In Mexico's National Palace: Dr. Yolia Tortolero Cervantes and Her Pathbreaking Work on Francisco I. Madero, El espiritismo seduce a Francisco Madero

THE LECTURE SERIES IN MEXICO CITY'S NATIONAL PALACE: "FRANCISCO I. MADERO: FROM SPIRITISM TO THE BHAGAVAD-GITA AND OTHER ESOTERIC INFLUENCES"

Last Thursday in Mexico's National Palace (Palacio Nacional), I had the great honor of introducing both the lecture series, Francisco I. Madero: Del espíritismo al Bhagavad-Gita y otras influencias esotéricas, [Francisco I. Madero: From Spiritism to the Bhagavad-Gita and Other Esoteric Influences] and its first speaker, Dr. Yolia Tortolero Cervantes, author of El espíritismo seduce a Francisco Madero. [Spiritism Seduces Francisco Madero.] 

The series continues each Tuesday at 5 pm through December 2, when I will be speaking with Ignacio Solares. All lectures are free and open to the public in the National Palace's Recinto Juárez. More information and the complete schedule is here. 

[>>Virtual tour of Mexico's National Palace.]

DR. YOLIA TORTOLERO CERVANTES
After her fascinating lecture about President Madero
and Spiritism in Mexico's National Palace
(The portrait is of President Benito Juárez)

If you have been following this blog, you already know all about my own book, Metaphyscal Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual, which includes my translation-- the first into English-- of Madero's Manual espirita. 

[>>Read excerpts and more.]

Herewith my translation of my introduction to the lecture series and of Dr. Yolia Tortolero Cervantes, followed by the Spanish original.

TEXT OF MY INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

Good afternoon. It is a great honor for me to give you all a very warm welcome to this lecture series, "Francisco I. Madero: From Spiritism to the Bhagavad-Gita and Other Esoteric Influences." 

Profoundly respected and internationally famous as Mexico's "Apostle of Democracy," Francisco I. Madero was the leader of the 1910 Revolution and President of the Republic from 1911 to 1913. During his life, and for decades after his assassination in 1913, Madero's Spiritism and other esoteric ideas have been the topic of gossip, of rumor. In particular, during his brief administration, his enemies used such gossip as a weapon of attack. Later, the subject became taboo.

The "Gita"
also influenced
Mohandas Gandhi

This lecture series and the various works of the participants represent a parting of the waters, not only for the notable quality of the original research, but the fact that we are celebrating it the National Palace.

I hasten to clarify that we are not necessarily celebrating esoteric ideas in themselves; we celebrate the memory of this honored figure in Mexican history and these historians' efforts to comprehend the nature of his esoteric ideas, their context, and their role-- a role that was fundamental in his private life and his political life.

As Enrique Krauze tells us in his seminal work of 1987, Francisco I. Madero: Místico de la libertad [Francisco I. Madero: Mystic of Liberty], "Politics does not displace Spiritism; it is born of it."

Allan Kardec
Chef du Spiritisme

This series offers lectures each Tuesday here at the same time, at 5 pm. 

On November 11, we will hear from LUCRECIA INFANTE de about "Spirits, women and equality: Laureana Wright and Kardecian Spiritism in Mexico."

On November 18, we will hear from two experts on Madero and Spiritism, ALEJANDRO ROSAS ROBLES, who will talk about "The Revolution of the Spirits" and MANUEL GUERRA, on the lost Spiritist writings of Madero.

On November 25, we will hear from CARLOS FRANCISCO MARTINEZ MORENO on "Masonry, Spiritism and Hinduism: Interconnected Strands in Madero's Trio of Mystic Pillars."

And finally, on December 2, Yours Truly, C.M. MAYO, will talk about my book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual [Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana: Francisco I. Madero y su libro secreto, Manual espírita], and will will also hear from the Mexican novelist, IGNACIO SOLARES, about his work, Madero, el otro [Madero, the Other.].

The Kindle edition of Dr Tortolero's
pathbreaking work

Today [November 11, 2014], the opening of the series, is in the hands of the renowned Mexican historian, DR YOLIA TORTOLERO CERVANTES, with "Nine Readings About Francisco I. Madero and His Belief in Spiritism."  

Her work, El espiritismo seduce a Francisco I. Madero [Spiritism Seduces Francisco I. Madero], lit the way for many other works, including mine. 

I confess that it would have been impossible for me to see where to begin, never mind find my way out of the labyrinth of esoteric ideas in the life of Francisco Madero without this marvelous and deeply researched work as my guide. It is no exaggeration: it is not possible for anyone to find their footing in the history of Francisco Madero and the Revolution of 1910 without Dr. Tortolero's work.

A brief biography of Dr. Tortolero:

She received her doctorate from the Colegio de México in 1999 with a thesis about the influence of Spiritism on Francisco Ignacio Madero's political career (1873-1910), a work subsequently published by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts in 2001 (first edition);   by the Senate of the Republic in 2002 (second edition), and an electronic edition in Kindle format in 2013. In 1999 she was Chief of Research in the Recinto de Homenaje a Benito Juárez [National Palace] and from 2000 - 2010 she worked in Mexico's National Archive, as Chief of the National Rgistry and as Director of Research and Archival Standards. 

From 2011 - 2012 she worked in the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela, as Professor in the Masters in the History of the Americas and the Masters in the History of Venezuela. Since January 2012 she has been visiting researcher in the Bolivarium Institute for Historical Research, in the Bolívar University in Caracas, where she has been researching the life of lawyer Joaquín Mosquera y Figueroa (1748-1830), who was  Oidor de la Real Audiencia de México at the end of the 18th century and Visitador Regente de la Real Audiencia de Caracas from 1805 to 1809. Beginning in October 2014 she is a CONACYT post-doctoral fellow in the Masters in History interdisciplinary program in the University of Guanajuato.

[NOTE: I hope to be able to link to the YouTube video of her talk soon.]


EN ESPAÑOL (EL ORIGINAL):

Muy buenas tardes. Es un gran honor para mi darles a todos ustedes la muy cordial bienvenida a este ciclo de conferencias, "Francisco I. Madero : Del espíritimo al Bhagavad-Gita y otras influencias esotéricas."

Profundamente respetado y ampliamente conocido como "El Apóstol de la Democracia", Francisco I. Madero fue  líder de la Revolución de 1910 y Presidente de la República de 1911 a 1913.

Durante su vida y décadas después de su asesinato en 1913, su espiritismo y sus otras ideas esotéricas han sido tópicos de chisme, de rumor. En particular durante su breve administración presidencial, tales chismes se utilizaron como armas de ataque para sus enemigos. Posteriormente, el tópico se convirtió en tabú.

Esta conferencia, al igual que las varias obras de sus participantes, representa un parte aguas, no solamente por la notable calidad de invtestigación original, sino por el hecho de que hoy en día estamos celebrandolo en Palacio Nacional. Quisiera aclarar que no estamos necesariamente celebrando las ideas esotéricas en sí. Celebramos la memoria de este gran personaje en la historia de México y celebramos los esfuerzos de os historiadores por comprender la naturaleza de sus ideas esotéricas, su origen, su contexto, y su papel-- un papel primordial para Francisco I. Madero tanto en su via privada como su vida política.

Como nos dijo Enrique Krauze en su obra seminal de 1987, Francisco I. Madero, Místico de la libertad, "La política no desplaza al espiritismo; nace de él."

El ciclo de conferencias se llevará a cabo cada martes a la misma hora. 

El 11 de noviembre, nos hablará Lucrecia Infante de espíritus, mujeres e igualdad. Laureana Wright y el Espiritismo Kardeciano en México.

El 18 de noviembre, 2014 nos hablarán dos expertos en la vida y espiritismo de Madero, Alejandro Rosas, de la Revolución de los espíritus y Manuel Guerra, de los escritos espiritistas perdidos de Francisco I. Madero.

El 25 de noviembre, nos hablará Carlos Francisco Martínez Moreno sobre la masonería, espiritismo e hindismo: senderos comunicantes en los tres pilares místicos de Francisco I. Madero.

Y por último, el 2 de diciembre, su servidor, C.M. Mayo, voy a hablar de mi libro, 

Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana: Francisco I. Madero y su libro secreto, Manual espírita, y nos va a hablar el gran novelista mexicano, Ignacio Solares, sobre su novela, Madero, el otro.

Hoy [el 11 de noviembre], la apertura del ciclo, está en manos de la renombrada historiadora, la Dra Yolia Tortolero Cervantes, con "Nueve lecturas sobre Francisco I. Madero y su creencia en el espiritismo".  Su obra, El espiritismo seduce a Francisco I. Madero, dio paso a muchas otras, incluyenda la mía. 

Confieso que hubiera sido imposible para mí saber dónde empezar ni hablar de salir del laberínto de las ideas esotéricas en la vida de Francisco Madero sin esta maravillosa y profundamente investigada obra como guía.

Digo sin exerageración, no les es posible a nadie ubicarse dentro de la historia de Francisco Madero sin esta obra de la Dra. Tortolero.

Ahora una breve biografía. 

Yolia Tortolero Cervantes 

Se doctoró en Historia en El Colegio de México en 1999 con la tesis sobre la influencia del espiritismo en la vida política de Francisco Ignacio Madero (1873-1910), obra publicada por el Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes en 2001 (1ª edición); por el Senado de la República, 2002 (2ª edición) y en versión electrónica en formato Kindle, 2013. 

En 1999 fue Jefa de Investigación del Recinto de Homenaje a Benito Juárez y entre 2000 y 2010 trabajó en el Archivo General de la Nación de México, como Jefa del Registro Nacional de Archivos y Directora de Investigación y Normatividad Archivística. 

Entre 2011 y 2012 trabajó en la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello en Caracas, Venezuela, como profesora en la maestría en Historia de América y maestría en Historia de Venezuela. 

Desde enero de 2012 es investigadora visitante del Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas Bolivarium, de la Universidad Simón Bolívar en Caracas, en donde investiga la vida del abogado Joaquín Mosquera y Figueroa (1748-1830), quien fue Oidor de la Real Audiencia de México a fines del siglo XVIII y Visitador Regente de la Real Audiencia de Caracas entre 1805 y 1809. 

A partir de octubre de 2014 es becaria de CONACYT en la Estancia Posdoctoral en apoyo al Posgrado Nacional en la Maestría en Historia (Estudios Históricos Interdisciplinarios) de la Universidad de Guanajuato. 

[Espero poder añadir un enlace a su plática en YouTube próximamente.]

Dr. Tortolero's Book, Kindle Edition

El espiritismo seduce a Francisco Madero

Enter Allan Kardec, Chef su Spiritisme

Francisco I. Madero's Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita

The Burned-Over District

C.M. Mayo's Resources for Researchers 

(on the webpage for my book, 

Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution)

A Window onto the Invisible World:

Master Amajur and the Smoking Signatures

Madero Conference in Mexico City's National Palace: From Spiritism to the Bhagavad-Gita and Other Esoteric Influences

Francisco I. Madero

It's in Spanish, of course, but it's worth noting here because 

(1) I know that many of you, dear readers, also read in Spanish;

(2) I'm speaking in the conference, December 2, together with Ignacio Solares, one of Mexico's most respected novelists, and; 

(3) this a major public reexamination of Francisco I. Madero, one of the most outstanding figures in Mexican history, for he was not only the leader of the 1910 Revolution, but President of Mexico from 1911- 1913.

All the lectures are free and open to the public and will take place in the Recinto Juárez of Mexico's National Palace.

FRANCISCO I. MADERO:
DEL ESPIRITISMO AL BHAGAVAD-GITA, Y OTRAS INFLUENCIAS ESOTERICAS

November 6, 2014
Yolia Tortolero
Nueve lecturas sobre Francisco I. madero y su creencia en el espiritismo

November 11
Lucrecia Infante
De espíritus, mujeres e igualdad. Laureana Wright y el Espiritismo Kardeciano en México

November 18
Alejandro Rosas
La Revolución de los espíritus
Manuel Guerra
Los escritos espiritistas perdidos de Francisco I. Madero

November 25
Carlos Francisco Martínez Moreno
Masonería, espiritismo e hindismo: senderos comunicantes en los tres pilares místicos de Francisco I. Madero

December 2
C.M. Mayo
Odisea metafísica hacia la revolución Mexicana: 
Francisco I. Madero y su libro secreto Manual espírita
Ignacio Solares
Madero, el otro


COMMENTS always welcome.

Podcasts about Francisco I. Madero

Selected films and videos

Rare Book Adventures in Mexico City: 

Una ventana al mundo invisible

Dr. Arnoldo Krumm-Heller and Francisco I. Madero: 

Some Notes on Sources

An interview with Yours Truly 

about my book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, 

for the University of Chicago Social Science Division newsletter.

I'm presenting the English edition of the book at the 

Texas Book Festival this Sunday at 11 am. 

Read more about the Spanish edition, 

Odisea metafisica hacia la Revolución Mexicana, 

which has been beautifully translated by 

Mexican poet and novelist Agustín Cadena.

Catherine L. Albanese's A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion

FRANCISCO I. MADERO
Author of Spiritist Manual
Leader of Mexico's 1910 Revolution
President of Mexico, 1911-1913

A couple of months ago, for Tony Payan's class on Mexican Politics and Culture at Rice University, I gave a talk-- my first for this newly expanded work--- on Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual. Lots of bright kids, lots of good questions. One of them was, "Did Madero have followers?" After a blink, I realized what a telling question this is.

Of course, Madero had legions of followers-- after all, he was the leader of Mexico's 1910 Revolution and President of Mexico (1911-1913). But as a Spiritist? I explained that he did not set himself up as a kind of priest or guru; he was a healer and a medium (never working for pay) and, pseudonymously, the author of an evangelical text, which is the Manual espírita or, as I translated it, Spiritist Manual.

The thing is, when we think of "religion" we usually think of priests or ministers, large edifices, approved rituals, degrees of belonging or status, and so on and so forth-- in short, a social and physical architecture as a machinery of power. Though they had and have their temples and seminars and conferences, Spiritists did not then and do not now necessarily organize in this fashion, precisely because they believe that the individual can communicate directly with spirit and the Divine-- without the intermediation of an earthly authority. They have some temples, some congregations, (google and you'll find them in Mexico, the US, Brazil, Portugal, the Philippines, and Spain, and many more) but there are also many informal circles that meet in private homes. Like Wiccans, it would seem that some few (or many?) are solitary practitioners. Data? Well, that is precisely my point: there aren't much. It boils down to hearsay or, as in the case of a public figure such as Madero, careful archival research. And even still, the picture remains patchy.

Quick backtrack for those of you shaking your heads and asking, um, what's a Spiritist? 

An offshoot of American Spiritualism, which first appeared in upstate New York around 1850, Spiritism developed in France in the the 1860s. (There's so much more to say about it than that, and I do in my book.) The basic idea is, a human being is really an immortal spirit in a temporary body, and it is possible while in an earthly body, either by natural or cultivated talent, to communicate with spirits. Since one is immortal, one's earthy life should serve one's immortal life-- in a nutshell, don't take materialism too seriously and always try to do good. The basic ritual is the séance, which invokes the dead, inviting communication from them by a variety of means.

Before I get to my answer to the question-- did Madero [as a Spiritist] have followers?-- a note on religious organization.

A Republic of Mind & Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion

One of the most illuminating books I came across in my research is Catherine L. Albanese's A Republic of Mind & Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion (Yale University Press, 2007). From the dust jacket description:

"This path-breaking book tells the story of American metaphysical religion more fully than it has ever been told before, along the way significantly revising the panorama of American religious history."

What has this to do with Mexico, the gentle blog reader might ask? Well, all the very same metaphysical religions that came to the US also arrived south (via various paths, not invariably from the US) in Mexico.

Continuing with the dust jacket description:

"Catherine L. Albanese follows metaphysical traditions from Renaissance Europe to England and then America, where they have flourished from colonial days to the twenty-first century, blending often with African, Native American, and other cultural elements.

The book follows evolving versions of metaphysical religion, including Freemasonry, early Mormonism, Universalism, and Transcendentalism-- and such further incarnations as Spiritualism, Theosophy, New Thought, Christian Science, and reinvented versions of Asian ideas and practices. Continuing into the twentieth century and after, the book shows how the metaphysical mix has come to encompass UFO activity, channeling, and chakras in the New Age movement and a much broader new spirituality in the present. 

In its own way, Albanese argues, American metaphysical religion has been as vigorous, persuasive, and influential as the evangelical tradition that is more often the focus of religious scholars' attention. She makes the case that because of its combinative nature-- its ability to incorporate differing beliefs and practices-- metaphysical religion offers key insights into the history of all American religions."

Rather than considering these religions / ideas mere esoterica or superstition, mere footnotes in the grander history of denominational and evangelical churches (Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregationalist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and so on), Albanese argues that the metaphysical religions are (p. 4) "at least as important... in fathoming the shape and scope of American religious history and in identifying what makes it distinctive-- the sign, in religious terms, of an emergent American ethnicity."

In other words, metaphysical religions have played a far more important role in our history than has been previously recognized. But it is difficult to research secretive groups that meet informally in private homes, and, on the other hand, relatively easy to research the history of denominational and evangelical churches.  (p. 8)

"There are central headquarters and archives, public buildings and structures with observable rituals, written personal testimonials, letters, and journals aplenty, with numerous press accounts of religious presence, to cite only the most obvious and accessible sources. To write the metaphysicians' tendencies into history, however, requires harder work."

In other words, it's all a big, ever-morphing muddle of a mosaic. And indeed, this was a big problem for me in trying to figure out Madero's ideas. He was a Spiritist but also a Mason, and some Masons were Spiritists but some were not, and some Spiritists were Theosophists, but Madero was not… and so on.

And both before and especially after Madero's death, Mexican Spiritism melded with folk beliefs and indigenous shamanism. (One example is the mediumnistic healer and folk saint Niño Fidencio, who was mentored by a German Spiritist but apparently did not consider himself a Spiritist.)

So, back to the question, did Madero, as a Spiritist, have followers?

Well, as a Spiritist, he played a leading role in organizing and evangelizing through magazines such as Helios and his book, Manual espírita. Certainly, as we know from his archives, he was in touch with and well-regarded by his fellow Spiritists, mostly Mexicans but also some Americans and Europeans, including Léon Denis, whose book, Après la mort, he published in Spanish (that translation by Ignacio Mariscal, then serving as Mexico's Minister of Foreign Relations.) Certainly people read Madero's works, but how many we do not know. He wrote them under pen names, mainly Arjuna and Bhima, both taken from the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad-Gita. 

Bottom line: As a Spiritist, Madero was looking to evangelize, but not necessarily to build a movement around his person, as he was in the political arena. 

COMMENTS always welcome.

+ + + + + 

SURF ON 

> Catherine L. Albanese, professor of Religious Studies, University of California Santa Barbara  

> Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual (website for the book)

> Francisco I. Madero: A Cien años de su muerte

> Una ventana al mundo invisible or, Maestro Amajur and the Smoking Signatures

> Greg Borzo's article about my book for the University of Chicago Social Sciences Division newsletter

Francisco I. Madero: A Cien Años de su Muerte (On the 100th Anniversary of His Death)

This handsome choc-full-o-photos tome might seem just the thing for the coffee table, yet it is filled with a  magnificent collection of original scholarly work. Published late last year by Mexico's Ministry of Finance (Secretary de Hacienda y Crédito Público), the edition is already out of print (agotada, as they say in Mexico). I sincerely hope a paperback and an ebook will be available soon, for every scholar of the period should be sure to consult it.

(Alas, it came out too late for me to be able to incorporate any of it into my own book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual-- but then, this was to be expected, for Madero and the Mexican Revolution he led in 1910 are going to be the subject of studies, books, documentaries and more for years to come.)

Of special note:

The first chapter, on Madero's loaded gun of a book, La sucesión presidencial en 1910 (The Presidential Succession in 1910), rich in the detail of political intrigue, is by Josefina MacGregor, professor of history at Mexico's UNAM (National University). It is no exaggeration to say that the whole cascade of events that brought down the dictator, Porfirio Díaz, began with this, Madero's first book.

Lucrecia Infante Vargas wrote the chapter touching on Madero's Spiritism: "Conducir el espíritu, gobernar la nación: La Ilustración espírita (1870-1893) y la difusión del espiritismo en el México de entre siglos." ["Leading in Spirit, Governing the Nation: La Ilustración espírita (1870-1893) and the spread of Spiritist in Turn-of-the-Century Mexico"].  This covers the basics of Kardecian Spiritism in Mexico, Madero's intense involvement in Spiritism, and his Manual espírita. I was especially intrigued to read about Laureana Wright, a writer and Spiritist who in 1892 became the President of Mexico's  Sociedad Espirita Central de la República-- most unusual for a woman of that time.

Manuel Guerra de Luna, the author of a biography of Madero, and of the Madero family (Los Madero La saga liberal), and the screenplay for  the documentary "1910: La Revolución Espírita" wrote the chapter on how the Revolution was financed. ("Los Madero y el financiamiento de la Revolución Mexicana en 1910.") No one knows the Francisco I. Madero and the Madero family archives better than Guerra de Luna, and this subject should be of special interest for anyone looking into the Revolution. Madero was a scion of one of Mexico's wealthiest families, so the story most often told is that he simply paid for the 1910 Revolution out of his own pocket. Conspiracy theorists retail their version-- not substantiated in the archives-- that involve a meddling Uncle Sam and oil companies. The story, as Guerra de Luna reveals, is not so simple-- more an action-packed thriller with an astonishingly unlikely outcome. 

COMMENTS always welcome.

+ + + + + + + + + + 

SURF ON:

>Mexican historians Enrique Krauze, Manuel Guerra de Luna, Alvaro Matute and Jean Meyer discuss Francisco I. Madero, October 18, 2010. Podcast: click here to listen (in Spanish).

>Francisco I. Madero by Stanley R. Ross

>Enter Allan Kardec, Chef du Spiritisme

> Después de la muerte by Léon Denis, a Spiritist book translated by Ignacio Marsical and sponsored by Francisco I. Madero and his father, Francisco Madero, published in 1906. Includes a video showing my copy of the book.

>A rare book adventure in Mexico City: Una ventana al mundo invisible: Master Amajur and the Smoking Signatures

> Francisco I. Madero and Dr Arnoldo Krumm-Heller: Some Notes on Sources

> My talk in 2012 about translating Madero's Manual espírita, in English, for PEN San Miguel de Allende and SOL Literary Magazine. Podcast: click here to listen. (At the time, my introduction was very brief-- not the full-length book it is now-- and only available in Kindle. So you'll see if you click through to the podcast, the cover and title were different.)

>My book is now available in paperback and Kindle: Metaphysical Odysey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual. Also, the Spanish is available in Kindle: Odisea metafisica hacia la revolución Mexicana. More news about that title soon.

Una ventana al mundo invisible (A Window to the Invisible World): Master Amajur and the Smoking Signatures

My go-to antiquarian
bookstore in Mexico City

Re: The bibliography for my recent book-- now in paperback and Kindle-- Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual, which is being updated this week.

Window to the Invisible World

Una ventana al mundo invisible. Protocolos del IMIS 
Editorial Antorcha, Mexico City, 1960.
[A Window to the Invisible world: Protocols of the IMIS]

A Window to the Invisible World:
Protocols of the Mexican Institute
for Psychic Research
Mexico City, 1960

I was long into the labyrinth of research and reading for my book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, when I happened into Mexico City's Librería Madero, expressing a vague interest in Francisco I. Madero and "lo que sea de lo esotérico." When the owner, Don Enrique Fuentes de Castillo, set this book upon the counter, I confess, the cover, which looks like a Halloween cartoon, with such childish fonts, did little to excite my interest. But oh, ho ho (in the voice of the Jolly Green Giant):

This book, Una ventana al mundo invisible, is nothing less than the official, meticulously documented records of the dozens and dozens of research-séances of the Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Síquicas or IMIS (Mexican Institute of Psychic Research) from April 10, 1940 to April 12, 1952, members of which included-- the book lists their names and their signatures-- several medical doctors and National University (UNAM) professors; an ex-Rector of the UNAM, the medical doctor and historian Dr. Fernando Ocaranza; several generals; ambassadors; bankers; artists and writers, including José Juan Tablada; a supreme court justice; an ex-Minister of Foreign relations; an ex-director of Banco de México, Carlos Novoa; Ambassador Ramón Beteta, ex Minister of Finance; and... drumroll… both Miguel Alemán and Plutarco Elías Calles. *

Close up of the subtitle. Madam Mayo disapproves of the font.
(Dude, what were you smoking?)

*I hate giving wikipedia links but as of this writing, the official webpage for the Mexican presidency doesn't go back more than four administrations.

President of Mexico,
"El Jefe Máximo"
Plutarco Elías Calles.
In retirement he joined the IMIS
and was a regular participant in the
research-séances documented in
Una ventana al mundo invisible

For those who are a little foggy on Mexican history, Plutarco Elías Calles served as Mexico's President from 1924-1928, and Miguel Alemán, 1946-1952. At the time of the séances documented in Una ventana al mundo invisible, Calles was in retirement, having returned from the exile imposed on him by President Cardenás in the 1930s. 

When Una ventana al mundo invisible was published in 1960, Alemán was long gone from power, and Calles had passed away. 

I had heard, as has anyone who goes any ways into the subject, that Alemán and Calles and other Mexican "public figures" were secret Spiritists, but here, dear readers, in the Protocolos del IMIS, are the smoking signatures. 


Yes, There are Other References to Una ventana al mundo invisible

The Revolution as
dolor de cabeza

Mexican historian Enrique Krauze was one of the first to cite Una ventana al mundo invisible in his chapter on Calles in Biography of Power, as does Jurgen Burchenau in his biography, Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution. But, as I write these lines, Una ventana al mundo invisible remains surprisingly obscure.

Of course, I googled. A Mexican writer,  Héctor de Mauleón, had discovered Una ventana al mundo invisible in a different Mexico City antiquarian bookstore and written up a summary for the October 2012 issue of Nexos. (But he complains of his copy's missing the picture of the conjured spirit, "Master Amajur." More about that in a moment.) And also recently, Grupo Espírita de la Palma, a Canary Islands Spiritist blog, which has posted several important bibliographic notes as well as a bibliography of Spanish works on Spiritism, posted this piece about the Jesuit Father Heredia's involvement with the IMIS--thanks to his friend, none other than Calles--and about this book.

How about WordCat? Yes, there are several copies of the 1960 edition of Una ventana al mundo invisible in libraries in Mexico City. And three copies in the United States: the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and (why?) the University of West Georgia. Ah, and WorldCat also shows several copies in Mexico of an edition © 1993 and published in 1994 by Planeta and another, expanded edition published by Posadas in 1979.

(A research project for whomever wants it: to delve into the Mexican hemerotecas of 1960-61 for any newspaper coverage, and 1979 and 1994 for anything about the Posadas and Planeta editions. My guess is, not much, for the press was largely under the thumb of the ruling party and this sort of information about Mexican Presidents would have been, to say the least, unwelcome. But that's just my guess.)


So, Now, Delving into the Contents...

Rafael Alvarez y Alvarez
(1857 - 1955)
Mexican banker and founder of the
Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Síquicas
(IMIS)

The copy Don Enrique was offering, and for a very reasonable price, still had its dust jacket, small tears in places along the bottom and the top, but intact (the image on this blog post is a scan of my copy). The rest of it was pristine; the pages had not even been cut. Don Enrique cut slit open a few for me in the bookstore, and once home, I continued with my trusty steak knife (read about my other steak knife adventure here.)

I dove right in and learned that the founder of the IMIS, to whose memory the book is dedicated, was Rafael Alvarez y Alvarez (1887-1955), a distinguished Mexican banker, a president of the Monte de Piedad, and a congressman and senator. (Looking at his portrait with my novelist's eye-- that gaze! the bow tie!-- yes, the intrepid maverick.)

The introduction is by Gutierre Tibón, an Italian-Mexican historian and anthropologist, professor in the National University's prestigious faculty of Philosophy and Literature, and author of numerous noted works, including Iniciación al budismo and El jade de México.


A Brief Bit of Background on 19th Century Parapsychological Research

The goal of the IMIS was to progress in the tradition of pioneer American, English, and European parapsychological researchers. From my book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, the first chapter, which provides 19th century background for Madero's ideas about Spiritism, which he considered both a religion and a science:

Read more at www. cmmayo.com

"The exploits of mediums such as the Fox sisters, D.D. Home, the Eddy Brothers, and later in the nineteenth century, prim Leonora Piper (channel for the long-dead “Dr Phinuit” and the mysterious “Imperator”), and wild Eusapia Palladino (whose séances featured billowing curtains, floating mandolins and, popping out of the dark, ectoplasmic hands), spurred the studies of investigators, journalists and a small group of elite scientists. Noted German, Italian, and French scientists, such as Nobel prize-winning physiologist Charles Richet undertook the examination of these anomalous phenomena, but the British Society for Psychical Research, founded in 1882, and the American Society for Psychical Research founded three years later, led the fray. Though their ranks included leading scientists such as chemist William Crookes, naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, physicist Oliver Lodge, and William James (the Harvard University professor considered the father of psychology). Yet their researches almost invariably met not with celebration, nor curiosity on the part of their fellow academics, but ridicule, often to the point of personal slander."

On that note, for anyone interested in learning more about 19th century parapsychological research, a very weird swamp indeed, I recommend starting with science journalist Denorah Blum's excellent Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death. (See also Blum's website.)



Medium Luís Martínez and "Spirit Guide" Dr. Enrique del Castillo

As James et al had Leonora Piper, and Richet and Lombroso, Eusapia Palladino, the IMIS employed the medium Luis Martínez, who was able to evoke a broad spectrum of phenomena, from ringing bells to apports, ectoplasm, breezes, raps and knocks, levitation, and so on. 

Luis Martínez
Mexican medium

In séances with Martínez, the IMIS heard from its spirit guide on the "other side," one Dr. Enrique del Castillo, a Mexican doctor of the 19th century. According to Dr Tibón in his introduction to Una ventana al mundo invisible (p. 20, my translation):

"The way he looked was perfectly well known because once he "aported" his photograph, which was later made into a larger size, framed and displayed the Institute's workroom. Another aport of Dr. del Castillo were his spectacles, identical to those in the portrait. He brought them on October 24, 1944, at 10:30 pm, in a séance that was documented in Cuernavaca, and he said these words, directing them to Rafael Alvarez y Alvarez: 'In leaving my spectacles to you, dear son, it is with the wish that you will see clearly the future road we must take. May these spectacles take you on the path where we will always be companions.'"

Enter "Master Amajur"

Of special note was the séance on the evening of September 24, 1941, when Plutarco Elías Calles invited Carlos de Heredia, S.J., author of a book debunking Spiritism-- and Father Heredia, sufficiently awed (and according to Calles, converted)  affixed his signature as witness to genuine phenomena. That séance is documented in its entirety in Una ventana al mundo invisible. From Dr. Tibón's introduction (p.21, my translation):

"That memorable night there materialized another spirit guide for the circle: an oriental doctor named Master Amajur; and he did not only show himself completely to Father Heredia, he also spilled a glass of water, saturated it with magnetic fluid, and gave it to him to drink. Then there appeared the phantom of Sister María de Jesús and, before the astonished cleric, illuminated her face in a most unusual manner. Finally, Dr Enrique del Castillo appeared, surrounded by many tiny lights. These levitated the medium, chair and all-- the equivalent of raising almost 100 kilos-- and silently left him in the other end of the room. This phenomenon was verified for the first time. Later, I had the fortune to attend its repetition and I literally saw the medium fly two meters into the air."

Master Amajur he started showing up from the first documented séance of May 8, 1940 (p. 89, my translation of some of the highlights):

"Master Amajur [appeared] very clearly, he touched all of us and he wrote a message which says: Go forward and I will help you. When we asked him [for a message] he left a message for Colonel Villanueva that says: It would be good for you to attend a séance. [… ]The first materialization produced an electric spark above the lightbulb that was loose in its socket[… ] There was an aport: a small bottle of perfume and its essence sprinkled above us. The music box passed over our heads. The Master gave us his cloak to touch, which seemed to all of us a piece of gauze. One again he produced a fresh breeze: it smelled of ozone.

On June 12, 1940 (p.90, my translation):

[…] the Master came in. This manifestation appeared first as a human hand covered with a veil, imitating a human figure. Then it increased in size and luminosity until it came txo a height of about 1.5 meters. Only the head and bust could only be seen. It was covered in a bluish white veil which I touched with my face. It gave me the impression of being a cotton fabric… It gave me a large glass of water to drink… It put flowers in our hands, it gave us a perfumed air, and when luminous blobs passed near my face I perceived the smell of phosphorous."

On June 22, 1941 (my translation, p. 92):

In front of all of us, Amajur left on the wall an inscription that said: Go forward. Upon request, he gave fluid to a magnolia and then he began to cut the petals. One by one these were deposited in the mouths of the participants.

And so on. Séance after séance after séance--96 in all--with sparks, music, levitations, ectoplasmic this & that, perfumes, flowers, and frequent appearances not only by Master Amajur and sundry others, but also a childlike spirit, "Botitas" (Little Boots), who would tug on the participants' pant legs. 

Photographing Master Amajur

Close up of "Master Amajur"
From the cover of
Una ventana al mundo invisible

Skipping ahead to the séance of June 17, 1943-- which Plutarco Elías Calles attended-- Master Amajur has agreed to pose for a photograph. At first this doesn't work; the photographer only captures a hand and then, suddenly, falls into convulsions. But then, after some further bizarre phenomena and friendly intervention by the spirit Dr. del Castillo, the photograph is achieved (p. 194, my translation):

"According to Mrs. Padilla [wife of Ezequiel Padilla, ex Minister of Foreign Relations, also in attendance on this occasion], and in agreement with all the other participants, at the moment of the explosion or flash from the photographer's lamp, in the shadow could be seen the complete figure of the master, as if a statue of about 2 meters covered in a cloak, from head to foot. It was also noted that Master Amajur received a powerful shock and on asking him if he would permit another photograph to be taken, he said no."

According to the dust jacket flap text, this is the very photograph that adorns the cover of the book. But, um, it looks more like a drawing to me. (As, by the way, many purported "spirit photographs" do. Google, dear reader, and ye shall find. Lots on eBay, by the way.)

Madame Blavatsky
The monumental figure of
modern esotericism
Author of The Secret Doctrine and
Isis Unveiled, etc.
Founder, Theosophical Society

For historians of the metaphysical, it is interesting to note that Master Amajur claimed to be a member of the Great White Brotherhood, a term which came into use in the West with Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, in the 19th century. She claimed that her teachers, who often met with her on the astral plane, were the Great White Brothers or Mahatamas, the Ascended Masters Koot-hoomi (Kuthumi) and Morya. Later, her follower A. P. Sinnett expanded on this topic in a sensational book of its day, The Mahatma Letters (1923). Over the decades, other psychics claimed to receive channeled messages from various Ascended Masters, most notably "St. Germain" and Alice Bailey's "Djwahl Khul" or "The Tibetan." It would seem that "Master Amajur" falls into this rather blurry and ever-morphing category.* 

*So are the terms Great White Brother, Mahatma, and Ascended Master one and the same? In this article in Quest, modern-day Theosophist Pablo B. Sender elucidates. 

Interesting to note also that a google search brought up the tidbit that "Amajur" was the name of an astronomer of 10th century Baghdad-- though I hasten to add, according to the IMIS reports in Una ventana al mundo invisible, "Master Amajur" spoke Mexican Spanish. And of further note: there are Spiritist groups that continue to channel messages from Master Amajur today.

Dear readers, conclude what you will, and whether this finds you embracing a gnosis that "resonates" with you, cackling like a hyena, or just numbly confused, surely we can agree that this is all very remarkable.


So What, Pray Tell, Does All This Have to Do with Don Francisco I. Madero?

Francisco I. Madero
President of Mexico 1911-1913;
leader if the 1910 Revolution;
and as "Bhima," author of the
1911 Spiritist Manual

My book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, is about Madero as leader of the 1910 Revolution and President of Mexico, 1911-1913 and how his political career was launched as an integral part of his Spiritist beliefs. (The book includes my translation of his secret book of 1911, Spiritist Manual, which spells it all out-- all the way to out of body travel and, yes, interplanetary reincarnation.) 

Not all-- Enrique Krauze, Yolia Tortolero Cervantes, Javier Garciadiego, Alejandro Rosas Robles, Manuel Guerra de Luna, among others, are important exceptions-- but most historians of Mexico and its Revolution sidestep, belittle, or even ignore Madero's Spiritist beliefs. In my book, I have quite a bit to say about why I think that is (key words: cognitive dissonance), but in sum, few have any context for Madero's ideas which, for most educated people in the western world, fall into the category of absurd nonsense and "superstition." 

My aim in my book-- and this blog post-- is not to convince the reader of the truth or falsity of any religious beliefs (ha, neither do I poke tigers with sticks for the hell of it), but to provide a sense of the history and richness of the matrix of metaphysical traditions from which Madero's beliefs emerged. And with this context, I believe, we can arrive at the conclusion that Madero was not mad, nor so naive and weak as many have painted him, but that, in fact, he was a political visionary of immense courage who found himself on a counterrevolutionary battlefield of such rage and chaos that, if it was fatal for him, would have been for almost anyone else as well. 

Madero did not, like some mad alchemist, cook up his ideas by himself; they fit into what was then and is now a living tradition. Madero's Spiritism was French, itself an off-shoot of American Spiritualism, and with roots in occult Masonry and hermeticism and mesmerism; in the early 20th century, Madero also adopted ideas from a wide range of difficult-to-categorize mystics, such as Edouard Schuré, and from the Hindu holy book so beloved of the Theosophists, Thoreau, and Mohandis Gandhi: the Baghavad-Gita. 

After Madero, on the one hand, we see Spiritism melding with folkloric and shamanistic traditions, as with the mediumistic healers Niño Fidencio, Doña Pachita, and the "psychic surgeons" of Brazil and the Philippines. On the other hand, a very small and adventurous group of what was primarily members of the educated urban elite-- as we see in Una ventana al mundo invisible-- continued the international tradition of parapsychological research that, as we know from his Spiritist Manual and his personal library, Madero greatly admired.


SURF ON:

>My book, now in paperback and Kindle: 
Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual

>En español (Kindle):
Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana. Francisco I. Madero y su libro secreto, Manual espírita

>Resources for Researchers: Blogs, Articles, and More

>Mexico City's incomparable Librería Madero


MADAM MAYO

>Después de la muerte por Léon Denis or, A Super Brief Introduction to the Opportunity Cost of Rare Book Collecting

>Madame Blavatsky, Messenger from the Mahatmas

>Niño Fidencio

>Madero's Commentary on the Baghavad-Gita

>Marfa Mondays: We Have Seen the Lights


COMMENTS always welcome