Hello friends, as you may or may not know, the Casa de la Cultura has been kind of on thin ice recently with the local municipal authorities. The town government wants to stop funding it, and everyday the people involved in the Casa try to do everything they can to save it. Last night, my host mother/director of the Casa met with the President and his Regidores (the Cabildo) to make the final push to keep funding and support alive for the Casa.
As she came in at 11 PM last night, the first thing she said to me was, "¡Nos fue mal!" in a very dejected tone. I then heard from her that the Cabildo essentially ignored the requests of the Casa and said that they would rather use the money to pave streets instead of preserve the culture of the town. All I heard from her, her brother, and her son was about how these men are total machistas, drunks, and care less about the goals of the Casa de la Cultura.
This part of Suchil has been a pretty consistent dark cloud over the atmosphere here. Everything that AMIGOS and the Casa de la Cultura does here lacks any type of support from the government, and sadly, power politics and corruption are the law of the land in the Palacio Municipal.
This is the part of the AMIGOS experience no one ever wants to talk about. In this case, there´s no cultural exchange nor leadership development. The only lesson from these events is that politics is always in play, even in a small town. Sometimes its forgotten that a corrupt president or a drunken secretary of health is more than just a quirky aspect of the AMIGOS community that you go home and tell your friends and family about.
For Suchiltecos, this is their life. We leave in 3 weeks, yet we have been affected by these politics. I can´t even imagine what it feels like for my host mother or one of the students at the Casa de la Cultura who live here and will have to deal with this for who knows how long. It´s a downer to talk about this, but I feel this is part of the experience and thus must be talked about. I´d love your comments on this topic.
Adventures
On a different, happier note, my host mother, brother, and I took a trip to Oaxaca City this morning. I wanted to see what a typical day at the market is like, and I asked to be taken along. It was a fun adventure and nice to see the city again.
A few highlights included:
- Seeing a band from the coast of Oaxaca playing at the maestro´s version of the Guelaguetza in the Zócalo - they were very lively and you could sense the tropical flavor in their music
- Learning what foods and items are legit and authentic and what´s not (in the city, there is authentic and pirated versions of everything - CDs, DVDs, artesanías, and even cheese)
- Buying cacao beans which we will later prepare and mix with sugar and cinnamon at my house so that I can have a nice pack of freshly made chocolate to take home
Until next time,
Apoorva
4 comments:
i'm so sorry to hear about the politics there... that really is frustrating, but politics and politicians will always be corrupt. as long as there is interest for your casa de cultura people like your host mom and the students will find a way. thus is the way of the world. there will always be people and events to prevent, but there will always be those who fight for what is important (i.e. the people of the town who attend and teach at the casa) and there will always be people to aid in their struggle (i.e. you guys!). i have faith that with or without funding from their silly government they will be able to keep the passing of culture alive... even if, sadly, they have to do it without the casa. don't you worry, apoorva, the fact that you want to help and everything that you do will help their spirits :)
lots of love,
cassie
"Sometimes its forgotten that a corrupt president or a drunken secretary of health is more than just a quirky aspect of the AMIGOS community that you go home and tell your friends and family about." Very good, sad line.
The same goes for the two subsequent paragraphs. Honestly, I would have expected someone who was an orientation administrator and a creator of Techno to spin more. I.e., There've been challenges, but overall everything's super! The point is not to be critical, but fair. And that's exactly what you've been.
I too have been frustrated with my town's lack of initiative. In my case, they've gone along with most everything we've said and done, but they've also shown that they're only going along with it because we're doing it. Which doesn't bode well for the project when we leave.
I think the attitude you have to take is that your summer is not a failure even if, worst case scenario, your project is. The cultural/linguistic/interpersonal experience is worth more than that. Keep on plugging, do the best job you possibly can, but in the end, realize that you didn't join Amigos for a CBI.
Haha, my family lent me the t-shirt on one of those cold/rainy days you talked about. They're not at all PRI; I guess they had it from a giveaway. I'm not sure if you were being serious about the group t-shirt thing, but I can bring the shirt to taller in any event.
-- Colin
Hey apoorva,
I in fact do understand about your situation. In my community, the mayor, who was a lazy ass hole, refused to help us organize town meetings or sometimes even meet with us. It was somewhat discouraging knowing that the town leader didn't really support Amigos wholeheartedly. My host mom hated him with a passion. All his actions were based on politics and him being voted in the next election. But then again, that's life. Politics decides what happens in the community. However, despite the outcome of the CBI, Amigos will be totally worth it in the end.
- Andrew Usoro
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