this week I have started working a lot more, in a mixture of different things. I am still continuing the surveys and english classes, but I am also starting to research the foreign migrant worker programs that both canada and the US have, what types of rights they are entitled to and also pensions that they should receive once they turn 60. the tough thing, which I already knew from studying labor history and labor law is that farmworkers are not protected under labor law the same way as other workers. in ontario, where a lot of people go to work in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program they say this:
If you work on a farm that is directly related to
the primary production of eggs, milk, grain,
seeds, fruit, vegetables, maple products, honey,
tobacco or herbs, or the raising and keeping of
pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, deer, elk,
ratites, bison, rabbits, game birds, wild boar or
cultured fish, then you are not covered by the
following minimum employment standards:
• Minimum wage
• Hours of work
• Overtime
• General holidays with pay
• Vacation
• Vacation pay
and thats actually one of the better ones. if you are harvesting, you are entitled to the minimum piece rate wage, but only if you are harvesting more than 50% of the time.
Some people go to work in the United States through our agricultural guest worker program, H-2A. under these programs, people are supposed to get workers compensation and a minimum wage, but there is also huge abuse of the workers under this program as well. someone I know here has a husband in the US and has his documents, but he got appendicitis and spent 4 nights in the hospital. now the patron won't let him come home because he says he owes him money for the medical bills. also, I have a talked to some people who went to Georgia to plant pine trees, and were paid 2 cents per tree. as I am gathering this information, I am also looking for the organizations that support migrant workers where the most people from Amatlan go to work, and found that there is a class-action lawsuit representing thousands of workers who came to plant pine trees under H-2A and were underpaid. so I am currently trying to contact this organization in Virginia and ask about the progress of that case and see if it possible that some of the people I have talked to here could get compensated if they win the case.
also, tomorrow I am going to start helping out as well in the community clinic that uses traditional, indigenous medicine. I am going to wash dishes, sweep, and grind plants.. whatever they need me to do because only 3 people work there. one of my friends, Lety, works there. she is about 28 and for about half her life has been working with the clinic, even before they had a building and were just a group of young people who wanted to learn more about their culture and recover the wisdom of their grandmothers, who were healers. she talked to me about her struggles of working in this project.. as a woman she had to help build the building, wasn't working in the house, went on trips with the group.. and people in the community called her crazy, and eventually said she had turned into a man because she was doing men's work. she was going to get married when she was 20, but the day of the wedding her partner told her that after they were married she had to stay in the house and she couldn't work with her group anymore. so she was really brave and said no, and walked away from the marriage. now she is not married, but really wants to start a family but says it is hard to find someone that accepts her work.. which is really sad because she is really pretty and really friendly and has a lot of wisdom already at 28 to impart to her kids for the next generations to come. so, I am going to help her out, because even at the clinic the "women's work" is left to her, plus her regular duties of treating patients and giving massages.
and, in a few days I am going to drop everything and help out preparing for the town festival. well, more like everyone else is going to drop everything and work, so I will too, because no one is going to go to classes or have time to talk to me about migration. plus I want to help my family out, because there is SO MUCH WORK to prepare for the fiesta. basically, every family makes enough food to feed 300 people who will some to their house on the 22nd, and some families have to make even more food. the fiesta is in a week! I am really excited. i think i might start learning to dance salsa and cumbia tomorrow with my friend Lulu. it will be a super crash course.. I just need to know enough not to make a fool out of myself.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
madrina del pastel
this week has been pretty busy with english classes, trying to get more surveys in, and Eymard's graduation from elementary school. the graduation was yesterday, and like other family events here, I was designated photographer. well, this time it was only with a digital camera, because the family has a camcorder that they bought with the money that their dad sends back from working in Chicago. he has been gone for 5 years, and they record important events and send him the videos so he can watch them, and see how his kids have grown up. but this video they are going to keep because he comes back in two weeks!! that is going to be a really exciting day too. with the money that he has earned working as a janitor, dishwasher, and cook, they also were able to build their own house over the span of 5 years. when I ask people about why they migrated, everyone says because of the lack of good work here in Mexico, that they money that they can earn is not enough to support their family, but also many people say that they worked in canada or the US to build a house for their family. its as basic as that. and these houses are not really fancy, they are basic houses so their family can have space and so that when their kids start their own families, there is room.
anyway, for the graduation I was dubbed the "madrina del pastel" or gothmother of the cake. it is really rare that people use the oven, so anyone that knows how to bake is revered and asked to make cakes and pizza. so i agreed to make a cake and two pies. it was an adventure for sure, because I had to buy the ingrdients in kilos, but the recipes were in cups and teaspoons. luckily, a cup is about 1/4 of a kilo. and i think they came out well! people here don't like really sweet things, at last thats what it seems like, so i think the icing on the cake was a little too sweet for them, but that means i think they should really like the apple pie, which we will eat today. there are godmothers and godfathers for a lot of events here, i guess one way of building stronger and closer relationships with the exended family, but also if you are a godparent it means that you provide some financial support for the big parties that people throw. like for weddings and quinceañeras, there is a godfather of beer, who buys the beer. and the parties are big, because the whole extended family is invited, plus friends, plus any others who they might bring. so for a family to throw a party for a wedding, graduation, baptism, etc, they need some help. two nights ago we stayed up until about 2 in the morning, preparing the food for the next day. that was the day that I also baked my cakes, so i slept really really well.
the english classes are going well. its a little hard because I want anyone who wants to learn to be able to come, but that means that I am not too strict about needing to attend every class or anything, because people can't always make a class and I don't want to shut them out. so I have one person who has been really consistant, but the others come when they can, which is most of the time, but I need to work around the fact that not everyone knows the same phrases and words. and soon we will be able to listen to music in english, which should be fun. the cable that I use to charge my computer does not work anymore, but Lisanne, my supervisor's partner, just got back from canada yesterday and I think has a similar computer as mine. hopefully that will work out. and mom, yes I know that I need to send Nick my model number.
oh, one last thing. the dogs really do provide for a lot of entertainment and conversation. last week, two of the little puppies died, and we had to bury them. but then Eymard bought a baby bunny who was really cute and soft, but then Duma (my favorite) ripped its head off. which i guess wasn't completly her fault, because she was pregnant and was really hungry. during the party yesterday she also stole someone's food, and they hit her in the stomach, and I don't know if it brought on early delivery or something, but Duma has three small puppies this morning, and as of now they are all still alive! they want me to bring a puppy back home with me. so far, i think I have been offered a puppy, dog, horse, or cat about 50 times. I say, I don't think customs would agree with that decision.
anyway, for the graduation I was dubbed the "madrina del pastel" or gothmother of the cake. it is really rare that people use the oven, so anyone that knows how to bake is revered and asked to make cakes and pizza. so i agreed to make a cake and two pies. it was an adventure for sure, because I had to buy the ingrdients in kilos, but the recipes were in cups and teaspoons. luckily, a cup is about 1/4 of a kilo. and i think they came out well! people here don't like really sweet things, at last thats what it seems like, so i think the icing on the cake was a little too sweet for them, but that means i think they should really like the apple pie, which we will eat today. there are godmothers and godfathers for a lot of events here, i guess one way of building stronger and closer relationships with the exended family, but also if you are a godparent it means that you provide some financial support for the big parties that people throw. like for weddings and quinceañeras, there is a godfather of beer, who buys the beer. and the parties are big, because the whole extended family is invited, plus friends, plus any others who they might bring. so for a family to throw a party for a wedding, graduation, baptism, etc, they need some help. two nights ago we stayed up until about 2 in the morning, preparing the food for the next day. that was the day that I also baked my cakes, so i slept really really well.
the english classes are going well. its a little hard because I want anyone who wants to learn to be able to come, but that means that I am not too strict about needing to attend every class or anything, because people can't always make a class and I don't want to shut them out. so I have one person who has been really consistant, but the others come when they can, which is most of the time, but I need to work around the fact that not everyone knows the same phrases and words. and soon we will be able to listen to music in english, which should be fun. the cable that I use to charge my computer does not work anymore, but Lisanne, my supervisor's partner, just got back from canada yesterday and I think has a similar computer as mine. hopefully that will work out. and mom, yes I know that I need to send Nick my model number.
oh, one last thing. the dogs really do provide for a lot of entertainment and conversation. last week, two of the little puppies died, and we had to bury them. but then Eymard bought a baby bunny who was really cute and soft, but then Duma (my favorite) ripped its head off. which i guess wasn't completly her fault, because she was pregnant and was really hungry. during the party yesterday she also stole someone's food, and they hit her in the stomach, and I don't know if it brought on early delivery or something, but Duma has three small puppies this morning, and as of now they are all still alive! they want me to bring a puppy back home with me. so far, i think I have been offered a puppy, dog, horse, or cat about 50 times. I say, I don't think customs would agree with that decision.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
sembrando
for the past two days, I have set aside my encuestas and gone out to plant corn, beans, and squash with my supervisor Nacho and his family. I was a little worried that I wouldn{t get the opportunity to do this, and was really happy to get out there in the soil. and get dirty I sure did.. the people in Amatlan mainly plant the seeds by hand. first one of the two tractors in the town comes through to churn up the soil (barbechar) and then a second time to create furrows (surcar). then people walk up and down the rows, dropping 4 grains of corn and a squash or bean seed as well, and then cover cover them up. this is best done in bare feet, because the soil sticks to your shoes and makes it really hard to walk. so, many things happened to my feet, including taking a mud bath and getting bitten by red ants. the first day we planted it had rained the night before, and no joke, we were pretty much planting in mud. it felt good to walk in (if you didn't slip too badly) but I didn't realize until the next day when the soil was drier how much harder it is to plant in mud. the soil just doesn't want to cover up the seeds. the next day was beautiful, the soil more easy to manage, but I also stepped in a few ant hills. it actually hurt less than I thought. once we were done in our fields, we saw some friends planting across the street, and went to help out. and this is an example of why I really love Amatlan.. people will help each other out, because it is a community and the lands are communal, even if they are not going to reap the gains of that field. in exchange, they gave us some beer and pop after the sun went down. all in all, a pretty good day.
also, the dog here that had become my favorite, Duma, we think is pregnant. ! they had her operated on so she wouldn't have be able to have puppies, but i guess it didn't work..? everyone is like, want to take a cat home? want to take a dog home? want to buy my dog? because there are so many dogs and cats here. really Duma, we don't need more puppies!
also, the dog here that had become my favorite, Duma, we think is pregnant. ! they had her operated on so she wouldn't have be able to have puppies, but i guess it didn't work..? everyone is like, want to take a cat home? want to take a dog home? want to buy my dog? because there are so many dogs and cats here. really Duma, we don't need more puppies!
Friday, June 20, 2008
asi es la vida
I've been in Amatlan for 2 weeks now, and things are starting to settle in. Not that they weren't settled in before, but I am continuing to meet more people, and now recognize a lot of faces when I walk around the streets. I am happy to report that my Spanish is good enough to joke around, which is nice because I have made friends with 4 jovenes (young people), who are my supervisor's nieces and nephews. The oldest one is 19, so they are a little younger, but it is still nice to be friends with people more my age.. or i guess people that aren't married and have kids. as for the people my age, I know there are some out there, but for the most part they are either married, or have left to go work in the United States or Canada.
the surveys are continuing to go well, and now have crossed 30 people off of my list. and in the middle of planting season, I might add, which makes it harder to find people. regularly, I get two questions. 1: "where are you from, Canada?" Most white people that come to Amatlan for longer periods of time are from Canada, and there are three people from the town who are married to Canadians. Which leads to the second most frequent question, which is: "and are you married?" To which I reply.. no, I'm not, but I'm not looking to get married quite yet. We will see if I can escape without a wedding... haha. But I always hear really good stories from people while talking to them about their immigration experiences.. just last night I talked to a guy who has been migrating to the US and Canada, legally, for about 18 years. a lot of people here go to Canada through a worker's program, and go for a maximum of 8 months a year, although sometimes they go for 4 or even only 2. and this man had a health problem from being in the sun so much, but the patron didn't want to take him to the hospital and pay some of the expenses, so this man called the UFCW in Canada's migrant worker help offices, and had a really good experience because the woman was able to advocate for him and forced the patron to bring him to the doctor. It gave me hope that workers do actually find those kinds of supports useful.
I am also going to be giving English lessons throughout the summer, which I am excited to have started. Its nice to be doing something concrete that gives back to the community that is hosting me and most graciously answering a survey taken by a United States citizen. I have one group of kids and one group of adults, with a special emphasis on those that migrate to work in the United States or Canada, so they can learn some English that can be useful to them. I had my first class with kids yesterday, and I think it went pretty well. I just went over some basics and tried to get them to participate.. although they speak really quietly and are kind of embarrassed. also, for not ever having taken an education class or taught English or any other subject I think I held my own. and I even developed my own pedagogy! its called the "how do you say..?" pedagogy. The kids ask a question in English and insert a Spanish word that they want to know. Then I will tell them what that word is in English and then we spell it, using the English alphabet. its good for several reasons: it involves the kids, letting them take a little bit of control of their own education because they get to choose what words they want to learn, they have to ask the question in English so it helps with pronunciation, and then we spell it, so they learn more of the letter of the alphabet. not very many adults came yesterday, but I am hopeful that Saturday people have more free time.
today, I spent a good amount of time "dis-graining" corn that they will soak in water, cook, bring to the maize grinding store, and then make tortillas out of. there are several different colors of corn, and sometimes they mix! which makes a really pretty dried ear of corn.
the surveys are continuing to go well, and now have crossed 30 people off of my list. and in the middle of planting season, I might add, which makes it harder to find people. regularly, I get two questions. 1: "where are you from, Canada?" Most white people that come to Amatlan for longer periods of time are from Canada, and there are three people from the town who are married to Canadians. Which leads to the second most frequent question, which is: "and are you married?" To which I reply.. no, I'm not, but I'm not looking to get married quite yet. We will see if I can escape without a wedding... haha. But I always hear really good stories from people while talking to them about their immigration experiences.. just last night I talked to a guy who has been migrating to the US and Canada, legally, for about 18 years. a lot of people here go to Canada through a worker's program, and go for a maximum of 8 months a year, although sometimes they go for 4 or even only 2. and this man had a health problem from being in the sun so much, but the patron didn't want to take him to the hospital and pay some of the expenses, so this man called the UFCW in Canada's migrant worker help offices, and had a really good experience because the woman was able to advocate for him and forced the patron to bring him to the doctor. It gave me hope that workers do actually find those kinds of supports useful.
I am also going to be giving English lessons throughout the summer, which I am excited to have started. Its nice to be doing something concrete that gives back to the community that is hosting me and most graciously answering a survey taken by a United States citizen. I have one group of kids and one group of adults, with a special emphasis on those that migrate to work in the United States or Canada, so they can learn some English that can be useful to them. I had my first class with kids yesterday, and I think it went pretty well. I just went over some basics and tried to get them to participate.. although they speak really quietly and are kind of embarrassed. also, for not ever having taken an education class or taught English or any other subject I think I held my own. and I even developed my own pedagogy! its called the "how do you say..?" pedagogy. The kids ask a question in English and insert a Spanish word that they want to know. Then I will tell them what that word is in English and then we spell it, using the English alphabet. its good for several reasons: it involves the kids, letting them take a little bit of control of their own education because they get to choose what words they want to learn, they have to ask the question in English so it helps with pronunciation, and then we spell it, so they learn more of the letter of the alphabet. not very many adults came yesterday, but I am hopeful that Saturday people have more free time.
today, I spent a good amount of time "dis-graining" corn that they will soak in water, cook, bring to the maize grinding store, and then make tortillas out of. there are several different colors of corn, and sometimes they mix! which makes a really pretty dried ear of corn.
Friday, June 13, 2008
encuestas
this week was the first week of going out and talking to people about their migration experiences. Mario, who is the suplente (kind of like vice president) of the Ayudantia wrote me a list of more than 50 names of people who have gone to work in the United States or Canada, and what streets they live on. what makes it interesting is the houses aren't marked, and I really have no idea which family lives in which house so what I do is go around to the houses, knock on doors, show them the list, and ask if anyone on the list is a part of their family. I was a little intimidated at first to not even know which person I was going to talk to, but actually people are suprisingly helpful and do look over the list, and so far in 3 days I have done 12 surveys. also, i have gathered more information about who lives where, what times I should come back, etc, so I have some good prospects for today. I think actually I will have to do a lot of surveying on Saturdays and Sundays, because that is when people are around the house more. and even saturdays aren't ideal, because most people work.
In terms of what I have going against me (an outsider from the community, and not just an outsider but from the United States, and also asking about maybe a touchy subject) I think people have been pretty receptive. i have met a few more reserved people, a lot of people that are willing to help out, and a also a few who really want to talk about their experiences. most people want to know what is going to happen with the information, so I have gotten really good at explaining that what they say only goes to the Ayudantia and NOT to the United States (one woman wanted to make sure that if she told me her daughter's name, that her daughter wouldn't get deported) and that the goal is to use the information to help people from the town who migrate, immigrate, or are thinking about it. and truth be told, that is the part that I am really looking forward to, because gathering information is good, but not really if nothing is done with that information. I just hope that the surveying doesn't take so long that there isn't much time left for the second part.
a lot of people guess that I am from Canada when they ask where I'm from (I don't know, maybe Minnesota is really more like Canada than I thought) so one time I asked a guy who was really friendly why he guessed I was from Canada, and he said that Canadians are more easy-going and friendly than the US citizens that come to Mexico. so, at least to some people I am coming off as easy-going and friendly! today it rained hard for about 6 or 7 hours... and my rain jacket is still in Cuernavaca... got to get that soon!
also, the mosquitos here are unnaturally fast.. I think I have killed 3 the whole time here, and I usually have pretty quick mosquito-killing moves.
In terms of what I have going against me (an outsider from the community, and not just an outsider but from the United States, and also asking about maybe a touchy subject) I think people have been pretty receptive. i have met a few more reserved people, a lot of people that are willing to help out, and a also a few who really want to talk about their experiences. most people want to know what is going to happen with the information, so I have gotten really good at explaining that what they say only goes to the Ayudantia and NOT to the United States (one woman wanted to make sure that if she told me her daughter's name, that her daughter wouldn't get deported) and that the goal is to use the information to help people from the town who migrate, immigrate, or are thinking about it. and truth be told, that is the part that I am really looking forward to, because gathering information is good, but not really if nothing is done with that information. I just hope that the surveying doesn't take so long that there isn't much time left for the second part.
a lot of people guess that I am from Canada when they ask where I'm from (I don't know, maybe Minnesota is really more like Canada than I thought) so one time I asked a guy who was really friendly why he guessed I was from Canada, and he said that Canadians are more easy-going and friendly than the US citizens that come to Mexico. so, at least to some people I am coming off as easy-going and friendly! today it rained hard for about 6 or 7 hours... and my rain jacket is still in Cuernavaca... got to get that soon!
also, the mosquitos here are unnaturally fast.. I think I have killed 3 the whole time here, and I usually have pretty quick mosquito-killing moves.
Friday, June 6, 2008
la temporada de lluvia
so, I think most of you know by now but if you don't, I decided to come back to Mexico for the summer and intern with the Communal Land Council (or Ayudantia) in Amatlan, Morelos. I have a grant from the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility at my school, and so was able to come back! I arrived in Amatlan yesterday after a full day of traveling, ate some amazing tortillas, talked with people at the Ayudantia, and slept really well. Everyone said when I came back I would be amazed by the beauty of Amatlan in the rainy season, and it is really true. The mountains are green and misty and when you walk around the streets there are many green trees poking out over people's walls. And I would know, because today I took a map and walked around the streets to familiarize myself with the town. Some of them I had been on before, but I went on a lot more back roads where people actually live. I only met one angry dog, and walkd the other way. People say that I should just say hi to the dog and everything will be fine, but I'm not ready for that yet :). I also visited Dona Chimina and Don Bonfilio, my homestay family from before and got to talk with them for a while, which was really nice. It seems like everything is bursting with life, with all of the green plants, rain, and the new puppies that my supervisor, Nacho, has at his house.
I will be continuing to update this blog all summer, so please keep tuned!
Ruth
I will be continuing to update this blog all summer, so please keep tuned!
Ruth
Sunday, May 11, 2008
la tierra de zapata
In the second to last weekend of this semester, I finally made it to Zapata's birthplace! And much much more actually, because I went with Jose and Juliana, my two internship supervisors, who have a car so we did not only go to Anenecuilco, but also Chinameca where he was assassinated and Tlaltizapan, which hosted the headquarters of Zapata's army from 1914 to 1918. Not only did we go to these specific historic places, but we drove through the mountains and farmlands of Morelos which was the land of the zapatistas during the revolution. This was the land that the original zapatistas fought to defend and redistribute to those who work it with their hands.
In Anenecuilco we saw Zapata's house where he grew up. There was also an amazing mural of the history of Mexico, Zapata, and the Revolution. Here is part of it:
Also, here is me with Juliana, Jose, and Alejandra who also works at La Comuna and La Comision:
Alo in Anenecuilco we wrote in the museum book, Alejandra in Nahuatl (the indigenous language of the area), Jose in Spanish, and Kelsey and I in English. My friend Kelsey who went along too said that it better be good, because 100 years from now someone is going to write their thesis on us, and US perceptions of Zapata's life. We also wrote in the book at Chinameca.. leaving our traces all around Morelos.
oh, this mural is in Anenecuilco too. if you don't know already, its of Zapata and Subcomandante Marcos, who is the one of the spokespeople for the Zapatistas today, in Chiapas.
In Chinameca, you can actually see the entrance to the Hacienda where Zapata entered and was immediately shot down by soldier positioned around the entrance. The bullet holes are still in the walls, and from how many bullet holes there are all around the entrance, you can tell there were a LOT of soldiers who all shot at the same time and Zapata had no opportunity to defend himself.
We also met two older men there, who I think hang around the arch and talk to visitors who come to see it. One of them gave me a "lucky" stone, to which other students are like, "yeah.. its really lucky, Zapata got shot there" but whether or not it is actually lucky, I really value it because it was out of the goodwill and friendship of people that live in Chinameca and really valued Zapata's life and the ideals of the Revolution.
I had an amazing day travelling around Morelos. Seeing these different towns, talking to the people, and seeing the land really gives you a better sense of what Zapata fought to defend, and it has been one of my most important and best days here.
In Anenecuilco we saw Zapata's house where he grew up. There was also an amazing mural of the history of Mexico, Zapata, and the Revolution. Here is part of it:
Also, here is me with Juliana, Jose, and Alejandra who also works at La Comuna and La Comision:
Alo in Anenecuilco we wrote in the museum book, Alejandra in Nahuatl (the indigenous language of the area), Jose in Spanish, and Kelsey and I in English. My friend Kelsey who went along too said that it better be good, because 100 years from now someone is going to write their thesis on us, and US perceptions of Zapata's life. We also wrote in the book at Chinameca.. leaving our traces all around Morelos.
oh, this mural is in Anenecuilco too. if you don't know already, its of Zapata and Subcomandante Marcos, who is the one of the spokespeople for the Zapatistas today, in Chiapas.
In Chinameca, you can actually see the entrance to the Hacienda where Zapata entered and was immediately shot down by soldier positioned around the entrance. The bullet holes are still in the walls, and from how many bullet holes there are all around the entrance, you can tell there were a LOT of soldiers who all shot at the same time and Zapata had no opportunity to defend himself.
We also met two older men there, who I think hang around the arch and talk to visitors who come to see it. One of them gave me a "lucky" stone, to which other students are like, "yeah.. its really lucky, Zapata got shot there" but whether or not it is actually lucky, I really value it because it was out of the goodwill and friendship of people that live in Chinameca and really valued Zapata's life and the ideals of the Revolution.
I had an amazing day travelling around Morelos. Seeing these different towns, talking to the people, and seeing the land really gives you a better sense of what Zapata fought to defend, and it has been one of my most important and best days here.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
beisbol
I finally met a baseball fan in Mexico!! Most people here are huge futbol fans, and I can't blame them for that, its jsut sometimes frustrating because I don't know who to cheer for. All the time people ask me, so who is your team? And I have to reply, I have no idea. There is no team in Morelos which probably would have been my default because that is the state I have grown to love. Recently, I have been thinking I should adopt the Chivas. They are are pretty popular team, but I like them because they make it a point to have all Mexican players, which the other big teams do not. But then I think, well I like small market teams because they have to fight for every win and are scrappy, but I just don't knwo who the small market teams are here. I have one friend who is an Atlas fan, but I don't really want to copy him without knowing anything about the team.
well anyway back to baseball, I had a good conversation about Latin American baseball players with a guyu named Marco who works with La Comision. He is a labor lawyer and waiter at La Comuna, and really reminds me of my cousin Mike (Mike, if you are reading this, you have a counterpart in Mexico who has a great smile, like you!). And he actually played fastpitch softball in the fields near the university. to bad I just found out about this a week and a half before we are done. anyway, it was refreshing to talk sports about a sport I know and care about.
today was my official last day of my internship, although I am quite certain that in these last days I will go there to do homework, chat in my free time, or go to events if there are any. I really grew to like my internship and the people a lot. today I had a bit of an adventure with these journalists that I know through my internship who I give English "classes" to. I went with them to Juitepec to a rally held by a union. There was a whole bunch of police there which made me a little nervous because as a US citizen, I am not supposed to particpate politically. and I wasn't doing anything political, just observing, but if they wanted to they could probably construe it any way they wanted. The good thing was that the journalists knew the police and so they would be able to protect me, but the bad thing was that because they knew them, they introduced me and I shook a bunch of police hands, making sure not to open my mouth too wide and let my accent out. then they got news of another story that they should go to, which was something about a confrontation between the federal police and the municipal police with one person dead, and so as we sped down the highway following a police car's wake, I said, umm I think i need to go back to La Comuna. I did not want to meet any more police... especially if they were mad. so they just dropped me on the side of a highway near where I used to live, and I took a ruta back to La Comuna, safe and sound. no deportation for me today! no, I wasn't close at all to that happening, but it was a high speed adventure full of chirping cell phones and police for about an hour.
well anyway back to baseball, I had a good conversation about Latin American baseball players with a guyu named Marco who works with La Comision. He is a labor lawyer and waiter at La Comuna, and really reminds me of my cousin Mike (Mike, if you are reading this, you have a counterpart in Mexico who has a great smile, like you!). And he actually played fastpitch softball in the fields near the university. to bad I just found out about this a week and a half before we are done. anyway, it was refreshing to talk sports about a sport I know and care about.
today was my official last day of my internship, although I am quite certain that in these last days I will go there to do homework, chat in my free time, or go to events if there are any. I really grew to like my internship and the people a lot. today I had a bit of an adventure with these journalists that I know through my internship who I give English "classes" to. I went with them to Juitepec to a rally held by a union. There was a whole bunch of police there which made me a little nervous because as a US citizen, I am not supposed to particpate politically. and I wasn't doing anything political, just observing, but if they wanted to they could probably construe it any way they wanted. The good thing was that the journalists knew the police and so they would be able to protect me, but the bad thing was that because they knew them, they introduced me and I shook a bunch of police hands, making sure not to open my mouth too wide and let my accent out. then they got news of another story that they should go to, which was something about a confrontation between the federal police and the municipal police with one person dead, and so as we sped down the highway following a police car's wake, I said, umm I think i need to go back to La Comuna. I did not want to meet any more police... especially if they were mad. so they just dropped me on the side of a highway near where I used to live, and I took a ruta back to La Comuna, safe and sound. no deportation for me today! no, I wasn't close at all to that happening, but it was a high speed adventure full of chirping cell phones and police for about an hour.
Friday, May 2, 2008
dia de los trabajadores
as some of you may know, yesterday May 1st is International Workers Day. For some reason we celebrate Labor Day on September 1st.. probably so that our workers are seperated from the rest of the world.. but the rest of the world celebrates on May 1st. So, naturally I went to the march.
It was a lot of fun! I went with Juliana, Jose, Marco, and Alejandra, who I work with at La Comision. As a foreigner, it is actually illegal for me to participate in anything political in Mexico.. so what extranjeros do it "take photos and observe." Which means that you can walk in the march, but just not be really loud or obvious. I took lots of pictures, mostly of the amazing graffiti and signs that the socialist youth (communist, anarchist? i'm not sure exactly what they were)plastered on the walls of the signs and stores of transnational corporations that we passed. Juliana also pointed out the man that works for the government and films everyone who is in the march, and so I avioded him and made sure my face was behind a sign when he showed up. pretty crazy that they do that, but also that the people all know who he is and what he is there for. here are some of my pictures:
the march
USA: No NAFTA! Movment for National Liberation
the PPP includes La Parota.. which we learned about in the Costa Chica
to refund the nation (with a picture of zapata)
"PEMEX is not for sale" this is referring to the movement against the privitization of Mexico's petroleum. Its actually a pretty big thing right now.. a few weeks ago some of the senators from the PRD took over the Congress so that a hasty privitization bill wasn't passed. maybe i'll write about this later
Killer Cola .. haha had to get that one in
this is a little hard to traslate exactly into English, but its basically like "up with the market and down with the transnationals." they wrote this on the side of the market walls, which is this big outdoor/indoor market in cuernavaca where lots of small vendors sell their vegetables and other products.
gathering in the zocalo
best sign ever.
then after, we went to Xoxocotla for their feria. Xoxo is the main town involved in a lot of organizing against giant housing developments that would be built directly over a spring that serves the community. we went and talked to a leader of the movement (called the 13 Pueblos) in Xoxo a few weeks ago and yesterday I went to the house of another leader to eat. it was pretty amazing to be in the presence of many campesino organizers and other people involved in the movement. at one point, I got to listen to a conversation about whether they wanted to ask the Zapatistas to officially support their movement or not. here are some pictures from Xoxocotla:
Indigenous danza
what better way to end the day than with a statue in honor of Zapata?
It was a lot of fun! I went with Juliana, Jose, Marco, and Alejandra, who I work with at La Comision. As a foreigner, it is actually illegal for me to participate in anything political in Mexico.. so what extranjeros do it "take photos and observe." Which means that you can walk in the march, but just not be really loud or obvious. I took lots of pictures, mostly of the amazing graffiti and signs that the socialist youth (communist, anarchist? i'm not sure exactly what they were)plastered on the walls of the signs and stores of transnational corporations that we passed. Juliana also pointed out the man that works for the government and films everyone who is in the march, and so I avioded him and made sure my face was behind a sign when he showed up. pretty crazy that they do that, but also that the people all know who he is and what he is there for. here are some of my pictures:
the march
USA: No NAFTA! Movment for National Liberation
the PPP includes La Parota.. which we learned about in the Costa Chica
to refund the nation (with a picture of zapata)
"PEMEX is not for sale" this is referring to the movement against the privitization of Mexico's petroleum. Its actually a pretty big thing right now.. a few weeks ago some of the senators from the PRD took over the Congress so that a hasty privitization bill wasn't passed. maybe i'll write about this later
Killer Cola .. haha had to get that one in
this is a little hard to traslate exactly into English, but its basically like "up with the market and down with the transnationals." they wrote this on the side of the market walls, which is this big outdoor/indoor market in cuernavaca where lots of small vendors sell their vegetables and other products.
gathering in the zocalo
best sign ever.
then after, we went to Xoxocotla for their feria. Xoxo is the main town involved in a lot of organizing against giant housing developments that would be built directly over a spring that serves the community. we went and talked to a leader of the movement (called the 13 Pueblos) in Xoxo a few weeks ago and yesterday I went to the house of another leader to eat. it was pretty amazing to be in the presence of many campesino organizers and other people involved in the movement. at one point, I got to listen to a conversation about whether they wanted to ask the Zapatistas to officially support their movement or not. here are some pictures from Xoxocotla:
Indigenous danza
what better way to end the day than with a statue in honor of Zapata?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
la rutas
for all of you who like taking public transportation, the rutas in Cuernavaca are a trip. they are these mini-buses, in varying condition, and every driver has wall hangins and decorations inside to personalize their bus. favorite soccer teams are a pretty common theme, but one I was on had a tweety bird theme!! to take them, you have to know the city pretty well, like where exactly you are going and where you want to get on and off because there is no map or schedule. You just look for a bus that has the place where you want to go in the window. And if you get on the wrong bus, you can't always just walk across the street and wait for a new one because the routes back are different. That hasn't happened to me yet, thank goodness, but it is something you have to check all the time. And sometimes even routes with the same numbers say they are going different places.
To top it off, I think the ruta drivers have a year-long race going on. One day I was on one that was ripping around corners and making some crazy driving moves just to pass the other rutas in front. yesderday my ruta driver was getting super mad at the bad traffic, and layed on his horn about once every minute. they like driving fast, and if they can't they get really frustrated and try and cram into spots that are definitely not big enough. Then there are some stops where they get a card punched to record what time they arrived at the stop. I know it is to measure effeciency, but I like to think they are keeping records and at the end of the year one ruta driver will win the ruta cup or something.
To top it off, I think the ruta drivers have a year-long race going on. One day I was on one that was ripping around corners and making some crazy driving moves just to pass the other rutas in front. yesderday my ruta driver was getting super mad at the bad traffic, and layed on his horn about once every minute. they like driving fast, and if they can't they get really frustrated and try and cram into spots that are definitely not big enough. Then there are some stops where they get a card punched to record what time they arrived at the stop. I know it is to measure effeciency, but I like to think they are keeping records and at the end of the year one ruta driver will win the ruta cup or something.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
derechos humanos
This month of April has been by far the best, because we live with families, ride the public transportation (las rutas), and work at an internship site. I am doing my internship at a place called La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos (from now on called La Comision). I split my time between three places. One is La Comuna, which is a cafe that they own and collectively run. Its fun to be there, because there are always groups having meetings or press conferences going on. Its a place of a lot of action and every day I meet someone new. Since my Spanish is good, but not good enough to be a waitress (can you repeat your order please? again?) I help out by preparing some food, brining people coffee, and washing the dishes. The next place that I go to is the official office of La Comision, which is really close and suprisingly a really good location in the middle of downtown Cuernavaca. There, I am able to check my email and my job is to help them organize all of their papers. I categorize newspaper article clippings, and try to find space in an already crammed office to put them. Its okay though, its nice to go to a quiet space sometimes. Okay, who am I kidding, this part is not my favorite, but it is something that they need so I grin and bear it. Their office actually has a wealth of information about socail movements, and if it was organized it could be a really useful resource for people. The third place that I go is to the offices of Sin Linea, an independent news magazine, which is two floors down from our office. There I give two young women reporters English lessons.. well more like we chat in English and they practice basic phrases with me. Last time was really fun though.. because they are all interested in politics they were asking me about my opinions on the election (actually, people are very aware of this election. I get asked that question all the time) so we read Obama's health care platform on the internet. It was really fun! And I really like the people who work in that office as well. A lot of them are in their late twenties/early thirties, so we joke around and talk about other things in Spanish. Its nice to have Mexican friends.
In the same vein about having Mexican friends, I went to a prize ceremony for a Human Rights award on Saturday, and it was so nice because I knew a good group of people there, and I felt like I was getting to know the social justice community. Granted, I think everyone in that room knew everyone else, but it was nice all the same. I ran into the jewelry artesan who I had taken one class from about 2 months ago and then lost touch with, and talked with him for a while and we exchanged emails so more classes can actually happen! He is involved with the Zapatistas and knows a lot of Mexican history, so the classes are amazing because it is not just makign earrings, but talking about social movements. I say classes for lack of a better word, because it is more like we sit down together at a table for a set period of time, but its nothing official. I also got to spend more time with a youth activist that I have made friends with, just chatting, learning more about all the people in the room, and having a good time. All in all, it was a great day.
In the same vein about having Mexican friends, I went to a prize ceremony for a Human Rights award on Saturday, and it was so nice because I knew a good group of people there, and I felt like I was getting to know the social justice community. Granted, I think everyone in that room knew everyone else, but it was nice all the same. I ran into the jewelry artesan who I had taken one class from about 2 months ago and then lost touch with, and talked with him for a while and we exchanged emails so more classes can actually happen! He is involved with the Zapatistas and knows a lot of Mexican history, so the classes are amazing because it is not just makign earrings, but talking about social movements. I say classes for lack of a better word, because it is more like we sit down together at a table for a set period of time, but its nothing official. I also got to spend more time with a youth activist that I have made friends with, just chatting, learning more about all the people in the room, and having a good time. All in all, it was a great day.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
boing
the search for an alernative to Coca-Cola has now been completed. Coca-Cola is everywhere in Mexico, and I mean everywhere. In remote villages where they on't even have water, the coke truck will inevitably come. but, there is a cooperative company called Pascual Boing, which makes juice and pop. its actually pretty famous in Mexico and a lot of people drink it. plus it tastes realy good, and they have mango and guayaba juice too.. mm.
Not only are they not Coke, and they are a cooperative company, but they are a drink company that actually does good things in the community. Boing helps out a lot of different social struggles with matericas for signs, funding, and all that. They were involved in the Casino de la Selva protests that I wrote about earlier. They also have their own fight against Coke, because in Coke's effort to control the whole world, Boing is a sharp thorn in their side. so, what has Coke done? they buy the right to sell exclusivey at popular events. A few years ago, they excluded Boing from selling at Cuernavaca's annual fair. Boing set up outside the gates and told eveyone what had happened and asked the fair-goers to block Coca-Cola. I think they actually had a pretty good response, espcially since they are actually a Mexican company, and people really don't like the invasion of US corporations.
needless to say, I am pretty obsessed with this company now. Luckily, I'm doing my internship at La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos, which owns a cafe where they hold events and press conferences, and guess what they sell.. Boing! I got a free key-chain out of the deal, and if I fee like it I think I could have a poster. although their posters are kind of cheesey with pictures of tough-looking fruit, so I think that may not go up on my wall. I need to find out if they sell Boing in the United States...
Not only are they not Coke, and they are a cooperative company, but they are a drink company that actually does good things in the community. Boing helps out a lot of different social struggles with matericas for signs, funding, and all that. They were involved in the Casino de la Selva protests that I wrote about earlier. They also have their own fight against Coke, because in Coke's effort to control the whole world, Boing is a sharp thorn in their side. so, what has Coke done? they buy the right to sell exclusivey at popular events. A few years ago, they excluded Boing from selling at Cuernavaca's annual fair. Boing set up outside the gates and told eveyone what had happened and asked the fair-goers to block Coca-Cola. I think they actually had a pretty good response, espcially since they are actually a Mexican company, and people really don't like the invasion of US corporations.
needless to say, I am pretty obsessed with this company now. Luckily, I'm doing my internship at La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos, which owns a cafe where they hold events and press conferences, and guess what they sell.. Boing! I got a free key-chain out of the deal, and if I fee like it I think I could have a poster. although their posters are kind of cheesey with pictures of tough-looking fruit, so I think that may not go up on my wall. I need to find out if they sell Boing in the United States...
Friday, April 11, 2008
agua si, basura no
in April and the beginning of May I am spending a lot of time doing internships with community groups here. I've already started with Juana and the women's group at the maquiladora, but that wasn't enough hours every week so I added a group called Luz y Libertad, which was formed out of a Base Christian Community group, which started during a period of really strong liberation theology. Every Monday evening they give cooking classes to teach women who live in another industrial area how to make cheap but healthy food. I think I might help them put together a cookbook that they can use, and also sell to foreigners who come to talk to them.
But, those two groups are not enough hour either, so yesterday I went to talk with someone from La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos, which is a really cool organization here that has connections with a lot of social movements. I wouldn't say that they are the organizers, but more intermediaries. They keep track of repression by the government, hold press conferences, and have a cafe that is used for press releases, meeting space, and other political and scoail events. I actually am going to be spending the most time working with them and I am really excited because I will be able to have one foot in the movements around water, land, and trash that are currently getting larger.
and to that effect, after I met with La Comision there was a march against the landfill that the government wants to build that I went to. They stopped PASA from building in Temixco in January, but now the governmetn went around that community and is looking to go through a community north of Loma Mejia, which is where they want to build the landfill. The community leader said yes, that they could go through, but the people of that community do not want the landfill either. so last saturday the police took some people away who were making signs against the landfill...i don´t think they were arrested, but they were taken away and not told where they were going. so there is now police repression around this issue, and I think its about to get a lot more interesting. I watched a video about the defense of water in Morelos, and there was a part about the relleno sanitario, and the place where they want to build the landfill is so beautiful! its open land, with rivers and a tree that is more than 500 years old. a landfill does need to be built somewhere, but really, this location is a horrible place. it would be built OVER an aquifer, and contaminate water that people depend on daily.
more to come!
Ruth
But, those two groups are not enough hour either, so yesterday I went to talk with someone from La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos, which is a really cool organization here that has connections with a lot of social movements. I wouldn't say that they are the organizers, but more intermediaries. They keep track of repression by the government, hold press conferences, and have a cafe that is used for press releases, meeting space, and other political and scoail events. I actually am going to be spending the most time working with them and I am really excited because I will be able to have one foot in the movements around water, land, and trash that are currently getting larger.
and to that effect, after I met with La Comision there was a march against the landfill that the government wants to build that I went to. They stopped PASA from building in Temixco in January, but now the governmetn went around that community and is looking to go through a community north of Loma Mejia, which is where they want to build the landfill. The community leader said yes, that they could go through, but the people of that community do not want the landfill either. so last saturday the police took some people away who were making signs against the landfill...i don´t think they were arrested, but they were taken away and not told where they were going. so there is now police repression around this issue, and I think its about to get a lot more interesting. I watched a video about the defense of water in Morelos, and there was a part about the relleno sanitario, and the place where they want to build the landfill is so beautiful! its open land, with rivers and a tree that is more than 500 years old. a landfill does need to be built somewhere, but really, this location is a horrible place. it would be built OVER an aquifer, and contaminate water that people depend on daily.
more to come!
Ruth
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
pastel y gelatin
This past weekend we started our homestays in Cuernavaca, and I'm moving into a new stage of the program where I'm living in a working class neighborhood and taking the bus to my internships and classes. Its actually really nice to take the buses because I feel like more a part of the city rather than an outside observer. although they can get pretty hot..
This past weekend I went to two little kid's parties. On Saturday it was the 10th birthday of one of Erika's (my host mom) nephews. We had hamburgers and french fries, the kids broke open a pinata, and I listed to all the adults talking really fast about people I don't know about. It was fun though.. and at the end of the party the kids danced to reggaeton music and asked me to judge them. so I'd say: hmmmmmm...... 10! and they'd be really happy.
then on Sunday I went back to Amatlan for the day to go to the baptism of Damian, the grandson of my host parents. It was really nice to be there for that family event, and I accepted the role of photographer to try and document everything. I also accepted the role of writer, because after the baptism we went back to the church and there was a party, and the mom made tortilla cloths for all of the tortilla baskests and on each one I wrote "Mi Bautizo, Damian, 06/04/2008." So now there is hard evidence of my existance in that family :)... We ate traditional Mexican food: they killed their hog for the event, so we had barbacoa, rice, beans, tortillas, and tamales. the food was really different at the two parties, except for the desert. apparantly at Mexican kid's parties, you eat cake with jello. I don't know why, but I sure did get my fill over the past weekend.
This past weekend I went to two little kid's parties. On Saturday it was the 10th birthday of one of Erika's (my host mom) nephews. We had hamburgers and french fries, the kids broke open a pinata, and I listed to all the adults talking really fast about people I don't know about. It was fun though.. and at the end of the party the kids danced to reggaeton music and asked me to judge them. so I'd say: hmmmmmm...... 10! and they'd be really happy.
then on Sunday I went back to Amatlan for the day to go to the baptism of Damian, the grandson of my host parents. It was really nice to be there for that family event, and I accepted the role of photographer to try and document everything. I also accepted the role of writer, because after the baptism we went back to the church and there was a party, and the mom made tortilla cloths for all of the tortilla baskests and on each one I wrote "Mi Bautizo, Damian, 06/04/2008." So now there is hard evidence of my existance in that family :)... We ate traditional Mexican food: they killed their hog for the event, so we had barbacoa, rice, beans, tortillas, and tamales. the food was really different at the two parties, except for the desert. apparantly at Mexican kid's parties, you eat cake with jello. I don't know why, but I sure did get my fill over the past weekend.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
costa chica
last week I went to the Costa Chica in the state of Guerrero. Costa Chica is the coast on the Pacific Ocean south of Acapulco, and actually some of the costa chica is in Oaxaca, which is the state south west of Guerrero.
the main objective of going to this area was to learn about the afro-mexican community there. In that region there are a lot of people with African blood, a legacy of slavery, but the government and educational curriculum do not recognize Africans as the third root of "mestizaje" or the mixing of races that was a result of the Conquest. And it is really true. We mainly stayed in the city of Cuajiniciulapa and when we walked along the streets there, it really looked like pictures that you see of Cuba or the Dominican Republic, whose people also have African roots. but it was Mexico... just goes to show the great amount of diversity in all countries.
We also learned about indigenous communities and cultures. One of my favorite visits over this week was to a bilingual school that teaches Spanish and Mixteco, an indigenous language from the area. the teacher was an amazingly strong woman.. she left her village in the mountains after second grade so she could continue her education. She worked in a woman's house as a maid and with her sister's help, they finished high school. The great thing about the school was that it was giving kids a positive sense of indigenous identity. The families moved from their small villages to the city and often when that happens, indigenous culture and pride in their traditions is lost. but this school helps kids learn Spanish while retaining Mixteco culture. And its true too, when we were playing a tickling game with the kids - it was basically everyone run around and try to tickle each other. my friend kelsey got taken down by a group of seven kids all at once.. she ended up curled in a ball on the floor - anyway, I heard the kids speaking Mixteco to each other.. they weren't ashamed of speaking their native language, as is too often common in Mexico. here's a picture:
another favorite visit of mine was to a beach near Tierra Colorada, where they help endangered baby sea turtles hatch and keep track of the sea turtle migration. what was great about this project was how much Enrique (the man who talked to us) understood that environmental conservation is linked to social issues. People raid the eggs to sell them, only because there is often no other viable employment. A really cool thing that they have done is set up a temporary employment program so people can earn a little bit of money working with the sea turtles, and they have actually employed some previous hueveros (egg hunters). Also, the sea turtles are a large part of culture and religion in this area, and if the turtles go extinct, we do not just lose biodiversity, but cultural diversity as well. and then at the end we got to liberate baby sea turtles! The mother leaves here eggs in the sand and when the babies hatch, they have to make a trip across the beach to get into the ocean. Well, we got to carry them across the beach and set them down in the sand, then watched then go into the water so no birds ate them along the way. it was so amazing!! The babies knew that they were near the ocean as we walked with them in our hands, and started making swimming motions trying as fast as they could to get into the water. how’s that for natural instinct. I have no pictures of the actual act, but here's one of the encampment and the ocean:
whew, the last favorite visit (which is actually my favorite one) was with a group of people organizing against a mega-dam "La Parota" that was to be built in their region. This dam would have flooded several municipalities upstream, displacing farmers and communities and would have cut off the water supply for those downstream, effectively displacing them too because they could no longer grow food to eat. and if all that isn't bad enough, the benefits of the dam were not going to help the communities around the area, but was going to be sold to California. so people can watch their TVs 6 hours a day. Bullshit.
they organized in opposition to the dam for several years, and it was a huge struggle. 4 people died, many were thrown in jail, and others were beaten by the police. the CFE, which is the electrical commission here, infiltrated their ejido council meetings and set up police barricades so people who opposed the dam couldn't participate. They forged people's signatures who had died, couldn't write, or migrated to the United States. Its a really long story, but even with all of this deception and lying by the government, in 2007 they stopped their effort to build the dam. The organizers, who are actually just farmers and community members, spoke very strongly about water being life, the earth granting food, and the history and culture that is rooted deep in their land. Each person said something to this effect: "We are willing to die defending what is ours, our woods, our water, and our land." They also said that they are not opposed to development, only a development that rips them away from their land and their culture. They want development of their lands so they can keep working them.
What impacted me most about this visit was that they were extremely wary of letting a group of people from the United States on to their land and to share with them their story. We were still welcomed and they fed us lunch before the talk, but this is the first time that we had experienced a welcome that did not grant us a privileged status because we came from the United States, in fact that is what made them not trust us at first. They asked us why we came, why we wanted to listen to them, and we all responded. Through these responses -- that we want to work for social change, that we want to organize in our own communities, that we hope to have the same strength that they did -- we gained their trust, which felt extremely gratifying. At the end, they took us to see the Papagayo River (the one which would have been flooded) which I think was a really good sign that we had gained their trust, because they wanted to share their most valuable resource with us.
also, there was amazing graffiti and murals in the community and along the roads as we drove by. phrases such as "La tierra no se vende. Se ama y se defiende." (The land is not for sale. Love it and defend it). or "Zapata vive, la lucha sigue." (Zapata lives, the struggle continues). Here are some pictures:
(hell yeah.. I'm sure this was intentionally over Coke's name, as a symbol of outside impositions and corporate America)
and just one last picture to leave you with a beautiful image of the coast:
the main objective of going to this area was to learn about the afro-mexican community there. In that region there are a lot of people with African blood, a legacy of slavery, but the government and educational curriculum do not recognize Africans as the third root of "mestizaje" or the mixing of races that was a result of the Conquest. And it is really true. We mainly stayed in the city of Cuajiniciulapa and when we walked along the streets there, it really looked like pictures that you see of Cuba or the Dominican Republic, whose people also have African roots. but it was Mexico... just goes to show the great amount of diversity in all countries.
We also learned about indigenous communities and cultures. One of my favorite visits over this week was to a bilingual school that teaches Spanish and Mixteco, an indigenous language from the area. the teacher was an amazingly strong woman.. she left her village in the mountains after second grade so she could continue her education. She worked in a woman's house as a maid and with her sister's help, they finished high school. The great thing about the school was that it was giving kids a positive sense of indigenous identity. The families moved from their small villages to the city and often when that happens, indigenous culture and pride in their traditions is lost. but this school helps kids learn Spanish while retaining Mixteco culture. And its true too, when we were playing a tickling game with the kids - it was basically everyone run around and try to tickle each other. my friend kelsey got taken down by a group of seven kids all at once.. she ended up curled in a ball on the floor - anyway, I heard the kids speaking Mixteco to each other.. they weren't ashamed of speaking their native language, as is too often common in Mexico. here's a picture:
another favorite visit of mine was to a beach near Tierra Colorada, where they help endangered baby sea turtles hatch and keep track of the sea turtle migration. what was great about this project was how much Enrique (the man who talked to us) understood that environmental conservation is linked to social issues. People raid the eggs to sell them, only because there is often no other viable employment. A really cool thing that they have done is set up a temporary employment program so people can earn a little bit of money working with the sea turtles, and they have actually employed some previous hueveros (egg hunters). Also, the sea turtles are a large part of culture and religion in this area, and if the turtles go extinct, we do not just lose biodiversity, but cultural diversity as well. and then at the end we got to liberate baby sea turtles! The mother leaves here eggs in the sand and when the babies hatch, they have to make a trip across the beach to get into the ocean. Well, we got to carry them across the beach and set them down in the sand, then watched then go into the water so no birds ate them along the way. it was so amazing!! The babies knew that they were near the ocean as we walked with them in our hands, and started making swimming motions trying as fast as they could to get into the water. how’s that for natural instinct. I have no pictures of the actual act, but here's one of the encampment and the ocean:
whew, the last favorite visit (which is actually my favorite one) was with a group of people organizing against a mega-dam "La Parota" that was to be built in their region. This dam would have flooded several municipalities upstream, displacing farmers and communities and would have cut off the water supply for those downstream, effectively displacing them too because they could no longer grow food to eat. and if all that isn't bad enough, the benefits of the dam were not going to help the communities around the area, but was going to be sold to California. so people can watch their TVs 6 hours a day. Bullshit.
they organized in opposition to the dam for several years, and it was a huge struggle. 4 people died, many were thrown in jail, and others were beaten by the police. the CFE, which is the electrical commission here, infiltrated their ejido council meetings and set up police barricades so people who opposed the dam couldn't participate. They forged people's signatures who had died, couldn't write, or migrated to the United States. Its a really long story, but even with all of this deception and lying by the government, in 2007 they stopped their effort to build the dam. The organizers, who are actually just farmers and community members, spoke very strongly about water being life, the earth granting food, and the history and culture that is rooted deep in their land. Each person said something to this effect: "We are willing to die defending what is ours, our woods, our water, and our land." They also said that they are not opposed to development, only a development that rips them away from their land and their culture. They want development of their lands so they can keep working them.
What impacted me most about this visit was that they were extremely wary of letting a group of people from the United States on to their land and to share with them their story. We were still welcomed and they fed us lunch before the talk, but this is the first time that we had experienced a welcome that did not grant us a privileged status because we came from the United States, in fact that is what made them not trust us at first. They asked us why we came, why we wanted to listen to them, and we all responded. Through these responses -- that we want to work for social change, that we want to organize in our own communities, that we hope to have the same strength that they did -- we gained their trust, which felt extremely gratifying. At the end, they took us to see the Papagayo River (the one which would have been flooded) which I think was a really good sign that we had gained their trust, because they wanted to share their most valuable resource with us.
also, there was amazing graffiti and murals in the community and along the roads as we drove by. phrases such as "La tierra no se vende. Se ama y se defiende." (The land is not for sale. Love it and defend it). or "Zapata vive, la lucha sigue." (Zapata lives, the struggle continues). Here are some pictures:
(hell yeah.. I'm sure this was intentionally over Coke's name, as a symbol of outside impositions and corporate America)
and just one last picture to leave you with a beautiful image of the coast:
Sunday, March 30, 2008
montanas
first things first, some pictures from the hike in Amatlan:
this is us walking through a canyon named Tepexi (I think thats how you spell it) which was a site of campesino resistance against the Mexican army in the 1940's. The man with the hat is my host dad, Don Bonfilio, and the woman is Charlene, a Canadian and the latest addition to the family when she married the youngest brother, David about 2 months ago. Here is another view:
the mountains on either side of us:
our destination!
San Jose de Los Laureles grows a large amount of nopal (catus) that you eat in traditional Mexican dishes.
the feria for San Jose de Los Laureles. We went in the church to pay respects to the patron saint, and it smelled thickly of flowers. mmm
I'll write about Costa Chica a bit later, or else this post will get extremely long.
peace
this is us walking through a canyon named Tepexi (I think thats how you spell it) which was a site of campesino resistance against the Mexican army in the 1940's. The man with the hat is my host dad, Don Bonfilio, and the woman is Charlene, a Canadian and the latest addition to the family when she married the youngest brother, David about 2 months ago. Here is another view:
the mountains on either side of us:
our destination!
San Jose de Los Laureles grows a large amount of nopal (catus) that you eat in traditional Mexican dishes.
the feria for San Jose de Los Laureles. We went in the church to pay respects to the patron saint, and it smelled thickly of flowers. mmm
I'll write about Costa Chica a bit later, or else this post will get extremely long.
peace
Sunday, March 23, 2008
me voy caminando
whoa, I'm in Cuernavaca for one night -- back from Amatlan today and to Costa Chica tomorrow, but I wanted to update on my spring break before it got too late.
I arrived in Amatlan on tuesday, thinking I would just stay for 3 days and 2 nights, but ended up staying until sunday afternoon. Just that I was able to stay for that long, and that they wanted me to stay for that long is testament to this family's generosity and kindness. I feel really honored to get to know them because they are really good people -- hard workers, loving family members, keepers of indigenous culture, and people that care about justice, the environment, and the well-being of all people. The first week, and now this week too I was incredibly welcomed into their family, and last night Don Bonfilio commented that its like he has another daughter. And I really enjoy staying with them, because to me that it what Mexico is, for real, and I learn so much more by being with a family and participating in their every day actions and traditions.
Wednesday we hiked through a pass in the mountains (even though it was through a pass, there was still a lot of scrambling up rocks) to San Juan de los Laureles, a town on the other side of the mountains that was celebrating its patron saint's feast day. The hike (they call hiking "caminando" or walking, which is pretty different in my book, but i like that they use that word) was beautiful as we went through with mountains on each side of us. luckily there were a lot of trees, which provided shade. all along the route there were crosses placed there by other hikers to signify something that happened in that region. I'm going to add pictures later, but right now my camera is packed away.
we got to San Jose de los Laureles, got startled by fireworks, touched the statue of the patron saint and ATE. apparently what people do at these festivals is go to everyone's house that is your relative, or that you know one of their relatives and they will serve you food. luckily, we only had two houses to go to, but they both gave us two plates of food, plus more mole to bring home. I was so full, but you really have to eat the food as a sign of respect. actually, thats something that I had trouble with for a good amount of the week. i would eat so i wasn't hungry anymore, but then the family would be like, here's more food, eat! and I would say, I'm so full, I can't. but I think sometimes they interpret that as, I don't like your food. so thats something I have to feel out a lot of the time. the festival was a lot of fun... the kids rode rides, we listened to music and talked, and then one of the brothers came to pick us up so we didn't have to walk back with our tired legs and full stomachs. again, generosity is a main theme here -- families provide everyone else with a full meal, and then when it is Amatlan's turn for their festival, the roles are turned around and my family will provide food for everyone that comes to their house.
this stay was great because I got to know all of the family better, met more people that I didn't know, and made genuine friends. Pepe, one of the brothers, is going to Canada in two days and will be there for six months. even tough i do not live in canada, nor can he come to the US without a visa that is impossible to get, I gave him all of my contact information in case there was any way I could possibly help. that it one of the hardest things to know after receiving so much from this family, is that it is really hard for me to return the favor because it is really hard for them to get into the United States, and then travel to find me, even if just to visit. a visa to get to the US is really expensive, and so is the cost of a coyote to get across without documents. so anyway, i really hope he accepts my offer and contacts me, even if it is just to talk.
again, I was really sad to leave. They kept asking me, when are you coming back? Are you going to stay for longer next time? Which was really nice to hear, because I thought that I stayed for a long time over this break, but I definitely did not wear out my welcome and they at least feel similarly to me. I am going to try and go back in a week for a wedding in the town, but there is no way that I will be able to stay for another longer amount of time, unless it is in the summer.
all in all, it was an amazing spring break, and I felt like I really got a chance to know more Mexican people, which is hard to do when you are with a bunch of US students. I like the people in the group, but it was good to get away and be a part of real Mexican life, for a change.
I arrived in Amatlan on tuesday, thinking I would just stay for 3 days and 2 nights, but ended up staying until sunday afternoon. Just that I was able to stay for that long, and that they wanted me to stay for that long is testament to this family's generosity and kindness. I feel really honored to get to know them because they are really good people -- hard workers, loving family members, keepers of indigenous culture, and people that care about justice, the environment, and the well-being of all people. The first week, and now this week too I was incredibly welcomed into their family, and last night Don Bonfilio commented that its like he has another daughter. And I really enjoy staying with them, because to me that it what Mexico is, for real, and I learn so much more by being with a family and participating in their every day actions and traditions.
Wednesday we hiked through a pass in the mountains (even though it was through a pass, there was still a lot of scrambling up rocks) to San Juan de los Laureles, a town on the other side of the mountains that was celebrating its patron saint's feast day. The hike (they call hiking "caminando" or walking, which is pretty different in my book, but i like that they use that word) was beautiful as we went through with mountains on each side of us. luckily there were a lot of trees, which provided shade. all along the route there were crosses placed there by other hikers to signify something that happened in that region. I'm going to add pictures later, but right now my camera is packed away.
we got to San Jose de los Laureles, got startled by fireworks, touched the statue of the patron saint and ATE. apparently what people do at these festivals is go to everyone's house that is your relative, or that you know one of their relatives and they will serve you food. luckily, we only had two houses to go to, but they both gave us two plates of food, plus more mole to bring home. I was so full, but you really have to eat the food as a sign of respect. actually, thats something that I had trouble with for a good amount of the week. i would eat so i wasn't hungry anymore, but then the family would be like, here's more food, eat! and I would say, I'm so full, I can't. but I think sometimes they interpret that as, I don't like your food. so thats something I have to feel out a lot of the time. the festival was a lot of fun... the kids rode rides, we listened to music and talked, and then one of the brothers came to pick us up so we didn't have to walk back with our tired legs and full stomachs. again, generosity is a main theme here -- families provide everyone else with a full meal, and then when it is Amatlan's turn for their festival, the roles are turned around and my family will provide food for everyone that comes to their house.
this stay was great because I got to know all of the family better, met more people that I didn't know, and made genuine friends. Pepe, one of the brothers, is going to Canada in two days and will be there for six months. even tough i do not live in canada, nor can he come to the US without a visa that is impossible to get, I gave him all of my contact information in case there was any way I could possibly help. that it one of the hardest things to know after receiving so much from this family, is that it is really hard for me to return the favor because it is really hard for them to get into the United States, and then travel to find me, even if just to visit. a visa to get to the US is really expensive, and so is the cost of a coyote to get across without documents. so anyway, i really hope he accepts my offer and contacts me, even if it is just to talk.
again, I was really sad to leave. They kept asking me, when are you coming back? Are you going to stay for longer next time? Which was really nice to hear, because I thought that I stayed for a long time over this break, but I definitely did not wear out my welcome and they at least feel similarly to me. I am going to try and go back in a week for a wedding in the town, but there is no way that I will be able to stay for another longer amount of time, unless it is in the summer.
all in all, it was an amazing spring break, and I felt like I really got a chance to know more Mexican people, which is hard to do when you are with a bunch of US students. I like the people in the group, but it was good to get away and be a part of real Mexican life, for a change.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Mexico D.F.
I'm on spring break! but I am not going to the beach to see other crazy americans. This past weekend I went to Mexico D.F. (Distrito Federal) with two other girls from the program, and saw a whirlwind of sites. There are so many impressive buildings and parks.. we saw a LOT of them, but there is still so much more to see and do in the city, and so I think I might go back. and next time it will be a little more relaxed because I won't be running all over the place to see as many things as possible in 2 and a half days. I'm glad that I was able to visit so many important sites, but i would have liked to take it a bit easier, and soak things in a bit more. here are a bunch of pictures from this weekend:
Cathedral
Inside the Palacio Nacional
More Diego Rivera murals! my favorite. In these murals, he put some figures of Frida Kahlo in, which is pretty cool to see, especially when you spot her amongst a bunch of other people. These are inside the Palacio Nacional.
Bellas Artes. This is where the best art performances take place. There are more murals inside, but we didn't have time to go see them. Plus I think it costs money.
A metro stop at Bellas Artes. I really like the design of this particular stop, for some reason. We took the metro a lot.. yay public transportation!
A monument dedicated to Benito Juarez... Mexican leader for Independence and the only indigenous President of Mexico.
Sidewalk art by the Zapatistas in front of the Benito Juarez monument.
The castle that Mexico's Emperor (Maximiliano) and dictator (Porfirio Diaz) lived in. In it was the presidential chair that Pancho Villa sat in and Zapata sat beside when they met in Mexico in 1914.
In the National Anthropology Museum.
Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacan. We went all the way to the top! The pyramids are really impressive and there are so many other buildings and temples surrounding them. The pyramids and other buildings were actually covered with plaster and then painted with bright colors. Can you imagine what that would look like! wow.
there are more pictures, but obviously I can't post them all.
Mexico City is filled with beautiful buildings, but its also filled with people! About 25 million people. Half of our trip consisted of seeing the sights, but during the other half we met some really cool people! I really love practicing my Spanish with people, so if random, not too shady looking people want to talk, I'll talk back. In this way traveling is great, because you can meet so many random people who are traveling or just want to practice their English with you. We ended up hanging out with a guy who is a student in Mexico City and had a really great time, talking, exchanging music and phrases in Spanish and English. so now I have a friend in Mexico City!
today I am off to visit my host family in Amatlan!
peace,
Ruth
Cathedral
Inside the Palacio Nacional
More Diego Rivera murals! my favorite. In these murals, he put some figures of Frida Kahlo in, which is pretty cool to see, especially when you spot her amongst a bunch of other people. These are inside the Palacio Nacional.
Bellas Artes. This is where the best art performances take place. There are more murals inside, but we didn't have time to go see them. Plus I think it costs money.
A metro stop at Bellas Artes. I really like the design of this particular stop, for some reason. We took the metro a lot.. yay public transportation!
A monument dedicated to Benito Juarez... Mexican leader for Independence and the only indigenous President of Mexico.
Sidewalk art by the Zapatistas in front of the Benito Juarez monument.
The castle that Mexico's Emperor (Maximiliano) and dictator (Porfirio Diaz) lived in. In it was the presidential chair that Pancho Villa sat in and Zapata sat beside when they met in Mexico in 1914.
In the National Anthropology Museum.
Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacan. We went all the way to the top! The pyramids are really impressive and there are so many other buildings and temples surrounding them. The pyramids and other buildings were actually covered with plaster and then painted with bright colors. Can you imagine what that would look like! wow.
there are more pictures, but obviously I can't post them all.
Mexico City is filled with beautiful buildings, but its also filled with people! About 25 million people. Half of our trip consisted of seeing the sights, but during the other half we met some really cool people! I really love practicing my Spanish with people, so if random, not too shady looking people want to talk, I'll talk back. In this way traveling is great, because you can meet so many random people who are traveling or just want to practice their English with you. We ended up hanging out with a guy who is a student in Mexico City and had a really great time, talking, exchanging music and phrases in Spanish and English. so now I have a friend in Mexico City!
today I am off to visit my host family in Amatlan!
peace,
Ruth
Sunday, March 9, 2008
películas
This past week I watched two inspiring films about struggles for economic and social justice. Mexico has a rich history of people uniting together to work for social change and resisting the established and oppressive order. (although often the government makes that difficult… see police brutality, corruption, and massacres)
The first film, “El casino de la selva: La defensa del patrimonio,” was actually shown in our Spanish class. The Casino de la Selva was an old casino in the 1920’s, turned into a hotel in the 50’s, and was a symbol of Cuernavaca. The hotel’s walls were covered in murals by some of the most famous Mexican muralists, including David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Reyes Meza and Benito Messeguer. Unfortunately, the Casino went bankrupt and the government ended up buying the property for $63 million. Instead of turning the tree-covered land around the Casino into a park or the casino itself into a museum, municipal president Sergio Estrada Cajigal sold the land to the United States corporation Costco for $10 million, a give-away considering its original price. With no care for the murals inside or the old trees outside, Costco began to demolish the Casino and clear the land.
this not my picture, but a picture just the same of a partially destroyed mural in the Casino de la Selva
A group of citizens under the name of Frente Civco Pro Defensa del Casino de la Selva began to organize to ask the government and Costco to stop building over an important Mexican historical site. In fact, an activist in the movie powerfully proclaimed, “They are slowly building over all of our cultural symbols and cutting down all our trees, so eventually there will be nothing to fight for anymore.” While bulldozers destroyed the building, ancient Olmec pottery was also found at the site, but the government official stated that the artifacts were not of enough value, and the building process should continue. The Frente Civco kept protesting, and during a camp-out near the building site on August 21st, 2002, police came and pushed them all out, beating people and arresting 33 activists in the process. This struggle garnered a lot of attention, but in the end the Costco was built on the site. Now, there is a museum in the Costco with a few pieces of the old murals, which would have surely been destroyed if citizens did nothing.
This example of neo-liberal growth was both a blow to Mexican cultural roots and to the small store owners around the area. Sadly, this same kind of disregard of the local community and culture still goes on. As one of the activists said, “We welcome progress, but not at the cost of our culture, history, or environment.”
Saturday was International Women’s Day and I went to the movie “La Sal de la Tierra” and a talk afterwards to commemorate the day. The movie was about a miner’s union strike in New Mexico, in which many of the workers were Mexican-Americans and they demanded equal conditions and pay with their US counterparts. The labor movement and economic justice was a big part of the movie, but so were gender roles. The wives of the miners wanted to help with the strike, but many miners didn’t think it was a woman’s place to be on the picket line or pushing scabs back where they came from. Eventually, the women did get their way because the company put out an order that it was illegal for the miners to be in the picket line, so in a citizens’ meeting the women voted to take up the signs. The men had to take care of the kids, do the laundry, and make food, and they were not very happy. The women’s actions were pivotal in winning the strike, but as the main character said at the end of the movie: they won more than just the strike, but through the process they won a new sense of gender equality.
It felt really nice going to this event, because it was a group of socially and politically people, and seemed like something I would do with my family and friends back home and at school. Like if I actually was from Mexico, this would be my community. A teacher from the program and also Juana (my internship supervisor) were there, so I felt like I was getting to know some good people in the community. The movie was at the same place that I went to see the African dance concert, and I really want to keep tabs on what is going on there, because it seems like a lot of cool stuff.
The first film, “El casino de la selva: La defensa del patrimonio,” was actually shown in our Spanish class. The Casino de la Selva was an old casino in the 1920’s, turned into a hotel in the 50’s, and was a symbol of Cuernavaca. The hotel’s walls were covered in murals by some of the most famous Mexican muralists, including David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Reyes Meza and Benito Messeguer. Unfortunately, the Casino went bankrupt and the government ended up buying the property for $63 million. Instead of turning the tree-covered land around the Casino into a park or the casino itself into a museum, municipal president Sergio Estrada Cajigal sold the land to the United States corporation Costco for $10 million, a give-away considering its original price. With no care for the murals inside or the old trees outside, Costco began to demolish the Casino and clear the land.
this not my picture, but a picture just the same of a partially destroyed mural in the Casino de la Selva
A group of citizens under the name of Frente Civco Pro Defensa del Casino de la Selva began to organize to ask the government and Costco to stop building over an important Mexican historical site. In fact, an activist in the movie powerfully proclaimed, “They are slowly building over all of our cultural symbols and cutting down all our trees, so eventually there will be nothing to fight for anymore.” While bulldozers destroyed the building, ancient Olmec pottery was also found at the site, but the government official stated that the artifacts were not of enough value, and the building process should continue. The Frente Civco kept protesting, and during a camp-out near the building site on August 21st, 2002, police came and pushed them all out, beating people and arresting 33 activists in the process. This struggle garnered a lot of attention, but in the end the Costco was built on the site. Now, there is a museum in the Costco with a few pieces of the old murals, which would have surely been destroyed if citizens did nothing.
This example of neo-liberal growth was both a blow to Mexican cultural roots and to the small store owners around the area. Sadly, this same kind of disregard of the local community and culture still goes on. As one of the activists said, “We welcome progress, but not at the cost of our culture, history, or environment.”
Saturday was International Women’s Day and I went to the movie “La Sal de la Tierra” and a talk afterwards to commemorate the day. The movie was about a miner’s union strike in New Mexico, in which many of the workers were Mexican-Americans and they demanded equal conditions and pay with their US counterparts. The labor movement and economic justice was a big part of the movie, but so were gender roles. The wives of the miners wanted to help with the strike, but many miners didn’t think it was a woman’s place to be on the picket line or pushing scabs back where they came from. Eventually, the women did get their way because the company put out an order that it was illegal for the miners to be in the picket line, so in a citizens’ meeting the women voted to take up the signs. The men had to take care of the kids, do the laundry, and make food, and they were not very happy. The women’s actions were pivotal in winning the strike, but as the main character said at the end of the movie: they won more than just the strike, but through the process they won a new sense of gender equality.
It felt really nice going to this event, because it was a group of socially and politically people, and seemed like something I would do with my family and friends back home and at school. Like if I actually was from Mexico, this would be my community. A teacher from the program and also Juana (my internship supervisor) were there, so I felt like I was getting to know some good people in the community. The movie was at the same place that I went to see the African dance concert, and I really want to keep tabs on what is going on there, because it seems like a lot of cool stuff.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
la maquila
On Monday I met with Juana de los Angeles, who is going to be my internship supervisor. I think she does a lot of different things with her time, but one thing that she does is work with women that work in the maquiladoras nearby and form women's groups to talk about what is going on in their jobs and their health. One of the big health problems that comes from working in a maquila is low calcium levels, because people are sitting all day and don't get to move around. That, coupled with poor diet makes young women have similar calcium levels to a 75 year old woman living and working in the countryside.
we visited the maquiladora earlier in the semester with her and learn about the working conditions and salary and all that. I don't have the facts in front of me, but it will suffice to say that they are low, and workers are paid by the piece so if they mess up for some reason, they take in all the negative consequences. The maquiladora that we visited made bathing suits. they were actually for the 2009 season, because the swimsuits for this summer are being shipped to stores right now. they make bathing suits that are sold in Macy's, Bloomingdales, JC Penny, etc. maquilas got started before NAFTA and are in their own tax-free production zone. all the material is sent in from the US and everything has to go back, even the little thread scraps all over the floor. it would be more expensive to keep a swimsuit in Mexico because of the taxes that will be imposed on it, rather than ship it all the way back to the US.
on Monday I went back to this same maquila with her because she has a relationship with the human resources people there. we are planning to have cine (movie) nights with groups of people and then talk a little bit after the movie about the themes in the movie or whatever else. then after we have a good group and people know us, we can help them do a small project. Last time they did a small brochure that was like a comic that dealt with education and relationship issues. the funny thing to me is that we pretty much have to hold the movie on company property. from Juana's past experience, people will not come if they have to spend time and money on transportation to another place. Even if the workers have a good relationship with management, I know that being on company property will change what workers have to say about the company. at least in the US that’s an issue, and I would assume in Mexico it would be the same. so we'll see. I hope that we can draw people in and form a group, then maybe move off company property..??
unions here are really interesting, because they are SUPER corrupt. they are institutionalized in the government somehow (I should check exactly how) which does ensure longevity but with that comes too much security, i think. The unions for many years, the unions were linked with the PRI, which is the political party that held power for 70 years straight. the heads of unions get a lot of money, and often don't have the interests of the workers in mind. There are some good independent unions, but they have to be independent of the whole system, and that’s really hard to organize.
now here are some pictures that have nothing to do with what I just wrote:
This is the street that I live on. The house that I live in is called "Casa Verde," as you can see by the green tiles.
these are some pictures of the other students in the group, if you are interested who I am making friends with :)
love
Ruth
we visited the maquiladora earlier in the semester with her and learn about the working conditions and salary and all that. I don't have the facts in front of me, but it will suffice to say that they are low, and workers are paid by the piece so if they mess up for some reason, they take in all the negative consequences. The maquiladora that we visited made bathing suits. they were actually for the 2009 season, because the swimsuits for this summer are being shipped to stores right now. they make bathing suits that are sold in Macy's, Bloomingdales, JC Penny, etc. maquilas got started before NAFTA and are in their own tax-free production zone. all the material is sent in from the US and everything has to go back, even the little thread scraps all over the floor. it would be more expensive to keep a swimsuit in Mexico because of the taxes that will be imposed on it, rather than ship it all the way back to the US.
on Monday I went back to this same maquila with her because she has a relationship with the human resources people there. we are planning to have cine (movie) nights with groups of people and then talk a little bit after the movie about the themes in the movie or whatever else. then after we have a good group and people know us, we can help them do a small project. Last time they did a small brochure that was like a comic that dealt with education and relationship issues. the funny thing to me is that we pretty much have to hold the movie on company property. from Juana's past experience, people will not come if they have to spend time and money on transportation to another place. Even if the workers have a good relationship with management, I know that being on company property will change what workers have to say about the company. at least in the US that’s an issue, and I would assume in Mexico it would be the same. so we'll see. I hope that we can draw people in and form a group, then maybe move off company property..??
unions here are really interesting, because they are SUPER corrupt. they are institutionalized in the government somehow (I should check exactly how) which does ensure longevity but with that comes too much security, i think. The unions for many years, the unions were linked with the PRI, which is the political party that held power for 70 years straight. the heads of unions get a lot of money, and often don't have the interests of the workers in mind. There are some good independent unions, but they have to be independent of the whole system, and that’s really hard to organize.
now here are some pictures that have nothing to do with what I just wrote:
This is the street that I live on. The house that I live in is called "Casa Verde," as you can see by the green tiles.
these are some pictures of the other students in the group, if you are interested who I am making friends with :)
love
Ruth
Friday, February 29, 2008
la vida rural
this whole past week our group was in Amatlan, which I have written about before -- its the indigenous community that has retained a lot of the communal land and has a strong organizing history. Anyway, we stayed for a week with families there and took small day trips to other communities in the state of Morelos to talk to rural people about farming, land, water, immigration, the environment, and so on. the meetings were pretty amazing. we talked to a 72 year old woman who is not married and still plants corn every year. she talked a lot about why she sticks to traditional ways of farming and does not use transgenic corn (which the government pressure farmers to grow). the transgenic corn (and some of you might know this already) does not allow farmers to collect seeds to plant the next year, and forces them to buy new seed every year. meanwhile, the government is trying to take the seeds that campesinos have developed over thousands of years to make a seed bank -- so essentially they are asking indigenous farmers to give their good seeds to them and grow transgenic corn. man, there is so much more that I could write about her and other people that we visited, but I want to write about the family that I stayed with, because I love them SO MUCH.
first of all, the really ironic, sad, and humbling things about visiting with and talking to Mexican people is that EVERY SINGLE PERSON says, "Our doors are always open to you, whenever you come back to Mexico, please seek us out if you need anything, or just want to say hi. this is the beginning of a relationship, a friendship, and we hope you have the trust and confidence to seek us out." Ok, first of all what a contrast to the United States. how often do we say that? and also, these people who are opening their homes and lives to us cannot even come to visit us if they wanted to. our policies to don't permit us to give back the same hospitality and the same warmth that we are received with here. when they do come to our country, we push them down, raid their homes, take advantage of them, and treat them like criminals. such an injustice.
so anyway, the family that I stayed with was so nice, kind, and welcoming that I didn't want to come back to Cuernavaca today. there are tons of people who live on their property, and I think that is one of the things that I liked best, the family was really close to one another and there was always someone in the kitchen willing to talk. First, there was the mom and dad, Doña Chimina and Don Bonaficio. They have six children, 5 of whom I met. 3 of their sons are married, and two live with their wives and children on the same property. Then there are two single sons, one who runs an internet cafe (more like a room with computers and revolutionary symbols on the wall) and one that works in a traditional medicine clinic. I shared the family with another girl from the program, and since we were feeling a little sick Raul took us to the clinic and she got some medicine (made from plants, yes). I have been feeling fine so didn't get anything (unfortunately, right? haha). to top it off there were 5 dogs, roosters and chickens, 2 turkeys, and a cat that is about to have kittens. so its a very full house, and I just had the best conversations with them about migration, what it is like to live in the US, what it is like to live in Canada, music, traveling, politics, all of it.
The oldest brother, who I didn't talk to that much because he and his family live in their own house at the bottom of the property talked with the group about his migration experience. he had gone to the US fives times, all illegally. he crossed through the desert, walking 3 days and nights and sleeping when he could, with little food and water. one time when he was walking he saw a human skeleton. can you imagine? being torn away from your family and newly born kids because there is no work available where you live, and seeing a skeleton and wondering if you are going to die and never see your family again? unbelievable. and then when he got to the United States, he made some friends, but the general feeling was one of being humiliated, put down, treated like a criminal, an animal. he cried when he told of how hard it was to not see his kids grow up, while he was working in the US. he just returned in December, and said he hopes he never goes back. and I just felt so ashamed of my country that he would be treated like that, but also so ashamed at the privilege that a lot of us have to never have to think of living our lives like that. and I sincerely hope that he never does have to go back, because it tears people's hearts in two. and I guess a reason why I didn't talk to him much at the house is that I didn't want to give him any reminder of the United States. I felt that by seeing me, he would be reminded of how small he was made to feel and how sad he was to be away from his family, and I didn't want to put that on him again, even if I did want to talk to him more about his experiences.
yesterday and today they were all like, "are you ever coming back? please come and visit us? how long are you in Mexico for? we will wait for you." And I do really want to go back because that is the best I have felt this whole time. I had to speak Spanish the whole time, and I really like the atmosphere of a close family. I think I am going to go back for a few days over Spring Break. On March 19th there is a festival where people walk across the mountain range that the town is built up against, and they walk over to the town on the other side where there is a festival. so, I think I am going to try and make that. I just have to work on my mountain hiking abilities (ahh!). I want to go back right now!
In other news, I might be starting my internship on Monday! Keep posted…
Miss you all!!
first of all, the really ironic, sad, and humbling things about visiting with and talking to Mexican people is that EVERY SINGLE PERSON says, "Our doors are always open to you, whenever you come back to Mexico, please seek us out if you need anything, or just want to say hi. this is the beginning of a relationship, a friendship, and we hope you have the trust and confidence to seek us out." Ok, first of all what a contrast to the United States. how often do we say that? and also, these people who are opening their homes and lives to us cannot even come to visit us if they wanted to. our policies to don't permit us to give back the same hospitality and the same warmth that we are received with here. when they do come to our country, we push them down, raid their homes, take advantage of them, and treat them like criminals. such an injustice.
so anyway, the family that I stayed with was so nice, kind, and welcoming that I didn't want to come back to Cuernavaca today. there are tons of people who live on their property, and I think that is one of the things that I liked best, the family was really close to one another and there was always someone in the kitchen willing to talk. First, there was the mom and dad, Doña Chimina and Don Bonaficio. They have six children, 5 of whom I met. 3 of their sons are married, and two live with their wives and children on the same property. Then there are two single sons, one who runs an internet cafe (more like a room with computers and revolutionary symbols on the wall) and one that works in a traditional medicine clinic. I shared the family with another girl from the program, and since we were feeling a little sick Raul took us to the clinic and she got some medicine (made from plants, yes). I have been feeling fine so didn't get anything (unfortunately, right? haha). to top it off there were 5 dogs, roosters and chickens, 2 turkeys, and a cat that is about to have kittens. so its a very full house, and I just had the best conversations with them about migration, what it is like to live in the US, what it is like to live in Canada, music, traveling, politics, all of it.
The oldest brother, who I didn't talk to that much because he and his family live in their own house at the bottom of the property talked with the group about his migration experience. he had gone to the US fives times, all illegally. he crossed through the desert, walking 3 days and nights and sleeping when he could, with little food and water. one time when he was walking he saw a human skeleton. can you imagine? being torn away from your family and newly born kids because there is no work available where you live, and seeing a skeleton and wondering if you are going to die and never see your family again? unbelievable. and then when he got to the United States, he made some friends, but the general feeling was one of being humiliated, put down, treated like a criminal, an animal. he cried when he told of how hard it was to not see his kids grow up, while he was working in the US. he just returned in December, and said he hopes he never goes back. and I just felt so ashamed of my country that he would be treated like that, but also so ashamed at the privilege that a lot of us have to never have to think of living our lives like that. and I sincerely hope that he never does have to go back, because it tears people's hearts in two. and I guess a reason why I didn't talk to him much at the house is that I didn't want to give him any reminder of the United States. I felt that by seeing me, he would be reminded of how small he was made to feel and how sad he was to be away from his family, and I didn't want to put that on him again, even if I did want to talk to him more about his experiences.
yesterday and today they were all like, "are you ever coming back? please come and visit us? how long are you in Mexico for? we will wait for you." And I do really want to go back because that is the best I have felt this whole time. I had to speak Spanish the whole time, and I really like the atmosphere of a close family. I think I am going to go back for a few days over Spring Break. On March 19th there is a festival where people walk across the mountain range that the town is built up against, and they walk over to the town on the other side where there is a festival. so, I think I am going to try and make that. I just have to work on my mountain hiking abilities (ahh!). I want to go back right now!
In other news, I might be starting my internship on Monday! Keep posted…
Miss you all!!
Friday, February 22, 2008
San Anton
San Anton is the name of the neighborhood that our program house is located in, and a few days ago we went on an eco-tour of the neighborhood with community activists Juan Manuel and Rodrigo. Rodrigo is amazing -- he is the ayudante of the neighborhood and I think that basically means that he is the unofficial leader that knows everyone in the community and is able to gather everyone together and propose projects. we went into the barranca of San Anton and saw the garbage that everyone throws into the barranca (ravine) and the contaminated water that runs through it. Cuernavaca is famous for its barrancas because there are many different ecosystems because of the depths of the barrancas, and they act as a cooling system for the city. It also means that it is VERY hilly.
this is a picture of the Salto de San Anton. this barranca is actually a federal land reserve, but people live in it and throw their trash in it just the same. This looks really pretty, but the water right before the waterfall is almost milky-colored. its such a hard situation though -- can you kick these people out of their homes? if trash isn't collected in the deepest parts of the barrancas or the highest ridges because it is so steep, where do these people put their trash?
There is a bad trash and water contamination problem in Cuernavaca, but the neighborhood organization has been successful at starting up some community initiatives to deal with trash and clean up the water. We visited some ecological toilets, a natural water treatment system, and two recycling centers.
because of the trash problem, the government wants to build a landfill near San Anton, have already contracted with a private company that picks up trash around the city and would help build the landfill. Rodrigo and Juan Manuel were very much against having a private company deal with the trash because they said that PASA (the company) makes money off of collecting trash, and are not going to support any initiatives to lower consumption, reuse items, or expand the small recycling initiatives. the location of the landfill has been the subject of a community struggle against the government. the proposed location is on ejido land (land that Cardenas distributed in the 1940s to meet some of the land reform goals of the Mexican Revolution) and that ejido land is near the barrancas and even though the landfill is supposed to have a protective layer, the land itself does not filter water sufficiently, so if run off from the trash gets through the protection, which it most likely will, the land does not provide a good barrier between contaminants and the ground water. so, the community is against the landfill being built there, and they actually have a report from UNAM, a very respected university in Mexico City, that says all that, plus provides 3 better locations in the state of Morelos.
even so, the government wanted to start building and there was a big confrontation in January between the community and the government. the people blocked the entrance to the building site and taxis surrounded the police so there was less repression. the municipal governor had to fly in a helicopter over the protestors to lay the first symbolic brick. but after that brick, nothing else has been done. talk about successful direct action. Rodrigo said he and other leaders have been offered bribes to let the building take place (I think he said 8 million pesos to be split between people, which is a LOT (its about 10 pesos to a dollar)) but of course he didn't accept it. but after he left and I asked what the next step is, Juan Manuel said that he is worried that there will be more police repression if things keep on the way they are -- he said in Mexican movements what usually happens to leaders is first bribes, then jail or death. which made me stop for a minute... death is a realistic consequence of action for social change.
on another note, yesterday was really great because I had a lesson in jewelry making! there is a guy who sometimes comes to the language school we are at and sells jewelry. so I got to talking to him one day (he has great politics, and I think he is involved in Zapatista solidarity in Morelos) and he offered to give me a few lessons! Lisa, one of the interns here who is really cool, took a few lessons from him when she was a student on the program and it sounded like a good idea, so we figured a time and yesterday was the first day we could fit it in. I made a pair of earrings! with a lot of help from him of course, but I am really excited to learn more and also chat about politics and social movements. although, to be real it is a little awkward when you are an American with tons of privilege and you are learning a craft from someone who makes their living doing that. I only hope that I have something valuable that I can share or give back to him. here's to more learning!
this is a picture of the Salto de San Anton. this barranca is actually a federal land reserve, but people live in it and throw their trash in it just the same. This looks really pretty, but the water right before the waterfall is almost milky-colored. its such a hard situation though -- can you kick these people out of their homes? if trash isn't collected in the deepest parts of the barrancas or the highest ridges because it is so steep, where do these people put their trash?
There is a bad trash and water contamination problem in Cuernavaca, but the neighborhood organization has been successful at starting up some community initiatives to deal with trash and clean up the water. We visited some ecological toilets, a natural water treatment system, and two recycling centers.
because of the trash problem, the government wants to build a landfill near San Anton, have already contracted with a private company that picks up trash around the city and would help build the landfill. Rodrigo and Juan Manuel were very much against having a private company deal with the trash because they said that PASA (the company) makes money off of collecting trash, and are not going to support any initiatives to lower consumption, reuse items, or expand the small recycling initiatives. the location of the landfill has been the subject of a community struggle against the government. the proposed location is on ejido land (land that Cardenas distributed in the 1940s to meet some of the land reform goals of the Mexican Revolution) and that ejido land is near the barrancas and even though the landfill is supposed to have a protective layer, the land itself does not filter water sufficiently, so if run off from the trash gets through the protection, which it most likely will, the land does not provide a good barrier between contaminants and the ground water. so, the community is against the landfill being built there, and they actually have a report from UNAM, a very respected university in Mexico City, that says all that, plus provides 3 better locations in the state of Morelos.
even so, the government wanted to start building and there was a big confrontation in January between the community and the government. the people blocked the entrance to the building site and taxis surrounded the police so there was less repression. the municipal governor had to fly in a helicopter over the protestors to lay the first symbolic brick. but after that brick, nothing else has been done. talk about successful direct action. Rodrigo said he and other leaders have been offered bribes to let the building take place (I think he said 8 million pesos to be split between people, which is a LOT (its about 10 pesos to a dollar)) but of course he didn't accept it. but after he left and I asked what the next step is, Juan Manuel said that he is worried that there will be more police repression if things keep on the way they are -- he said in Mexican movements what usually happens to leaders is first bribes, then jail or death. which made me stop for a minute... death is a realistic consequence of action for social change.
on another note, yesterday was really great because I had a lesson in jewelry making! there is a guy who sometimes comes to the language school we are at and sells jewelry. so I got to talking to him one day (he has great politics, and I think he is involved in Zapatista solidarity in Morelos) and he offered to give me a few lessons! Lisa, one of the interns here who is really cool, took a few lessons from him when she was a student on the program and it sounded like a good idea, so we figured a time and yesterday was the first day we could fit it in. I made a pair of earrings! with a lot of help from him of course, but I am really excited to learn more and also chat about politics and social movements. although, to be real it is a little awkward when you are an American with tons of privilege and you are learning a craft from someone who makes their living doing that. I only hope that I have something valuable that I can share or give back to him. here's to more learning!
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