I found this reading to be very interesting and as well as being an easier read than the previous readings. Before taking this class I was also in a Latin american revolution class that discussed Subcommandante Marcos in a more detailed way. Knowing what I know about Marcos I think the article does a very good job at outlining his revolutionary campaign and relating it to popular culture. Specifically, the article emphasized the anonymity and the mystery surrounding marcos and how that created a stronger message. One part of this article I did disagree was the classification of marcos as the first post-modern revolutionary and specifically his use of media and the radio. Looking towards the cuban revolution, Che Guevara was a master of radio communications and his radio skills were extremely instrumental in the success of the revolution. Subcommandante Marcos did indeed use modern media outlets such as the new york times in an effective way, but his incorporation of the radio was by no means original or post-modern. In addition to this I believe the anonymity of Marcos’ revolution served solely as a means to include the entirety of mexico’s population in a unified struggle whilst also removing the power dynamic that comes into play with revolutionary leaders. This tactic itself isn’t necessarily post-modern and in my opinion this classification is just part of his romanticization which is also important to talk about.

Beltran on Lopez was similarly an interesting read that lead me to question the representation of latin celebrities in a capitalist and post-colonialist era. The sentiments and connotations carried within the body of a latin person, specifically of a latina have always been largely constructed by the media and Lopez is a perfect example of how the sexualization of latinas has contributed to an archetype of all latin american people. Additionally, it is interesting to me the line that is drawn between proper representation of latin american identity and commodification of latin america beeple and culture. I personally think it is vital for latin americans to have some form of representation in western culture and Jennifer Lopez does a good job at representing that, but it is important to make a distinction between representation and commodification in order for culture to be preserved.