Cultural Survival
My recent trip to Cuentepec, the indigenous Pueblo near Cuernavaca, was thanks to a class that I sat in on last week. The teacher, Gerardo, has close ties with indigenous people in the region and his concern for the continuation of their culture comes through in his teaching and in the projects he has begun with local people to deal with material issues. For instance, people in Cuentepec traditionally put waste into the ground and it recycled naturally, Gerardo told us. But they don´t know how to deal with plastic, which does not degrade but simply collects everywhere as trash. He is working to find a way to consolidate all the plastic and have it taken away.
Gerardo believes the indigenous in Mexico should become autochthonous, living separately from the rest of Mexican society, ordering their own lives, following their own laws, practicing their own religions. I certainly share a deep concern for the plight of indigenous people and recognize that they have needs that are both material and cultural. In Cuentepec, water arrives only once a week. The doctor, when he is there, is only there in the mornings. The possibilities for education or for any kind of material abundance are all depressingly limited.