Identity, History and Border in Jordan’s Peninsula

Abstract

This article analyzes the representation of the Baja California peninsula as conceived by Mexican writer Fernando Jordán. Specifically, it highlights how, for Jordán —a journalist by trade— the peninsula embodies the generalized idea of a distant, unknown space must be incorporated into the national imaginary but not without first acknowledging its distance from central Mexico and three decisive factors: the formation of a distinct identity, the historic absence of a
dominant civilization, and its proximity to and dependence on the United States. Consequently, the article outlines arguments for an integrative reflection that, viewed from a distance, presents a complete image of this material and symbolic reality, revealing its contrasts and continuities with the rest of the nation.