Terminal Report for Summer 2009 Tinker Research Grant
Sarah Borealis
With generous funding from the Tinker foundation in the summer of 2009, I
conducted research in Juchitan, Mexico. Juchitan is a medium sized city located in the
southern state of Oaxaca, an area notable for its geographic isolation and unique local
traditions. Over the past several years my research on the intersection of art and politics
in revolutionary Mexico has been pointing to this part of Mexico, known as the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec, as a key to the formation of national identity. Many of the Mexican
writers and intellectuals who produced work during the first half of the twentieth century
included references to the Isthmus in their work. While I had visited the Isthmus briefly
as a tourist several years ago, this grant made it possible for me to plan an extended trip
during which I was able to connect many of my hunches regarding the influence of this
area on the construction of Mexican revolutionary mythology.
In Juchitan, I visited the Casa de Cultura, where I was able to acquire several
interesting documents regarding the role of prominent citizens of Juchitan in the
revolutionary period. I also purchased a bound collection of reprinted cultural bulletins
from 1935 to 1937, collectively titled “Neza.” Nezahualcoyotl was a pre-Hispanic
philosopher known for inspiring the continuous quest for knowledge and culture among
the Mexican people. This collection of bulletins, originally published by the “Sociedad
Nueva de Estudiantes Juchitecos,” illustrates the multifaceted role of education in the
post-revolutionary period. The revolution of 1910 reinvented educators as cultural
missionaries charged with the huge responsibility of reproducing revolutionary ideology
in the modern era, and these documents provide evidence of this process as it unfolded in
Juchitan. In many ways “Neza” parallels the national publication “Maestro” from the
early 1920’s. Maestro was the written organ of the Secretariat of Public Education,
presided over by Jose Vasconcelos. Both publications support Vasconcelos’s Cosmic
Race theory, which argued that Mexicans were uniquely situated to evolve in the modern
era by virtue of their hybrid cultural heritage: modern Mexicans would draw upon their
indigenous past as well as Spanish traditions to triumph over adversity. Neza contains
articles in both Spanish and Zapotec, on everything from hygiene to poetry, religious
festivals and native mythology. Several articles treat the history of the festivals which
take place in the month of May, collectively known as the Velas. Like many things in
Juchitan, the velas are a colorful example of the cultural hybridity typical in modern
Mexico.
My trip coincided with several of the Velas, which are hosted by prominent
members of the community who assemble a court-like entourage to help with the many
responsibilities surrounding the events. Much like New Orleans’ own Carnival traditions,
each Vela is composed of a parade in which the host family and entourage parade
through the streets in traditional clothing, while throwing gifts to the people of the town
who line up en masse for the event. In the past the throws included fresh fruits and
vegetables, but now the booty is comprised mostly of small and useful household objects
such as sugar, salt, toilet paper, plastic receptacles, soap, and plastic utensils. The parades
(regadas) take place during daylight hours, but the real party happens in the evening.
Attendance at the vela is by invitation only, and a strict dress code is enforced. Men wear
white guayaberas and black pants, while women are required to wear the traditional traje
of Juchitan. This traje is composed of several layers of underskirts over which an
embroidered skirt and huipil are proudly displayed. The skirt is floor-length, and
bordered by a piece of stiff imported lace known as the hollan. The sight of hundreds of
women dressed in the traditional trajes is breathtaking, and wearing one was an adventure
in the extreme tropical heat of Juchitan. The hairstyle and accessories are also strictly
regimented by local traditions, and braids and gold coin jewelry add to the overall
magnificence of the spectacle. The dress code for both men and women at the traditional
festivals of Juchitan is yet another example of cultural hybridity whereby the local people
utilize various sources of inspiration to create an effect that is decidedly unique. I believe
that their ability to incorporate outside influences and convert them to a decidedly
independent identity is a big part of why the revolutionary artists and intellectuals
declared the isthmus to be the heart of the Mexican national identity in a historical period
when the threat of international dominance weighed heavily on an emerging regime with
a desire to maintain an independent stance.