Guelaguetza
The Oregon Oaxacan community celebrated its first Guelaguetza this weekend, inside a large sports arena in Salem. It was an extraordinary combination of indigenous dances,brass bands, food, crafts, and hundreds of enthusiastic spectators.For members of Whitman Direct Action who went to volunteer at the event, it meant 10 hours of very stimulating activity. Five hours into the event, one of us had to take a bathroom break, just to get her head cleared.
We arrived at the location at 1 pm after taking one wrong turn after exiting the I5. In hindsight, we should have brought a map of Salem and Woodburn from one of our past visits. It would have been helpful indeed.
You might say that our group’s search for a project has taken similar wrong turns, since we did not understand the political landscape of the Oaxacan community. However, the “map” we’ve received in the form of help and welcome from leaders of the Oaxacan community has been extremely helpful in getting us back on track.How did we arrive at the Guelaguetza? It’s a long story:
When WDA was searching for a new project last spring, Francisco Lopez, president of the Oregon Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, recommended that we work to unite the Oaxacan Home Town Associations in the Pacific Northwest. Since the 1980s, Oaxacans have immigrated to the Northwest in large numbers to work at agricultural jobs, often facing discrimination even from other Mexicans for their indigenous language and culture. The state of Oaxaca has seven distinct regions and many more distinct languages and cultures, as well as a turbulent political history. Oaxacan immigrant often face discrimination, even from other Mexicans, because of their indigenous heritage and language. Oaxacan immigrants from this area are also highly organized – many have formed associations to help development in their hometowns, (called “home town associations”, or “asociaciones”).
However, the home town associations in Oregon usually work alone, separated by different languages and political beliefs. As WDA met with Oaxacan leaders and community organizers in the Salem area this summer, many people echoed Francisco Lopez’s opinion that there is a need for different Oaxacan groups to unite. Unfortunatelyafter meeting with different groups and community organizers,we realized that Whitman Direct Action members were not the proper people to unite Oaxacan organizations, as outsiders who had no previous relationships or experience.
Fortunately, this project put us in contact with Donaciano Garcia, who is the leader of one of the Oaxacan home town associations, called Generación Barranca 2006. When we met in August, he shared his own plan to unite Oaxacans: by bringing a Guelaguetza to Oregon. A uniquely Oaxacan festival, the Guelaguetza is a month-long celebration of the state’s different indigenous cultures, held in the streets of the capital city. The festival honors and unites people from each of the seven traditional regions, as representatives perform each region’s traditional dances.
In the same way,Donaciono’s first planning meeting for the Oregon Guelaguetza brought together Oaxacan associations from many different regions and political backgrounds. Many of the Oaxacan home town associations had never met before. Only a month and a half later, the fruit of their work was a remarkable celebration of Oaxacan culture. Donaciano invited WDA members to volunteer, as well. For us, spending the day at the Guelaguetza was a wonderful experience,as we learned more about Oaxacan culture from people who welcomed us.
When we arrived on Saturday, Donaciano took a couple of minutes to introduce us to the man in-charge of assigning volunteers who put us to work printing and folding program handouts and selling tickets. The event was due to start at 2 and people were already streaming in. The event did not start until 2.45 pm. When one of the volunteers at the front desk expressed her surprise, her partner at the door said it was quite normal and acceptable. And really, no one was complaining. The organizers and volunteers were busy, and the spectators were happy to chat with people sitting next to them. It seemed like everybody knew everybody, even us.
After we were done printing and folding, a couple of us went to the children’s area where we were to assist the children as they undertook the creative tasks of drawing, painting or decorating masks. Often a child would want a mask, and we would still be drawing it out and cutting. They were surprisingly patient with us.
Once the event started, activity at the children’s area reduced significantly and we had a chance to watch the program ourselves. A Native American ceremony honoring the four directions and the mountains associated with each direction marked the beginning of the program. Drums, bells, heavy footsteps and singing with painted bodies and lots of symbolism, made the very first performance very powerful.
This was followed by every member organization on the Guelaguetza committee introducing their organization and inviting people to come to their booths for more information. Donaciano had told us that this event was more than a cultural gathering. He hoped that this event would provide people the opportunity to network and co-ordinate their efforts to develop their home state of Oaxaca. He believed that every Oaxacan child could have the ‘right NOT to immigrate’, if they could all promote education and development in their native villages. The organizing committee itself consisted of members from many different Oaxacan villages and had already provided Donaciano with the opportunity to connect with some of the leaders of these organizations. He hoped to extend that opportunity to all Oaxacans and also all people interested in Oaxaca.
A large platform in the middle of a massive basketball gym formed a stage, decorated with paper flowers, pineapples, fern fronds and corn stalks. The Guelaguetza is based on a pre-Columbian tradition of making an offering in exchange for a good harvest, especially of corn. Fittingly, a twenty-foot high arch of corn stalks decorated the entrance to the stage. As Donaciano put it, “A Guelaguetza is like Thanksgiving here in the USA”.
We enjoyed the first dance, since we had curiously watched its performers prepare their costumes at the table next to ours. A 16-member brass band struck up a brisk march as twenty “diablos”, wearing cowboy chaps, suit jacquets, and grinning, colorful devil’s faces loped onstage. The dancing devils were all Woodburn/Salem area men, originally from San Mateo, Tunuchi, who had spent months practicing the traditional Danza de los Diablitos. Some remembered performing at the Guelaguetza in Oaxaca as young men.
The dance was an opportunity to share traditions with a younger generation, too. Twelve-year-old Kevin hadjoined the group after learning about it from his great-uncle. “He brought me a mask all the way from Mexico and goat hair, which they glue to the dancer’s pants”(cowboy chaps), said Kevin. When asked whether the devils were friendly, Kevin’s great uncle laughed. Kevin asserted ‘I wasn’t scared.I liked how it looked. [It was] awesome!”.
Other dances were more solemn, such as a women’s dance presented by the group, “’’.. The woman explaining the dance shared her pride in being a traditional Zapotec woman, who was humble and obedient to her husband. The dance communicated women’s graceful, silent demeanor. There was the youthful dance where young men and women engaged in a flirtatious competition of the two genders. The last dance involved women dancing with pineapples, expressing gratitude for the harvest. Eventually the pineapples were given away among the spectators. This was followed by three bands that played for 45 minutes each. The chairs were all stacked away and everyone was invited to dance. The multi-generational nature of the event was evident. The stage had become a play ground for the children, while older couple and teenagers danced around it, enjoying the same music and the same dance movements.
Interspersed between dances, representatives of the Mexican government and each of the dance groups gave speeches to the crowd. One man urged to Oaxacans to take pride in their heritage, because the United States is a country that benefits from its diverse citizens. Another spoke to the indelibility of one’s heritage, saying, “though we come to the United States, we leave our hearts in Oaxaca. We should respect our heritage because nuestrasraizes son profundos” – our roots are deep”.
After a traditional dance was introduced in Zapotec, one of the major languages of Oaxaca, a representative spoke to the importance of preserving distinct identities: “Did you hear that sound? It is the sound you will hear in the Oaxacan pueblos that still maintain their language. As a Oaxacan, you are proud of where you come from, and respect your culture. I speak my pueblo’s language, even though I make mistakes, because I want to preserve our culture.”
For WDA members, the Guelaguetza was a reminder of something that we often de-emphasize or forget in college: heritage matters. Especially for groups like the indigenous performers, whose language and culture is endangered by globalization and the pressure to immigrate, it takes effort to preserve and protect it. It was inspiring to see all the young performers who were choosing to respect and honor their cultural traditions. Perhaps preservation also requires appreciation from others outside of a cultural group. At the Guelaguetza, we encountered many respectful attendees from other cultures, such as a woman from Brazil, a German visitor, and many Caucasian grandparents with their half-Oaxacan grandchildren enjoying the event. In addition, many families and young people from other areas of Mexico that do not celebrate the Guelaguetza attended and appreciated the chance to learn about Oaxaca.
Donaciano hopes to make this a yearly event, like it is in his home-state. In Oaxaca, people have to overcome geographic barriers to come together for the Guelaguetza. In Oregon, the barriers are socio-political. And though the event does not directly resolve differences, it allows people to interact on aspects of their lives that they hold in common, like cultural preservation, which may provide a firm foundation for negotiation of differences. Donaciano is hopeful, and so are we.
Tags: Community, Guelaguetza, Transnational Community Development Initiative