Journal #6

Photos of La Calenda. Wise Men have arrived.

More Photos of Jan. 7th.
More Photos of Jan. 8th.
More Photos of Jan. 9th.
More Photos of Jan. 10th.

Describe your experiences making the paper mache puppets and faroles for our calenda. Then, describe the group experience (not just your personal experience) participating in the calenda on the night of January 6th, the day of the Three Kings.

Making the puppets was fun. I especially liked painting the face and being creative with the make-up and eyes. It was very cool to see the process of making a giant puppet. You have to stuff the body parts and sew the large clothings. When we got to the park to get ready for the calenda, we were all really excited because a radio host came to interview Esther and Prof. Kathy. I was one of the costumed dancers, so I don't think I got to feel the energy of the rest of the group because I had to dance in front with T-bone and some other dancers, but I think the general con census was that it was a WONDERFUL experience (but we got tired of taking all those photos)!



On this day (Jan. 7) we moved to Ixtlan de Juarez in the Sierra Norte. We visited the Shoo Betoo trout farm, an effort begun by a group of elders for the benefit of their community. After dinner at the cabanas, the director of EcoIxtlan presented a slide talk on another community project with economic and environmental endeavors. Explain these two projects, the reasons why they are important, and how they relate to the way people work in the USA. What projects in your home city are envisioned and managed for the benefit of the entire community?
The first place we went to in Ixtland was Shoo Betoo (yes, that is Zapotec!) trout farm. It was started by elders to cultivate their own fish to eat and sell. They went through a lot of struggle to get the operation going. Their fish died several times, but now, they've paid off at least 50% of their loan. It just goes to show how incredibly persistent these people are. Then, after our dinner in the cabanas, the director of EcoIxtlan spoke to us. He told us about how preserving the environment in Ixtlan is a full community effort. Its important that the whole community is educated about the environment because their natural resource is their most important resource they've got. In the US, there are organizations that try to care for the earth or human rights that is nation wide. There are even some local organizations and student run organizations. The difference is, our community is not educated about their efforts and the community is not caring. Its like the organization is fighting against the citizens instead of working with them.


What did the sculpture on top of Cuachirindoo Mountain represent?
The sculpture represents the two zapotec natives who protected the land of Ixtlan from the Aztecs.



Describe our hike and the town of Ixtlan de Juarez, including the Church of Santo Tomas, which was built in the 1600s and is filled with Baroque altarpieces.
The hike was really beautiful and took a lot less time than I thought. When we got to the church, looking up, I could not believe I walked from all the way up there! I felt very close to nature and the past, trudging from the top of the mountain to the people in the town. The church of Santo Tomas was decorated nicely for the holidays. The decorating ribbons were made from real corn husks. Many of the beautiful original paintings and sculptures have been restored and look very clear. The set up looked like most of the other churches with a choir loft with a window to shine light on the alter and a recreation of their patron saint in what looks like a clear coffin. I noticed that the coffins seem really small as if someone of average height in America wouldn't be able to fit.

We were guests in the home of one of the oldest couples in Ixtlan de Juarez. They introduced us to simple phrases in the Zapotec language, showed us their family photos and altar, and shared stories of their lives and their town with us. Explain this. Also, explain briefly how the Zapotec language differs from Spanish.
What I found interesting about the old couple is that even though they were teachers of the zapotec language, they always returned back to speaking to each other in Spanish. They also could not get their children to learn any Zapotec. I understand that sometimes, children get in trouble for speaking a language that the authorities do not want to hear (in America, some schools punish children for speaking in Spanish) and sometimes parents refrain from teaching their children the language for fear of discrimination, but it just sounded like the children had no interest in zapotec and on top of that, the school was discouraging it. Its amazing they have so many children and grand children and great grand children. I wonder why the whole wall wasn't full of their faces. Zapotec is very different than Spanish. It doesn't seem like they have any similar root words and the noises are not even the same. Its like comparing an apple to rice. The only thing they have in common is a roman alphabet.


We were invited to hear a children’s band so we would learn that a local man is not only teaching children regional and Mexican music on their instruments, but also music theory and how to read musical notation. Later, we had a class in traditional dancing of the region with a dance instructor who normally teaches local youth. Why are these two initiatives important to the community of Ixtlan?
They are very important because it helps to continue the tradition and Ixtlan is a town that relies heavily and cares a lot about tradition and arts of the past.

Compare Universidad de a Sierra Juarez to SMU.
One thing I noticed was that the students behaved more like American middle school or highschool students than American university students. They have different personalities. But then again, when I was in highschool, I saw a huge difference between my very advanced IB class with only 1 mexican and my regulars, basic class with 70% mezticans (that's what my school statistics say. According to the statistics, my school was 75% hispanics). The university students had the same youthful behaviour and I saw them grouping together a lot. American students gropu together, too, but not as much as these guys. in my classes, people usually do not know each other and they do not become friends with each other like they're doing in this university (but this university is a lot smaller than SMU, anyway). A few of the students looked older and one asked a very impressive question. My favourite part was when we tossed the ball back and forth to learn more about each other. And I enjoyed going into different classrooms to see what they looked like and what their classes are like and who goes to class.



How does the community of Calpulalpan (Calpulalpam) compare to Ixtlan?
The two towns are very similar, but I think like Calpulalpan better because the city looks better and it is un pueblo magico, meaning there is an extra little something in the air of this town. The children playing the marimbas on their own was just too sweet and the herbal medicine just made the town seem a lot more homey than Ixtlan. You could feel the community a little better.

What did you learn in the workshop/s on the first day in Calpulalpan?
The first workshop we did was an introduction to the city. I learned a lot from the president of the community council. The most important thing is that the town is a commune. I don't know if I can describe it as communism, but the community owns the land. People do not get paid for the services to the town. The money that's paid to someone is distributed among the community. There's just absolutely no thinking of one's self here. At age 16, people will begin working for the community in the lowest ranks so they can gain experience for when they're older. And all votes are not anonymous. They're vocal.