'Los Tres Caballeros': Walt Disney, Nelson Rockefeller and U.S.: Latin American relations during World War II

World War II marked a turning point in Mexico-United States relations. With US entry into the war in late 1941, Mexico assumed a new strategic importance as supplier of labor and of raw materials. For Mexico, joining the western allies provided a breathing space after half a decade of political and economic conflict following the events of the Mexican Revolution and Mexico’s nationalization of British and US petroleum interests in 1938. 'Soft diplomacy' was also a key to the reshaping of US-Mexican relations during WWII, and cultural and media politics was part of the US strategy pursued by Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA). Growing US government interest in promoting positive images of Mexico for the US public, and closer links between US cinema interests and the Mexican movie industry, coincided with an economic crisis for Disney in Hollywood. Washington’s sponsorship and financing of animation features (Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros) was therefore a welcome respite for Disney. This talk reconstructs the background to the production of The Three Caballeros and examines Mexican responses to the project, concluding with a discussion of the usefulness (or otherwise) of constructs like 'cultural imperialism' in analyses of US-Latin American cultural relations