A hotbed of revolution and home to the Red Menace
Trip Start
Sep 16, 2007
1
47
87
Trip End
Ongoing
San Cristobal De Las Casas,
Mexico
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I was approached by Erika, who sent me up to her hostel, Casa Jardin, where I found her husband Arturo preparing scrambled eggs and toast: just what the doctor ordered.
I spent three days here and fell in love with the town, its people and the surroundings. The Zapatista revolution kicked off here on January 1st, 1994 (although it had been brewing for 500 years previously) and it is impossible to escape the omnipresent traces of revolutionary activity strewn across town in the form of murals, human rights organizations, and political documentary screenings.
The town isnīt without its fair share of radical chic either. Lots of trendies from all over the world are here to buy Zapatista t-shirts and drink in bars with posters of Ché on the walls. I guess thatīs fair enough, though, if it raises global awareness of what the Zapatistas are all about.
So what could I do but I spent my time here going to see documentaries about indigenous land rights, going to meetings with the human rights organizations, drinking in bars under portraits of Ché, and so on?
The most interesting experience was on my last day here, when I took a bus out to the little town of Oventic, in terrritory controlled by the FZLN. After presenting my passport at the gate to a Tzotzil woman with her face hidden behind a red bandana, and answering a few rudimentary questions about the purpose of my visit, I was granted an audience with the Zapatista Junta de Buen Gobierno, (regional government - not recognised by Mexican authorities). The members of the Junta, two men and a woman in balaclavas seated at a desk under various flags and other revolutionary symbols, spoke to me about what they do and what they are aiming to do. I asked in turn what I could do to help.
It was an eye-opening experience to as to how the indigenous people of this part of Mexico (and probably other parts as well) have been treated and how they are taking matters into their own hands to improve their situation. I was invited to visit the secondary school (closed for the Easter holidays) and the medical centre (where I had my stitches removed by a 15-year-old volunteer). Village life was quiet and the townspeople were friendly.
Iīll be back here soon....
Comments
mate
g'day mate, geez I feel so slack not havign written in so long and you having such a great time kills me- I wanna go toooo!! Did you get my big fat email I sent to everyone??? I work with the aboriginal people here in Oz now, its great. Keep on rocking on Sam. We'll be in touch, agur.