Jay Sokolovsky - Indigenous Mexico Engages the 21st Century: A Multimedia-enabled Text

First published in 2015 by Left Coast Press, Inc.

Published 2016 by Routledge
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711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 USA

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Copyright 2015 by Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sokolovsky, Jay.

Indigenous Mexico engages the 21st century : a multimedia-enabled text / Jay Sokolovsky.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-62958-174-3 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-62958-175-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-62958-177-4 (consumer ebook)

1. San Jernimo Amanalco (Mexico)Social conditions. 2. Indians of MexicoMexicoSan

Jernimo AmanalcoSocial life and customs. 3. Indians of MexicoMexicoSan Jernimo

AmanalcoRites and ceremonies, 4. GlobalizationSocial aspectsMexicoSan Jernimo

Amanalco. 5. AnthropologyFieldworkMexicoSan Jernimo Amanalco. I. Title.

II. Title: Indigenous Mexico engages the twenty-first century.

HN120.S25S64 2015

306.097252dc23

2014047037

ISBN: 978-1-62958-174-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-62958-175-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-31542-673-0 (eISBN)

Cover Designed by Jane Burton

There are a multitude of people who helped made this book possible.

First and foremost is my wife Maria Vesperi who as a partner, fabulous editor and anthropologist has helped me better understand our shared experiences in Amanalco.

In Amanalco itself there is a multitude of people and households who made this work possible. Most important among the residents of Amanalco are the members of my tochantlaca, Buena Vista, especially Dona Concha Duran, Juan Velazquez, Anastacia Dias, Emirihildo Velazquez, Juan Bernardo Velazquez (Gordo), Rosalba Velazquez, Elizabeth Velazquez and their respective husbands Herardo and Cirillo.

Of the other people and their families I especially want to thank, there is the community nurse Hipolita Espinosa who was a constant source of support, friendship and critical knowledge. I was also helped by her brothers Nicholas and Trinidad, as well as their father Rafael, who related many tales to me. Especially important was my neighbor, friend and Nahuatl teacher Juan Duran who always watched over me and taught me many things, such as how to age with dignity. Joyous thanks to Miguel Arias and the memory of his wife Anastacia, and all their many children, who always welcomed me into their house and made me return often with their laughter and joy for life. Special thanks to the many people in the Tlaxamulco household, especially Raymundo Juarez, his wife Jeronima, and their sons Salome and Alex who showed how to combine their traditional culture with the 21st century.

A memorable thanks to Jose Duran Duran for teaching me many things about the campesino lifestyle and for pulling on me the linguistic joke described in . My neighbors Jose Lopez and wife Catarina Hidalgo will always be remembered for their easy ways and generous spirit. Many thanks to Vicente Hidalgo Duran, a former delegado who helped me understand some of the evolving complexities of heritage preservation. Just as important to me are Ramon Arias, his wife Maria Cruz Peralta, and their sons Marselo and Trinidad, who were very special supporters during my first year in Amanalco. In a similar way, neighbors Lydia Espinoza and Delfino Duran taught me their indigenous language and deep traditions. In more recent times, I have a debt to Miguel Osario Baez and Sergio Prez Mendez who have contributed important information and images that help me understand what is happening in Amanalco since I was last there in 2010.

Other people in Amanalco I would also like to thank are: Severino Dias; Ambrosio Velazquez, that difficult man, but good friend; Delegado Joel Aguilar; Delegada Berta Dias Rojas; and Presidenta Maria Trindad Espinoza; Jose Alfredo Perez; Eduardo Duran; and high school teacher Edith Martinez Loera. Although he no longer lives in Amanalco, I met Dr. Miguel Maldonado Avila when he did his medical service there and have continued to gain insights from him on health traditions in Amanalco.

To a great extent this work would not have been possible without the long-term support of the anthropology program, faculty and graduate students at Iberoamericana University who let me use their field house in Tepetloaxtoc and for forty years provided encouragement, intellectual stimulation and inspiration. I am especially indebted to Roger Magazine, David Robichaux, Angel Palerm, Carmen Viquiera Landa, Patricia Torres Palerm, Carmen Bueno, Dubravka Mendek, Marisol Perez Lizaur, Marta Aceves, David Lorente Fernandez, Clorinda Cuminao, and Teresa Ochoa. I have a great debt of gratitude to Guillermo Torres and Lpez Manuel Moreno, young anthropologists from that program who worked side by side with me in 2006 and 2010.