, in which there is no apparent intellectual reflection regarding the condition of the women involved, facilitates the examination of issues pertaining to gender representation. Likewise, the importance of the musical element and the symbolism of the danzon, with regard to the power relationship in which the man leads and controls his partner's movement, favors the development of the discourse on gender in a spontaneous and fluid way.

'Danzon' also represents the history of Mexico itself differently to the way that it is constructed by the male heroes encountered in textbooks, films and even the statues that decorate main avenues throughout the country. 'Danzon' imagines a Mexico built by simple people, by micro-histories of the women who are almost always relegated to the invisible. The film therefore questions and subverts nationalism and the process of nation building by deconstructing the nation as it is traditionally written by patriarchy.

Although 'Danzon' is an enjoyable and entertaining film to watch, there are many elements which I find unconvincing. It is a film that transfers agency from the male to the female, yet I believe the way that the key character behaves is. There are few women in any culture and particularly within Mexican society, (which prizes children so highly) who would leave their son or daughter to fraternise with transvestites and prostitutes. It is equally unlikely that a telephone operator would who is a single mother would have the means to quit her job to find anybody, least of all herself.

'Danzon' is essentially a feminist film in the way that it breaks with definitions defined by patriarchy. Ironically though, by showing Julia breaking out away from her fixation with Carmelo, the film still defines this new found independence in opposition to what is accepted as the norm; male centredness and patriarchal rule. Although there is no apparent intellectual reflection regarding the condition of the women involved in the story, the fact that Julia radically changes from being passive in her relationship with Carmelo to being the sexual aggressor with Ruben shows that the narrative is making a very clear point about gender roles.

Perhaps the film would be more effective as a feminist statement if Julia had been self-reliant, self-supporting and confident from the outset, rather than beginning as a disempowered character who looks to her dance partner for meaning. True feminism is surely the recognition that men and women are completely equal and that neither needs to be subjugated by the other. The fact that Ruben is the object of Julia's desire and that female agency and gaze later in the film is prevalent negates true feminine equality.

Until it is no longer necessary to examine whose agency is prevalent in literature, cinema or society then there is no true equality between the sexes. Nevertheless 'Danzon' does succeed in clearly documenting, narrating and representing a subjective, social reality as experienced by women. The film is also successful in stating that a change was needed in Mexican cinematography by making women's voices heard and by focusing on the female gaze.

It also shows that change is possible within society itself, even though the measures taken by the main character are rather far fetched. Most importantly, Novaro achieves what she sets out to do as a female Mexican director, which is to point out that there were imbalances in film, literature and society and that change is worth striving for.