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dissertation entitled

LEXICAL VARIATION IN DISCOURSE:SOCIO-RACIAL
TERMS AND IDENTITY IN AN AFROMEXICAN

C OMMU N I T Y
presented by

Chege John Githiora

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of the requirements for

Ph.D degreein Linguistics

 

 

    

 

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Date May 274 1999

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LEXICAL VARIATION IN DISCOURSE: SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS AND IDENTITY
IN AN AFROMEXICAN COMMUNITY

Chege John Githiora

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Linguistics and Languages

1999

ABSTRACT

LEXICAL VARIATION IN DISCOURSE: SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS AND IDENTITY
IN AN AFROMEXICAN COMMUNITY

By

Che ge John Githiora

This work is an interpretive analysis of discourse focusing on situated lexical meanings in
interactional settings and within other genres. The dissertation focuses on a set of socio-
racial terms — indio, blanco, negro and moreno — used in a rural, Afromexican
community as tags of social identity. Conversational data show how members of this
speech community use socio-racial terms as “footing” devices (Goffman 1981c) to align
and re-align themselves with speaker or addressee according to their interactive goals.
Using Gumperz's (1982) notion of situated inference, I illustrate a relationship between
lexical itemswhich are part of the surface structures of language, their use in discourse
and, what they reveal of the social identity of their users. While these local meanings
appear to be informed by a social context confined to this particular speech community
they can also be linked to the wider domains of mainstream talk. I use naturally occuring
data collected during fieldwork in this speech community, and, popular literature
materials to highlight the differences between mainstream and local communicative
functions of these terms, and to link local concepts of "race" to Mexico's national

discourse about race and identity.

Copyright by
Chege John Githiora
1999

I dedicate this piece of work to the Afromexican Diaspora

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of family, friends and
colleagues who have been part of my graduate school experience at MSU. Foremost to
my academic advisor, teacher, mentor and friend, Dr. Dennis R. Preston for sharing his
wealth of knowledge generously, and also for his ability to percieve my ideas, and help
me articulate them. Prof. David Dwyer for his teachings and encouragement and Dr.
Grover Hudson for his scholarly skepticism that kept my vision Linguistics somewhat in
balance. Last but not least, to Dr. Ruth S. Hamilton for introducing me to and molding
my thinking about the African Diaspora. Also to Laurie Koehler, Graduate Secretary of
Linguistics and Languages department for being ever helpful and kind from the
beginning to the end of my graduate school carreer.

I would also like to acknowledge all others too numerous to mention by name
— family and friends, in Kenya and in Mexico — who maintained their faith in me

through the years of study abroad, and, which have now culminated in this dissertation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.0. Objectives ................................................................................ 1
1.1.Socio-Racial Terms ...................................................................... 4
1.2.Background to Socio-Racial Terms in Mexico ....................................... 6

1.2.1. ContemporaryTreatments of Socio-Racial Terms ..................... 10

1.3. Discourse Structures and Genres ............................................... 12

1.4. Contributions ....................................................................... 14

1.4.1. Data Collection ............................................................ 15

1.4.2. Plan of Work .............................................................. 18

Chapter 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIO-
RACIAL TERMS

2.0. Methods of Analysis ................................................................. 20

2.1. Language and Context .............................................................. 22
2.2. Discourse .............................................................................. 26

2.3. Social Identity ........................................................................... 28
2.4. Language and Function ................................................................ 31
2.4.1. Power and Solidarity ....................................................... 33

2.4.2 Address terms ................................................................ 36

2.5. Ethnicity ................................................................................. 38
2.6. Summary .............................................................................. 42

Chapter 3: AFROMEXICAN S

3.0. Introduction ............................................................................ 44
3.1. The African Diaspora .................................................................. 45
3.1.1. African Diaspora in Mexico Today ................................................ 47

3.2. Afromexican Communities and Lifestyle ............................................. 52
3.2.1. Cultural Practices ............................................................ 59
3.2.2. Musical Instruments ......................................................... 61

3.3. African Conquistadores ............................................................... 62
3.4. Africans of the Colonial Slave Trade ................................................. 64
3.5. The African Background .............................................................. 67

3.5.1. Notes from Archive General de la Nacion (AGN) ................... 67
3.6 Traditions of Maroonage in Mexico ................................................... 72
3.6.1. The Story of Yanga ......................................................... 73
3.7. US. Refugees and free Blacks Immigrants .......................................... 80
3.7.1 Black Seminoles ............................................................. 80
3.7.2. Durango Settlers ............................................................ 81

3.7.3. Sudanese Soldiers with the French Army In Mexico 1863-1867. . ....82

3.7.4. Afroantillian Indentured Laborers ......................................... 84
3.8. Summary ................................................................................ 85

Chapter 4: SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS IN CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE:

MEANINGS AND ATTRIBUTES
4.0. The Vocabularly of “Race” .......................................................... 88
4.1. India ............................................................................... 93
4.1.1. Summary .................................................................. 106
4.2. Negro and Moreno ................................................................. 106
4.3. Blanca .................................................................................. 1 17
4.4. Attributes of Socio-Racial Terms .................................................. 122
4.5. Attributes of Negro 1 and Negro; ................................................... 125
4.6 Summary ............................................................................... 130

Chapter 5: SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS WITHIN OTHER GENRES

5.0. Genre ................................................................................. 133

5.1. Narratives ............................................................................ 134

5.1.1. Narrative Structure ....................................................... 137

5.1.2. Summary .................................................................. 150

5.2. Versos ................................................................................. 153

5.2.1. Socio-Racial Terms in Traditional Versos ............................. 159

5.2.2. Summary ................................................................. 164

5.3. Corridos ............................................................................. 166

5.3.1. Corrido de Feliciano Noyola ............................................ 169

5.3.2. Corrido de Manuel Figueroa ........................................... 172

5.3.3. Corrdio de Lucio Cabanas ............................................... 174

5.3.4. Summary ................................................................. 176

5.4. Negro in Popular Mexican Culture ................................................ 177

5.4.1. Racial Imagery in Mexican Popular Culture .......................... 178

5.4.2. Memt’n: A “Sambofabrication” ......................................... 179

5.4.3. Michael Jackson and Race Discourse ................................. 187

5.5. Summary ............................................................................. 195
Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS ................................................................ 197
References ......................................................................................... 208
APPENDICES .................................................................................... 214

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1. Population and Literacy of Nine Afromexican Pueblos of Guerrero... . . . . . .59

Table 3.2. Select Archives of the Colonial Period: Mexico 1510-1810 ...................... 69
Table 4.1. Uses of indio and references ........................................................ 103
Table 4.2. Uses of negro and references ........................................................ 114
Table 4.3. Uses of moreno and references ...................................................... 117
Table 4.4. Uses of Blanca and references ...................................................... 120
Table 4.5. Negro, and Negro2 Attributes ........................................................ 126
Table 5.1. Socio-Racial Terms and coreferences in Narrative A and Narrative B. . 149
Table 5.2. Versifying occasions in San Nicolas ............................................... 158
Table 5.3. Versos with embeded Socio-racial terms .......................................... 160
Table 5.4. Socio—Racial Terms in 14 Selected versos ........................................ 163
Table 5.5 . Socio-Racial Terms in Memz’n Pinguin and Coda Quien su Bronco

Comics .................................................................................. 192

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Socio-Racial Categories and Hierarchy: Mexico 19th Century ................. 9
Figure 2.1. Language and Context: A Reflexive Relationship .............................. 25
Figure 3.1. Afromexican Communities of South Central Mexico .......................... 49
Figure 3.2. Casimirio, Chege and Roy, Mata Clara, Veracruz ............................. 53
Figure 3.3. Village Street, San Nicolas, Guerrero ........................................... 58
Figure 3.4. Yanga Monument, Yanga, Veracruz .............................................. 74
Figure 4.1. Insider view of negro ............................................................... 129
Figure 4.2. Outsider view of negro .......................................................... 130
Figure 5.1. Memin Pingufn Comic Cover ................................................... 181
Figure 5.2. Inside Memin Pingui’n ............................................................ 184
Figure 5.3. Memin meets his friend’s grandmother ........................................ 186
Figure 5.4. Michael Jackson: “1 don’t like being Black” ................................... 189

ix

INTRODUCTION

1.0. Objectives

This work is primarily a study of lexical variation in discourse. It is an
interpretive analysis of discourse focusing on situated lexical meanings obtained from
interactional settings and within other genres. My aim is to investigate the relationship
between lexical items in surface structures of a language, their context and the social
identity of their users. For this purpose I chose a set of socio-racial terms used in a rural
Mexican community known as San Nicolas Tolentino’. I selected this site The selection
of these terms was based on their salience, frequency and social value as markers of
regional dialect and ethnic identification (Labov 1972a:8). In this dissertation I discuss
how these terms are used in the speech of San Nicolas in certain ways that create contexts
or “generate presuppositions in terms of which the content of what is said is decoded”
(Gumperz 1982az98). Conversational data will also show how members of this speech
community use socio-racial terms as “footing” devices (Goffman 19810) to align and re-
align themselves according to their interactive goals. These contextual meanings are
informed by a social context confined to members of this particular speech community
but I also correlate those meanings to the wider domains of mainstream talk.

The community or pueblo of San Nicolas is located in the Mexican state of
Guerrero, in a region known as the Costa Chico which lies near the shores of the Pacific
Ocean in the southeastern part of the country (see Map 3.1). Like several other

populations in the area, most people of San Nicolas are historically of partial or whole

 

‘ The full name of the pueblo is San Nicolas Tolentino, but I will use the abbreviated form, San Nicolas, or
SN, henceforth.

African ancestry, or Afromexicans. The Spanish dialect spoken by Afromexicans is
typical of the regional coster'io dialectlwhich is characterized by a distinctive phonology
and vocabulary.

Some of the communities in this part of Mexico emerged as maroon settlements
or havens for Africans fleeing slavery (Beltran 195 8). This name is derived from Spanish
cimorran, which referred to established communities of Africans who had escaped from
slavery to live in remote areas. In many cases, the survival of these communities
depended on alliances with local native p0pulations, although conflict occurred where
native communities felt, rightly, usurped from their territory by Afromexicans. A degree
of geographic isolation was a necessary aspect of their survival, and this contributed to a
significantly greater retention of some African and native cultural and linguistic
characteristics. Maroon communities were found throughout the centuries prior to the
abolition of slavery in every part of the Spanish Americas and Caribbean. The most
prominent example of this phenomenon in Mexico was the case of Yanga, described in
section 2.3 in Chapter 3 of this dissertation. Other communities of Afromexicans
originated from colonial slave plantations and cattle ranches or haciendas.

The Costa Chico region and in the inland mountainous Costa Grande areas
witnessed a lesser Spanish Colonial presence compared to other regions of Mexico such
as Veracruz on the Gulf Coast, where other important communities of Afromexicans are
found. This relatively limited colonial impact was the result of several factors — the
physical inaccessibility of the area, a lack of extensive plantation or mineral industry, its
distance from points of mineral and other wealth exported to Spain (such as the port of

Veracruz), and a tradition of active resistance to colonialism and slavery through maroon

activity. In one of the classic studies on Afromexico, the well-known scholar, Dr.

Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, noted that:

The nucleus of negros that may still be considered as such [negros] in Mexico today are
principally derived from cimorrones who reacted against slavery and maintained their
freedom thanks to a violent and aggressive ethos created within their culture making
them to be feared individuals ...(Beltran 1958: 12)2

One consequence of the physical isolation and economic history of the Costa
Chico region is that the Afromexicans, and other ethnolinguistic groups of the Pacific

region, have retained many elements of local culture and traditions.

...thece remnants of our Black colonial population today are found in both coasts [of
Mexico]...those of the Pacific coast have remained in isolation which they are coming out
of only now as modern means of communication are recently being established (ibid).

The effects of this history are well reflected in the language, attitudes and social relations
of Afromexicans today. The relative isolation of San Nicolas from mainstream Mexico as
a result of its spatial location, the historical background and personal contacts I
established during a period of cultural immersion in the communuity are the chief reasons
why I selected this community as the principal site of investigation.
1.1. Soda-Racial Terms

I define these terms — negro, indio, blanco, and moreno — as “socio-racial
terms” because they are linguistic expressions of the social construct of “race” used for

self and other identification in San Nicolas. The term "social race" is used because "these
groups or categories Wbiologically defined in all American societies,
although the terms by which they are labelled may have originally referred to biological

characteristics ...such terms as "negro", "blanco" etc. do not have genetic meaning"

 

2 All translations of passages or other material quoted in this dissertation are mine except where otherwise
indicated.

(W agley 1965). I selected these particular terms for study because they are ubiquitous in
the ordinary speech of speakers of San Nicolas dialect. Also they are used in structured
ways that reveal insights not only into speech in that community but also into the local
population's ongoing construction of their identity in the local and even national setting.

{ The lexicon is an ideal place to enter the study of language and social identity, as
it often has a better recorded history than, for example, phonology or syntax, and is
constantly being (re) created by its speakers according to changes in that societyj
Speakers are much more able to isolate, and reflect upon, particular lexical items than
upon phenomenon of grammar. For example, informants can readily remember or
identify older words or those that have fallen out of use in their dialect. Words used to
label social groups constantly surface in contexts of ordinary language practices,
manifesting an underlying subconscious knowledge.[Words do not simply reflect a taken
for granted world; they also help constitute such a world by defining relations among
speaker, hearer, referents and social activities:

Lexical choice provides an index to background cultural understandings that
provide covert but nevertheless critical knowledge about how to make inferences about
what is meant in an utteranceriLexical choice also has a symbolic function that provides
an index to the social identities and relationships being constructed during face to face
interactionJSocio-racial terms in Mexico and elsewhere are rooted in a specific socio-
cultural and historical setting which I will examine in detail in this dissertation, because it
is an important component of the context of the language practice and interpretive

conventions I am studying.

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The lexicon is the repository of vast accumulations of local meanings and
experience which it then preserves and transmits to the following generations. Words that
have unique meanings provide insights into the cognitive values resulting from historical
processes which then inform the “communicative grammar” of a speech community. In
their analysis of how reality is socially constructed, Berger and Luckman (1966) argue
that language “is capable not only of constructing symbols that are highly abstracted from
everyday experience, but also of bringing bac ” those symbols and presenting them as
objectively real elements in everyday life. In this manner, symbolism becomes an
essential part of the reality of everyday life and apprehension of reality. The chief
“symbols” of language reside in the lexicon, “which is constructed to express concepts of
the speakers’ social reality” (Berger & Luckman, 1966: 35).

For instance, my earliest work in the area revealed that the term negro is used as a
symbol of local identity and functions as a compendium of local history in San Nicolas;
at the same time, negro remains a stigmatized term in the non-local, national setting.
Such “symbolic” uses of socio-racial terms reveal interesting things about their use in
creating contextual meanings. The lexicon is therefore an important point of departure for
the language and society interface, a site where the expression of social identity is (re)
created, overtly or in subtle, discourse-specific ways.

The question of how groups of people are referred to and how these should be
treated in Mexico’s national discourse is an ongoing debate which I hope to contribute to in
a meaningful way through the study of language practices in a minority community of the
country. Traditionally modem Mexico has focused only on the European and Indian “roots”

of their nationality. However, the ideology of mestizaje defined in these two terms

(European and Native) alone is untenable as more of the African dimension is understood

and accepted by Mexicans today. Issues of Mexican national identity remain prominent and

unresolved in national debate. In 1989, for example, the Mexican government established a

program Nuestro T ercero Roiz (“Our Third Root”) under the Direccian General de

Culturas Papulores (General Directory of Popular Culture). This move was prompted in

part by the intervention of a group of scholars of African presence in Mexico or

“Afromexicanistas.” The objectives of this program were to investigate and sensitize the

nation about the forgotten “third root,” that is, the African component of Mexican

nationhood, through research, publication and cultural events.

1.2. Background to Socio-Racial Terms in Mexico.

E Language practices such as lexical resources (including terms of address) used to

identify self or others and have always played a central role in defining Mexican society and

in defining social relations among Mexicans} A wide range of socio-racial terms is used in

Mexico today, even outside the Afromexican communities, and the race-based lexicon is

abundant in the language. Consider the following occurrences obtained from various

Present-day sources and the context of their utterance:

H

pinche negrafea = ‘stupid ugly nigger’ (insult reported by a San Nicolan)
aye guero! = ‘hey blonde (fem)! (call for attention to a passerby in
Veracruz)

trabajar coma negro para vivir coma blonca = ‘to work like a black to live
like a white’ (popular Mexican proverb)

pabre indita! = ‘poor little indian!’ (statement bymestiza housekeeper in
Mexico City) ,

ol negro le gusto el boile = ‘the black likes to dance’ (popular Mexican
saying)

el blonca tiene sangre fria = ‘the white has cold blood’ (statement by San
Nicolas narrator)

 

Ii

Throughout the history of Mexico’s conquest and subsequent colonization by the Spanish,

soda-racial terms have been used to assign hierarchical social status to the people of the

country. As intermarriage between Europeans — mainly Spanish (blancas) — and Africans
(negros) and Native Mexicans (indias) increased, socio-racial terms correspondingly
diversified and gained greater significance as race-based stratification of the society became
more pronounced. Officially “races” were abolished with Mexico’s independence in 1817,
but me preeminence of social “race” in defining social relations continued. Quite naturally,
Mexican language reflected, and continues to reflect, these social relations. Individuals, or
groups of them, were generally referred to in terms of their social “race,” as the following
examples from 17'“-19°‘ century archives show:

a) Afio 1598, Vol. 176. Exp. 6, F4 “case against Baltazar, negro slave for
Blasphemy.

b) Aflo 1608 Vol. 283 Exp. 26 F. 186: “case against negras cimarrones,
Veracruz

c) Afio 1650 Vol. 454 Exp. 14., R39: “case against Juan de Morgan, mulato of
Oaxaca, slave of Diego Arratia. . .for attempting to flee her master”

(1) Afro 1785 Vol. 1673 No. 38: “indias de tlapiches de Ayotla”
At the height of colonial administration in Mexico, a small but powerful elite group
OCCUpied the highest rung of the socio-racial hierarchy —- the bloncas, theoretically
PeOple of pure European lineage, the architects and primary beneficiaries of the sistemo
‘18 Castas. Mestizos (a mix of blanco and indio), and costizas (mestiza and blonco)
enjoyed greater privileges than the ‘castas’ (those of any degree of African ancestry),
althollgh their possibility of social mobility largely depended on individual cultural
orientation. For example, the union of a blanca and a royal india would result in a

mes tizo whose cultural orientation was European. Such an individual would very likely

m“Kilnize the privileges offered to that group, such as opportunities for formal education,

skilled training or priesthood. An individual of similar racial origins (i.e. union of a

blonca male and an india woman) could also decide or be banished to live in an india

community or republica, and thus be culturally indio with all the associations of that
group. Such facts underline the claim that “race” is a social construction and not
necessarily a biological fact. In figure 1.1 I attempt to capture some of the dynamics
involving social race in Mexico during the 16‘“ -19"‘ century. Arrows are directional,
indicating parental origins of a given individual or group, and the resulting “race.” They
also indicate down or upward mobility along the ladder of social “race.” For example, a
blonca and negro created a mulata, while a mulata and blonca union resulted in a
marisco, a social race that was slightly higher up on the social hierarchy than the mulata
(parent), but far lower than the blonca parent of the same union. Those individuals
located in the shaded area were the costas, people with negro lineage. An array of terms
fell under this category to accommodate the resultant range of racial mixtures involving
an African bloodline; mulatas, mariscas, zambas, prietas, pordas, jorachas, and several
others which were descriptions of convenience. Such other-identifying terms as “no-te-
entie'ldo” (“I-don’t-understand-you”) fell out of use and will not be part of this study.
The term moreno does not appear with great frequency in early colonial archives
although we know that it probably derives from mara, the term was used in Spain to
describe non-Christians of north African origin in pre-columbian times. All members of
“13““ shared the feature [+African]. 1 illustrate in the diagram below (Figure 1.1.), the

dynaIIHCS of social race in colonial Mexico.

BLANCO

 

 

 

 

Figure 1.1. Socio-Racial Categories and Hierarchy: Mexico 19” Century

Although blancas and indias group lie outside the shaded ‘castas’ area of the
diagram on what may appear to be equal footing, there were great differences in their social
Stan‘s- While blancas occupied the highest level in the social hierarchy, many indias were
excluded from the mainstream society for a number of different reasons. One was the
recognition of a relative “autonomy” as long as they remained confined to their republicas,
which were “autonomous” regions assigned to indigenous Mexicans by the Church-State

CBeltran 1992225). These provided no tangible economic or political benefits for the

indios and were in fact set up to facilitate evangelization. To the extent that they were
designed to marginalize native Mexican groups based on a false belief in “separate
development,” these entities compare well to the “Indian reservations” in the United
States or “bantustans” of South Africa during the era of apartheid. In the case of
Mexico, republicos served to insulate some native Mexican communities from
mainstream colonial society. This helped those affected to retain their language and
culture to a greater degree than in other communities.
1.2.1 - Contemporary Treatments of Socio-racial Term in Mexico

It has been argued that Afromexicans prefer to be referred to as marenas “because
negro is regarded as too strongly laden with negative connotations” (e.g. Beltran 1958:xxi).
But this is an outsider view based on an assumption that negro and moreno are synonymous.
It is also assumed that the feature [+negro], which I used above to define castas, “translated
as moreno, a euphemistic term to refer to Afromestizos” (Love 1971:256). It is consistent
With the history of socio-racial terms in Mexico that the “euphemism” would have been
quite an appropriate lexical innovation reflecting the changing face of Mexican society.
Parallel to such a development would be the emergence of the largest socio-racial group,
“me-Ytizos," whose ideological viewpoint (“mestizoje”) remains the dominant one in
Mexico.

However, several observations that argue against this are evident from the language
data Obtained in the course of this research. First, terms such as joracha, prieta as well as
Moreno and negro did not completely fall out of use since they continue to be used even
today. It is therefore not quite the case that moreno replaced all the oframestiza

SubcElbegories..l:_Second, negro is used as a term of self identity by Afromexicans referring to

10

themselves as an in-group (“insiders") in homogenous settings, but moreno is not used in
I/ this way. Negro is also used positively as an assertion of the recognition of an affiliation
with a distinct social groujflExpressions like “aqut’ samas paras negras” (here we are all
[very many] Blacks), or “la raza de nasastras es negro” (our race is Black) are interspersed
in recordings of conversations with Afromexicans in San Nicolas, El Pitahayo,
Cuajinicuilapa, and other Afromexican communities. Overall, the most common terms used
in San Nicolans on a daily basis are negro, india, blonca, and moreno. The existence of a
lexical register that codifies the complex racial mixture of Mexico is not restricted to the
Costa Chico, but it appears to be most prevalent in Afromexican communities, where the
salience of use is evident, whether in unmonitored discourse or in structured interviews.
The euphemism theory therefore does not account for all these uses of moreno in Mexico
but it does demonstrate that euphemism is a process restricted to external group relations
While the internal relations remain dynamic. The same applies in the case of the term nigger
and how it is used by Blacks and Whites in the USA, respectively.

In addition, literature on the subject shows the presence of a regional awareness of
DhYSica] differences. Angela Gilliam (1976) found in the town of Pinotepa Nacional in the
C0570 Chico of Oaxaca a set of terms describing those differences. She reported the
fc’HOVVing terms (with her own glosses): iguolado (Indian or black who tries to pass as white,
to be equal), moreno limpia (woman of dark skin with white physiognomy and straight
hair), git'era sucio (“dirty brunette,” a white woman who has some black features and loose
curly hair), chonda (curly hair), acatejoda (man of dark skin who relates only to women of
lighter skin), changa vestida (“dressed up monkey” or black man who dresses in expensive

clothes), labia valteada (“turned over lip” or person with big lips), media lovadita (“half-

11

washed”), mulata fitega (pink or red lipped mulatto) and mulata lizan (charcoal colored
mulatto).

That these terms codify social relations in Mexico is fairly evident in discourse
situations. Data from interviews and participant observations will make it obvious that
situated inferences are critical in understanding interactional meanings of these socio-racial
terms- Consider one more example of how these terms define the context of such situations.
An Afromexican woman (“moreno”) who self-identifies as “negro” during interviews with

me (dark skinned, curly hair and more somatically African) goes to a Mexico City market,
and a mestiza market woman calls out to her “giiera!” This is as near an open insult as can
be to the Afromexican, but it is “harmless humor” according to the mestiza. Another
example is the uses of india which, uttered in most parts of Mexico, may evoke pride and
W, or it may be derisive to the referent

What then are the social or situated meanings of these terms in an Afromexican
community such as San Nicolas? How are the terms used in interpersonal communication
(e.g. not to be “offensive,” to evoke pride or claim affiliation with a distinct racial group,
etc.)? What do Afromexicans themselves prefer to be called (in local and non local settings),
and What do such designations reflect of their self- and other-constructed identity? These are
the (I‘lestions I address in this dissertation by analyzing language data from a sociolinguistic
perspective.

13- Discourse Structure and Genres

The structure of discourse and even such details of form as phonological variants

have been seen to encode and therefore reveal the history, attitudes, social class, and

Sums of a community (e.g. Labov 1966a; 1972a; Trudgill 1974; LaFeniere 1982;

12

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3'»

Gumperz 1982). I will use the results of this study to demonstrate how lexical variation
can contribute to an understanding of the structure of a speech community and how such

findings could shed light on sub-group characteristics. This study focuses on the
variation of socio-racial terms only, but to do this it is necessary to enter into a broader
analysis of the San Nicolas dialect of Spanish. 1 will examine select areas of the use of
language in different social contexts and the functional value of linguistic features
associated with them, in the spirit of Hymes’ (1974) idea of an “ethnography of
communication.” Of course my attention to the ‘1inguistic features’ within these genres is
on socio-racial terms.

Genres serve to contextualize speech in important ways, and larger social
processes are invoked during such speech events. Chapter five of this dissertation
presents analyses of genres typical of San Nicolas speech. These provide a broader social
and historical context that underlies socio-racial terms. They include narratives —— arrival
myths and legends — and oral art forms: carridas, songs (ballads) which are composed
locally and sung to tell of memorable events or persons in the community's history, and
versas of the traditional type which are composed and memorized by individuals who
the“ chite them during special occasions. There is a second type of versas known as
Controversios, of which I obtained data that illustrates but was not sufficient for analysis.
“33% are verbal duels similar to versas in form and content, but are created
Spoutaneously during a retada or challenge session.

I examine the structure of available data, describe the content, and analyze the

Social function before drawing my conclusions. Of course, the chief purpose is to study

the embedding of the targeted socio-racial terms in these genres.

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1.4. Contributions
This dissertation will make a contribution to sociolinguistics by providing a

principled analysis of socio-racial terms which illustrate the relationship between
language and context. By specifically examining the interrelated structural, functional
and linguistic pr0perties of the terms negro, india, moreno, and blonca, I demonstrate
important group characteristics of Afromexicans and the nature of internal social
relations as inferenced from interactive speech data. This investigation will contribute to
the understanding of how socio-racial terms are evoked in speech to create “participatory
frameworks.” I think that this may explain, for example, when and why a participant
refers to self or others as negro or moreno and to what extent such factors as setting,
power or solidarity (Brown and Gilman 1960) are involved in lexical choice. It will
become apparent that these socio-racial terms are linguistic tools used to project fluid
social identities among this particular group of Afromexicans.

My dissertation will also directly contribute to the understanding of race or ethnic
based terminology and its social significance within the particular socio-cultural context
0f Meltico. From an Afromexican (insider) perspective, it becomes apparent that serious
defiCiencies occur when Standard Mexican understandings of race or ethnic-based terms
are aPplied in this community because there is lack of shared interpretive conventions,
the reSult of differences of socio-cultural background. I will also use data from popular
literature to illustrate this gap and to show that these understandings are sometimes used
in the reproduction of racism in everyday talk at the national level. The analysis will

contl‘ibute to an understanding of discourse about race and ethnicity within the complex

14

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sociolinguistic context of Latin America. Beyond that, the findings will highlight
elements of racism existing in certain language practices of Mexico today.

Diaspora studies have contributed a great deal to modern social scientific study,

and they continue to produce important findings about socio-historical processes, cultural
adaptation, and the formation of New World societies. My dissertation will add to this
volume of research by contributing a case study of a relatively unknown branch of the
African Diaspora in the Americas: Afromexicans.

Finally, this dissertation work provides a data base of a unique regional dialect of
Spanish which is changing rapidly as Afromexican communities become less isolated.
My transcriptions and audio recordings will be available for use in future studies.

The conditions under which language contact between Native Mexicans, Africans
and Europeans took place in this comer of the New World should become visible in the
course of the study, whose findings will not only serve to illuminate the linguistic
conSequences of Afrohispanic encounters in the New world, but also add to the
coInparative knowledge base for African Diaspora linguistic and cultural adaptation in
the Americas. These findings will be useful contributions to the theoretical debate on
Iangtlage contact and loss, ethnic or regional identity, and may shed further light on the
process of creolization.

144. Data Collection

All of the informants in this study identified themselves as negro or moreno and
Were quite willing to provide biographical and other personal data. This was important in
order to eliminate the possibilities of using outsider categories to identify potential

ntol‘mants. I tried to conduct group interviews, however small the number of participants, in

15

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order to encourage conversation, different opinions or controversy about social racial terms,
and to achieve the maximum possible level of "normal" conversation that would
approximate unmonitored discourse. The topic itself appeared to be one which, like Labov's
“Danger of Death” (1972), triggered lively, natural interaction. These interviews were
conducted in San Nicolas and E1 Pitahayo, the two sister villages and my principal research
sites- However, I also collected data in several other Afromexican communities in
Guerrero’s Costa Chica, such as in Playa Ventura on the north coast near the port of
Acapulco, and in Pueblo Nuevo, south past the border into Oaxaca State’. In total I have
approximately 700 minutes of usable conversational data and interviews on audiotape and
1 20 minutes on videot small
da to illustrate some points.

Transcriptions follow standard practice in discourse analysis, and the conventions I
have used are those summarized in Shiffrin (1994). For example CAPS indicate emphasis
and (D indicates the start of overlapping talk and 0) indicates where it ends. CH is an
abbreviation for Chege, the present researcher, and it is used in all subsequent transcriptions.
me full inventory is in the appendix section of this dissertation. None of the informants’
real names are used in order to ensure confidentiality as promised to them and in accordance
with University regulations regarding human subjects (U CHRS).

All translations of original data are mine, and I take full responsibility for their
a‘ccul‘acy or faultiness. I opted for literal translations or even morpheme-by-morpheme
”anslation of Spanish to English in order to retain as much as possible some idiomatic
Senses expressed in the original Spanish especially since the cultural distance between

\

3
MActual sites where I obtained interviews or field notes in Guerrero/Oaxaca are: Playa Ventura,
a“Quelia, San Nicolas, El Pitahayo, Maldonado, El Faro, Cuajinicuilapa, Pueblo Nuevo.

16

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American English and Mexican Spanish is sufficiently small. This approach to translation
permits the reader more insights into the nuances of the Spanish dialect of Afromexicans by
highlighting structural differences and commonalities that exist between the
grammatical focus, etc.).

The reader also needs to note some features of the Spanish language/which are
pertinent to this analysis. For instance, Spanish normally indicates grammatical person
through verbal inflection In one of the sentences in the conversation below, for example, it
is implicit that the speaker is also the referent of ‘tenga sesento y tres onas’ (“I have (am)
sixty three years (old”) since overt personal pronouns are not required in Spanish except for
specific communicative reasons such as emphasis. Likewise, the honorific address term (e. g.
tested) is implicit in the use of third person by CH in line 4 to refer to RC with whom he is
carrying out the conversation:

RC: tenga SESENTA Y TRES

I have SDCI‘Y AND THREE
CH: tiene escalaridad?
have (you (usted)) schooling?
RC: primaria, primaria nada mas-
elementary, elementary only-
The T/V (tu / usted in Spanish) distinction discussed in chapter 2 is relevant in such cases as
this because pronouns contain important clues about speaker-hearer relationships. As an
outsider and interviewer, for example, I used the honorific pronoun (usted) nearly all the
titne I conversed with those senior to me in age. Also, those who used the honorific pronoun

to a(ltlress me in the beginning sometimes gradually switched to the familiar (to), reflecting

changes in our relationship.

17

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1.4.2. Plan of Work
I have laid out the aims and objectives of the dissertation in Chapter 1 and

Chapter 2} present the conceptual framework and methodological assumptions that

underlie my analysis of socio-racial terms in Chapter 4. Chapter 3 is dedicated to a broad
ethnography of Afromexicans: who they are, where they are located and the significance
of their status as part of a larger global African Diaspora formation. The information in
Chapter 3 is the result of my own research using many primary or secondary sources in
Mexico, but some ideas in the discussion therein are obtained from my work with the
African Diaspora Research Project (ADRP) at Michigan State University (MSU).

t/Following a general introduction in that section, I examine the role of slavery, conditions

of slavery, and the idiosyncrasies of Spanish colonialism especially as these conditions
Pertain to naming practices and the racial hierarchy that formed the basis of the socio-
I‘acial terms used today in Mexico. Chapter 3 also contains a very brief overview of
Puhlished research on Afromexicans, and it is dominated by one scholar, Dr. Gonzalo
Agnirre Beltran (1908-1995). It also contains a section with my notes from research in
IViexico’s National Archives (Archivas Generates de lo Nacian or AGN). Chapter 3 is
therefore not so linguistic in nature, but it is important because it spells out a crucial
cotIlponent of the context of the present study, the “background to presuppositions
infol‘rned by historical forces” as Gumperz (1982a: 13) puts it. I also consider Chapter 3
as an important statement of some basic facts about a New World society that remains
I‘elfiltively unknown among scholars and general public. Chapter 4 contains the main
analysis of the data where I examine more deeply the occurrence of the terms and

contextual meanings through inferences. I then juxtapose those meanings to those

18

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obtained from popular literature data in Chapter 5 where I also focus on socio-racial

terms within other genres, looking at some Afromexican arrival myths and legends. I then
look at an oral art form, versas, and two examples of another genre — corridor. Chapter
6 is a summary and conclusion
In terms of a contribution to the understanding of world cultures, a general idea
that is present in my paper is to “say something significant and revealing... about key
words of a given culture (W ierzbicka 1997:55).” I have chosen discourse analysis, a sub-
area of linguistics integrating scholarship from other disciplines such as anthropology and .

sociology because it promises to be most productive in realizing the stated objectives.

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS

2. 0. Methods of Analysis
In this chapter I discuss the conceptual framework that informs my discussion of
the symbolic uses of socio-racial terms in San Nicolas, and their context defining
properties, but first I will also introduce the methods I have used to analyse the data I
collected in field work.

I analyze conversational data in Chapter Four, and in Chapter Five I look at other
genres of speech — versas, carridas and narratives. These four areas of discourse
practice represent several distinct and important areas of language use in the speech
community. First I do a structural analysis of narratives and carridas, using Labov’s
( 19723) ‘narrative structure’ model, before looking at the embedding of socio-racial
terms in those two genres.

In keeping with the aim of sociolinguistic investigation, I made every effort to
Obtain and use 'naturally' occurring language samples. This type of sociolinguistic data is
beSt described as "mixed-genre" because samples are not generally confined to one form
of Speech alone; these interviews represent "hybrid" speech events (Schiffrin 1994), part
institutional talk, part conversation. It is generally difficult to find "pure" forms of talk
tyPica] of one single genre. For example, in a conversational interview, a verso may be
illsel‘ted while another may be embedded in a narrative. Social structures may also
itnDose on "ordinary" conversation. Since the main objective is to obtain insights about
Social structures based on evidence from surface features of language, such "mixing"

callSes no impediments to the analysis.

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In Chapters Four and Five, I first look at the distribution and use of the socio-racial
terms in the data, paying particular attention to their patterning with personal pronouns
and reference groups in general (e. g. "nosotros (we)...negros" or "ellos (they). . .indios").
These correlations provide rich insights about conversational content as demonstrated by,
among others, Miilhiiusler & Harré (1990). I then apply a method used by Preston (1993)
to tabulate anaphoric elements4 which may be overt pronouns, referring expressions,
implicit pronominal references of inflected Spanish verbs, or other elliptical references. I
look at each socio-racial term individually, using the same method. For clarity and
convenience, I analyze and tabulate the results of genres separately in Chapter Five.
Chapter 4 carries the weight of my intersubjective analysis of conversations. I use the
notion of 'footing' or "the alignments we take up to ourselves and the others present as
expressed in the way we manage the production or reception of an utterance" (Goffman
198 l : 128). The psychological alignments represent social personae adopted by speakers
during the particular conversational interaction. For example, a speaker may, at different
POints of the same conversation, express his or her position as a "moreno" or a "negro" or
a "mexican." Such shifts in psychological stance are best revealed by lexical choices
made by speaker/addressee (e.g. personal pronouns) or, in this case, socio-racial terms.
Gumperz's notions of situated inference in interpersonal communication is valuable
to my method in that it contributes to an understanding of what is contained by a
"context" which provides presuppositions necessary in an effective conversational
exchange. A basic assumption in both Goffman's and Gumperz's approaches to features

of language is that performance in not based on individual psychology (including

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temporary emotions) but rather on social rules deriving from the interpersonal contexts
that provide presuppositions for decoding meaning, at both conscious and unconscious
levels.
One discovery I make in subsequent analysis is that at least one of the socio-racial
tel-Ins — negro — fits this type of analytical framework very well. It not only triggers
presuppositions by its use in speech, but also evokes (or even creates) contexts. To
capture the dynamic, interactional meanings of this term, I apply my own notion of
foregrounding (Figure 4.1. and 4.2.) which best captures the senses that emerge from the
study of those contextual meanings and which are ultimately linked to the interactional
goals of the conversations. Those figures are simply diagrammatic representations of
those presuppositions gleaned from my analysis of San N icolan discourse — a list of
attributes which speakers/hearers associate with the term and which they then insert in
the conversation as cues. It needs mention that this a very different notion from the type
0f 'foregrounding' described by HOpper (1979) which has to do with information content
0f Clauses in narratives. 'Foregrounded' clauses, according to Hopper, are exemplified by
one which, among a number of other properties, carries the narrative forward, and
Contains the new information; backgrounded clauses are unsequenced (temporally) and
are descriptive of the setting of the events of the narrative.
2°1 - Language and Context
Studies such as Duranti (1995) have shown that the use of a special set of words
of a dialect cannot simply be predicted on the basis of addressee or referent They must
also be related to the kind of activity and the kinds of social relationships and social

perSonae that the lexical items are used to activate. In other words, linguistic choices are

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shown to be both passively context defined and actively context defining while the status
and rank distinctions they presuppose are constituted in the constant struggle to reassert,
manipulate or challenge the existing social order.

Duranti shows that these characteristics make it possible to understand the

Samoan honorific terms he studied. Respectful words recognize the addressee's high
status and hence suggest virtual immunity from imposition. By providing “deference” to
the addressee (or to a third party), they can be employed to diffuse potentially face
threatening acts such as requests and denials.

The notion of “respect” (fa 'aaloalo ), for Samoans, is not only linked to
“politeness” but also to “tradition” and hence to culturally specific obligations such as the
dignified controlled behavior expected from high-status individuals. In this view,
reSpectful words are activated not only to defer to another's authority but also to coerce,
or to oblige the recipient(s) or target(s) of the speech act to behave according to the
exPfBCtations dictated, through tradition, to the social persona indexed by the honorific
“31111. Duranti proposed an alternative parallel function of these honorifics — a function
that is shown to be frequent in the recorded interactions and consistent with Samoan
beliefs. The evoking of a particular context through lexical choice can be seen not
necessarily as a politeness strategy, but as an instrument of power which sets the tone for
what can be said, done, and understood by the participants. I will now revisit an
observation made in section 1.2.1 about how the context evoked by the use of the socio-
racial term “giiera” in addressing a “morena” created a ground where lexical choice was

the instrument for expressing a power dynamic among the participants of the speech

event.

23

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CH: bueno, que te digan “negro, ”que, que cosas,

well, that they call you “negro”what, what things

Tere: bueno, que por ejemplo que te diga NEGRO can

well, that for example they call you NEGRO with

desprecio o NEGRO por el COLOR o NEGRO porque
distaste or NEGRO because of COLOR or NEGRO because
may feo, no se..porque decia una vieja que decia

very ugly, I do not know, because used to say an old woman
“pues aqui somos negros pero bonitos!”

“well here we are negros but beautiful!”

: heh heh heh.’

pero, este tambien, porque uno, uno yo voy

But ,well also, because one, one, I went

al mercado y que me dicen “guera!” me enoja TAnto
to market and they call me “guera!” I get 80 mad
porque se, que este, es por desprecio, es por

because its, that well, its looking down, its

gracia, porque mejor que me digan negra..

to make fun, because better they call me negra..

The speech event (a type which we understand is recurrent) took place in a public

perfOrmance.

setting (market) and involved non-solidary participants (strangers) of different social
identities defined in terms of their ‘racial’ appearance. The term giiera was offensive to
the addressee because the speaker did not have the correct participatory (‘insider’) status
‘10 allow him or her to produce a solidary (‘friendly’) reaction from an Afromexican
(negro, moreno). This interaction causes the addressee to feel “angry” (line 8,2A),
ac(Folding to the adressee, although the speaker may have intended to be ‘friendly.’ Of
Collrse, it is also possible, and quite likely, that such speakers achieve the intended
communicative goal. The example shows how reflexive behavior is often based on

special uses of language, a fact that needs to be accounted for at the linguistic level of

24

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The relationship between language and context is captured in Figure 2.1 which
illustrates how socio-racial terms (lexicon) serve as mediators between language and
context Each one of these two,in turn, is defined by features which ultimately determine
the success of such mediation. In Chapter 4 I will show how an awareness of these
features is necessary for effective communication between speakers, especially in
situations where internal differentiation needs to be observed. Participatory status and the

setting gain much significance as framework for this type of interpretation of socio-racial

terms which speakers use to address or define context.

 

LANGUAGE CONTEXT

 

‘
LEXICON (e.g. Socio-racial Terms)

>

feature(s) (x) feature(s) (x)

 

 

 

(Adapted from Duranti 1995)
Figure 2.1 Language and Context: A Reflexive Relationship

In general, my data shows that the use of socio-racial terms is a very important
feature of community discourse in San Nicolas. These uses are causally defined by
certain (language independent) properties of the context such as speaker/ referent's

Insider/outsider status, power/ solidarity relations, or as an internal differentiation device.

These components of the context then form the basis for the deployment of socio—racial

tel‘InS inside that community. In the example above, it can be seem how such factors are

cons(:iously or even unconsciously understood by Afromexican speakers. Notice how the

25

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speaker (T ere, lines 2-5) lists those properties of the context which determine her
interpretation of “negro, ” a term that she knows refers to her social group.
So, who, where, when and why is one called a negro , a moreno or an indio?

When does negro, for example evoke pride in one context and offense in another? What
do the social meanings attached to these terms tell us about Afromexican identity and its
relation to the larger, mainstream society? Are sayings such as theme in Line 5 forms of
symbolic reflexivity? My goal is to address the way in which social order and social
organization are constituted and how these are expressed in language. This entails the
understanding of how Afromexicans negotiate or achieve a common context and how the
boundaries of use and the indexing of these terms with regard to speakers and referents

are determined. Failure to achieve common context results in miscommunication, or the

expression of unintended meanings.

2.2. D'meourse
SChiffrin (1987) defined discourse analysis as “the study of the language of utterances in

relation to its function in social interaction (p. 352).” The structure of discourse emerges in
tfirms of the local sequential relations of utterances in a “chain of self/other reciprocity.”
Discourse is viewed as “structure” having larger units within the global level, and it

is assumed that surface linguistic forms (“discourse markers”) operate in concert with the
sDeech event in which they are embedded. Schiffrin studies their role in bracketing units of
diScourse, thereby guiding interpretations of utterances. For example, the marker “oh”
Inarks information state transitions where a bearer displays recognition of familiar
i“formation or receipt of new information; it may also clarify or help manage information

state transitions (p.97). In this research, I am interested in looking at the relationship

26

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between surface forms of language (socio-racial terms) and their function as identity

markers as revealed by their specific context in discourse.

There are several different ways of doing analysis of discourse, and Fasold (1990)
distinguished two broad areas: the study of text and the study of interactive events in
discourse. The former deals with recorded language (spoken or written) while the latter
looks at the problems and successes that people have in using language in their
interactions. Text linguistics (Van Din 1980) is concerned with coherence and cohesion,
those features that contribute to the sense of unity in a text. Interactive studies (e.g.
Gumperz 1982) look at how people manage their discourse behavior with respect to their
cultural backgrounds and their interactive goals at the time of their talk (e. g. tum-taking,
error corrections and discourse markers such as “well,” “but,” “heh-heh,” etc.). The
analysis in this dissertation is mostly concerned with discourse meanings of socio-racial
terms and the interactional goals of their use. Of course, the cultural backdrop provides a
framework for that interpretation. Consider the following discoursal sample:

CH: pero sus padres tambien emu gente negra?
but your parents also were black people?

SG: SI..negros..morenos. . .chinos..si
YES..blacks..morenos. . . chinos. . .yes

It is clear in this sample, that CH (present researcher) achieved limited success in getting

an answer to the (apparently straightforward) question “were your parents negro?”

First, the question was based on CH’s assumptions about (SG’s) Black identity,
i-e. that SG is Black (as self-defined) and therefore her parents must be negro. Her
reSpouse, however, contains three different words which describe people of African

oI‘igins in Mexico. So why does SG use all three at the same time? Is the order of their

27

utterance important? If to an outsider like CH they are unclear, how does an insider
interpret their meaning and occurrence?

My analysis is secondarily concerned with a more general cultural symbolism in
thatl want to place interactional understandings of social-racial terms at the local
community level on the larger plane of national discourse. For example, what aspects of
Mexican culture help account for the dichotomous, paradoxical or other uses of the

terms? Are there communicative differences arising from distinct understandings of their

significance at the national level, and how do they fit in with ideas of “race” and “nation”

in Mexico?

2.3. Social Identity

Social identity is a complex phenomenon intertwining race, class and ethnicity in a
fabric of history. Identity formation is an ongoing process with a dynamic of its own. It
entails an “distinctiveness,” and is therefore necessarily defined in relation to “others”
(1'1an 1995). [:61 form of multi-layered identity can result from the convergence of
Several identifies within the profile of an individual or group of individuals. For example,
AfrOmexicans identify themselves or are identified with a social “race ’, (negros, morenos);
they are also “Mexicans,” proud members of a nation statejbt another level, the layers of
distinct but closely related identities can also be viewed as being arranged along a
continuumJSpatially, the continuum of “racial” identity may change. For example through
‘T'Vhitening” (“blonqueamiento”) in the context of mestizaje (racial mixing in the Latin
American context), negros “become less” in number as Afromexicans “mix up” with other

l~“‘Ces. The process is dynamic, since it is also possible to “darken” the generations by doing

ale Opposite of “whitening” i.e. marrying darker-skinned partners. Social phenomena

associated with social identities — such as “limpiar la raza” (“cleaning of the race”) —
become articulated in symbolic uses of language based on social meanings, i.e. socio-racial
terms. This gives coherence to discourse that may otherwise be unintelligible or subject to
misinterpretation. In this case, it can also provide important clues about how a group

(Afromexicans) identify themselves in relation to others.

An example of a discourse approach to the study of social identity can be found in
the work of Gumperz, e.g., Discourse Strategies (1982a) and in an accompanying volume,
edited by him, Language and Social Identity, (1982b), in which diverse case studies
supporting this view are presented. Those case studies lay emphasis on tmderstandings of
the symbolic value of language, a view parallel to that in the work of Berger & Luckman
(1 966) discussed earlier (i.e. the linguistic basis of the “social construction of reality”).
Briefly recapitulated, face-to—face interaction is deemed to be the source of meaning, a view
that renders meaning negotiable. This interpretation of language and communication echoes
the idea of meaning as intent (Austin 1962). Austin obtained an important insight about
language, which was that “to say is to act.” Words or utterances (“speech acts”) produce
Certain consequential effects upon the feelings, thoughts or actions of the audience or the
Speaker, or of other persons. Therefore, by making certain “performative” utterances, a
Speaker realizes that same action whose force is literally indicated by a performative verb
(e-g- “promise”). Austin used three terms to interpret the three levels involved: location,
i110 Cation and perlocution. My goals in this research too are concerned with intended
IIleanings as defined by context, setting and participants, but my analytical framework is

discourse rather than sentence based and I highlight the relationship between form (or

29

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locution) and interpretation (or perlocution) as guided or determined by socio-cultural
factors.

Gumperz’s (1982b) collection of case studies reflects on social conflict arising
from communicative disharmony in Western bureaucratic settings (e.g., job applications,
interviews for employment, etc.) which are also public speech events. Despite
ethnographic differences from the speech community I am studying, some of his findings

are relevant to the Afromexican situation. For example, they demonstrate that unforeseen

difficulties tend to arise when individuals of different cultural backgrounds

communicate.
My general hypothesis is that the “cultural background” of mainstream Mexican

society differs significantly from that of San Nicolans (the in- group) to account for
important differences with regard to the evaluation of socio-racial terms, thus bringing
about communicative difficulties, as earlier discussed in this and the previous chapter.

Gumperz notes that where communicative conventions and symbols of social identity

differ, the social reality itself becomes subject to question:

our main goal is to show how ideology enters into face-to-face speaking practices to create
an interactional space in which the subconscious and automatic sociolinguistic processes of
interpretation and inference can generate a variety of outcomes and make interpretations
subject to question...hence a detailed discussion of institutional and socioecological forces

that affect communication (1982b:3).

[.1116 key point of Gumperz's argument is that social identity is in large part established

and maintained through language} It is because of the historical character of the

p r 0(less through which groups are formed and the symbols of identity created that

particular characteristics become attached to the ways of speaking. This approach lays

e111Dhasis on the historical roots of language divergence to account for the specific

d ‘ , . . .
Ivel‘gences 1n the use of language today. For example, moreno 1s used 1n mainstream

30

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society to describe Afromexicans of San Nicolas who do not ordinarily refer to

themselves as such, as the following sample shows:

SG: coma yo ahora me dicen morena por alld
like me too, they call me “morena” out there
pero ya aqut’nosotros no decimos “morena ”

but here we we don't say “morena”
porque ya somos, tenemos, tenemos el mismo color

because we all are, we have the same color
Other terms such as mulata and cuculuste continue to be used in this community but not

mainstream Mexican Spanish. The approach I use to understand the variation of these

in
terms in discourse recognizes the explanatory relationship between language, ideology

and speaking practices.

2. 4. Language and Function
The study of discourse transcends sentence- grammar, i.e. the knowledge of the

Syntactic rules and phonology of a language. My approach emphasizes the
“Commmicative competence” aspect of language or the cultural knowledge that includes
SOCial and psychological principles that govern its use (Hymes 1974). Important
variations (dialects and styles) have functional uses that entail semantic structures such as
the lexical variations I am studying. Without such “communicative competence,” it IS
difficult to use such variable elements properly to realize communicative functions. This
Gambianicative competence is interpreted in interactional terms as ‘the knowledge of
linguistic and related communicative conventions that speakers must have to create and
S“lstfilin conversational cooperation’ (Gumperz (1982a: 209). In order to have full

competence in a given language, a speaker must possess not only knowledge of the

gra-lllrnatical structure of that language, i.e. the rules of sentence formation, but also the

31

1:91
9“
(or

ill

ability to use such sentences in appropriate manners and social contexts. Thus,
communicative competence allows for the appropriate use of language in social contexts,
and even for the interpretation of meaning. In writing (parts of) a grammar of discourse
there is an implicit acknowledgement that language is not unitary; the language of a given
speech community must be described not only in terms of those rules that govern proper
sentence formation, but also those that allow their correct application in social contexts.
Such an approach to functional uses of language is also espoused by Hymes
( l 974) who used anthropological field methods and analyses to work out a framework of
functional language study widely known as the ethnography of communication. He
focused on the description of speech events or “sequences of acts bounded in real time
and space, and characterized by culturally specific values and norms that constrain both
the form and content of what is being said” (p.110) in a particular speech community
With the aim of obtaining a systematic understanding of their organization. Speech events
such as ‘ greetings,” “leave-taking,” “story sessions,” or, “throwing a verso,” singing a
Corrido, etc. may provide important insights into the functional uses of socio-racial terms
in this community.

According to Hymes, the goal of the ethnographic or descriptive approaches to
Ianguage is “to fill the gap between what is usually put into ethnography and what is put
into grammar.” I am interested in looking at how socio-racial terms are employed in
different speech events which include ‘forms of talk’ such myths, epics, tales, and

p ers011a] narratives. Although I am not doing a complete ethnography of the speech of
San Nicolas, I shall look at several ‘forms of talk’ to draw useful data regarding the

f
unctional uses of this set of vocabulary in San Nicolas. For example, do contextual

32

new

MTAC‘

2.4.1. I

meanings differ when negro, indio or moreno is used within a verso or corrido or in a
narrative? Do these terms evoke similar contexts when uttered in different settings?
2.4.1. Power and Solidarity
The influence of social factors on language use is perhaps most obvious in the
selection of address forms. In many languages such as Spanish, and in English in an earlier
time in history, there are two or more pronouns for ‘you.’ One of these is used for people
one is close to or who have a lower social position (e. g. in in Spanish). The other is used for
people one is less acquainted with or who are socially superior (e. g. usted). The use of these
terms in several languages was analyzed in a classic article by Roger Brown and Albert
Gilman (1960). They found that the use of the familiar pronoun, which they dubbed ‘T,’ and
the deferential pronoun ,‘V,’ was governed by two forces, which they called ‘power' and
‘solidarity.’ ‘Power' derives from higher or lower status, and ‘solidarity’ comes from
intimacy and ‘shared fate.’ According to Brown & Gilman, European dual second person
pronoun systems originally expressed power primarily and solidarity only secondarily. Now
solidarity dominates power as the semantic that is most important in selecting T or V forms.
According to the authors, the bases of power are several; older people are
asSl-ltned to have power over younger people, parents over children, employers over
employees, nobles over peasants, military officers over enlisted men. The power semantic
appears to have been the original one since the Latin plural was used to address the
Roman emperor during the 4th century, the reason being that at the time there were two
emperors, one in Rome one in Constantinople, and addressing either was considered

addressing both. Or the emperor might have been considered plural in the sense that he

re13t‘tesented all the people he governed.

33

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351959

he

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WE‘L

Royal people often use ‘we’ in self-reference, and the plural of ‘you’ might have
been the extension of that or perhaps the causation went in the reverse direction. In any case,
the use of the plural form (i.e. usted) seems to have become generalized and came to be used
to address all ‘powerful’ people. The power semantic would be sufficient only if a society
were so finely stratified that each individual has an asymmetrical relationship with every
other individual; in other words, there were no power equals. Since this was never the case
in most societies, a residual rule for power equals was necessary. This rule called for the
reciprocal use of the same pronoun between power equals. That is, you use the same
pronoun to a power equal that they use to you. Since the V form entered European society
from the top, it was associated with the noble classes, and nobles originally addressed each
other with mutual V. Among the common people power equals used T with each other.
Nevertheless, not all differences are connected to power and hence a second semantic, the
solidarity semantic, developed; in other words, the need developed to distinguish a degree of
common ground between people which went beyond simply having equal power. Solidarity
inlplied a sharing between people, a degree of closeness and intimacy. This relationship was
inherently reciprocal; if you were close to someone else, in the most natural state of affairs
that person was close to you, and wherever the solidarity semantic applies, then the same
pr Onoun is used by both people, thus V could be used between non solidary equals, among
common people as well as nobles. If power equals were solidary, they would exchange

Inntillal T, even if they were members of higher classes.

Moreno is often used as an address form in Mexico, and even negro in a few cases.
Pal'ticipant observation and data from Afromexicans indicates that asymmetrical use bearing

the Characteristics of the TN solidarity and power dynamic can explain how these two are

. ‘Lh
silk-n

used as terms of address. Morenos are located at the bottom of the socio-racial hierarchy I
have described, therefore a speaker of higher social status (‘power’) position (e. g. ‘blanco ’)
can use moreno to addresss an individual of lower socio-racial status (i.e. dark skinned). In
addition, the setting within which such exchanges are embedded is relevant because moreno
or negro are used as address terms always in ‘mainstream’ settings, that is, outside San
Nicolas or another Afromexican community. For example I was personally addressed as
moreno numberless occasions in Mexico City and, in all the instances cited by Afromexican
informants the setting was the same: in mainstream settings outside of their home
environment. In such settings Mexican mestizos (‘blancos’) can and frequently do address
darker Mexican as “moreno.” The inverse situation where ‘blanco’ is used as a term of
address is undocumented although the term ‘giiera’ is often used in this way. Such uses are
salient among San Nicolans who overtly describe these communicative rules. It is
abundantly clear that moreno is not employed as a term of address in solidary relationships

and settings (e.g. between San Nicolans in the local setting):

W
1 CH: aha. ah ha
2 SG: ya a e’l le dicen “aye moreno !” una gente que

sea mas blanca verdad?
to him they say “hey moreno!” some people more white, right?
3 CH: ah ha
4 SG: como yo ahora me dicen moreno por alla pero
ya aqra’ nosotros no
like me they call me “morena” out there but here we no
5 decimos “morena” porque ya somos, tenemos tenemos el mismo
color
we don't say “morena” because we all are, we are of the same color
6 CH: a ha
7 SG: coma le voy a decir a e’l moreno si estamos igual, verdad?
how can I call him moreno if we are the same, right?

35

56 n;
mm
ripest
of its

is. 21

14-1

SG made it clear during this interview that “here we are all some, so we don’t call each other
moreno.” This type of solidarity sentiments described by Brown &Gilman clearly has an
impact on language use (performance) since it becomes a factor (a “weight”) in the selection
of the socio-racial term during conversation. Interactional goals also play an influence. At
first glance, lexical choice in the speech of San Nicolans is determined by the asymmetrical
relationships that exist between Mexicans of different social “races.”

2.4..2. Address terms
In English as well as other languages, the choice between first name (FN), e. g.
“John,” and title and last name (TLN), e. g. Mr/Mrs/Dr. Gonzalez, is in many ways
parallel to the TN dichotomy. Susan Ervin-Tripp (1972) conducted a classic study of
American English address terms and created a computer flow chart showing that, for the
most part, only three patterns are used: reciprocal FN, reciprocal TLN, and non reciprocal
FN/TLN. The two reciprocal patterns are governed by intimacy (similar to solidarity) and
the non reciprocal pattern is governed by age and occupation status (related to power). For
example, familiarity between members of the same family (solidarity) apparently allows for

use of negro or negra (fern) as an address term but not otherwise.

W

1 CH: por ejemplo, tu amiga, OLga, no se le llaman
for example, your friend OLga do they not call her“guerita?”
TS: Gr’iERA, Ia giierita
CH: ahaynohayoa'aspalabrasqueusan?negn'ta?
and are there not other words that you (pl) use negrita?
4 TS: bueno. ami me dicen, me dicen NEGRA
well. To me they call me, call me NEGRA
5 SA: NEGRA. a ha, pero no todos
NEGRA. a ha, but not all
6 TS: pero no todos..entre mis amigos me dicen de mi nombre,
por mi nombre

WM

36

Not fl

as): at

IO

11

12

13

CH:

TS:

SA:

but not all..among my friends they call me name, by my name.
Los que me dicen negra son hermanos de mi MAMA
those who call me negra are the brothers of my MAMA
asi en la casa, pero mis amigas no
like in the home, but my friends no
gente exa'ana no?
peOple strange, no?
pues SI..aveces SI, verdad ma-
well..YES sometimes YES, right ma-
si si..fuimos ( )una vez, y te digo un hombre que me
yes yes, we went ( ) once, and I tell you one man that
dice NEGRA TAN FEA que me dice, ah nos agarraron a prevenir,
called NEGRA SO UGLY that he told me, ah we were stopped
[from fighting]
pero yo le digo a TS pobre yo le iba a decir que se iba a mon'r!
but me I tell TS poor me I was going to tell him he was gonna die!

Not everyone can call TS negro; only her uncles do within the home setting. Her friends do

not address her as such, even though they do use a socio-racial term to address another

friend as giiera or gr’ierita.

Notice how CH’s question in Line 9 above (whether strangers can address one as

negro) provoked an instant memory of an unpleasant incident involving TS and her mother

(SA). It is clear that in certain situations (outside the community, in the regional town) negra

Can be used in certain ways to insult). This reaction reminds us of Labov’s (1972) “danger

0f death” type question in that it brought about animated narration of an incident that is

Central to the topic of discussion.

Lambert and Tucker (1976) made it clear that the application of the power-

Soli<iarity semantics can vary substantially not only from language to language but also

f r 01:11 one community where the language is spoken to another, and from one social

gt’(>11ping to another in the same community. Furthermore, it is clear that there are even

differences from one individual speaker to another: “a shared language, does not

37

necessarily mean a shared set of sociolinguistic rules (e. g. Ervin-Tripp 1972:229).” Not
only is this true across language but even within the same language and community,
depending on the speaker's social class, age, sex and other factors, in this case, socio-
racial status. Also, different rules will be established, say, among military people, or in
cases where assumptions about a respondent’s social class are undermined by that
respondent’s individual identity. For example, an upwardly mobile Afromexican, a

moreno who aspires to be in the blanco or mestizo class, may respond to or even employ

local discourse rules differently.

2.5. Ethnicity

Ethnicity is often treated by sociolinguists simply as one more of the factors that
influence linguistic behavior or variation, alongside other factors such as age and sex.
But ethnicity is a complex parameter of social identity, one that is not so easily defined. It
is not necessarily a distinguishable physical trait, or time bound as for instance age is.

Genetic criteria which may include physical traits have a limited application in defining
ethnicity, or race for that matter, because both are social constructions. For example, a

“B lac ” person in North America may not be viewed as such in Africa and what is

acceptable as “White” in Africa may not “pass” in North America. Arabs and Jews may

share many similar physical traits, yet they regard one another as of different ethnicity.

Tllere are many facets to the term “ethnic,” and it becomes complicated where society

has been transformed radically from its native base as in Latin America where

Afromexicans are located spatially. African or South Asian ethnic groups may be more

readily identified based on such distinctive aspects as language (e. g. “’I‘amil”), religion

(3, g- Hindu, Muslim) or cultural practices (e. g “castes,” “circumcision”). The term “tribe”

38

is often used when talking of African “ethnic groups,” yet it is doubtful whether “tribe”
and “ethnic” are synonymous as such uses imply. Hamilton (1995) noted that “in
American sociology in particular, ethnicity [in the US] has tended to be used exclusively
to refer to European peoples of a different cultural background than the original settlers,
but not to persons racially differentia ” (p. 6). It is therefore necessary to approach
ethnicity with caution by making distinctions about how and who defines it, or even
where the group referred to is located. While ethnicity becomes more complex in the
New World context, it is no less intricate in the Old World. In Africa or India for
example, ethnic identification and politics continue to be closely intertwined. Grey areas
also are to be found in many parts of Africa. For instance, what is the ethnicity of
children of inter-ethnic marriages, or that of urban children who have grown up away
from the ethnic enclaves of their parents? Do they simply ‘select’ one of the parents’
ethnicity or does a new, third identity emerge from the situation? Tutsis and Hutus of
Rwanda and Burundi are of ‘different tribes,’ but how is Tutsi “ethnic identity” defined
separately from that of Hutus with whom they intermarry frequently and who are not,
physically easily distinguishable, contrary to popular Western media presentations?
Conversely, Somali ethnicity is defined in terms of language alone, such that they
are normally referred to as ‘one ethnic group’ whose internal differences are termed as
“clan differences.” There are however, significant dialect variations in their language, and
differences in social organization and even oral traditions. The answers to these questions
may be approximated by conceiving “race” and “ethnicity” as social constructions which

exist at the intersection of many variables, but often, are political acts.

39

Economic, political, emotive or socio-psychological factors play a role in defining
ethnicity; it is 'fluid' as noted by Hansel (1996) in a study of Bethel, a bicultural Alaskan
community, defined in terms of “native” and “non-native.” Ethnicity in Bethel is “L . .]
people can claim legitimacy in either group...at issue is not “is she white?” but “how
white is she?” (ibid, p.14). This observation is very similar to the discourse of
“whitening” or “cleaning the race” which is so prominent in San Nicolas. As a parameter
of social identity, ethnicity cannot resist the fact that it is negotiated in ongoing
interactions, and in fact this may explain why understandings of socio-racial categories in
San Nicolas are also fluid. This fact is quite evident in interviews with Afromexicans. For
example, my questions about the use of socio-racial terms were treated with caution. My
informants did not seem sure of my “outsider” understandings of those terms, so
hedging, requests for clarification, backchanelling and other discourse strategies appeared
frequently in the data to signal such confusion. The following example is illustrative:

CH: aquitambien hay de ma indie?

are there people of the Indian race here also?
MG: ram india, oo’mo?
indian race, how [do you mean]?
CH: de los que, bueno. de los que hablan otro idioma par ejemplo.
Of those, well, those who speak another language for example
In another sample here repeated from earlier in this chapter, a direct question yielded a
‘vague’ response which indicated incomplete understanding of my intentions with regard
to socio—racial identification of the informant:
CH: y.. sus padres también eran genie negra?
and..were your parents also black people?

SG: SI..negros..morenos...chinos..s’
YES...negros...morenos...”curly-haired”..yes

Some sociolinguistic approaches start with a priori assumptions regarding the
subjects’ etlmicity. For example in a study by LaFerriere (1982) of phonological variation
among speakers of Jewish and Italian background, it was taken for granted that there do
exist phonological differences among these speakers whose identity was defined within a
context of urban networks of a particular social class. Hansel (1996), noted that
“Euroamerican notions of ethnicity generally accept ethnicity as biologically determined at
birth, thus equating ancestry with culture” (p.89).

Gumperz (1982) discussed two types of ethnicity, using distinctions that I find
relevant. A first view of ethnicity is one that has been used to refer to “relationships based
on the linkage of similar people, whose social identity was formed by influences from
outside the society in which they now live” (1982b, p.7). However, socio-political and
economic changes in the twentieth century have modified these conditions. Ethnicity has
increasingly come to indicate relationships based on “differences distinguishing one, new,
indigenous group from another.” These he refers to as the old and the new ethnicity,

respectively. Nowhere are such perceptions of etlmicity more evident than in migrant
societies of the New World, where great changes in society have taken place during this
century. In this sense, I find that these definitions correspond to “tribe” and “ethnic group”
Since the former is more closely identified with Africa or Native America, while the latter is
equated to those immigrant communities that maintain a level of cohesion in the US; the Old
and New World respectively.
The old ethnicity was supported both regionally and interpersonally through
reinforced social networks of neighborhood, occupation and political ties, parameters that

at e clearly present in San Nicolas today: a rural community tightly bound by occupational

41

networks of peasant agriculturists and fishermen, strong family ties through intermarriage,
and equally strong political ties (clientelism) with a national, state, municipal authority
imposed from the metropolis.

The new ethnicity is defined more as a need for political and social support in the
pursuit of common interests than as a regional similarity or sharedness of occupational ties.
Indeed, it is possible to argue a case for a new type of ethnicity among Afromexicans,
nascent within the context of social networks among immigrant workers in Mexico City or
in the USA. Rural-urban and cross border migration is now an established phenomenon
among Afromexicans of San Nicolas. Emigrants in Mexico City are linked not only by a
common origin, but also by common occupations in the service industry as waiters,

attendants, or skilled laborers (shoemakers, carpenters and welders), or in the case of young
females, in the domestic labor and entertainment industry. In California or Oregon, most
join the farming industry as laborers. Although these networks exist outside their regional
base, they are an important extension of local ones. It should be quite interesting to explore
further how this new type of ethnicity is created and maintained among emigrant
Afromexicans, and how it is negotiated within the context of mainstream or even foreign
society in the case of immigrants to the USA. This aspect, however, is beyond the scope of
this dissertation.
2.6. Summary
In this chapter I briefly looked at literature that provides a background to my own
analysis without any pretense at having exhaustively treated each area. The main point of
this review was to lay the grounds for a conceptual paradigm that allows me to make

certain claims about language use in society. Based on an interpretation of the

42

‘ethnography of speech,’ I defined socio-racial terms as “proper native lexical categories”
whose understanding as a distinctive language practice can be reached through a
systematic study of discourse. I adopt some concepts and even terms from authors cited
in this chapter to guide my interpretation of, for example, ‘discourse markers,’ ‘ways of
speaking’ and ‘cultural assumptions.’ Fundamentally I want to draw attention to the fact
that meaning (of socio-racial terms) and intention (of speaker) are inseparable in the
same way that language cannot be removed from its (social) context. I hope to show that
this indeed is the case with social-racial terms in San Nicolasfi adopt a pronoun-based
approach to socio-racial terms — in terms of ‘footing,’ — because like pronouns, socio-
racial terms signal shifting alliances of speaker in terms of his or her self-identificationj
In the next chapters, I concentrate on analyzing samples of discourse to create space for
an understanding of the meanings and attributes of socio-racial terms, and how they are
used in San Nicolas, although first I will provide a more general socio-historical account

of Afromexicans.

43

Chapter 3

AFROMEXICAN S

3.0. Introduction
This aim of this chapter is to provide an alternative view of the Africans in
Mexico by highlighting the dynamism of their participation in Mexican nationhood at
many levels of culture. For example, the African factor in Mexico’s colonial population
was largely responsible for the invention of the sistema de castas by adding complexity
to the racial mixing. This in effect, motivated the coining of a wide range of socio-racial
terms I examine in this dissertation. The term that today describes a vast number of
Mexicans is ‘moreno, ’ which in fact, describes ‘Afromestizos,’ not merely mestizos.’
While many details of this chapter do not have direct bearing on language practices, the
“backdrop” gives coherence to the interpretation of discourse that I carry out in Chapters 4
and 5 about uses of of socio-racial terms. That this set of socio-racial terms is of widespread
use says something about their relative importance in Mexico today.
I provide in this chapter, a profile and brief discussion of the various episodes of
African entry (and exits in some cases) which have contributed to the social formation of
the African Diaspora in Mexico. In section 3.7 I also provide a sketch of contemporary
Afromexicans lifestyles in order to show the continuities of those early (colonial) socio—
cultural practices and lifestyles, as well as social relations between them and other “racial”
groups. I expect that the details of this chapter will give the reader a better sense of the
historical and socio-cultural context within which the terms negro, moreno, blanco and

indie are used in Mexico today.

3.1. The African Diaspora

The term “Diaspora” is an old one that was initially used by ancient Greeks to
designate to nationalities of people living among other nations, away from their native land,
but maintaining their own culture (Hamilton 1995). Increasingly during this decade, it has
been applied to different groups without a specific understanding of the process or processes
behind the term. Even the criteria for definition remain disjointed and varied, so that, for
example, it is used to refer to groups or even individuals who simply no longer live in their
homeland regardless of the reasons or conditions of self-exile which are sometimes simply
economic ones. The criteria for defining “Diaspora community” used here are narrower,

focusing on elements of “forced dispersion,” “resistance to domination” and “retention” of
sociocultural and other patterns. According to Hamilton the term “Diaspora” refers to “a
global aggregate of actors and sub-populations differentiated in social and geographical
space yet exhibiting a connectedness based on a shared history and connected by and within
a dynamic world order (1995:8).” The “actors” and “subpopulations” are people of African
descent who today are found in many parts of the world, particularly in the so-called New
World. In the Caribbean, such island nation states as Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados,
Trinidad and Tobago have significant populations. In South America, Brazil has the largest
concentration of people of African descent, but many more live in Colombia, Uruguay,
Surinam, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. There are significant populations in Central
America; Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Panama also have
Significant populations. In North America (Mexico, the US. and Canada), the US. has the
131‘ gest concentration (approx. 20% of the total population), and in Europe descendants of

African and Caribbean immigrant workers have a well documented presence (e.g. Gilroy

45

(1993). Older and smaller but no less important African diasporas are found in the Middle

East and Asia, with the most recent dispersion being that of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews)

who were airlifted in 1984 from Ethiopia and resettled in Israel (Gadi, 1994). This list of

locations is not exhaustive, and in those mentioned states, descendants of Africans are very

much part and parcel of the societies where they now live.

The term “Diaspora” connotes “forced dispersion,” the scattering of people into

other places and their settlement in a new “home” environment. Diaspora therefore also

connotes roots and growth and is part of the transnational phenomena now challenging

the homogeneity of the nation-state. Hamilton (1995, p. 2) summarizes the parameters of

defining Diaspora communities as follows:

Geographical dispersion due forced removal from a homeland e.g., slavery.
a degree of identity, real and mythical, the notion of “promised land.”
persistence in the Diaspora and development of sociocultural identities,
cumulative historical experiences across time and space.

ongoing experiences of social oppression and struggle in hostile places of
domicile.

The history, spatial location and origins, and the processes of identify formation

of African Diaspora communities in Mexico nicely fulfill these criteria. Introduced to

Mexico through slavery, Africans in Mexico have survived several hundred years as a

recognizable social group (a social “race”), thus accumulating a collective history in time

and space even as they developed sociocultural identities which are the focus of this

dissertation.

There is no doubt that the African Diaspora is a reality, existing in significant

numbers and distribution as well as “biological remembrances” (Hamilton 1995) which

f 01111 part of the interconnectedness of the Diaspora people. This obviously led to the fact

that in nation states where they are a minority, most Africans in the Diaspora live in isolated

places. Their physical location is tied to places of historical settlement such as palenques
(Colombia), quilombos (Brazil), distant mountainous regions of Jamaica or Surinam, or
simply in out of the way regions such as Guerrero communities in Mexico.

One characteristic of the African Diaspora that distinguishes it from others is that
it does not have one center of origin in Africa and is not a nationality like Chinese or
Korean. This, of course, does not diminish their role as transmitters, retainers and sources
of innovation and enrichment of the societies in which they were inserted, albeit by force.
In any case, some African ethnic or language groups did have a higher numerical
presence in certain locations of the Americas. This makes it possible to identify and trace
some of the African contributions to cultural or linguistic practices now found in the
Americas back to Africa (for example, religion and forms of worship directly
transplanted from West Africa to Cuba, Brazil and other locations). Another example is
that of speakers of Bantu languages such as Angolans, Congos and Mozambicans who
appear to have had a significant presence in Mexico due to a number of reasons discussed
later in this chapter. However, a strong presence of non Bantu-speaking Africans such as
Wolofs, Yorubas and Mandingas is also recorded.

3.1.1. African Diaspora in Mexico Today
Most people —— including Mexicans themselves — are quite surprised to learn of
the existence of people of African origin in Mexico. Germane to this is an understanding of
the notion of mestizo ideology, which is a driving national ideology in Mexico and in other
parts of Latin America. In an effort to create a “nation,” the contribution of Africans is
Obscured by the unique consideration of the other two racial groups that came into contact:

Native Mexicans and Europeans. The ignorance of African contributions to the building of a

47

Mexican nation - indeed of other Latin American societies - has to do with exclusionist
approaches that have been used by scholars. These approaches are summarized by Nicolas
Ngou-Mve in an article published in June 1997’s issue of America Negra:
0 an exclusionist African approach
0 an exclusionist European approach
0 an exclusionist American approach
The first approach regards slavery as an interruption in the “natural” historical
development of Africa. Weaker versions of this approach focus on blaming Europe and
regarding the African merely as a poor victim of European brutality, but the stronger
view recognizes correctly that slavery was the critical “watershed event” in the formation
of the modern African Diaspora. The second view is characterized by attempts to
downplay or hide slavery, and when it does, it looks at it only as the foundation of
capitalism and the subsequent enrichment of Europe. Such an approach ignores the
human and social significance of a momentous historical event that saw the settlement of
millions of Africans in a new environment. The African is seen only as a slave, not an
active agent in molding a New World society. The third approach insists that slavery
defined the social and economic existence of the African in America and, as such, had no
history prior to reaching American shores. Mve also notes that this view is most prevalent
in countries where Afro-Americans are vocal in their expression of problems of their
current existence.
The reality of Afromexicans defies their obscurity within and outside of Mexico.
They remain an important component of Mexican nationality, and they have contributed
Si gnificantly to the nation building process. The African has been an active agent in the

I1101ding of modern Mexico, in music and dance (.e.g. musica jarocha), language (e. g.

48

chamba, chingar, negro, moreno, prieto, and toponyms seen below), as a significant
factor in the process of mestizaje and subsequent creation of “races,” and even in major
political movements such as in the 1810 Mexican War of Independence (.e. g. Hidalgo’s
moreno battalions, and in the Mexican Revolution one hundred years later - e.g. Luka

Parral of San Nicolas, see Chapter 5).

 

r

r“
\

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.1. Afromexican Communities of South-Central Mexico

Afromexican communities today are concentrated in two areas: the central part of
the state of Veracruz in the Gulf zone; and in the coastal zone known as the Costa Chica, an
area lying between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, in the Pacific region (see Figure 3.1.).
In both areas, people of African descent live mainly in villages or pueblos which are small
Communities which are also called ranchos. In the case of Guerrero, in communities where

they are found, Afromexicans tend to be the predominant group where they coexist with

49

indigenous populations of peasant agriculturists, mainly mixtecos, amuzgos, chatinos,
nahuas and tlapanecos. These are best described as ethnolinguistic groups because they
describe broad ethnic and linguistic families which are nevertheless differentiated widely
according to region. linguistically, the first three groups listed are of the Uto-Manguean
family of languages, while nahuatl and tlapanec are Uto-Aztec and are spoken by a
relatively large number of speakers. These two Aztec languages are non-tonal, with SVO
(subject-verb-object) word order, while the others are tonal, with a VSO (verb-subject-
object) word order. Each of these languages exhibits sharp regional differences, so that, for
example, Oaxacan Amuzgo and Guerrero Amuzgo have less than 67% mutual intelligibilty,
even though the states are geographically proximate and contiguous. Most individual
members of these indigenous groups are monolingual, a lesser number is proficient in
spoken Spanish, and general levels of bilingualism do not exceed 5% (Ethnologue 1994).
Afromexicans of the Gulf Coast live in a more mestizo environment, although there
are many indigenous peoples whose languages continue to thrive in that region.
Communities of people of African descent in Mexico are relatively small, although no
conclusive data exist about populations of African descent living in Mexico today.
Reasonable calculations establish that between 0.4 and 1.0 percent of the total population of
Mexico (approx. 100 million) can be regarded as having African ancestry (Hamilton and
Tellez 1990). living in small rural communities, Afromexicans have maintained distinctive
physical, cultural and linguistic characteristics some of which reflect their African origins.
Afromexican communities identified in the state of Guerrero include Huehetén,
San Marcos, Juchitan, Marquelia, Cuajinicuilapa, Maldonado, San Nicolas, El Pitahayo,

c:OIIraltepec, Playa Ventura, Cerro de las Tablas and Cruz Grande. In the State of Oaxaca

50

in the Costa Chica region, the following communities are predominantly Afromexican:
Tacubaya, Lo de Soto, Estancia Grande, Santo Domingo, Armenta, Corralero, Collantes,
Charco Redondo, Chacagua, Morelos, Monroy, Piedra Ancha, Pueblo Nuevo, Rio Verde,
Rio Viejo and Rio Grande. Many other Afromexican communities are found in the
northern states of Coahuila, Durango and Tamaulipas, but the best known ones are in
Veracruz.

In Veracruz, Afromexicans live largely as part of predominantly mestizo
commrmities. Of those pueblos identified as significantly Afroveracruzan, Mata Clara (pop.
2,000) near Yanga is the best example. Others include E1 Coyolillo near the City of Jalapa,
Tamiahua, Matamba or Las Tres Higueras, Las Iguanas, La Roca and Guadalupe. These are
all in the Veracruz city port area. There are a few others such as Mandinga (also christened
as Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de los Morenos de Amapa) and Mozambique, whose
names clearly suggest a historical link to the African homeland. Afromexican communities
also exist in localities outside the two regions described. We know, for instance, of the
community of El Nacimiento in the northern State of Coahuila bordering the US. This
particular community of Afromexicans are known as the Mascogos, descendants of African
American immigrants into Mexico during the late 19th century. In the States of Michoacan
and Tabasco, Afromexican presence has also been reported. For example there is an African
presence in the village of Guaracha on the shores of Lake Cempoala in the state of
Michoacan. Given the limited of research on Afromerdcans to date, there is reason to
believe that many more Afromexican communities exist in those regions and elsewhere in

the Mexican Republic.

51

3.2. Afromu-can Communities and Lifestyle

Afromexicans today are mainly peasant agriculturists, fishermen, and campesinos
or rural proletarians. Costa Chica Afromexicans still largely coexist with indigenous
populations, while in the Gulf area Afromexicans live in a mestizo environment with far
less interaction with indigenous people. The reality of Afromexican communities on
either coast reflects the socioeconomic history of each region. Illustrative descriptions of
two representative communities will provide a clearer picture. In Veracruz, for instance,
we find communities well integrated and dependent on the sugar cane based industry that
has been the mainstay of the state's economy ever since the establishment of the Spanish
colony. This was also the principal motive for the massive importation of Africans to
drive the labor intensive sugar industry. Sugar is also the reason that Veracruz has been
central in the economic history of the country. A second significant source of
development comes from the petrol industry, which provided great impetus for national
and regional development since its discovery in the south central states of Mexico in the
1970's; in Veracruz are found many of those oil fields, and this wealth has trickled down
to the people of the state. Good, paved roads are found throughout the state, and
communication between the major towns ensures that many of those villages are easily
accessible by public or private transportation. Buses run regulme from Veracruz City to
Cordoba, El Fortin, Orizaba and other towns of the region. Houses have electric light, and
tap water is available although it has not been installed inside houses in the smaller
communities. Although the sugar industry dominates the regional economy, people of
those villages which are located near the ocean or lakes and rivers engage in fishing,

while those from the interior are agricultural workers.

52

    

"V 'f-c- -. \

Mg»,

Figure 3.2. Casimirio, Chege and oy, Mata Clara, Veracruz

Mata Clara (pop 3000) is representative of Gulf area Afromexican communities.
It is easily accessible, only a short walk from the highway that runs from Veracruz to
C6rdoba, with Yanga lying between the two cities. Streets in Mata Clara are not paved,
and only two small stores serve the community; most household items have to be
obtained from Yanga or from the center that lies on the highway. There is one grade
school which accommodates most children from the village despite poor attendance
records and high absenteeism, according to the school-teacher I interviewed. Women
generally work in the household, feeding, washing and taking care of their families. For
this group, levels of education in general are very low, and few females go beyond the
second year of secondary school before they are required to stay home to prepare
themselves for marriage. The overwhelming majority of males works in the sugar cane
industry as cane growers, cutters, transporters or in the factory (ingenio) itself.

Cane is the exclusive crop grown by farmers of the ejido (commune) whose fields

lie a distance of at least three miles away from their homes, but mango trees are abundant in

53

the settled area. Farming and life activities of ejido members are governed by the plantation
system. They have to sell their crop to the plantation, and in return they receive loans,
pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs from the plantation; their farming techniques are
planned and regulated by agronomists, engineers and overseers who are all plantation
employees. There are three big ingenios in the nearby area, but Mata Clarans operate under
the auspices of Ingenio San José de Abastos, a three hundred year old, family owned sugar
factory. Inherent in this system of production is a fair amount of coercion upon the peasant
farmers who have little choice in farming policy and practice on land that technically
belongs to them. For instance, those that may opt to raise crops other than sugar cane are
penalized by being denied loans, fertilizers and farming implements to develop their land. In
addition, monocultivation and excessive use of chemicals have degraded soil quality
according to informants.

Other male members of the community are engaged in trades and crafts in the
nearby urban centers of C6rdoba and Veracruz City, or migrate to Mexico City to join the
service industry as waiters, artisans and wage workers. A good number of young men
migrate to the United States to work for wages in farms and industry.

Social and economic activity in Mata Clara, including the annual cycle, revolve
around cane growing. Planting, tending, harvesting and payments are determined by the
demands of ingenio's mills. During the period between the end of a harvest, and the new
crop for instance — around March and April — the village is shrouded by a lethargy of heat
and inactivity, resting from the hard work of the cane harvest and getting ready for the

planting of the next half of the biannual cash crop.

Economic activity and the yearly cycle in Veracruz contrasts with that of
Afromexicans of the Costa Chico. Plantation agriculture is uncommon, and an independent
form of agriculture is practiced. As in the case of Veracruz, local economic activity is
conditioned by the imposition of culture on the physical environment. The climate of the
Costa Chica is dry and savannah-like, while Veracruz is tropical and humid. Costa Chicans
also live in pueblos far removed from regional transport and communications; the closest
town to San Nicolas — Cuajirricuilapa — lies twenty kilometers away on the single lane
highway from Acapulco to Pinotepa. The town's structure and development can not be
compared to any of those mentioned in Veracruz: there is one bank in this regional
headquarters, and no regular public transportation plies the interior route to San Nicolas or
E1 Pitahayo or other locations. Villagers rely on open personal (unlicensed) trucks which
operate according to the owner's availability or business schedule. The twenty kilometer ride
into San Nicolas is on impaved road, which becomes impassable during the wet season
Security in that area is poor and is aggravated by social policy that fosters drug running and
political violence. Military patrols largely usurp the role of regular police force, effectively
increasing a sense of insecurity because of arbitrary and brutal law-enforcement tactics
emplyed by the federal military “outsiders”. In addition, the army and police have always
been intimately linked to political control by state authorities which use Guerrero's history of
peasant resistance to government oppression as pretexts for harassment.

Veracruz is under regional caciques who ensure that “order” is maintained, giving
a semblance of social order and peace. But due to its economic marginalization and
subsequent logistic difficulties in maintaining social control, the Costa Chico — Guerrero in

particular — is “freer” from government intervention: “aqut’ el gobiemo no se mete (here

55

the government does not enter) is a popular, perhaps exaggerated refrain among
Afromexican males. Local security operations are done by local armed possies (e. g. during
local festivities or cockfighting and gambling events) which are managed by the residents
with sanctioning from the local sheriff (el comisario). These “Wild West’ ’ aspects of social
life are easily gleaned from local legends, popular regional ballads or corridos, but they are
also evident to the outside observer.

Afromexicans of pueblos that lie very close to the Pacific are engaged in commercial
fishing. In El Faro, a small beach town on the shore of the Pacific about ten kilometers from
San Nicolas Tolentino, fishing is done by men on a cooperative basis, using motor boats run
by the same cooperative. While men do the actual fishing, a significant share of the
wholesale buying and retail selling of the fish is in fact dominated by women who purchase
the catch and take it to the interior pueblos for salting, drying and resale. A good part of it is
sold in the larger cities such as Acapulco, Pinotepa and Ometepec.

San Nicolas Tolentino lies ten kilometers away from the fishing village of El Faro,
and it is one of the larger, representative Afromexican communities of the Costa Chico.
With only a twenty-minute truck separating the two communities, trade and family ties are
close. As in much of rural Mexico, the members of the community belong to an ejido which
is cultivated according to the reeds and desires of the family which has been assigned a
particular parcela or tract of land.

The ejido is an important feature of Mexican rural organization It is a small,
communally held plot of land for farming adapted from the Native Mexican tradition of
communal farming. Under the provision of Article 27 of the Mexican constitution, the state

retained ownership of the ejido and granted peasants the right to use it for whatever purpose

56

they deemed appropriate. The intent was that, by allowing this right to pass only from father
to son, and by banning the renting or sale of ejidos, large ownership or holdings, such as
those prevalent before the Revolution of 1910, would be prevented from reappearing. The
article was dropped in 1990 by the Salinas adiministration to allow for the monetary transfer
of land title, but the ejido system remains in operation in San Nicolas as in most parts of
rural Mexico.

The ejido lands of San Nicolans extend quite far away from the pueblo itself, and
men often spend several days out in the fields while the women remain in the village. Maize
is the principal subsistence crop; the surplus is usually sold as milpa (fresh com-on-the—cob)
in Acapulco or in other larger towns, including Mexico City. Fruit growing for cash is a
major occupation of Guerrero small farmers; lemons grow and mature abundantly in the hot
climate and are later sold in bulk to large city markets. Melons and watermelons are another
important cash crop aided by an irrigation system instituted by the government and run by
the ejidatan'os or community members. Some cash crop farmers use tractors, although less
prosperous ones rely on horse and manpower to plough their land.

Beef cattle rearing is another important activity in that part of Guerrero. Big herds of
long horned, large bodied Zebu cows are raised in the open range by experienced
Afromexicans on horseback, a task they have performed ever since colonial times. The Zebu
(Zebri in Spanish) is a heat resistant breed that was introduced from Africa, along with a

species of grass known as Star of Africa that has proliferated in the Mexican countryside.

57

    

1g 3.3. iVllage Street, San Naicols, Guerrero
While land is abundant and available for rent to willing farmers, funding
problems prevent many from acquiring the land needed to grow cash crops. The major
problem is that of having the necessary cash to invest in cash crop growing, such as,
fertilizers, chemicals, tractor fees, labor for planting and harvesting, etc. For instance, the
“best” melon seed comes from Texas and is three times as expensive as the local strain,
according to one informant. As a result of existing local inequalities, many men work as
peons for others, or wage laborers working for the more prosperous individuals. The table
below shows official statistical profiles of some representative Afromexican communities

which I am familiar with, indicating gender distribution and literacy levels.

58

TIA‘ .._1.' I111- f 111Af1"!,"l-. aft. 0 ‘ ‘1'!
Pueblo Total pop. women Men #illiterate
San Nicolas 3,359 1,640 1,519 874
Copala 1 1,409 5,793 5,616 n/a
Cuaji 24,369 12,272 12,097 1 1,977
Ometepec 38,057 19,422 18,635 7,757
Juchitan 3,409 1,760 1,649 800
Huehuetan l .662 862 800 350
El Pitahayo 2,186 1,115 1,071 440
Maldonado 964 472 492 n/a
Montecillos 880 417 463 235

W221.)
3.2.1. Cultural Practices

The long history of African presence and persistence in Mexico today is manifested in
many, often subtle and unrecognized forms. In the two regions where large Afromexican
presence is strong and obvious, many cultural, social and linguistic artifacts reflect the
rootedness of Africans in this country.

In the Veracruz area, for instance, many toponyms reflecting African presence are
found: Yanga, Mandinga, Mocambo, Matamba, Mozambique, Cerro del Congo, etc. are
some of those names that to this day uphold the legacy of the African Diaspora. For reasons
yet to be fully understood, in the Costa Chico there are fewer such toponyms, despite an
even larger Afromexican presence. El Guinea (‘The Guinean’ — usually synonymous to
“African” in 16th-18th century Spanish American terminology) is one such community

found in Guerrero.

59

In the two regions described, as in other parts of Mexico, the influence of people of
African ancestry in regional life is unquestionable. Africans have not only contributed to the
creation of a specific “somatic-norm image” and socio-racial identity - el moreno - the dark
Mexican, they are also an integral part of the formation of the national character and culture
which most frequently is not recognized as such.

Veracruzan regional music reflects more clearly the African elements in what is
called the Afro-Andaluz Caribbean music, having developed from the mutual influence
between African and Spanish (i.e., New World) cultures. Such cultural developments are
fotmd in most of the Americas, making it easy to compare, for example, these Veracruzan
rhythms with Cuban salsa, Santo Domingan merengue and Jamaican reggae. The
relatedness of Afromexican music to the rest of Afroamerica is an underrated phenomena
which may provide crucial evidence of linkages between the Mexican and other parts of the
African Diaspora. A Cuban musicolo gist working in Mexico established this connection
very clearly (Perez 1990). By means of the comparative method, he linked Afromexican
music genres to others of African origin in the Americas. Even more importantly, he made
the claim that the roots of Mexican Afromestizo music are traceable to Africa and not just to
Cuba or other parts of the Americas, as it is popularly believed. Other than showing the
musical links between diverse African diasporas, the importance of Perez's claims is that
they give greater credence to the Afromexican cultural identity both in its formation and
continuity.

In chapter 5 of this dissertation I also focus on distinctive Afromexican cultural
production with regard to verbal artistry, including versos or lyrical poetry that rhyme while

telling a story, anecdote or social commentary. Another verbal art involves verses made on

the spot during controversias or verbal duels which involve two persons or groups
‘throwing’ witty and fast verses at each other. Versos are popular in most of Mexico but
much more in those coastal areas which we have identified as Afromexican. Additionally,
corridos (ballads) are very popular in the Costa Chico where they are sung and (now)
recorded as community’s archives of local history (e. g. in memory of fallen heroes of tragic
events).

As Gutierrez's 1988 study of this genre of music established, the corrido musical
tradition is rooted in violent settings; an overwhelming proportion of these songs recount
tragic events that are remembered by a particular community. Their importance as an area of
formal study is underscored by the historical value of such songs given the familiarity of the
singers in relation to the actors and the nature of conflicts. In my observation, the corrido
songs evoke very powerful emotions from the audience, and they are often collectively
constructed by members of a community who actively engage themselves in recording their
collective history. However, it must be noted that corridos are not unique to Afromexicans;
indeed, they form a part of rural Mexican tradition and are in fact more widespread in
northern Mexico.

3.2.2. Musical Instruments

Musical instruments are also indicative of Afromexican presence and cultural
heritage and African influence. Two percussion instruments widely used in Mexico but
more in Veracruz have been identified as being of African heritage: the marimba and the
marimba! (or marimbola and marimbolo). The former instrument is well known and widely
used around the country. The marimbola, on the other hand, is a smaller box that has keys

like a piano, sometimes called the “thumb piano,” and “it is widely used by blacks and

61

mestizos on the American continent (Lo 1980:30).” It has been compared to similar
instruments used in several parts of the African continent today under various other names
such as marimba or mbira. Its use in Mexico has been reported in the states of Veracruz,
Campeche and Yucatén (Lo 1980).

In the Costa Chica, the single most important instrument that may very likely be of
African origin is the arteza (also cajon). It is a long, log-like block of wood about nine feet
long and it is carved from a single tree trunk of a special sort. On one end the head of a bull
is carved and a serpent on the other end. It has a flat surface and is played by dancing on its
top rhythmically by one or more persons. Both men and women can participate in this
energetic activity that requires good coordination, especially when the rhythm is being
created by more than one individual at the same time. It has been put forward that the arteza
developed as a reaction to the banning of “heathen” drums under 15th and 16th century
Inquisition laws; the creative Africans turned to making rhythms with their feet when they
could not do it with their hands.

PART II
3.3. African Conquistadores
The modern African Diaspora into Mexico began with the arrival of Hernando Cortes,
leader of the very first band of conquistadores. Bemal Diaz, who wrote the classical
document of Captain Cortes's submission of the Aztec Empire, describes how a black man
came in the service of Juan Sedefio, “the richest man in the fleet” (Bernal 1963). According
to this chronicler, writing fifty years after the events, the black man-servant introduced
smallpox that eventually decimated millions of Native Mexicans who encountered the

disease for the fnst time. In 16th century Spain and Portugal, black Africans were part and

62

parcel of contemporary society; in Lisbon and Seville, African art and dance were
performed in public places, and in both cities, barrios of Africans are known to have existed
(Duncan 1994). It is not strange then that some Africans came to America in the early 16th
century, albeit as servants or assistants of the wealthier, self sponsored conquistadores.

There was yet another class of Africans who had become fully assimilated i.e.
hispanisized, christianized and educated, and these were often enlisted in the service of the
Crown. These individuals came as conquistadors of equal status to the Spaniards and were
assigned encomiendas or captainships over various districts of the newly conquered lands.
The position of those Africans is a probable source of some of the eventual conflicts
between blacks and Native Mexicans, since the latter did not view the blacks any differently
— and with reason —— from the white European conquerors. One of the better documented
examples of a black conquistador is drat of Juan Garrido who accompanied Hernan Cortes
in the conquest of Mexico. He is also credited as being the one who first planted wheat in
the New World.

It appears that Juan Garrido first came to the New World as a free black, having
previously lived in Lisbon and Castile, Spain. Peter Gerhard, in a sketch of his life and
pursuits, puts his initial New World landing in the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo in the
early 16th Century. From there he spent time in Puerto Rico before joining the Cortes
expedition in 1519 in Mexico (Gerhard 197 8). He was with Cortes in the conquest of
Tenochtitlan; and he was a survivor of the Aztec slaughter of Spaniards at the Battle of
Noche Triste on July 1, 1520. Apparently, he built a small adobe chapel to commemorate

the Spanish dead. Later in the second decade of the 16th Century, Garrido was part of the

63

Spaniards’ Christianizing mission of Amerindians in the area of Michoacan and along the
Zacatula coast (ibid).

Garrido was a unique man of African heritage whose presence superseded in time
the larger number of African people who came to Nueva Espaiia. He does, however,
represent the small role of African people as conquerors under Spanish colonial domain. His
experiences also suggest that, from the very beginnings of conquest, African people were
present and even contributing, innovatively, to New World productive culture.

3.4. Africans of the Colonial Slave Trade

A brief overview of the origins and backgrounds of Afromexicans informs our
understanding of their significance as part of the first modern Diaspora. In 1544 Hernando
Cortes gave the first order for 500 Africans to provide labor for his first sugarcane plantation
and processing factory or ingenio. They arrived at Veracruz Port, brought from Africa by
Leonardo Lomelfn, a Genovese slave trader and merchant (AGN Hospital de Jesus, Vol
247 Folio 8). However, the apex of slave importation to Mexico took place in the late 16th
and early 17th century; it has been estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 Africans
arrived in New Spain (Mexico) during this period. Other European colonies soon began to
take shape and began importing slave labor from Africa. Colonists also began to rely on a
new generation of American born slaves called negros criollos, and thus slave trading in
Mexico was no longer in business. By the start of the 18th century, insignificant (official)
numbers of Africans came into Mexico barring clandestine trade and exchanges between

plantations in nearby colonies (Hita 1992).

3.5. The African Background

It has been possible to trace the geographic origins of Africans to the West, North
and Central Coast of Africa, from some existing records of the slave trade. Aside from
Beltran (195 8) attempts to reconstruct some of the “tribal origins” of the African who came
to Mexico, some of the most commonly cited places of origin of Afromexicans Ifound in
the 16th century ‘Historia’ section of Mexico's National Archives are Angola, Guinea, Sfio
Tome and Congo. Later, ethnolinguistic names are mentioned as the Africans underwent a
renaming process by being given names according to their alleged origins: Bafaras, Jolofir,
Matambas, Mandingas and Yorubas (or lucumt’), the Zapes, Cazangas and ”rows (or
‘Zozas’) among others. This is indicative of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of early
Africans in Mexico - from the River Senegal to the Limpopo River region in South West
Africa.

Because of early Portuguese incursion and establishment in Eastern and Central
Africa and her close alliance with Spain, many Africans brought to Spanish colonies came
from those regions as well as West Africa. Colonization of Mozambique by the Portuguese,
for instance, began in 1506, eight years after Vasco da Gama had sailed to Mombasa on the
Kenyan coast and further down the Indian Ocean to reach Beira (now Maputo) in
Mozambique and even rounded the Cape of Good Hope; this of course, made the ultimate
goal of the Europeans: to reach the coveted spices of the Indian subcontinent. Thus these
were among the earliest sources of slaves brought to Spanish possessions by their

Portuguese allies. Among those African groups mentioned in archives were the Zulus,

65

Xhosas and the Nguni.s Beltran (1958) even suggested that Zibaro Africans recorded by the
Spanish were actually from the island of Zanzibar off the coast of East Africawhich was
under Arab rule. Two other names that occur with frequency in archives are Angola and
Luanda. At this point, I will only highlight the fact that many apparent origins of Africans
bound for Mexico are in what is generally called ‘Bantu-speaking Africa,’ since Africans in
that area are overwhelmingly speakers of one Bantu language or another.

While the named place origins of displaced Africans can be traced to specific
regions and groups of Africa today or in the past, they are not necessarily accurate. Other
than the problems of inaccuracy in transcribing African names, slave traders were often
native speakers of one of a number of different European languages. French, Dutch or
English slave merchants would have variously catalogued their human cargo with some
variations which at times obscure or distort the original African name. The Biafara were
probably the same as Bafara; Mandika were also Mandingo, Manding or Malinke; Congo
was at times recorded as Kongo, Xoxo, Bakongo, Makongo or Manilrongo‘5 and the Xhosa
were frequently called Zozas.

Secondly, the places where the Africans are said to have originated such as Senegal,
Guinea or Congo may only describe the port of origin of widely diverse inland peoples.
Thirdly, generic terms for Africans perceived to be related in some way or another would be
used in a similar manner in which South African whites used ‘Bantu’ during apartheid to

denote black Africans of wide ranging linguistic and cultural affiliation, as is the previously

 

’ Zulu and Xhosa are actually languages of the Nguni family. That they are listed as separate groups in the archival
entries reflects limited or skewed European knowledge about Africans. This problem is discussed further in the

following sections.

‘ This actually refers to the Africans captured in the kingdom of Manicongo Alfonso I (1506-1543), a christianized
King of the Congo who was later to complain of slavery activities by his very allies, the Portuguese. ‘Mweni’ or
‘Mwinyi’ is a Bantu root which means ‘owner of’, ‘sovereign’ or ‘king’ therefore Manicongo (or Mwenikongo in some
references) translates as ‘owner/sovereign/king of the Kongo.‘

mentioned case of the N guni. The Spanish and Portuguese similarly used such designations
as Monicongo as cover terms for the Bantu speaking people of Central Africa; the terms
Mozambique and Malinke and Mandingo described Africans acquired from areas under
control of those kingdoms known by the same names.

Slavery in Mexico ended in 1810 when Mexico declared itself independent from
Spain although the actual abolishment was not signed on paper until seven years later.
Before it was officially abolished in Mexico on the 23rd of September 1817, direct
importation of African labor had been replaced by a locally produced force, namely the
negros criollos or blacks born and raised in slavery in the Spanish colonies. Spanish
plantocracy in the American colonies often formed tight alliances in family and business, so
there was frequent exchange, sale and transference of those black laborers in the nearby
colonies, especially from the islands of Cuba and Santo Domingo.

3.5.1. Notes from Archivo General de la Nacion (AGN)

The Archivo General de lo Nocién (AGN) holds historical documents and
administrative records of modern Mexico’s existence. These proved very useful in
reconstructing the story of Africans in Mexico. In particular, the archives provided leads
about possible origins of Afromexicans and their official as well as ordinary existence in
Mexico. Records of official slave trade were meticulously kept, the description of
individual slaves, their numbers and other aspects of their existence in Mexico. The
archival work gave me a crucial insight into a period of Mexico’s history when Africans
were a prominent albeit denigrated component of the society.

The archives are arranged in three broad periods which represent the watershed

phases of modern Mexico’s history (i.e. post columbian) and its socio-political

 

67

development These three periods cover the whole colonial era including slavery
institutions, the revolutionary, pre-independence period, and post—colonial phases such as
the Reform, the Era of Cardenas (Cardenismo) and the contemporary ruling party’s PR1
(Partido Revolucionario Institucional) period which properly began in 1929.

1) Colonial Period (1510-1810);

2) National (Statehood) Period (1810-1910);

3) Post Revolution Period (1910-1993).
A separate set of archives were the Archivos Porticulores which contained documents on
prominent individuals of Mexico, such as Emiliano Zapata with a photographic collection of
him. It also includes illustrations, maps, and a photograph and audiovisual collection relating
Mexico’s history and culture. There is also a Microfilm Library which contains, among
others, archives from the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cuban National Archives.

Within each one of these periods are administrative categories under which specific
files are kept thematically in what are known as Unidodes Documentoles (UDs). There are
at least 322 UDs covering all the periods. The following are selected for their relevance to

my research. A brief commentary follows this description.

68

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1" Bl; r'v f -_ ‘ ulni "I‘lm - ’ 0 _0- :11

Unidad Description

Documentol

(UD)

Inquisicion The Inquisition against ‘non-believers’ (indios, negros and
Jews) e.g. for bigamy; witchcraft; superstition, etc.

Reales Cedulos Royal permits to individuals or trading companies e. g. Slave
traders

Civil Civil suits and litigations before the Crown authorities
(Audiencias) e. g. disputes of slave ownership

Padrones Censuses and other administrative records c. g. slave counts

Mercederes Merchant records e. g. bills of sale of slaves

Historio Diaries, missionary and private records

Tierros Accords of Ingenios (sugar factories) and Hociendas
(plantations)

Alcaldes Official missives and instructions to provincial governors e.g.

Moyores on treatment of slaves

Bienes Transactions and freeing of slaves e. g. the declaration of

Nacionales freedom of slaves (1837, Vol. 137. Exp. 135)

Concurso de Crown liquidation of seized properties (including slaves)

Calvo

Criminales Criminal records c. g. of negros accused of participating in the

revolution of 1810

The Inquisicion archives in particular provided a very detailed picture of the

extreme forms of punishment against negros. The documents also gave insights about the
conflict that arose from differences of faith or religious practices, for example, the case of
an African man accused of marrying two wives. They also describe the resistance with
which some Africans confronted the slave system and the religion which supported it.
These documents show also how the religious persecution and discrimination was not

exclusively directed against Africans since all ‘non-believers’ such as indigenous

69

Mexicans and Jews or those suspected of being Jews were similarly persecuted. The most
common “crimes” Africans were accused of under the inquisition, listed in order of their
frequency were: a) bigamy; (b) witchcraft; (c) “use of herbs;” (d) having pacts with the
devil; (e) denouncing God; (f) superstition; (g) praying to the moon. Others I have listed
not so much for their frequency as for their peculiar interest are: (h),Sebastian, a Negro,
for saying that simple fornication is not a sin; (i) “Juan Nicolas, alias Matamba, for
blasphemy; (j) a Negro who said that God and the whole world lies; (k) Juan, Criollo
Negro, for saying that the Virgin had not only Jesus Christ but also three other daughters
— Las Tres Matias — who were already married. Many other insightful records appear
in this section of the archives.

The reales cédulos originales were royal permits that individuals or trading
companies received in order to engage in various trades in the New Spain. Slave-traders
were commissioned by the Crown, therefore their trading records and inventories were
considered official documents. This set of records tell us much about the nature of the
Mexican slave trade such as prices put on Africans, but more importantly, names and points
of origin of enslaved Africans. They also show inventories of individual traders, their
incomes and profits. Civil records contain suits and litigations by individuals before the
Crown authorities (Audiencio) many of which included slave deals gone raw and, quite
frequently, they reflected a unique aspect of Spanish slavery: manumission, a process
through which enslaved Africans could obtain their status as negros libres or freemen. This
archival unit contains for example, citations by enslaved persons seeking freedom by filing
suits of abuse against their owners (which could entitle them to freedom) or through

purchase of their freedom.

70

Padrones show administrative records on individuals and municipalities, and
population censuses. These therefore provided an important source of numbers and locations
of slaves in different parts of the country. Bills of sale of slaves gave insights about how the
trade was conducted, prices and desired physical and emotional features of slaves; these
were abundantly found in the Mercederes section of the archives. Records of the daily
activities of ingenios (sugar estates) and haciendos (plantations) where most enslaved
Africans lived are found in the tierros section of the archives; these also contain records of
the division and use of land. Diaries and other records of missionaries under the historio
section were useful sources of information about the religious life of Africans in New Spain
(e.g. the story of Yanga) while the olcoldes Moyores give an idea of the official policy
toward the treatment of slaves since these were instructions and official missives to
provincial governors particularly with regard to forms of punishment and measure to take in
order to reduce the risks of insurrection and running away. The bienes nocionoles and
concurso de Calvo were useful sources about various transactions related to slaves
including (e. g. the Freedom Charter of 1837, Vol 137, Exp. 135) which declared official end
of slavery. This section also presents records of government sales liquidating seized
property, including such property as slaves. Information about the social “race” of
individuals and groups were found in every area of the archives. Even among the criminal
records (UD criminoles) we find such information that illuminates the background to socio-
racial terms as they are used today. Under this section for example, I found cases on file
against individuals accused of claiming to have no African blood in order to join the army.
Another example was a case against “negros accused of delivering messages to rebels of the

revolution, in Veracruz,” and so on. The archives therefore were for the purposes of this

71

research, an important window from which earlier uses of socio-racial terms in Mexico can
be viewed in order to help our rmderstanding of their contemporary uses.
3.6. Traditions of Maroonage in Mexico:

Throughout the Americas, enslaved Africans did not take their condition passively.
Many forms of resistance developed in the colonies, including rebellions and maroonage.
While these two required a level of organization, many individual runaways also sought to
escape slavery by disappearing within the free mulato/mestizo population. According to
records of the time, Spanish colonists lived under constant fear of this “menace” and often
carried out drastic actions against the African population. One such case was the 1612
public hanging of negros in downtown Mexico City plaza ordered by authorities to “calm
down colonists’ fears” inspired by rumors of a black uprising.

Living in isolated areas, many maroons turned to highway robbery and joined
together with bands of vagabonds living off pillage, especially on the Mexico-Veracruz
Royal Highway. Other maroons set up farming communities, especially but not always in
the mountains as in Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz or in the Sierras de Guerrero. Some also
joined existing Native Mexican communities and assimilated there, especially through
intermarriage. Still others formed their own new communities by banding together with
other marginalized racial groups such as muloto slaves and indios (Beltran 1946).
Nonetheless, Mexican maroon societies have not maintained the strong African influences
that one finds in, say, the Jamaican Maroon communities. The reasons are detailed in an
unpublished paper by Pereira (1993):

1. The presence in Mexico of major developed civilizations and firmly established
native communities meant that Africans in Mexico related not only to one other
racial/ethnic conununity (Europeans)

2. Relatively smaller numbers of Africans inserted into this context

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3. Roman Catholicism of Spanish enslavers was far more pervasive and hegemonic than
the Protestant denominations of the British counterparts in the colonies. Intense
conversion and indoctrination undermined many possibilities of retaining African
cultural traditions
4. The extended period of a single colonial power dominating the society from the start of
sixteenth century and relatively lengthy period of time of 170 years since Mexico’s
independence and abolition of slavery during which Afromexicans have become
involved in the formation of a Mexican national identity
It can be argued that traditions of maroonage explain the sparse knowledge that
today exists about the African Diaspora in Mexico given that a large number of the
Africans in Mexico lived beyond the arm of Spanish rule. Data or records about their
communities - including that of their physical location and social organization - is little
recorded, while some may have been distorted or destroyed by colonial authorities.
During my personal interview with Dr. Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, (November 10, 1993,
Jalapa, Veracruz), he too concurred with this view and that “maroonage [in Mexico] was
a much more extensive phenomenon than is currently believed.” In the following section,
to illustrate this tradition, I present a story of the most representative of Mexico’s
Africans: slave, maroon, liberator and national symbol of resistance.
3.6.1. The Story of Yanga

Mexico's Yanga may be considered the precursor of the maroon tradition in the
New World. Yanga was an African born man who led a successful uprising of slaves in
South Central Mexico, fleeing into the mountains of Sierra de Zéngolica to form a viable
community of cimarrones and successfully resisting submission for over thirty years.
Originally named San Lorenzo de los Negros and later renamed in honor of its founder,
today this town (located near the city of C6rdoba, Veracruz) boasts of being “the first free

pueblo of the Americas.” The description of Yanga's origins found in historical

documents suggest that he was from the Bari nation of South Sudan (Moreno 1898).

73

 

 

Yanga’s statue stands today on a quiet park next to Yanga Technical High School
in southern Mexico on the edge of a town named after him (Figure 3.4.). Tall and alone,
the fifteen foot high bronze statue depicts a well built African man holding high in his
right hand a wooden machete (the original bronze one was stolen in 1990) and in his left
a staff and broken chains. He is poised defiantly under the hot sun of Veracruz, bare of
clothes save for a pair of tattered shorts. He cuts a stern figure, and his face reflects
serious determination. With a luxuriant green backdrop of a mango grove, the statue of

this man is solitary, almost shunned away on the fringes of this town of 5000 that is

74

named in his honor. The small plaque at the foot of the monument titled “El Yanga,”

reads:

Black Afiican and precursor of liberty of the negro slaves [who ] founded this town of San
Lorenzo de Cerrolvo ( today Yanga) as agreed by the Viceroy of New Spain Don
RODRIGO OSORIO MARQUES DE CERRALVO, on the third day of October, 1631,
by mandate of the Viceroy. Designed (planned) by Capiton Hernando de Castro Espinoza.
City Council (1973 - 1976) Yanga, Veracruz, 10 August 1976.

FIRST FREE TOWN OF AMERICA.

The monument represents one of the most forgotten, least known or acknowledged Black
leaders of the New World, Yanga or N anga as in some literature, leader and patriarch of
Africans in Mexico, the abundant new Spanish colony. As the town's motto claims, Yanga
was indeed the first African of the New World to lead a group of his people to demand and
achieve freedom from slavery and colonialism and to found a free town within a colony in
1631. It was well before Toussaint Louverture led an uprising against the French in Haiti
and before the North American states had rebelled and freed themselves from English rule.
It is therefore no idle claim that Yanga is “the first free pueblo of America.” While
ignorance of the African component in Mexican history is not strange, Yanga’s stature in
African Diaspora history should by all means be as important as that of Frederick Douglas
of the USA, Zumbi of Brazil or other continental African liberators. Even though Yanga led
an uprising in Mexico, he was in fact an African — born in the continent and brought to
Mexico as a slave: “prince Yanga was a son of the King of the Yang-Bara tribe, one of the
tribes that are part of the Upper Nile, of the Dinka nation, Southeast of Gondokor, between
the Bari and the Makaras” (Moreno 1892zxii). This description of Yanga's geographic
origins and nationality suggest that he spoke a Nilotic language of the larger Nilo-Saharan

languages related to the Kalenjin group of languages, and others spoken in Kenya today.

75

 

Yanga and its variant Nyonga‘, is a common personal name to this day, according to
Sudanese informants.

It is estimated that another 250,000 Africans came to Mexico (Beltran 1946),
directly from Africa's West Atlantic coast as far down as the Congo and Angola. The
immediate origin of some was in such distribution centers as Cuba and Jamaica, or in
Lima and Sevilla, which served as processing centers for Africans destined to the
colonies (e. g. to be baptized and to be taught some Spanish language). Many others were
brought in clandestinely as demand grew higher than authorized quotas.

Yanga landed on the shores of Mexico on a ship from Africa, and after a few years
he fled to the mountains in 1579 with a group of fellow enslaved Africans. For the next
thirty years, Yanga organized his group of fugitive cimarrones into a well functioning
community which included a military arm headed by an Angolan, Francisco de la Matosa.
The site Yanga and his people chose as refuge deep in the mountains of Sierra de Zongolica
on the banks of Rio Blanco in central Veracruz was typical of maroon communities:
“extremely mountainous and difficult to access... also extremely fertile...family huts
surrounded by cultivated fields from which bountiful harvests of maize, beans, potatoes and
tobacco were collected; small plots of cotton and abundant fruit trees...in the middle of the
village was a small rustic church which reflected the Christian education the Africans had
gone through (Moreno 1892:12)”.

Yanga’s community prospered. Bold and confident, sometimes vengeful, they often
attacked travelers and nearby haciendas which they would loot and burn. But who suffered

most from the raiders were the royal caravans bearing silver and gold on its way to Spain via

 

7 Ethnologue, 1990 edition, where the variant Nyanga, and the linguistic classification are also found. There
is also a record of Nyanga or Yanga language spoken in Congo.

76

the port of Veracruz, on the Comino Real. It is notable that all the recorded attacks by
Yanga's people were against White people and their properties (Hita-Naveda 1992), thus
representing a race-class war.

In the year 1612, rumor spread all over Mexico that there was a Black uprising
planned and that the Africans had a King to be crowned on the day of general uprising to be
held on January 6th, the traditional “Day of Kings.” The contemporary Viceroy of New ..4
Spain, Don Luis de Velasco, decided to settle the colonial society fears by ordering the
public hanging of black men and women who had been jailed for other crimes, in the central
Plaza of Mexico City. The gruesome event was supposed to calm the colonist's fears by
“proving” that the plot had been uncovered and the plotters punished. A curfew was
imposed on the Black population countrywide, and the Viceroy immediately dispatched
troops to Veracruz to destroy Yanga and his ideals. In charge was Captain Gonza1ez de
Herrera, who took with him 100 soldiers, a similar number of adventurers, and 150 Indian
bowmen; further on they were joined by another 200 Spanish, mulato and mestizo
mercenaries. Two Jesuit missionaries accompanied the raiders, sent to try to break Yanga by

religious persuasion; it was one of these two who kept a diary of the events that followed.

As Capitan Gonzalez and his troops advanced up the difficult terrain, Yanga had in his mountain
kingdom, a captured Spaniard whose life be spared then sent to deliver a message to Capitan
Gonzalez warning him that his efforts to subdue the Cimarrones was useless as long as their
demands for freedom and equality wae not met. Confident of the strength of his soldiu's, Capitan
Gonzalez continued up the mountain, determined to destroy the haven of freedom seekers. When
Yanga's scouts warned of the approaching danger an ambush was laid by the Cimarron troops.
Unfortunately, one of Gonzalez's men came upon the trap and raised alarm. Robbed of their weapon
of surprise, Yanga‘s men found themselves hard pressed and in retreat from the Spaniards gunfire
and showers of arrows of the Indian bowrnen. Of advanced age at this time, Yanga had stayed behind
with those left to guard the town; they resisted until most of his people were killed or captured by the
crown soldiers and mercenaries, but many others fled further up in the mountains. (Extract from
Moreno (1892:25»

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Although Yanga was militarily defeated on this occasion, he refused a complete
surrender, instead accepting a peace treaty. This treaty was also influenced by pressure on
the crown from other rebels who continued to raid and plunder, joined by more who
continued to escape slavery. Yanga reached an agreement with the Viceroy in which he
finally got what he had for so long fought: the establishment of a town where his people
would live as free men and women. In return, Yanga promised not to allow any more
escaped slaves to find refuge in his town and to respect civil and church authorities.

Viceroy Velasco agreed to these conditions and designated an area where Yanga and
his people established a town of their own, about 20 kilometers southeast of Cordoba. It was
named San Lorenzo de los Negros. Although Yanga's achievement was remarkable, he paid
a heavy price from having to turn his back on others who came seeking for freedom as he
had done himself. And though he had gained official recognition, his new community was
encroached by still hostile — and powerful —- whites and their mestizo allies. Also by
agreeing to integrate rather than remain outside colonial governance, Yangans had to join
and compete within a racist, exploiting society, as a minority group, occupying the lowest
rungs of the racially stratified society. Given this context, the “freedom” enjoyed by that
“first free pueblo of America” was probably severely curtailed.

Such was the climate of fear and mutual hostilities before San Lorenzo was founded
that in 1622 a group of eighteen Spanish gentlemen wrote the Viceroy requesting
“permission and aid to build a fort on the Zacatepec (Royal) route, to protect ourselves from
los negros cimarrones who are about...attacking and robbing His Majestey's silver...we need
150 Indian bowmen...and this settlement will be called Villa de C6rdoba.” (AMC, Afro

1622, Vol. 2Exp.4).

78

The Viceroy agreed as long as the gentlemen would get “thirty Spanish families as
pioneers.” This was done, and Cordoba, today a city of 150,000, is also known as the ‘City
of 30 Gentlemen,’ but it was also thanks to Yanga and other Africans who pressured the
colonists into taking such reactionary measures. Ironically, the building of Cordoba served
to strengthen Spanish control over the region, including the constant fight against
cimarrones who were forced to retreat further at every defeat. To this day, private houses in
Yanga and C6rdoba have thick, ancient walls that once were erected by a society that lived
in fear of another uprising of the negros.

Gradually Yanga faded from national prominence as Blacks progressively became
integrated into colonial society. And as Spanish authority strengthened in the region and
other towns were built, Yanga's significance diminished, becoming a nasty memory in
the mainstream society’s mind. The event and date of his death are unclear, and while the
manner of his death is known to have been violent, we know of no narrative — oral or
written — nor a clearly discernible collective memory in today's area people, presumably
Yanga's descendants. One version has it that he was assassinated in front of the church of
his own town. Another claims that he was summoned to Mexico City by authorities only
to meet his assassins en route.

The campaign to wipe out the history of Yanga was initiated from the onset by the
next Viceroy after Velasco, a Spaniard named Don Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio Marquis de
Cerralvo. He ordered the renaming of San Lorenzo de Los Negros to San Lorenzo de
Cerralvo, the name which it held until 1928, when the State of Veracruz Legislature

approved the renaming of the town in honor of its founder, Yanga.

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Today, there are hardly any Blacks in Yanga itself, and most Mexicans have never
heard of Yanga. But about five kilometers from Yanga is a smaller pueblo of 2000 called
Mata Clara. This and several others in the area, such as Rio Moreno and Las Palmillas, leave
no doubt that, while Yanga's descendants may have been driven out of the town their
forefathers built, they continue to thrive as a distinctly African Diaspora community.

3.7. US. Refugees and free Blacks in Search of Freedom

Throughout the nineteenth century Mexico provided a lure as a safe haven for
enslaved Africans in North America, and many individuals and families headed South in
search for a life free from bondage. The Mexican authorities, at the time of a liberal
ideology arising from an anticolonial war, also found it convenient to provide refuge to
persecuted U.S. Blacks. Still bitter and shaken by the recent loss of more than half its
territory to the U.S., the Mexicans would have encouraged black settlement in their
territory near vulnerable borders in order to bolster sparse Indian populations in those
regions bordering the U.S., hoping to discourage further expansionist moves by the
Anglo United States.

3.7.1. Black Seminoles

While the majority of African people arrived in Mexico during the colonial era
between the mid 16th and late 18th century, other people of African descent entered Mexico
more recently, although only a few of those arrivals are well documented. These entries
were generally numerically small and in some cases temporary. For example, black
Seminoles (i.e. Blacks integrated into Seminole communities through intermarriage to form
communities of Afro-Indian identity) entered Mexican territory after being removed from

northern Florida to Oklahoma as a consequence of the Second Seminole War (1853-1842).

80

’1.

They began to escape to Mexico in the Fall of 1849. In 1850 more than two hundred black
Seminoles fled to the Northern Mexican State of Coahuila close to the Rio Grande and
settled in La Navaja Later they moved to E] N acimiento as they sought to escape relentless
North American mercenaries who made constant attempts to return them to American slave
holding territory. Some of those blacks did return to the US. voluntarily in 1870, at the end
of the Civil War, but some of them stayed on, and their descendants today still maintain oral
traditions of their North American origins. Especially among the older generations, they are
bilingual in Spanish and in a distinct English dialect that is directly derived from Black
English or African American English (AAE). Their descendants are known today as
Mascogos.
3.7.2. Durango Settlers

The covert policy of Mexico motivated many private enterprises to continue to lure
oppressed northern minorities into Mexico by offering “cheap, fertile land unlimited
freedom and equality,” as advertised in southern United States publications (Rippy 1921).
Some blacks took their chances from what proved all too often to be bogus, money hungry
businessmen. One such private company, the “Agricultural, Industrial and Colonization
Company of Tlahaulilo,” signed an agreement in 1894 with a black US. citizen to recruit
one hundred black families for settlement in an area in the Mexican State of Durango. In
February of the following year, around eight hundred free blacks arrived there, only to find
themselves in disastrous working and living conditions; many of them fell sick and died
(Rippy 1921). Those who survived the Mexican odyssey were repatriated to the US. by

November of 1895, leaving behind one hundred and forty eight who did not survive.

81

During the 1994 Afrocaribbean Festival in Veracruz, I met with a few of those
descendants of African-Americans from Durango and Coahuila and spoke with a delegation
from rancho El Nacimiento, Coahuila From interviews with them, it was learned that the
small Black communities like El Nacimiento have a strong living memory of their Black
North American origins and emigration. Some also maintain contacts with US relatives, and
they are aware of their origins in the southern United States and of their racial
distinctiveness relative to other Mexican communities in that region. One of them, a 70-year
old woman from E1 Nacimiento who presented folklore, songs and versos at the festival,
was also perfectly bidialectal in a variety of AAVE and Northern Mexican Spanish,
reflecting the unique heritage of Afromexicans in this region, who provide a good example
of cultural continuity among Diaspora Africans across national boundaries.

3.7.3. Sudanese Soldiers with the French Army In Mexico 1863-1867

Another fascinating dimension of the African presence in Mexico is linked to
nineteenth century world cultural, political and economic conditions. A recent book by Hill
and Hog g (1995) provides a detailed history of this episode of African soldiers in Mexico in
the service of French colonial and imperial interests.

Charles-Louis—Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon IID, nephew of Emperor
Napoleon, was the force behind French intervention in Mexico. In ideological terms, be
viewed France as a Latin empire with a moral duty to bring enlightenment, technology
and political liberalism to Latin America Nonetheless, it was the political economy of
Mexico in the early 1860s which provided the opportunity for the French to invade

Mexico and to further its aspirations to regain possessions and influence in the Americas.

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In July of 1861, the President of Mexico, Benito Juarez, announced a two-year
moratorium on loan repayments to creditor nations consisting of Spain, Britain and France.
On 29 February 1862, an international convention was held at La Soledad, a small town
near Veracruz. The Spanish and British delegates made a speedy agreement with Mexico's
representatives, which their governments ratified, and their token forces sailed away. The
French naval and military contingent stayed, and Napoleon III decided to take advantage of
the situation in Mexico, effecting a military occupation of the country. The United States
was involved in its Civil War and could not enforce the Monroe Doctrine which forbade
European intervention in the Americas. Moreover, to effect further control, Napoleon III
offered the “crown” of the new kingdom to Maximilian, then Archduke of Austria. Thus
Maximilian was Emperor of Mexico from 1864 to 1867.

The first French expeditionary force landed at Veracruz in March of 1862.
However, as they attempted to expand the territory under their control, they were sormdly
beaten by the Mexicans. Additionally, the French fell victim to yellow fever, malaria, and
other tropical illnesses in the Mexican coastal lands. As in the earlier period of European
invasion and colonization of the New World, they needed more manpower and military
reinforcements. In their misguided world views and racist ideologies, French droughts
turned to Africans. The French “knew” that Africans were more resistant to disease than
whites; biologically, Africans were essentially more immune to tropical fevers. Through the
provincial government of Egypt, the French recruited 3000 muslim Sudanese soldiers who
were dispatched to Mexico. The Sudanese Troops eventually ended their duty in Mexico
and returned to Egypt by way of Paris, where they received honor for their participation.

Most eventually returned to the Sudan, and they left behind no firm evidence of their legacy

83

in Mexico, except for six deserters who “must have smoothly blended with their formerly
enslaved brothers in the hills of the Pacific Coast (Hill and Hogg 1995 :123).”
3.7.4. Afroantillian Indentured Laborers

Another significant infusion of blacks into Mexico took place in the late 19th
century as part of the historical process of the development of capitalism in the region when
a significant number of Afroantillians came to Mexico. They were overwhelmingly from
the island of Jamaica, and the peak of their immigration took place in the late 1880's. A
majority of the total population of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo of arormd 8,000 were
black Belizeans settled in haciendas, and another undetermined number came from the US.
(Mufioz 1994: 124). While Mexico received the greater portion of this labor force, others
found their way to Costa Rica and Panama around the same period. These Afro-Caribbeans
arrived during the period when colonization by Europeans was being proposed as a gateway
to Mexico's economic progress. This doctrine was endorsed and encouraged at official
government levels, especially during Porfirio Diaz's dictatorship, which lasted until the end
of the first decade of this century, at the dawn of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. It was
during his reign that major strides in the national infrastructure were made, notably the
construction of a national railroad network. These Afrocaribbean workers principally
provided labor in this enterprise and in agriculture in the southern Mexican states of
Chiapas, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. In the North and central regions, they were employed
in railroad construction, and in the new, booming petrol extraction industry, and also in ports
such as that of Tampico (Mufroz 1994: 126).

While many European immigrants were welcomed with much clamor, the arrival

of black workers from the Caribbean and the US. was downplayed in the national press.

84

The immigration of these black laborers was informally regulated by the Mexican
government while being left largely in the hands of English and American companies.
The use of black immigrant workers had more to do with their being subjects of the
world's Anglo dominated capitalist empire which controlled much of the industrial
enterprises in Mexico at the time. Linguistic affinity could also explain the reason for
their being preferred over native Mexicans by the English speaking engineers and
foremen.

The nature of labor they engaged in and the areas they settled provoked two types of
reactions among the Mexicans. In the southern haciendas where labor was short and much
needed, the blacks were welcomed and treated well, but in the north they were rejected and
resented by Mexican workers who felt that they were being denied employment
opportunities; the immigrants were also better paid. There is sparse evidence of the legacy
of these West Indian Blacks in Mexico. Being indentured laborers who received the greater
portion of their pay upon their retum home, many did return, although there are attested a
few descendants of Jamaicans in the Veracruz area.

3.8. Summary

This chapter has presented an overview of African presence in Mexico, and the
contemporary situation. I introduced the framework of ‘African Diaspora’ whose
conceptualization is primarily informed by the intellectual effort of Dr. Ruth S. Hamilton
of Michigan State University, to situate Afromexicans within the larger processes of
African Diaspora formations in the Americas. As discussed in Chapter Two, this
historical backdrop also serves as context within which today’s use of socio-racial terms

must be analyzed. I hope that this review will help the reader to understand some of the

85

interpretations of language practices that I will do in Chapters Four and Five. It is a fact
that while a number of monographs and ethnographic studies published in Spanish by
Mexican scholars exist, none involves a linguistic study of an Afromexican dialect of
Spanish nor any of their unique language practices. Nor do I know of any (socio)
linguistic study of Afromexicans published in English or Spanish. Such a poor record of
scholarship has further denied the African Diaspora in Mexico the visibility it deserves. It
is my hope that this dissertation will help fill this gap.

Dr. Aguirre Beltran alone published several in-depth studies about Afromexicans,
yet he appears to have discontinued research on this topic very early in his professional
career to concentrate on the study of native Mexican cultures, particularly those of his home
state, Veracruz. Beltran's first publication was an ethnohistorical study of the Black African
presence in colonial Mexico (1946) in which he also traced cultural and linguistic roots of
the Africans arriving there. Beltran’s work deals exclusively with Africans of the colonial
slave trade. I have gone a bit further by including other entries into Mexico by Africans prior
to and after the colonial period. This will increase the scope of our understanding of the
place of Mexico in the circulatory movement of African peoples around the world.

Beltran’s 1958 book is a case study of Cuajinicuilapa, and its subtitle accurately
describes its content: ‘an ethnographic sketch of a black village.’ Today that village is the
Municipal head and largest town in the region, lying about 15 km from San Nicolas. In this
book he devoted a short, final chapter on ‘Language and the Corrido’ in which he made
notes of a few ‘peculiarities of Cuijlan Spanish’ (1958:201). He also made allusions as to the
possible African origins of those peculiarities. Basing his opinion on the 1946 archival

research, Beltran pointed out that with regard to the local language of Cuijla, there were

86

“other unidentified African influences of popular usage in the local slang” (1958:203).
These, he claimed, stood apart from the more widespread and easily recognizable influences
of local, native Mexican languages. Those features, he claimed, were ‘probably of Bantu
origin’ including place names such as Zambr’r and Congo, or variant forms of local Spanish
dialect such as choco for sucio (‘dirty'); chumbr’o for ave (‘bird'), or chuqut’o for mat olor

(‘ stink'); buhoreke for thatched, adobe house; warumbo for a type of wood used to make the
huacharako, a musical instrument The leaf of warumbo is also boiled to make a drink that
cures inflamed kidneys.

In the course of my research, I have also recorded unique lexicon and sound changes
in the regional dialect such as final syllable deletion or simplification (e. g. venoo for venodo
(‘deer’) or verdd for verdod (‘truth’), and the final ls/ aspiration (e. g. moh for mas, lohamigo
for los amigos (‘the friends‘). These observations indicate that the dialect of Spanish spoken
by the area’s Afromexicans shares features with that spoken in different parts of the country
and of Latin America where Black influence is most apparent (e.g. Veracruz, Caribbean and
Pacific Coasts of Colombia, etc.). While an analysis of Afromexican Spanish phonological
features is beyond the scope of this dissertation, it is hoped that a study of “race” lexicon
will contribute to an understanding of the language practices of this section of the Mexican
Spanish speaking population. The details of this chapter will help the reader to relate some
of those practices to an African backdrop and to see them as part of the New World socio-

cultural history as it relates to diaspora formations.

87

Chapter 4

SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS IN CON VERSATIONAL DISCOURSE: MEANINGS AND
ATTRIBUTES

4.0. The Vocabulary of “Race”
Socio-racial terms in San Nicolas provide material for an analysis of how lexical choices are
employed in discourse to reveal existing social relationships, and those between language
and society. A look at the vocabulary of “race” in this community reveals it to be a
compendium of community history, beliefs and attitudes. This chapter focuses on the
analysis of discourse in which four targeted social-racial terms —negro, moreno, indio and
blonca — are embedded. First I will identify their occurrence in conversational data taken
from transcribed verbal interactions in semi structured — “mixed- genre” — sociolinguistic
interviews which I obtained through audio and video recordings. These are supplemented by
photographs and notes taken during the months of field work in Afromexican communities.
I will consider interactional and situational factors noted by me as participant-observer as a
basis for my interpretation to account for conversational cues embedded in the contexts. I
shall then use the results to build an inventory of attributes associated with each term. This
will shed light on their social meanings, their manner of use and what they reveal about the
group identity of speakers involved in the conversations.

On site observation indicated to me that San Nicolan speakers very often used social
racial terms to define their own social identity, that of their addressees and those spoken of.
Nevertheless, the boundaries of identity projected by each term was not always

straightforward and clear to an outside observer such as myself, even though I was

88

eventually able to determine that each one was associated with a series of attributes which

formed the basis for social identity in the community.

In one example, an informant said lo raza de nosotros es negros (‘our race is

Blacks’) but in later conversations he said oqui somos puros morenos (‘here [in Guerrero]

we are all morenos’). Let me illustrate, with an example I used before, the difficulty of

these socio-racial terms by showing how, in a short conversation, they may vary apparently

hapharzadly.

Congersation 4A
1 CH:
2 SG:
3 CH:
4 SG:
5 CH'
6 SG:
7 CH:
8 SG:
9 CH:
10 SG:

st; sefiora, donde nacié?

yes,sefiora,where were you born?

yo ?,me nacieron pues,no sé, asi no me acuerdo
me?,l was born well,Idon't know, like I can't remember
pero su padre era de alld?

but your father was from there?

st’ era de Tapeztla, Oaxaca

yes was from Tapeztla, Oaxaca

asi que,.la gente anda de aqut'p'alld

so then,.the people move about a lot?

sr’ sr’ st’

yes, yes, yes

macho gente tambie’n se vinieron de otro Iado?
[do] many people [here] come from elsewhere?
umh huh,.ellos,

umh huh,they

y, sus padres tambie’n eran gente negro .7
and,were your parents also black people?
SI,negros,morenos,chinos,si

YES, negros,morenos,chinos, yes

In the last utterance (4A, line 10), it is clear that moreno, negros and chinos are co-

referenced with the third person plural (ellos) which refers to the speaker’s (SG) parents. But

it not clear in this sample, whether negros also co-occurs with the first person pronoun (yo

89

or nosotros) referring to the speaker herself, who self identified as negro at the start of the
interview. The two terms — negro and moreno — seemed synonymous in some discourse
examples, but informants saw a difference in reference between the two. In this same
example, SG asserted that her parents and grandson were negros (or at least they are
referred to as such) but that she herself was a moreno. She went on to describe her
community as one comprised of morenos. She also added the term chinos, apparently with
reference to the same parents. These assertions occurred within a few lines of each other.
Within the same conversation (continued in 4B), other aspects of the social racial terms and
their uses emerge, such as the attitudes towards negros and morenos by different social
groups or special uses of negro ‘to insult’ or to express ‘affection,’ and so on. These types of
social relationships embodied in symbolic uses of language are the focus in this chapter.
Such differences in self-referencing statements and other-referencing among informants
indicated that, in the ordinary discourse of Afromexicans, lexical choice is an integral part of
San Nicolan language practices. I will continue to show that the choice of socio-racial terms

cannot be assumed to be “free” or arbitrary among speakers of this speech community.

gunmauoufih
1 CH: quie’n es negro?
who is black?
2 SG: ch?
3 CH: quién se describe coma negro?
who can be described as black?

4 SG: ((long pause)) que dicen que es negro fulano?
like how they say so-and-so is black?

5 CH: ah ha
6 SG: coma ahora este chamaco
like now this boy ((gestures at a grandson))
7 CH: sf?
yes?
8 SG: asi coma con mi color, y el color del

chamaca, yo tengo color claro,

compared to my color to that of the color of the boy I have lighter
color

y él tiene color mdsfuerte
and he has color more darker
9 CH: simdsfirertemseae’lcamoyoseledice
negro? ‘
yes, darker, so, like me is he called black?
10 SG: sénegro,ah ha, si dicen negro verdad, negro moreno,
yes,black,ah ha,yes they say black, right, black, moreno,
11 CH: ah. ah ha
I will return to deal more deeply with sample Conversation 4B, but for now let me
just point out a few salient features of it. In Lines 1—4 for example, a struggle to define negro
is evident as SG tries to make sure there is mutual tmderstanding of the term. In Line 4, an
“outsider” definition is adopted: “that they say so-and-so is black?” marked by non-inclusive
third person plural form of verb (“they say”), and a neutral subject (“so-and-so”). The term
is contrastive (line 8) and it becomes evident that there exists a shared knowledge and
recognition of who the members of a “race” are, the criteria for membership and values
(attributes) attached to each one of them. This view was concretized by the fact that
informants readily pointed out who was india, who was negro or who was blonca. As
further analysis of discourse in this chapter will show, clearly, social “races” are recognized
in San Nicolas at even the conscious level of language. The following sample further
illustrates this observation.
W

1 CH: y,y ,yo le iba a preguntar, usted, usted,que edad tiene
and,and,l you was to ask,you(V-honorific), you (V) what age have

you
2 RC: yo tengo treinta y tre-,no, no treinta y
I have thirty and thre-,no,no thirty and
3 CH: [0 sea nacié en el treinta y arm.

[that is born in thirty one.

91

4 RC: tenga SESENTA Y TRES

I have SIXTY AND THREE
5 CH: tiene escalaridad

have (you(V)) schooling

6 RC: priman'a, primaria nada mas -
elementary, elementary only -

7 CH: am Itth usted se cansidera persona NEGRA
um huh,and you consider self person BLACK

8 RC: ah,si, si,si porque la raza de nosotros es negro pues!

ah,yes, yes,yes because the race of ours is black well!

In line 15 RC overtly identifies himself as negro because “our race is blac ”
Contrary to my earlier expectations, as informed by pre-field orientation, participants readily
identified themselves as members of a “negro race” (roza negro). Such overt statements
about “race” were not unusual during interviews or in conversations with people in San
Nicolas. It was surprising in fact that the socially stigmatized word “negro” — according to
outsider observation — was actually the most frequently used self or other-identifying term.
I noted in Chapter One, that Beltran (1958) reported that “negro was considered too strong
[offensive]” a term among the Afromexicans of Cuajinicuilapa, a town that is located quite
close to San Nicolas within the same dialect area. Of course it is also possible that my (CH)
personal (self-) identity of “negro” may have influenced the conversation as a result of some
degree of “convergence” between participants. According to Giles and Smith (1979), this
may be expressed by participants mirroring each others’ linguistic habits during interaction.
Such “convergences” may be phonological (e. g. pronunciation), grammatical (e. g. use of
non—standard forms), or lexical - as in this case, self -identifying racial terms. Whatever the

socio-psychological reasons are involved, I do not believe the accommodation effect has had

a powerful influence in the data I will present here.

4.1. India

In this section I first look at the distribution and use of the term india, paying
particular attention to its patterning with personal pronouns and reference group in general.
The term “indio” originates from the mistaken identity given to Native Americans by the
principal European explorer Christopher Colombus. Those who followed in his legacy
continued to use the term even after realizing that they had not reached the dreamed of
“Indies” of Asia. Faced by the difficulty of being able to determine the “race” of the Aztec,
Mayan and other native Mexican peoples, the early Spanish opted to use a “cultural”
definition to designate those they had encountered in the new lands (Beltran 1958: 155).

Local identities based on pre-colonial ethnic identities continue to exist despite the
widespread use of this particular eurocentric (outsider) term. I shall show in some of the
following discourses that an awareness of native Mexican ethnolinguistic groups still
continues to exist, even among Afromexicans. One of the consequences of the imposed term
is that use of “indio” defines the context of its utterance; like “negro” it can be an object of
pride or be an affront depending on how it is used.

In the following conversations, I (CH) am recording the personal history of a 62

year old woman (SG) discussing ‘race’ in general.8 The interview takes place at the
kitchen table of her daughter-in-law‘s homestead. SG's daughter-in-law (SS) is also

present.

 

' The scope of local Spanish “raza” is of smaller dimensions than the English or standard Spanish “equivalent” which
I use ha’e only for convenience. ‘"‘Raza is often used to describe extended blood and marriage kinship ties somewhat
like “clan” or “(extended) family.” It is not here used in any specialized meaning.

93

nv '4

1 CH: aqui tarnbien hay de raza indio?
are there people of the Indian race here also?
2 SG: raza india, coma?
indian race, how do you mean?
3 CH: de los que ,bueno,de las que hablan otro idioma par ejemplo
of the who,well,those who speak another language for example
4 SG: no. no aqru' no, pero. pero en Ometepec. Ometepec SI,ya
no no here no,but. but in Ometepec. Ometepec YES ,no more
5 p'aca,para Pinotepa,p'alld
around here,but over in Pinotepa,yes,that way
6 CH: pero las de aqui en PITAHA YO SI, no?, no,na hay?
but those from here in PITAHAYO YES,no?,no, none?
7 SG: pero vienen de Ometepec,vienen de Pinatepavienen de
but they come from Ometepec, they come from Pinotepa, from
8 San Luis,per0 es de Pinotepa,de otro lado
San Luis,but s/he ((they?)) really are from Pinotepa, from, the other
side

CH the “outsider” started off with an implicit statement that he knows what the category
raza indio means to SG whose reaction is marked by hedging, a distancing away from the

presupposition CH would appear to have of their “mutual knowledge.” The wariness is

evident in her response in line 2 Conversation 4D repeated here:

SG: “raza india, coma?”
“indian race?, how? [do you mean?]”
A similar opening error was observed in Preston (1993) in which the interviewer, C, an
“outsider” to the group to which his respondents belonged, had to make a series of refooting

moves in order to properly establish the grounds for the subsequent interview.9 It is clear in

 

’ In this case a Taiwanese field worker changed from “we" to “many linguists" in referring to those who are interested
in “Black English" presumably to distance himself from the “scientists" and establish greater solidarity with his
respondents (Preston 1993).

94

this case that the speaker, SG, wishes to ascertain that CH and she have a common reference
for indio.

Rephrasing the question, CH introduces a different identifying characteristic, that is,
language, which SG finds more acceptable. In fact, for nearly all my informants, the ability
to speak another language than Spanish emerged as a primary distinctive attribute of indio.
The other association to the term indio appearing frequently in my data is that indios are
outsiders to the negro community. For example, SG maintained in Lines 5-11 of
Conversation 4D, that there are no indios in San Nicolas, but they can be found in other
communities such as Ometepec and Pinotepa, bigger towns that lie a considerable distance
away. Elsewhere in the data, indios “used to live in the hills” and thus their presence among
Afromexicans is in the category of “outsiders.” In this discussion, SG maintains that there
may very well be indios in the sister community of El Pitahayo, but those in her community
come from elsewhere, i.e. they are not natives or members of the San Nicolas community.
Further characterization of indio was obtained after CH indicated that he was willing to
abandon his original presuppositions:

v ' 4 ' r
1 CH: y coma son?
and what are they like?

2 SG: indio. ellas visten can vestilla, y en Pinotepa can

indian. they wear the “vestilla,” in Pinotepa with

3 Huipil, las hombres can vestidos largas y de mi

se daan par acd
“huipil,”the men wear long dresses, folded here ((motions))

4 ysecargan,ellosvanalamilpaycargansumar’ensuvestido
to carry corn,when they go to the fields they carry their corn in their
dress

5 esto se dice TECUA TE, estos son tecuates

that is called a TECUATE, those are tecuates
6 CH: Tecuate.

95

7 SG: tecuate,st’,esa no sabe la gente de aqur’ noSOtras no sabemos,
veni’an macho de esa gente de SOLEDAD,esa no puede hablar
cosen, cosen puros huipiles, hoyas,con flares. las indios tambien
hablan idiamas que naSOtras no saBEmas
tecuate,yes,people around here WE don't know [about “tecuate”],
came (pl) many of those people from SOLEDAD, [and] they cannot
speak [Spanish], they sew, they sew “huipils” all the time, [decorate]
pots with flowers the indios also speak in their languages which WE
don't know

This is an elaborate description of the category indio in terms of oppositional values

vis a vis the group to which the speaker belongs. Foremost, the indios speak differently; that

is, ‘they “can't speak” (our language, Spanish) and “WE don’t know their language.” They

dress differently, since men wear dresses; they carry their corn harvest in a different style,

and they carry out distinct economic activities such as pottery making and weavingiThis
Afromexican speaker (SG) demonstrates inside knowledge of the “other” which is based on l/
how they do things. SG for instance identifies by name the type of dress used by indios, the
tecuate, a native Mexican name itself; how “they” cultivate, decorate, etcj

Overall, these statements assert the existence of a distinct social identity of the indios

in relation to the speaker. This position is concretized by the use of different personal
pronouns such as ellas and nosotros: “nosotros (we) don't know and ellas (they) [know how
to use a tecuate]; “they wear dresses; they come from far,” and so on, to reflect the
boundaries of identity that the speaker maintains in relation to the groups she claims
allegiance with. A dramatic change of footing is found in line 7, Conversation 4E where SG
uses a third person exclusive “la gente de oqur" (lit the people of here [this community])
which she quickly corrects in the same line by adopting an inclusive nosotros (we) to signal

her alignment with and distinctiveness of the group (‘ us, the people of here') that she is

describing so intimately.

In another conversation with Don RC whom I cited in Conversation 4C, the attributes of

indio are heard again:
4
1 CH:

10
ll

12

l3

14

15

l7

l8

19

21

RC:

CH:

RC:

RC:

RC:

CH:

RC:

m4

que caracteristicas se dice uno tiene, la persona negro, cOmo se
describe pues-

what characteristics is said one has, the person black - like is
decribed well —

Ia caracteristica pue- no entiendo la que es CHARACTERSITIC-
the characteristics wel- no understand what is CARACHERISUC—
[este] (,) siempre hay forma de decir-
well ( ) always there is way of to say la
la gente, pues, en se dice ah, los de africa son gente asi,
the people, well, in it is said, ah, those of Africa are like
can paco desarrallo, a el indio es callado,y el NEGRO?
with little development, or the indio is quiet,and the NEGRO?
pues el NEGRO siempre es alto, chato
well the NEGRO always is tall, flat
chato- chata quiere decir -
squat- squat means
su nariz
his nose
a ho
pero es grande, se ve can fuerza pues- y el INDIO es
but [he] is big, looks with strength then - and the INDIO is
choporro, y horizon, y pelo pues blandito, eso es
short and big nose, and hair, well soft, that is
la caracten’stica del indio y coma quien dice la gente MORENA se
characteristic of the indio and as they say the people MORENOS
cansidera can mas capacidad del indio mentalmente y
consider (themselves) to have greater ability than the indio
mentally and
fisicamente, pero a veces se equivaca uno-
physically, but sometimes one is wrong
clam
of course
porque a veces las indios uno las we con un
because sometimes the indios one LOOKS DOWN ON them
DESPRECIO: “es indio,” pero hay unos indios que
he/she is indio,”but there are some indios who
tiene mas inteligencia que la gente NEGRA
have more intelligence than the people BLACK
claro, seguro que si

97

of course, certainly

Noting the difficulties Don RC in line 1 had in understanding the term, I (CH)
clarified the meaning of “characteristics” for RC in line 5-6, partially using examples of
attributes I had previously learned about the “races” of San Nicolas. Line 7 reflects an
immediate understanding of my question, and the response was indeed in the form of a list
of attributes of indio and negro “.”races It is significant that such an inventory of racial
attributes is so well known to speakers of the community who easily identified members of
such “races” because it highlights the salience of social race in the language of
Afromexicans. The attributes (“characteristics”) include both physical and psychological
ones: the indio has soft/smooth hair (blondo); has a long nose and is short (choporro). The
negro is tall and strong and has more “abilities” than the indio. In line 18 RC admits that
“one sometimes looks down on the indio,” where “one” appears to refer to “negro” people
but might be more general. As such, the statement can be taken to mean that negros often
look down upon the india, and this attitude is crystallized in the form of a saying among
negros that “X es indio” -—- “s/he’s [just] an indio.”

“Capacidod” in line 8 literally means “ability to do things”; able, talented, not
limited. According to RC, morenos themselves (“se, ” reflexive) believe that they are
physically and mentally superior to the indios. Notice that while saying so in line 8, RC
selects the phrase “gente moreno,” not negros or gente negro. It is not immediately clear
that negros, as a sub group of morenos, also share this belief. It is inferable drat RC is

distancing himself from others by adopting a non-inclusive socio-racial term to express a

98

(negative) local belief. This is an interesting example of the way in which social racial terms
are used to shift psychological alliances observed in these data.

RC indicated earlier that the term indio includes a number of different peoples. It
shares similarities with moreno as outsider categories which ignore internal differences
otherwise recognized by insiders: between negros, cuculustes, chinos, prietas, triguenos etc.
on the one hand and, mixtecos, omuzgos, chatinos, nahuos, etc. in the case of indios.

The superiority of negros that is claimed in the conversation can be explained
within the context of a society in which racial affiliations have played a very important role
in defining social relationships and economic opportunities. Blancos historically claim
superiority over all other groups, and negros similarly appear to want to find a space to
claim their own superiority over others as a group. In Chapter 2, I discussed the region’s
history in which negros working for the Spanish Crown were often pitted against local
native peoples. One of the consequences was that negros were sometimes identified on the
side of the conquistadors as having participated in the subjugation of Mexico and as
foremen (capataces) in haciendas of Spanish settlers during the colonial period. Some
blacks were even granted encomederos or captainships (See Chapter 3 of this dissertation).
Gillian (197 6) noted that the negros of the Costa Chico region “consider themselves gente
de razon” (p.97), but they do not consider the mixtecos (indios) as such. In the context of
regional dynamics of social race, negros make such claims of “superiority” as an assertion
of their place in society, or to ward off competition with indios. Of course, RC recognizes
too that these are only social attitudes which may not always be based on facts in line 19,

Conversation 4F where he says: “some indios are as intelligent as negros.” He then

99

continues to describe the changed relationships between the two races that cohabit in San

Nicolas as follows:

Conversatim fl

1

2

9

10

RC:

yopara mt’pues que es, como en todo hay buenoy hay

I for me well is that, like in all there are good and are
malos, ya la gente indigena se han aclimatado porque volviendo
bad ones,people indigenous have acclimatized because returning
a la historia de atrris te dijeron que pues las MORENOS las

back to history of before you were told that the MORENOS the
NEGROS quedaron aca en el bajo y las neg- las indios en el
BLACKS stayed here in the lowlands and the bla- the indios in
CERRO - asi que las indios venian par aca en las secas, ya

the HILLS - thus the indios came to here during droughts,
empezando a Hover, se iban al cerro- tenian miedo a la gente
start to rain, they’d go back to hills- (they)were afraid of the people
MORENA pero ahora ya NO, ya no, aunque sea en las aguas
andan

MORENA but now no more, no more, even during the rains
par aca, no tienen mieda ya se ha aclimatado lo que, pues que
they’re here, no more afraid, they aclimatized what is well
tenian mieda que la INDIA con un MORENO no, no quen’a este-
(they)were afraid that THE INDIO (fem) with a MORENO (masc)
revolverse tenian pues miedo- pero ahora ya no,

did not wish to mix up they were afraid but no more,

More legitimization of the present hierarchy (a negro majority and dominance in community

life and experience) appears in Lines 45 of Conversation 4G. Indias continue to be seen as

a separate group, a different “race” historically, and presently distinct from negros. Indias

used to live up in the mountains, whereas negros established the present community; indios

came down from the hills only for practical reasons, mainly to pass the dry season in the

settled community, but, after the rains came, they would return to their farms in the hills.

There was fear and mistrust between the two groups, but now, indios have become

“acclimatized” to the extent they can now intermany with negro people. This historical

perspective that is recurrent in the conversations is especially detailed in the following data

100

(Conversation 411), where the Afromexican speaker further distances himself and his group

from the social identity of indio.

4.5.2. The data sample was recorded with a 60 year old Afromexican man (MG) having a

conversation with CH about the same topic of race. MG is however from a small

Afromexican community near Copala, Guerrero, approximately 200 kilometers south of San

Nicolas. But I choose to include his data because it is illustrative of the regional

Afromexican perceptions of indios. The indios discussed by MG are of different ethnicity

(e. g. chichimecas, oztecos, etc.) not mixtecos, amuzgos etc. of the Costa Chico).

meme

1 CH:
2 MG:
3

4

5 CH:
6 MG:
7

8 CH:
9 MG:
10 CH:
11 MG:
l2

13

y aqut’ en Méxica cua’ntas mzas hay?

and here in Mexico how many races are there?
pues,en Mexico pues hay pura raza india, pues 'staba
well ,in Mexico all were of indian race, well there was
Iarazaindiaaaeca,mésbien Iarazamdsfina era la
the Aztec indian race,actually the finest race was the
AZTECA,graba pues para que,

AZTEC,record it well so that,

ah ha. ponla aqut’

ah ha put it here [recorder]

de aht’ segut’a la ZAPOTECA,la mds carriente era la
then followed the ZAPOTECSJeast fine was the
CHICHIMECA,

CHICHIMECA,

esas trés eran INDIA 0 eran tre’s mzas diferentes?
those three were INDIAN or three different races?
no,india. INDIA eran INDIA

no,indian INDIAN they were INDIAN

luego?

then?

luego vinieron Ia raza espanola,y se cruzé con la raza
then came the Spanish race,and [it] mixed with the indian race
indiaydeaht'sevinalimpidndolamza

and from then there came the cleaning of the race

a ha

101

The social identity of indio is quite clearly demarcated in this Afromexican text, and
the dimensions of the definition are placed within a historical framework. MG’s
explanations are essentially a narrative of the history of Mexican mestizoje. An additional
aspect of indio is seen in the form of a typification of indian identity in hierarchical, value
laden terms not unlike the castas of the colonial period as seen in chapter 1 of this
dissertation.

The Aztecs were a “fine” race of indians, the Chichimecas were the “least fine.”
The Aztecs were described by MG as “tall and with straight nose,” they had straight hair and
they were the principal candidates for intermarriage with the Spaniards to produce the
Indomestizos. These qualities contrast with those of the neighboring Chichimecas, who are
‘squat,’ ‘coarse,’ without the ‘fine’ features such as those attributed to the Spanish and
Aztec “races.” The hierarchy is implicit in the sequencing of the narrative lines: “and then
followed the Zapotecs” (line 6) and echoes some descriptions of native Mexicans by early
Spaniards such as Bemal’s classic narrative of How we conquered the Aztecs (1963). In fact,
rebellious, pagan “indios” who refused or actively resisted Christianity and enslavement,
were known as “indios borboros, infieles or gentiles"; they were also simply called
Chichimecas (Beltran 1946: 155) without distinction of the particular rebellious ethnic
group. Echoes of colonial Mexico’s “race” discourse can be heard in a modern Afromexican
as the very early foundations of social-racial identity remain strong in their discourse

today.10

 

‘° In defending his view that Latinos should emphasize common ‘culture’ rather than ‘race’ in defining their society,
Prof. De Alva,a Mexican American pointed out that the term “Indian" is a Spanish colonial invention that effectively
wiped out important internal differences of the diverse cultural and linguistic groups of Mexico (April 1996 edition of

Harper's Magan’ne)

102

In general, the boundaries of indio identity in relation to the Afromexican speakers
are abundant and clear. From data and examples shown in the above sections, the social
identity of indio as seen by Afromexicans in San Nicolas is delimited along the lines of
language, geography, history, and social practice. There appears to be little conflict if any at
all in fixing a referent for this category, and the social distance of the “other” is clear.

4.5.3. In Table 4.1 I summarize the uses of indio obtained in discourse as illustrated with
sample data. Occurrences are marked by line numbers and conversational sample (e.g. B2,
E1, etc.) and my own interpretation of their contextual meaning and resultant footing (and
refooting) of the speaker, the group and individual spoken to or of. Inflected Spanish verb
forms which carry relevant pronominal references are noted also.

14 f" frn

 

Line Reference Contextual Meaning/interpretation

4D,2 Raza indio hedging;let's make sure we’re talking of the same indio; perhaps your
definition is different from mine/ours. The utterance is used to establish

 

 

 

“60"?" ‘0 CH? a frame within which the socio-racial terms are to be discussed
prevrous mention
4D,7 vrenen (‘they Three repetitions of “they come from” add emphasis to this
come from ) “otherness" of indios in terms of their origin. Note that these mentions
come in response to CH’s immediately preceding line whose rising
intonation and emphasis on PITAHAYO, the sister community of San
Nicolas, imply his belief that there are indios here. SG appears to take
that implication quite seriously as her three statements “they come
from" indicate. She wants to dispel this belief in CH.
4E,2 India. ellas Further marking of the verb in addition to overt pronoun referring to
visten( ‘they the indios who dress in a manner quite distinct from that of the speaker.
dress’) This isirnplied by the description she finds necessary to give in order to

add to the established “othaness.” The description demonstrates SG’s
familiarity with the “indio” cultural code, including the knowledge of
the native names of those forms of dress.

 

4D,8 Pero [el indio] SG switches to a third person singular form of ‘they are’ afta' having
es de Pinotepa emphatically established the indios “otherness" in relation to her. By
using the existential verb in the singular form, she concretizes her view
that indios are not only an “other” social category, but also projects her
belief in their “oneness” as a social group, irrespective of their
geographic origins.

 

 

 

 

 

103

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4E,4 Corgon. ..ellas SG continues to describe the “otherness" of the style and economic
van a a la milpa activity of indios, with continued uses of emphatic pronoun and
( ‘they carry. . .ga marked verb.
to the fields ’ )
4E,7 La gente de aqui This [how to carry corn in tecuates] the people of here — “we" do not
(‘the people of know how to do it. This line concludes the extended description of the
here,we') indio’s origin, language and economic activities. The natives of ‘here'
are quite distinct from the indios in all the manners mentioned (dress,
language etc.). Immediate refooting follows the assertion, to indicate
that speaks includes herself among the ‘people of here‘ and excludes
herself from ‘los indios'. SG adopts an explicit inclusive pronoun
which she equates with the expression ‘people of here’. It is a
conclusive affirmation of the distinctiveness that exist between the
“we" [the people of here] and “indios” [the people from outside],
which she has carefully tried to explain to CH.
4E,7 Los indios hablan The language of indios is different from ours, as different as their
asi (‘the indios customs and manners of dress. We speak different (language) , further
who speak like evidence of their “otherness”
that’ [i.e.
different]
4E,7 noSOtros (‘WE’) Same context as above, a mutual lack of knowledge of each others
no sabemos languages as additional symbols of diffa'ence
(‘don’t know’)
4F,11 El indio Hypothetical use to illustrate who is india and contrast him with e1
negro. This usage was common in the convasations, used apparently,
as a contrastive device when discussing indio/negro or “other”
distinctions. It is not an unusual feature of Mexican Spanish where it is
often used to make generalizations about different social groups. Such
uses as “e1 Americano”, or “e1 Africano” are found in many ordinary
speech samples
4F,l4 del indio Used here to contrast the physical characteristics with those of e1 negro
in order to illustrate their differences: e1 indio is short, has a big nose
and straight hair. MG uses the term to evoke difference, as in the next
lines he goes on to say that the moreno consida' themselves ‘mentally
and physically superior’.
4F,15 3" ---““° After making a statement that can beeasily interpreted as biased, RC
selects a neutral ,third person pronoun i.e. non-inclusive, in this line (a
veces se equivaco uno ‘one could be wrong sometimes’) as a device to
indicate his non-participation in the making of those judgements. This
suggests that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the
author. In effect, his role changes to that of a mere
informant/commentator, not to be held in account for the biased
viewpoints.
4F,18 Los indios,los The socio-racial term as well as the pronoun it is indexed with is

 

 

definitely used by MG in the capacity of outsider, non-inclusively.
While ‘one‘ may see indios as inferior, in actual fact, RC says, it is not
an inherent disability since some can be more intelligent than the
negros. While still remaining outside the boundaries of the indio
identity, RC tries to remedy the biased views he reported in the lines

 

104

 

 

immediately prior to this one, indicating an awareness of prevailing
attitudes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4G,2 La gente This term has not been used so far, although we are aware of its vay

indigeno frequent use in national discourse; it is the commonly used term to

‘the indigenous refer to native Mexicans (rather than “indios” which is considered

people’ impolite). Interestingly, the frame that RC adopts is that of an historian.
His next utta’ance “now returning to history” has a formulaic or
didactic aspect. As such we understand that RC’s role in this section of
the conversation is that of a “neutral” outsider recounting the past life
of his community.

46,5 Los indios In this context, the indios continue to be portrayed as the outsiders who
“used to come” down from the hills during the dry season. Then in
next line, RC claims that these outsiders “were afraid of the people”
(F,6), whee “the people" are understood to be the negro natives of San
Nicolas. Several other mentions of indio with same meaning are found
in F9

4G,9 La indio (fem) There is an explicit reference to gender hue with regard to marriage.
After having ‘lots their fear’, indios now do ‘mix-up’ with the
morenos. Note the CAPS indicating verbal highlighting of these two
terms. Historically, blacks sought Indian wives as a means of
‘improving their offspring’. This phenomenon may be the reason why
RC’s specification of feminine gender in his reference to marriage that
is now possible between indios and morenos

4H,2 Hay raza india, MG adopts the historical present tense, using ‘there are’ in discussing

pues estaba (‘in the indios past. This reveals his awareness of the historical basis of

Mexico there are modern Mexican people which is quite well lmown in national political

only[see below] discourse at every level; in the media, newspapers, educational or

indian races, well historical books, monuments, etc. The ideology of mestizaje.

thre was) Nevertheless, MG’s following lines do not indicate that he includes
self in those “races" of Mexico. Again, an awareness of the diversity of
indio peoples is evident in his use of “races" which he then goes on to
describe in terms of ethnicity: Azteca, Zapoteca, Chichimeca.

4H,2 Ellos ‘they’ MG is aware that native Mexicans arelwere the original inhabitants of

(non-overt) Mexico, but this knowledge does not seem to confa any special status
to the indios

4H,3-4 Raza azteca era Internal stratification among indios was, and continues to be a feature

las mosfina ‘the of internal differentiation as it is amongst ourselves (in late

Aztec race was conversational lines, MG explains the differences among morenos,
the finest’ (. . .) prietas, negros etc. which relate to his particular social group of
los Afrorrrexicans

Chichimecas(.. .)

La raza Zapoteca

4H,2 puro raza indio The indio “race" is a primary component of the(Euro)mestizo which
does not include negro. The word “pura” can be glossed as “many" or
“only” in the regional dialect, according to my observations

4H,9 EVDIA. eran Despite said intanal differences, they were all indios Gust as we are all

indio (‘they were morenos), thus the category indio implies a recognizable social identify
india [the first found within ancient Mexicans. The statement is in response to CH’s
inhabitantsl) question as to whether these three indio “races” wee different. Thus

 

 

the internal differentiation does not eliminate the onness of indio as a

 

105

 

 

 

I [ social group I

 

4.1.1. Summary

Table 4.1 provides a summary of the occurrences of the term indio in conversational
samples. In the right hand column are contextualized interpretations based on inferences
drawn from surrounding conversational lines, taking into account my role as participant-
observer with some knowledge of background information related to each socio-racial term.
Situated inferences make it possible to read far more into the conversation than would
otherwise be possible if I analyzed the term out of the context of utterances. In their totality,
the glosses in the right hand column of the table present an exclusionist View of who the
indio is, with respect to the speakers. They also give an index of the social meanings
attached to this term from the perspective of negro informants. The interpretation provides
sufficient grounds to assert that San Nicolan informants regard the person or group
identified as indio as being a non-member with respect to their own group since the
boundaries of identity are unequivocally demarcated in all instances. The indio is associated
with certain characteristics — emotional, psychological and not least, physical ones which are
distinct from those of informants. Overt references to indio attributes represent an identity
that lies quite outside that of the negro or moreno. The pronouns used by speakers in these
conversations are without exception, non-inclusive “footing” stances.

4.2. Negro and Moreno

The term negro in Spanish means ‘black,’ and it is embedded in the long history of Spanish
and Portuguese contact with Africa In the late 15"1 century Portuguese sailors referred to

Africans they encountered during their voyages in the south Atlantic as ‘negritos,’ (Colin

106

1976) a diminutive form of negros, “Blacks.” In the colony of New Spain (Mexico),
Africans - slave or free — were generally referred to as negros, but there were also sub-
classifications. Baptized (christianized) Africans who had also learned Spanish were known
as negros ladinos, while those who had arrived from Africa recently and went directly to the
colony were known as negros bozales (Beltran 1946). This particular distinction arose from
the tension created by the former who demanded more rights and freedom as a result of their
enlightenment. A third category of negros was that of those born in Mexico or negros
criollos. Blacks who escaped slavery and took to the hills and other difficult to access areas,
living in outlawed communities or palenques were known as negros cimarrones. Other
terms such as negros retintos or atezados (very black) or merinos (wooly haired) were used
to describe physical attributes but were not necessarily racial classifications or castas. Negro
was the term used in colonial Mexico to refer to (dark skinned) people of African origin.
Unlike indio, which was coined thanks to erroneous geography, the term ‘negro’
was based on European concepts of “race,” and it continues to have strong racial
connotations in Mexico today. Chief among them is its association with slavery and
disenfranchisement. For example, there is a popular Mexican proverb which says: “trabajar
como negro para vivir como blonca” (To work like a Black (slave) so as to live like a White
(master).” The social use of negro - whether to refer to or to address people - is conflictive;
it may be appropriate or not, depending on many factors such as context, speaker, or
participatory status in a given conversational exchange. One consequence of this peculiar
history of the term is that negro is avoided by many Mexican speakers in ordinary speech to
the extent that it is considered a stigmatized, or at least a heavily marked term in mainstream

Mexican Spanish. Its connotations are mostly negative, and these are often exploited by

107

mass media to conjure negative images. For example, a famously corrupt government
official of the late 1980’s whose last name was Durazo was known by the Mexican press as
“e! negro Durazo.”

Negro is an item of Afromexican language which allows a fascinating study of
language-context/society relationship. Its US English counterpart, negro was also used in
similar ways during a past era, but it later took on a different trajectory. Its uses have
changed from negative to positive — at least among ‘insiders’ — to reflect changes in
society norms and values (Smitherman 1977). These conditions are, of course, quite
different in Mexico. Language data shows clearly that colonial Mexican beliefs and attitudes
associated with socio-racial terms persist in contemporary Afromexican talk
4.2.2. I now return to Conversation 4A which I cited earlier. As the search for native socio-
racial categories continues, it can be seen that negro is one of the harder items to delimit
For reader’s convenience in referring to conversational lines, I shall put the sample 4A
together with 4B (and its continuation) as one conversation 4I.

mammal;

1 CH: si,seiiora, donde nacié?
Yes, sefiora,where were you born?
2 SG: yo? me nacieron pues,no sé, asi no me acuerdo
me?,I was born well,l don’t know, like I can’t remember
3 CH: pero su padre era de allé?
but was your father from there?
4 SG: sf era de Tapeula, Oaxaca
yes he was from Tapeztla, Oaxaca
5 CH: asi que, la gente anda de aquip’alld
so then, the people move about a lot?
6 SG: sf sr’sr’
yes, yes, yes
7 CH: mucha gente también se vinieron de otro lado?
Do many people [here] come from elsewhere?
8 SG: uh huh, ellas,

108

10

11

12
13

14

15
16

17

18

19

20

21

22
23

26

27
28

29

30

31
32

SG:

SG:

SG:

SG:

CH:

SG:

SG:

CH:
SG:

SG:

CH:

SG:

SG:

uh huh, they
y, sus padres también eran gente negna?
And,were your parents also black people?
SI,negros,morenos, chinos,si
YES. . .negros, morenos, chinos, yes
quien es negro?
Who is black?
eh?
quien se describe coma negro?
Who can be described as black?
((long pause)) que dicen que es negro fulano?
Like how they say so-and-so is black?
um huh
como ahora este chamaco
like now this boy (gestures at a grandson)
sz’?
Yes?
asi coma con mi color, y el color del chamaco,
compare my color to that of the color of the boy,
yo tengo color clam, y él tiene color mas fuerte
I have lighter color, but his color is darker
sr’ mas fuene, 0 sea él como yo se le dice negro?
Yes, darker, so, like me is he called negro?
sénegro,ah ha, si dicen negro verdad, negro, moreno
yes. . .black,ah ha,yes they say black, right, black, moreno
aah. Ah ha
ya a e’l le dicen “oye moreno!” una gente que
sea mas blanca, verdad?
A more white person may say to him “hey morenol, right?
uh huh
coma yo ahora me dicen morena por alla pero ya aqui
like me, they call me“morena”out there but here we
nosotros no decimos “morena” porque yasomos,tenemos
we don’t say “morena” because we all are,
tenemos el mismo color
we have the same color
uh huh
coma le voy a decir a él moreno si estamos igual, verdad?
How can I call him moreno if we are are the same [color], right?
entonces coma le dicen ?
So then what do you call her?
a ella?
her?
ah ha?
su nornbre pues!
her name, well!

109

33 CH: curindo entonces se usa “negro”?
when then to use “negro”?
34 SG: n’mas cuando se enoja la gente
only when people get angry-[
35 SS: ((interrupts))
36 [n ’mas que dicen PINCHE NEGRO
PRIETOTE!
only if they say STUPID BLACK NTGGER
37 SG: ah sfsr’ los groseros
ah yes yes the dirty mouthed
38 SG: moreno, pero es que también moreno es carfio tambr’e’n “aye
morena! ”
moreno is also affectionate like “hey morena”
SG readily affirms that the social race of her parents was negro, but she quickly goes on to
qualify the use of that term with morenos and chinos in line 10. China appears occasionally
in interviews to refer to persons with very curly hair. It was used in the past to describe
Afromestizos from central Mexico, but it is not yet clear in this sample if negro, moreno and
chino are synonymous. The continuing discourse provides additional examples of “paired”
negro and moreno.

CH attempts to clarify if many of the local residents had emigrated from another part
of the region (like SG’s parents). SG’s reply is affirmative in a way that generally excludes
herself, using the third person plural pronoun ellas, ‘they’ , which is also implicit in the
conjugated verb vinieron ‘they came.’ These moves not only point to a particular social
group but also establish a distance between the speaker and the people who came from
elsewhere, negros such as her own father. The “otherness” of negros in relation to this
speaker bears similarities to the self-contrast with indio just discussed and summarised in
4.1.1. If indeed this is the case, such a situation is consistent with the history of racial terms

outlined above, in which a given individual may belong to a different social race than his or

her parent(s). Negro is clearly used here within a kinship relationship. In fact nothing

110

prohibits its use between blood relatives or between familiar strangers (such as with CH).
However, it will be noted that the term seems to delimit skin color gradations as SG uses her
darker grandson to illustrate the color differences between him and herself in an apparent
attempt to restrict the use of “negro.” As such a “differentiation device,” the term might
seem empty of socio-racial connotations, being used strictly as a descriptive or comparative
term. But once more, the term moreno is uttered immediately after negro in line 1,21,
suggesting it may have a ‘remedial’ function, namely to soften the impact of referring to CH
or the grandson as simply negro, for reasons referred to earlier, namely, the stigmatization of
negro according to outsider discourse. I will further illustrate this tendency with a “softer”
moreno discussed below.

SG uses the Spanish clitic se and the third person plural dicen ‘they say’ when
explaining the use of negro and moreno. These two linguistic devices are used in Spanish to
indicate an anonymous, unknown human subject of a phrase, similar to the English use of ‘it
is said...’ or ‘they say. . ..’ This is extremely common in Mexican Spanish, used as a
hedging device or a denial of personal responsibility over a socially sensitive subject or
statement. The use of this formula is significant in that SG is unwilling to claim that she
personally chooses to refer to certain individuals as negro. SG goes on to suggest a
relativistic scale: “ I might call him negro because he is darker than me, but a ‘lighter’
person might call him moreno.” Individual attributes such as physical characteristics (e. g.
hair type or color), rather than language, dress, or economic activity provide the defining
criteria for negro according to this speaker. The definitions are largely indexical and

referential in nature.

111

The distinctiveness of “negro ” and “moreno” may be located in “emotion ” and
solidarity related discourse such that an outsider may address a native of San Nicolas as
“moreno”, but an insider will not do the same since “we are all equal. . .we have the same
color.” Moreno’s parameters of definition include relative skin color, and its use is linked to
the participatory status (insider/outsider) of the speaker-addressee as can be seen in “me
dicen” (they call me) as opposed to “decimos” (we say).

Apparently when one expresses negative emotions such as anger, frustration, or
disappointment at an addressee, negro may be evoked, but this use is recognized as socially
rmacceptable and is used by the ‘the dirty mouthed.’ On the other hand, moreno may be
used by people outside the immediate community (e. g. market—place in Pinotepa) to express
‘affection.’ Recall however that this “affectionate” use is not within the insider speech
community (see line 41,25), rather it is used by the “others” to address San Nicolans.
Nevertheless, moreno is not ruled out as a term which marks solidarity among
Afromexicans. Its use as an “outsider” term of address in reference to San Nicolans and its
avoidance among “insiders” may actually be an expression of solidarity among them since it
functions as a marker of difference between outsiders who use it and insiders who do not;
the social significance of uttering “moreno” is that of a marker of “outsider” identity. In
fact, as lines I, 29-32 show, a San Nicolan A refers to B by name, not by socio-racial term.
This is affirmed and emphasized by 8G in Line 21. In the immediately preceding
conversation (first part of H), the discussion revolved around “outsider” uses of terms with
respect to “insiders.” Once the dialogue is located among “insiders” in the second part of H,
the socio-racial terms lose their relevance, as clearly expressed by SG’s rhetorical question

in line 41,28: “how can I call her moreno if we are all the same?” SG’s emphatic

112

exclamation in Line 1,32 is indicative of the importance she attributes to this change of
address terminology. It is not immediately evident what the option is when the name of an
individual is unknown. However, being a small, tightly knit community, it is likely that most
people know each other by first or family name. The references of negro and other person
and group labels and mentions are summarized in Table 4.2. The inclusive/non-inclusive use
of first person pronouns and referring expressions will be discussed in later sections. Before
I look at instances of negro in conversational samples A-I, let me present another short
conversation to illustrate other special uses of negro which express the stigmatized social
attributes of this term. These are similar to the ‘used to insult’ uses seen in an earlier sample,

but which derive from a very particular political history of Guerrero state.

W

1 IM: sr’ si si pero, este, pues como son las cosas
Yes yes but, well, like how things are

2 dice que muchos le hacr'a burlas, muchos lo choteaban.
he says many made fun of him, many taunted him

3 en ese tiempo andaba un LUCIO CABANAS que andaba
at that time there was a LUCIO CABAN AS who was around

4 de,de,armero y que le decia cabaiia-CABANIS TA
of,armed and they’d call him [sonlcabafia-CABANTSTA

5 queseagaréconunoylopateéydeallien
until he (son) got one [boy] and kicked him and from

6 adelante ya no,se calmaron, ya no tuvo problemas
henceforth, no,they calmed, he had no more problems

CH: a ha

7 1M: si muchos lo chateaban que NEGRO que quien sabe
Yes many taunted him NEGRO who knows what else
tuvo que pelear..
then..he..had to fight [back]
Cabafiistas were the followers of a guerrilla leader by the name of Lucio Cabafias, a

former school-teacher who led poor peasants against the government of Mexico in the

1970's in the state of Guerrero, in the fashion of his contemporary, Comandante Marcos of

113

Chiapas (See Corrido de Lucio Cabanas in Chapter Five of this dissertation). Like any
popular hero, myths as well as controversy surround this person who is seen either as a
‘Robin Hood’ or political gangster. For instance, it said in San Nicolas that he was never
really killed, that he fled to live and fight on in the mountains. Cabafia's place in Mexico's
long history of violent social action contributes as much as that of the maroons of old, to
the popular belief that Guerrero people are a violent people. This belief is best embodied
by the term ‘negro’ since, I think, it is linked to the larger historical landscape of
maroonage in this region of Mexico.

In Table 4.2. I summarize the contextual uses of negro gleaned from discourse
samples 4A-4]. I will also ask the reader to refer to one sample not seen so far,

Conversation 4M and 4N which are found on pages 141-142 of this chapter.

MW

 

Line Reference Contextual meaning and interpretation.

 

4A,10 SI,negros negro is coreferenced with ‘my parents’. Ancestry or blood connection
is part of self identity. Notice an immediate use of moreno as a
‘softening’ device following the first use of negro

 

4B,4 es negro (non- Hypothetical use of negro without necessarily making self refeencing
inclusive 3‘“ claims about negro’s identity. In fact, it is an outside category (“they

 

person say so-and-so is black") indicated by the non-inclusive footing stance
singular) taken by SG
fidano (“so and
so")

43,10 negro,they Anothe instance of outside refeence to negro. The subject pronouns
say... clearly absolve SG from the claims she makes about skin color i.e.‘they

say [so and so] is negro’, not ‘l/we say.’ Notice anothe softening
‘moreno’ similar to that of Line A10

 

4C,8 Negrdes la Inside footing is apparent hee because speaker uses negro in
raza de reference to ‘our race’ emphasizing his position with rising
nosotms pues! exclamatory intonation

 

4E,7 description of negro starts with a list of physical attributes. The use of
NEGRO...alIo, ‘es’ (third peson singular) form of ‘to be’ suggests that the irnpesonal
draro (abstract) use of negro which is nevetheless speaker-inclusive. This

usage is discussed furthe below

 

 

 

 

 

114

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4E9 Su nariz physical attribute (flat nose) refes to el negro. The possessive
pronoun is in third peson indicating a non-inclusive refeence of
speake
4F,ll Es grande One more physical attribute of negro: big sized. As in previous two
lines, we assume that in this usage, the description is speake-exclusive
4F,19 Gente negra Some blacks are less intelligent that the indios they may look down on.
This usage is speake-exclusive because speake is not one of those
who look down on indios (see next line 61. In terns of footing
howeve, he adopts that of an outside describing a situation
41,36 they say people (outsiders because of speake-exclusive pronoun “they,” and the
PINCHE immediately preceding lines refered to “people” outside the
NEGRO community) use negro to express anger at referent, as an insult
46,4 NEGROS speake RC hee adopts an outside footing as he narrates the history of
quedaron negros who stayed in the area to settle. Notice that RC uses the ‘softe’
moreno before quickly correcting himself and refering to the people as
negros.
4N,2 Er (non- the hypothetical negro (not me/us) or the negro refered to by others
inclusive 3“I has (negative) attributes such as aggressiveness.
person
singular)..la
gente negra
4N,4 es (non- anothe emphasis on the negative attributes (i.e. aggressiveness) of the
inclusive 3“! hypothetical negro.
person
singular)
4M,4 They (non- what ‘outsides’ call me or othes like me. The demarcation line
over) call between use (non-negro) and the intended addressee (negro) is clear
melus “negro”
4M,6 Inclusive se causes addressee to ‘feel bad’ being called negro in the (outside)
(‘it feels context of negative attributes. Note the immediate refooting move
bad. . .’) when IS uses ‘we’ in the same line which indicates inclusiveness of
somos del speake in the previous ‘neutral’ pronoun. Clear acceptance of
color negro we belonging to this group.
are of black
color
4M,7 Si somos del Speake inclusive verb form follows immediately from previous line is
color Inclusive used to describe speaker’s group skin color by outsiders; it follows as a
‘we’ refooting move afte a ana1 pronoun seen above. Speake accepts
this color designation although his group ‘feel bad’ about its negative
social evaluation.
4M,1O es (non- Hypothetical negro has more ‘bad’ attributes (in outside terms) such
inclusive 3"1 as bravo, although this particular attribute could be positive
peson (i.e.‘manly, tough’)

 

singular).

 

 

115

 

There are two more cases which cover semantic territory close to “negro”: chino and
cuculaste, both of which refer to the curly hair that is taken as firmest evidence of African
heritage in San Nicolas. Chino, like jarocho in Veracruz, was a regional term for persons of
indio-negro mixture, and it dates back to at least the 17'‘1 century (Beltran 1946:179) in the
state of Puebla. Today it is used in mainstream Mexican Spanish to describe curly hair,
though not necessarily the same type of San Nicolan curliness for which the latter use the
term cuculuste. This term is strictly local and is not heard outside the Costa Chica’s
Afromexican communities, not even among those of the Gulf Coast This suggests a
qualitative difference that would affect perceptions, between the chino hair of an urban
mulata and the cuculuste hair of a rural descendant of cimarrones in the vernacular of San
Nicolas.

Cuculusre’s etymology remains unclear; it is not referred to in colonial literature nor
was it used as a casta category like mulata, zambo, indio, mestizo and so on. Beltran (1958)
did observe its use in the area of San Nicolas in the 1950’s. Of probable native origin
(possibly mixteco, the group that most interacts with Guerrero Afromexicans), it still refers
to ‘very curly hair’ and, by extension, the individuals who posses it According to data at
hand the cuculuste are a subset of the negros who are, in turn, a subset of morenos. The two
terms are markers of internal differentiation, but they are not recognized outside the
community as such. Outsiders do not use cuculuste, instead opting to use moreno or chino.

These of course do not reflect insider differentiation.

116

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

f r r
Line Reference Contextual Interpretation
4A,10 moreno ‘remedial’, uttered immediately afte negro to soften the potentially
negative use of negro in this early part of the conversation; setting up
the ‘participatory framework’ of this convesation.

4B,l2 “hey moreno! ” quoted from “outsider” speech as example of outside practice of using

the tern to address the morenos ‘insides’

48’] 5 no decimos Implicit in the veb ‘decimos ’ is the pronoun ‘we’ refering to speake’s
moreno (we group whose membes do not use the same term to address one othe,
don ’1 say thus contrasting ‘inside’ Vs ‘outside’ usage
morena)

4B,17 mo r eno sr l moreno is corefeenced to ‘we’ in esramos. Used in this case to
estamos 1g ua underline inside group membeship requires not using moreno, negro
.If we are 69031 as terns of address intenally, since ‘we are all equal.’ The interpretation

suggests an existent hiearchy in the use of socio-racial terms along the
inside/outsider lines drawn in previous lines

4B,25 carino,oye “affectionate” uses of the tem is possible although it remains one for
moreno use outside uses

Affectionhey
morena!

4F,14 gente a hypothetical, non-inclusive reference to Afromexicans. Earlier in this
MORENA convesation, the speake used inclusive negro to refe to ‘my race.’

Now he adopts a diffeent footing once the discussion gets to the
prejudices that some members of his own group have against indios

4G,3 MORENOS Speake SO first selects the term in refeence to the forbears of the
present community which he is describing, then quickly re-foots to use
the inclusive, historical NEGRO

4G,? morenos speake reverts to this term to describe the emegence of present day

community. It is not clear why he does not re-foot back to inclusive
term or pronoun this time

4G,9 MORENO speake uses a masculine form (moreno) and a feminine vesion (india)

in describing the type of inteactions in the community. In chapter 1 we
saw that indeed this was the most prevalent marriage pattern in colonial
Mexico: black males, native women. In my obsevation this pattern
continues today in San Nicolas

4L,lO Moreno,heh,heh As descriptive tem, moreno is ‘ugly’ because it embodies undesirable
! physical attributes

4L,ll Moreno,chato, Clearly used as a color term (as opposed to a social identity/pesona)
cuculuste, alongside ‘flat nosed,’ curly haired — it is one of ALL (numeous)

 

TODO!

 

stigmatized physical features associated with this tern

 

117

 

 

as above, term describes negatively (socially) evaluated physical
characteistics. Tem of low prestige.

 

Concrete refeent to illustrate those physical characteristics of ‘ugly.’
But, whethe positive or negative feature, thee is acceptance of the fact
that “morenoness” is a pemanent feature of our people Among my
relatives are morenos such as my grandson (close relative, ‘inside’).
The morenoness stays on despite intemarriage (‘cleaning the races’)

 

 

 

 

Moreno is a color (See 4L,11), and is only skimdeep. In ‘us’ though, is
also found blanco blood, since we descend from blancos and negros,
part of our heritage which is not usually recognized.

 

‘that one is ugly‘
4L,15 (the refeent is a
nroreno)
i) my grandson
4L,15 es moreno
ii)
“rnoreuoness”
lo moreno
piel es moreno
4L,16
4.3. Blanca

Blanca is a term of common usage in the spwch of San Nicolas, especially in

narratives of the past, and it is apparently synonymous with gr'iero. As a descriptive term, the
latter is a subcategory of the former since every gfiero (‘blonde’) is a blonca (‘white’) but
not every blonca is a gr’lero. Giiero is heard more often in Mexico City, usually as a polite or

“affectionate” term for bloncas, mirroring the moreno functions described just above. In

San Nicolas, however, speakers mostly use blanco not gr‘lero, reflecting more of the

differences in evaluation strategies of the speakers of the two speech communities. Blanca is
apparently gradable in San Nicolas; for example, one can be “more white” (line 11,12) or

“less white” than another. In the following lines 80 makes use of blonca in an interesting

historical account of her people.

WK

1 CH: y aqui hay gente blanca?
and are there white people here?

2 SG: sr§tantbién sr’ hay gente blancdhay una gente blanca pero se
yes,yes there are [a few] white people,white people but they
[‘reflexive’]

3 mesz la gente
the people mixed up

CH: uh huh

118

 

4 SG: antes en aqueflas liempas dicen que no habr’a gente blanca ni
in those past times they say there were no white people nor

5 gente pelo lacia,.pura gente pelo china,
people of hair straight,only people of curly hair
6 para gente chindchina
only curly haired people,curly [hair]
((interruption by a visitor))

7 SG: y aqui la gente somos CUCULUSTE CUCULUSTE

and here the people we are CUCULUSTE CUCULUSTE
8 CH: ah ha, de pelo

ah ha, the hair

SG: crespa coma ya,y china cuculuste asi (points at CH) y ya otro
gente decolar, chino que venian, se juntaba can las mujeres de
aqurjya tenia sus hijas, tenr’an sus hijas, ya tem’an sus atras
pelas,su cara, cardcter su nan’z,a veces sale un paquita asi-

ah ha, of hair, it's cuculuste, that is,curly,other hair is wavy like
mine,and curly, cuculuste (points at CH's hair) and other people of
color, that came, encountered the women of here,and had children,
had their children, now they had their other hair, [another] face,
[another] character, their nose, sometimes born a bit like-
SG neatly summarizes the rise of her present day community out of the encounter between
blancos and those chino-haired persons who came to San Nicolas. Their descendants now
had ‘their’ [own type of] hair, nose, etc. Out of that mix, those individuals now had physical
characteristics different from their parents. In fact, another ‘race’ was the result of that mix
up. Today, some of ‘we’ are cuculuste, and others like ‘me’, [the speaker, SG] have ‘wavy’
hair, while the interviewer (CH) has chino or cuculuste hair. In short, morenos includes a
wide variety of physical types, all descending from that mix of “races.” Accordingly, the
historical encounter between negros and blancos gave rise to the present day moreno
community with which SG identifies. Understood in this way, SG no longer sounds
contradictory when she describes herself and kin variously as negros, chinos, cuculustes - or
even as morenos - because these terms describe the same set of individuals that comprise

the San Nicolas community. In contrast to india, blonca (and negro) share the feature of not

being straightforwardly defined. In the conversations cited above in which the term

119

‘cuculuste’ is introduced, the socio—historical dimension where blancas and negros are

located in another past time ‘before people were mixed’ is clear. The dynamic aspect of

negro and blonca identity implied in this phrase contrasts with that of indios, who are

perceived as not having changed since the coming of Spaniards. With blancas and negros

there is no such evidence of unbroken continuity through time in the local perceptions.

Evidence from discourse implies that blanco and negro have changed by ‘mixing’ to

produce another social being, perhaps the moreno. Notably, references to blanco are few in

conversational samples I have examined, but more references are found in the narratives and

versas of Chapter 5. This is illustrative of the absence of blancos in San Nicolas today

without losing sight of their preeminence in the past

 

 

 

 

 

 

l f r
Line Reference Contextual Meaning and Interpretation.
41,23 Genre mas blonca Socio-racial terns are gradable since we can have “white” pesons
‘whiter people’ than othes. Obviously, this is a speake-exclusive use indicated by
SG 8 use of a peson when reporting a sample of the type of
comments that may be addressed to a negro/moreno by a blanco
4K,2 gente blanca thee used to exist blancas hee, but are now too mixed up to clearly
‘white people identify them. Affirms the existence of the category blanco at least
in
genre china the remote past, but it was the chino-haired (i.e. negros) who lived
hee, not blancas; oral history furthe supports the diffeentiation
among individual groups.
4K,4 Dicen que no habia in the remote past thee [blancas] wee not part of our community;
gente blonca evidence comes from oral history. It is not clear whethe the oral
‘they say thee wee history is attributed to outsides but it can be infered that since this
no white people’ oral tradition is local, then ‘they’ refes to insides, the speakes
group
4H'12 La raza espanola Refers to anothe term for blancos, like gueo/guera. Notice it is used
. in the historical sense to explain the racial mixing of blancas and
Spanish race indios to describe the genesis of moden mexican “races.” Racial
mixing with blancas represents the ‘cleaning of the races’ as
discussed in Chapte l
blanca, narizana Physical description of ‘beautiful’ attributes associated with blancas.
4L2 These include nose shape, straight hair

 

 

 

 

120

 

 

4L,16 la sangre es blanca Physical appearance does not reveal the true historical identify of
the individual. RS acknowledges the blanco element found in negros
and morenos. As such, blanco can be insides although the footing
stance indicates that SG is speaking as commentator

 

 

 

 

 

4.4. Attributes of Social Racial Term

Definitions, use, and the association of speakers (and others) with these terms
make it quite clear that socio-racial terms in the community of San Nicolas are tags of
social identity. Their employment, whether casual or elicited, is inextricably tied to the
complex identities of the members of this community and of “others.” Thus, it is evident
that they are used to designate the social ‘race' of an individual or groups of individuals
and are therefore an expression of community awareness of identity boundaries and
distinctions. Having delimited them as proper ‘native lexical categories’ (Hymes 1974),
i.e. significant elements of San Nicolan speech, it is necessary to examine their semantic
content, that is, the attributes of each term, to pave the way for better comprehending
their functional use within the limits of regional speech. What information do these terms
carry, and how can it help the outsider explain the variation found in the discourse?

The following sample texts from interviews with different respondents illustrate
more precisely the attributes of these socio-racial terms investigated here. These samples are
followed by diagrams showing a more complete listing of the attributes drawn from
Conversations A-I in the above section, and from similar data not cited here. They illustrate
a series of attributes for each “race,” individual or group that is socially identified as blonca,
indio or negro. Some attributes can be interpreted as “positive,” according to the
information gathered from informants, but others are clearly “negative.” Those attributes

vary from physical characteristics to psychic, emotive and socio-economic ones, providing

121

‘n H. ._L“ _—-_-— _.
—‘ -~ ‘4

clear—cut characterizations of the social being projected by each term. Blanca, for instance is

beautiful, handsome, straight haired, straight nosed (positive attributes), but is cowardly (“of

cold blood”); is more delicate (“has thinner blood”) and has “achukt’a” Cstinks'); the indio is

short and quiet, big nosed, straight haired, stubborn and resilient (“nadie lo saca”; “parece

indio”), s/he lives up in the mountains and so on. Negro/moreno is ugly, stocky, curly

haired, abler than the indio, likes music and dance, does not like to beg, is brave and strong

(“is not afraid of anyone, not even the devil")-

While;
1 CH:
2 RS:
3 TM;
4 RS:
5 CH:
6 TM:
7 RS:
TM:
8 CH:
9 RS:
10 TM:
11 RS:
12 All:
13 RS:
14 CH:
15 RS:

coma ,ahara,cama esta banita,que,que quiere
decir “bonita”
like,now, this beautiful, what, what does “beautiful” mean
blanca, narizana, fresnuda
white, long nose, fresnuda]
[pelo lacio
straight hair
su pelo largo, su nan’zata
the hair [is] long, long nose-
[es banita
[is beautiful
es guapa
is handsome
es guapa
is handsome
heh heh
y fea?
and ugly?
fea?
ugly?
mareno,heh heh!
moreno, heh heh!
moreno, chata, cuculuste y TODO!
moreno, sqaut, cuculuste and ALL
heh heh ha! ha!
ese se le dice ‘fea”
that one is called “ugly”
eh heh
asi es la gente aquécama ahora de mi nieta dicen uh! ese estdfea
ademas moreno, morenopera la moreno nunca se acaba

122

that's how people are like here,like my grandson they say uh! he's
ugly on top of moreno, moreno,but morenness never ends

CH: no, no

RS: porque Ia piel es moreno pero la sangre es blanca
because the skin is moreno but the blood is white

16

In the preceding text it is not hard to grasp the attributes associated with the terms blonca
and moreno. In fact, the terms themselves are used as adjectives to describe what is
‘beautiful’ or ‘ugly,’ respectively. It was men that moreno is a general term that describes
residents of San Nicolas. Speakers often used it in taking an “outsider” footing. Moreno and
negro have a number of socially recognized negative attributes. For example, a moreno is
“ugly” (e. g. “this one is morenol”) and part of that ugliness derives from the individual's
cuculuste hair. Another physical attribute associated with moreno is ‘chato’ (‘short,’ ‘squat’)
which previous discourse indicated was also a negatively evaluated adjective. In contrasting
the two, MG described the positively evaluated Aztec race as “tall and handsome,” while the
Chichimecas were “short, squat” and “less fine” (lines G, 3—7). The attributes of moreno are
embodied in SG's grandson who is used yet again as an example of what is moreno and ugly
(line 1, 15).

While the negative physical attributes are well known by 80 as a native of her
speech community, she denies personal involvement in this evaluation by attributing it to
“others” - “they,” “the people” and so on (e.g. “like this one, the people say he’s ugly,” Line
1, 15). SG's awareness of moreno's negative attributes is reflected at the end of her talk when
she attempts to mend the talk of her grandson’s low prestige by referring to more positive
elements in his ancesu'y: “the skin may be dark, but [his] blood is white.” This coda to SG’s

enumeration of “racial” attributes neatly brings together current beliefs and attitudes that

123

revolve around blonca and negro. The following texts provide further elements which may

be listed as attributes of the terms negro and indio.

11V

4M

CH:

AD:

CH:

AD:

he afda que la gente indr'a es tranquila,y la gente NEGRA?

I‘ve heard that the indian people aretranquil, and BLACK people?
ah,sr’, es mas agresiva la gente negra,st' s1; es mas agresiva
ah,yes,is more aggressive the black people,yes,yes, more aggressive
y esa parque,asr’ na mas?
and why [is] that,just like that?
yo crea que asr’ no mas, par naturaleza, no se que pero es mds
agresive
I think that just like that, by nature, I don’t know but [blacks] are
more aggressive,

The oppositional values of the two categories are similar to that seen in section 4.1 where

nearly all characterization of indio was done in terms of opposition to those of negro: the

latter is aggressive by nature, but the indio is tranquil. Although in this case Speaker AD

does not use overt personal pronouns, it is assumed that he includes himself among “la

gente negra” (the Black people) since he initially described himself as ‘negro’.

MM

1 CH:
2 IS:
3 CH:
4 IS:
5 CH:
6 IS:
7

8 CH:

y cuanda salen de aqui a-]
and when you (pl.) go from here to
[a atra lugar,
to another place,
sr’ st’, coma le dicen?
yes yes, what do they call you?
pues “negro. ” “las negros”
well negro,the negros

ah ha se siente bien a mat

ah ah does it feel good or bad

pues se sienten mal porque “negro” pero no puede hacer nada
porque

well they (we?) feel bad because “negro” but have no choice because
si somos del color negro tenemos que ser verdad?

if we are of black color we have to be, right?

CLARO

OF COURSE

124

(silence: 20 mos)
9 CH: y porque dicen que el negro es maloparque,
and why they say that the black is bad,because,
10 IS: porque es mas bravo, esa es, es mas bravo

because is more hot headed, that's it, is more hot headed
11 CH: y el india?

and the indio
12 IS: el indio?

the indio?
13 CH: sf

yes

14 IS: pues mas cansciente,es mas cansciente
well is more conscious,more conscious [controlled]

When outside the immediate community, Speaker IS who is negro feels bad when he is
addressed as negro by outsiders, the reason being that negro is negatively evaluated by those
outsiders, and the speaker knows it. Negros have a reputation of badness: “they say the
negro is bad,because he is more hot headed.” While IS identifies the reasons for that mean
reputation (“hot-headedness”), he sees no choice but to accept this negative term of address
because ‘if that is our color, thus we have to be.’ Despite those negative attributes, there is
no denial of being negro: “if we are of black color we have to be, right?” (4M, line 7).

The use of gender neutral se reflexive in the same line is an example of constant but
subtle signals of footing changes. This particular pronominal is speaker exclusive, ‘they feel
bad,’ (as opposed to speaker inclusive ‘we feel bad’), yet in the same line (4M, line 7),
Speaker IS adopts a solidary pronoun incorporated in somos (‘if we are black of color, we
have to be, right?’). The speaker is negro, but he can discuss the treatment of negros by
opting to use non-inclusive pronouns.

4.5. Attributes of Negro, and Negro,
By listing and comparing a series of basic attributes of each term, I propose to

distinguish between two meanings of negro (negro , and negroz) which arise from

125

different evaluations of the same concept by members of San Nicolas speech community
(“insiders”) and the non-members (“outsiders”). The views of the “outsiders” are those
that have been gleaned from the discourse, principally through an examination of co-
occurring pronouns or anaphoric expressions seen in Tables 4.1 - 4.4. Those correspond

roughly to “abstract” and “concrete” attributes of negro and are shown on Table 4.5.

Table 4,5; Negro] and Negrgz; Attg [1th

 

 

Negro, Negroz
- is indexical or referential e. g. ‘ Used when angry, or disgusted
“that/the negro”
0 Describes [undesirable] skin color
- is historical, existed before e.g. ‘I told them it [color] would not
“people mixgd up” StiCk on them'

- is of the first inhabitants “they used ° “others” use negro to refer to

to be the only ones around here” “morenos” i.e. San Nicolans and the
inhabitants
- can be blood relative e.g. father,
mother or grandson ’ is politically stigmatized by “M1613"
e.g. ‘they used to call my son
- was immigrant: shipwrecked on a cabanista
boat from Africa or is a
descendants of cimarrones ' speaks “badly.” [-prestige] Spanish
(maroons) dialect

- is bad person] has bad reputation
- is cuculuste . _
0 rs aggressrve
- is used in “identity statements”
such as ‘nostros/ los negros de ' is ugly
Guerrero'
0 has chino hair
- was brave and strong e. g. ‘my great
grandfather could bring down a ‘ is lazy e.g.‘they refuse us loans

bull with bare hands' because they say we are lazy.’
- Etc.
- has admirable strengths
(unspecified)
- Etc.

 

 

 

 

126

There is a consistent patterning of each socio-racial term with certain anaphoric
references; indio and blonca for instance are co-referenced with third person pronorms such
as they, those and them, but during the uses of negro, the speaker who takes up that footing
generally aligns it with “outsiders.” Negro, involves “insiders” footing. Negro,, like blonca
and india, is located in that period before the “mix-up” of peoples. India remains that way,
but we understand that the first two have changed over time. Speakers use negro, in self
reference to establish a common link with the past, to claim a line of descendance, and thus
express solidarity with one another. Quite significantly, negro, is used to lay some
primordial claim to the land in statements such as ‘negros came first, [before] blancas, ’
‘there were only chinos here before, ’ etc. This is interesting possible evidence of existing
competition or reallocation of territories which we know historically to have belonged to
indios. These attributes of negro, are generally abstract.

Negro2 is a concrete, tangible entity who has negative physical and emotional
attributes which negro, does not, except for the cuculuste hair type which has been seen to
be a negatively evaluated attribute. The aggressive, lazy, bad individual who speaks badly
and is politically stigmatized is negro, but negro, is an historical entity, a concept that is not
tangibly identifiable in flesh and blood today in the community. Negros, are the distant
ancestors of today's San Nicolans, the brave, fearless, strong, newcomers. The identity
statements examined earlier wem to refer to this special group.

Negro, is used as a term of address by outsiders in reference to San Nicolans or
Costa Chicans when these are outside their home area in a mestizo environment such as
Mexico City. The personal attributes are largely negative as internalized by informants.

Indeed its use where it occurs seems intended to evoke those very attributes. It is not

127

surprising then that it is used to insult its addressee, a good example being that of the
Afromexican youth who complained of being called a cabaiiista whose attributes are closely
related to those of negro, While an individual cherishes being a negro ,, s/he has no defense
from overlapping negro, meanings since this distinction is below the level of awareness of
outsiders. Moreno is the general term used by outsiders to refer to negros (both negro, and
negro,), chinos, cuculustes, and prietos. It levels out the internal gradations that insiders
recognize by establishing a blanket identity for Afromexicans. But since moreno's physical
attributes overlap with those of negro, and negro, it is easy for the individual who is
unversed with the ground rules of their use to assume that the three are synonymous. In
addition, negro, and negro, have the same phonetic form, making it difficult for the outsider
to distinguish between the two. In Figure 4.1, positive attributes of negro, are foregrounded
according to insider view; these are all abstract. But in Fig. 4.2 the (negative) ones of negro,
are foregrounded. The figures represent my conclusions about how speakers’ participatory
status of speakers projects a certain view of the person or persons defined socially as
“negro.” Footing stances adopted by speakers during conversation make it possible to
unravel the two personae that coexist in one since negro represents a two sided coin; on
one side is a positively evaluated, abstract entity (negror) and on the other is a concrete
phenotypic reality (negroz) of negative attributes.

According to Figure 4.1. “insiders” usually foreground those positive attributes
of negro. A native San Nicolan speaker who self-identifies as “negro” is more likely to
use negro, projection when he or she utters negro, such as when referring to forbears

(“mis papas eran negros”) or when describing the community s/he belongs to (“la raza

128

de nosotros es negra pues! "), in a solidary sense. Of course, when speaker adopts an

“outsider” footing, s/he may then select negro, just as an “outsider” would do.

13' ”1.1 . [Mr

 

Non-solidary (“outsider”) uses of negro are generally negative and refer directly to
phenotype. Insiders selected this term by taking outsider footing when describing how
outsiders look at them. Clearly, speakers are well aware of the salient, negative features of
San Nicolas, since this listing was elicited from them. Speakers display an awareness that

“others” employ negro in different ways than ‘ e” do. Conversational data indicate that

129

characteristics of negro, are foregrounded when the term is employed using outsider speech

or footing stance. The foregrounding of negraz is captured in Figure 4.2.

4.2' i rviw fNe ro

        

4.5.1. Summary

In conversational samples cited in this chapter, informants made statements such as “la raza
de nosotros es negro” (our race is Black). In another interview, a sixty year old informant
affirmed that her parents and grandson were negros, but that she herself was a moreno (See

Conversation 4D). She went on to describe her community as one comprised of morenos.

130

Such differences in self-referencing statements among informants made me hypothesize that
socio-cultural motives underlie their variable usage.

From an analysis of footing, it is now easier to see how the informant identifies ‘we’
with negro, (abstract, positive e. g. ancestor) to lay territorial claim to that region of
Guerrero, the region where his or her negro ancestors established themselves. That the same
speaker also identified ‘we’ with morenos is now no longer confusing because, in explaining
to the outsider about regional and local identity, the speaker knew that the term moreno best
described the outsider knowledge, namely that the people of Costa Chica are referred to
nationally as morenos, the historically instituted term for Afromexicans. Internally, moreno
merely represents a skin color. Such a form of “codeswitching” symbolizes the footing that
the speaker had adopted—that of a Mexican “in general” — to describe her community by
taking on “outside” terminology. Along similar lines of interpretation, SG was consistent in
regarding herself as moreno although her parents were negros (i.e. negro, ) because in this
way she retains her stake in the history of her community while also recognizing her
modern identity. Negro ,, when used by San Nicolans, is a term of solidarity within the
boundaries of their own social identity, and the most illustrating example of this function is
found in the identity statements found in discourse, such as ‘we the negros of Guerrero’ or
‘we have always been negros. ’ Solidarity and power relationship between interlocutors
influence, in some way, the choice of these socio-racial terms; for instance, persons
intimately linked to the speaker may be referred to as negro, yet the same will not refer to
each other as moreno; but a [-moreno] person can address these persons as moreno.

India is largely used without ambiguity to identify the “others” that are in contact

with but are not part of the self and socially-identified negro of San Nicolas. The term indio

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is consistently used for this function, thus contributing to the maintenance of existing social
boundaries. Blanca delimits yet another identity, and it has been seen that part of its
historical meaning is closely linked with that of negrol in that these two groups are
perceived to be the ancestors of today's morenos. As with the case of territorial claims made
by Afromexicans in that region today, it is of interest to note that indio is left out of the
equation of racial mixing process (mestizaje) while it is this group that had greatest contact
(including intermarriage) with the negros, of Costa Chica. In fact, this contradicts the
mainstream idea of mestizaje as a process involving two actors: blancas and indios.

In the next sections, 1 will look at how these same terms are embedded in other

genres, and how this can add to the knowledge of their uses and attributes in San Nicolas.

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Chapter 5

SOCIO-RACIAL TERMS WITHIN GENRES

5.0. Genre

By ‘genre’ I refer to ‘types of talk’ or speech events that are readily recognized by
participants and identified with specific behavior, i.e. are closely identified with time,
place and situation. These may be oral (e. g. a rap or carrida session, joke, story, or job
interview) or written (e. g. a novel or an essay). Genre studies show that these differ not
only across cultures but also within sub-sectors of society; they also highlight contrasts
between different speech communities within the same country, such as how minority
groups’ forms of talk differ from those of the mainstream — ‘standard’ speakers of the
same language. The focus on sub-group language contrasts is reflective of the important
role that socio-linguistic analysis in general and genre analysis in particular play in the
study of language variation. Labov’s (1972) study of “Language in the Inner City” for
instance dedicated important sections to an analysis of narratives among African
American English speakers in New York City. Pitts (1993) examined another distinctive
African American form of talk — the discourse of African American Baptist church
ritual to make connections between substrate West African religious discourse in modern
African American Baptist ‘ritual’ in the Southern United States. Genre analyses are
important in interpreting culture and in Africa Latin America or elsewhere (e. g. Kipury

1983; Kabira 1993).

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5.1. Narratives

Traditional oral narratives are a good example of genres of language which often
reflect the philosophy and values of the community that tells them. This makes me
believe that critical “assumed cultural knowledge” (Gumperz 1982a) about socio-racial
terms 1 am investigating can be gleaned from the way in which they are used in the
narrative discourse of San Nicolans. I am trying to increase the scope of our
understanding of the linguistic and cultural background that must be shared among
interactants if proper communication is to prevail. These may become more apparent in
our examination of narratives and their contextual meanings need to be juxtaposed and
reconciled with those understandings of socio-racial terms I presented in the previous
chapter of this dissertation. In this chapter I focus on samples of Afromexican narratives
and other genres which contain instances of framed talk through which situated meanings
of embedded terms can be inferenced. These, I hope, will contribute to a better
understanding of what meanings socio-racial terms signal among the speakers, and also
what they might project about the speakers’ collective or individual identity. I shall
therefore look at brief oral narratives I collected in San Nicolas’s oral archives.

In discussing Afromexican “narrative,” I refer to oral accounts of events that are
encoded in local stories, myths and songs. Oral narratives are particularly useful in non-
literate societies where they act as the depository of past information and events,
preserving and passing on people’s history. Afromexican narratives easily fall under this
category because, even though the people belong to a literate Western country, theirs is
largely a non-literate speech community whose own voice is largely heard through oral

traditions. To my knowledge, there are very few literary texts or narratives written in the

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past by Afromexicans, such as the poetry of 18‘h century poet J ose Vansconcelos that I
cite in section 5.2 of this chapter.

Narratives serve several functions within a community. They are not only an
archive of a community’s history as they also preserve and express the rules of behavior
of a community. They are used to legitimize contemporary habits and values such as land
ownership, women’s position in society, eating habits, or, as in the case of Afromexico,
to explain social facts such as why there are different “races” with distinct physical,
emotional and other characteristics in the communities. In other agrarian societies, they
are used to explain natural phenomenon such as why elephants have tusks or why hyenas
limp. Some such narratives are better known in the West, such as Anancy the Spider
stories originating in Akan speaking parts of West Africa which became part of
Caribbean and North American folklore. Among Afromexicans, narratives are used for
similar purposes. The narratives are used to explain the diversity of social races found in
their communities today, or how the communities were founded. It is therefore worth
mentioning a bit about narratives in a non-western society in order to emphasize some of
the universal characteristics of this genre in discussing Afromexican ones.

Bennett (1975) studied the narrative structure of two African languages, Kiswahili
and Gikuyu, looking at certain features as overlaps and repetitions. Furthermore, Bennet
made a count of all verbal elements of non-subordinate clauses and found that the
consecutive tense (C-tense) which occurs in both languages but not in English, dominated
in those narratives (75% of clauses 5147 clauses counted). He also found that the C-tense

in Gikuyu is used for ‘pace and dramatic effect’ (ibid., p.60). Therefore correlations — or

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lack of them — between grammatical elements and parts of the narrative are found in
many non-related languages.

Oral narratives also incorporate elements not found in written texts, such as
prosodic features or interactional moves which may include listener participation. Bennet
(1975) also noted that the normal Gikuyu narrative transferred to print loses a large
proportion of its effectiveness “through the loss of inflection and voice indicated
narrative pacing” (ibid:28). Not only do different languages display distinct narrative
styles; different speech communities within the same language also do. Labov (1972)
also found a high concentration of verbal skills in Black English Vernacular culture, “a
possible pointer to the fact that they are more advanced in narrative skills than their
White counterparts” (p.380). Differences were found cross-linguistically such that for
Swahili, the use of the consecutive tense is not the predominant unmarked tense; rather it
is the past tense. Swahili apparently has lost most of its consecutive tense, and Bennet
claims that this is a direct consequence of influence of western languages on Swahili.
Nevertheless, both Kiswahili and Gikuyu styles emphasize narrative qualities
diametrically opposed to those of English, e. g. in that Gikuyu emphasizes action rather
than description.

In this study I am less concerned with accounting for the structure or specific
components of Afromexicans narratives. The aim is to exploit the narratives as a source
of data on social racial terms, in order to characterize the historical and/or ongoing
constructions of the social reality which lie behind these terms. My interest in this
particular genre focuses on the narratives I collected (folk stories, legends and creation

myths) from Afromexicans which can inform us with regard to the dynamic use and

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meaning of social racial terms under study. The content of oral narratives and genres I
shall examine in the next sections of this chapter (versas and carridas) of San Nicolas is
also rich in this sense, and it underscores the centrality of social racial terms in the
discourse of this speech community. But first I will refer the reader to the structure of
narratives, before I look at their content.
5.1.1. Narrative Structure

The narrative — be it the story or corrido — has structure and component parts.
Some parts are easily identified such as the beginning or an end. Other parts are subtle
such as language devices used in consistent ways to identify or mark parts of the structure
(e. g. tense markers that indicate where action is taking place within the narrative).
Labov’s (197 2) work on the structure of narratives focused on personal narratives of
members of urban communities in a Western setting. Nevertheless, his approach is
applicable to traditional (folk) stories, myths or legends in terms of their structure, as I
will show in the following section. Those essential components of the narrative are
apparent even in the rural based, non—western narratives such as those of San Nicolas.

Labov (1972) described narrative as “one method of recapitulating past
experience by matching a verbal sequence of clauses to the sequence of events that
actually happened” (1972:375). In his study of African American narratives in New York
City among speakers of what he refferred to then as “Black English Vernacular (BEV)”,
Labov attempted to correlate language features such as syntactic forms (e.g. comparatives
and intensifiers) and age with particular components of the narrative. Signaling devices
include syntactic features such as tense or aspect and discourse markers such as hedges,

overlaps and repetitions. All these gain significance in the deconstruction and

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interpretation of narrative. Labov identified six parts in the overall structure of the
narrative, and each part is characterized by distinctive grammatical, prosodic or other
patterns. I will summarize them very briefly and then show where and how they fit in
with the sample Afromexican narratives.

The abstract is normally a clause that summarizes for the listener what the
narrative will be about. This is usually followed by an orientation which provides
background information about the narrative (time, place, etc.). The complicating action
follows to give detailed description of the actual sequence of events which occurred in
the narrative; a reversal in the order of the narrative clauses for example, would change
the entire meaning of the narrative. Since narratives rely heavily on sequenced
description, a minimum number of complicating action clauses are required in order to
identity a narrative as such. Comments about the universe of the story from the outside
are referred to as evaluation, and they occur in the narrative to tell or remind the listener
of the significance of the story. Evaluations may therefore be intertwined in the story at
different sections. The resolution marks the end of the complicating action, and may be
the prelude to a coda or that section of the narrative that brings the author and listener
back to the present world. In many of these characteristics, Afromexican carridas are
narratives, and I shall try to show that in terms of both structure and content, how they
are.

5.1.2. It needs to be mentioned that indeed oral narratives are best appreciated within
their cultural context of performance. The context gives the audience a picture of the
implications of the narrative itself, and in the performance paralinguistic features such as

movement, facial expression and so on enhance the messages contained in the language

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used. As such, transcriptions of narratives such as the ones examined in this chapter
present only part of the performance; significant aspects of rhythm, prosody, or
interaction with the audience, are not easily represented and may also be lost in their
translation from Spanish despite my efforts to minimize that. Nevertheless, Afromexican
oral narratives do certainly seem to encode sufficient information regarding social race,
providing an additional source of data for understanding the uses of social racial terms as
seen in Chapter Four. These narratives encapsulate chunks of Mexican history as it
relates to Afromexicans, revealing consciousness and awareness of a negro past
embedded in the conditions we saw in previous chapters. But they are not just a
compendium of the past; Afromexican narratives reveal present day conflicts and social
relations among the cohabiting social “races.” In the first sample by Don MO of San
Nicolas, what superficially appears to be a story of romance is used to illustrate the
origins and divisions among social “races,” including the basis for their identity
formation.
WA
1 pue’ cuanda se enamara de ella..ella también, entances él le pidia permisa
su padre para
well, when he fell in love with her, she too, so he asked permission from his
father to
2 ESPOSARLA no: porque, dice, porque te vas a casar con una negra, es
una
MARRY HER no: why, he says, why marry a black woman, she is a
3 esclava, parque' la ama. la quiera can tada mi alma, no imparta que sea
negra.
slave, because I love her, I love her with all my heart, no matter she’s black
4 quiera. no puede ser, dice, que trite cases can esa negra. a escandida
tuvieran
1 love her. It can’t be, he said, that you marry that black. Secretly they had
5 relacianes a escandidas porque ellas no padt'an casarse, a ella también hay

que
(sexual) relations, secretly because they could not marry. . .she too had to be

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10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

mandarla lejos..para que el nino nazca alla, dice,

sent far away, so that the child be born there, he [father] says,

vamas a armarla, vamas a ayudarla, dice, y platicaba con el esclava
vieja y ya fue

let’s arm him [the mulata], let’s help him, he says, and he’d talk with the
old slave

crecienda, crecienda hasta se hiza adulto y llegti la rebelian,

and he grew and grew till he became an adult till the rebellion came,

a esejaven no le vamas a destruir la hacienda,

this one [blonca father] we won’t destroy his hacienda,

dice, a las demds st; exprapiaran pues, la hacienda de él, ya cuanda
entra él a la

he[old slave] says, others yes, thus they expropriated

his [blonca] hacienda when he [mulata] got into the

hacienda entances le dieran can an machete al blanca, sipera mi raza,
ya dependa de ellas

hacienda, then they hit him [blanco father] with a machete. . .and he
[mulata soulsays, yes, but my race, I depend on them

si no me quieren ya no me impartan,

if they [blancas] do not like me I don’t care,

ya hicieran las paces, hicieran baile para celebrar su triunfa y esas
bailes pue’ vienen

now they [negros, blancas, mulatas] made peace, made a

dance to celebrate the triumph and those dances, well, they come

de Africa, la arteza, ya de allt' nacié la TARIMBA, pero la primera fire la
arteza, la arteza de

from Africa, the arteza, from there was born the TARIMBA pero the first
was the arteza of

madera que es un instrumenta de CAJON, de esa histaria nacia esa
danza, par su

wood which is a BOX instrumentfrom that story the dance

triunfa, su sangre e'mah fuerte, y asi terminé la historia,

was born for the triumph, his[negro] blood is stronger,and thus ended the
story,

calan’n calarada y la historia estd terminada, entra par un callejan y
salga par otro

colored colorin and the story is over, I go through an

alley and come out through another

para ver quien nos cuenta otro,

to see who will tell us another...

Three things can be asserted about this narrative. One is that it conforms to a

certain structure and, secondly, that certain surface features of language (e. g. past tense

gerund forms, see Line 10) match with some structural components. As for the content,

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features of the narrative (e. g. story setting, formulaic clauses, lexicon etc.) provide
important clues about the ‘cultural backdrop’ inside which socio-racial terms in San
Nicolas are used. Unfortunately, the first part or abstract section of this narrative is
missing as a result of technical reasons; while fumbling with my recorder, I missed a few
lines at the beginning of the story. Nevertheless, some features of oral narratives
described by Labov and summarized in section 5.1.1 can be identified even in the
preceding Afromexican narrative. Line 1 therefore begins with an orientation which
provides a background to the events that take place in this narrative: a romantic
relationship between a young man and a young woman who belonged to the blonca and
negro race, respectively. The narrative quickly goes into a series of complicating actions
starting in Line 2.
1 entances e’l le pidia permisa su padre para
so he asked permission from his father to
2 ESPOSARLA no: porque ?, dice, porque te vas a casar con una negra,

es una esclava

MARRY HER no: why?, he says, why marry a black woman, she is a

slave
MO uses emphasis (CAPS) in the first words of that line, and the lengthening of the
vowel in “no:” are used by to highlight the importance of the background information in
this section of the complicating action, that is, the impossibility of an interracial
marriage. It marks the beginning point of the set of events and consequences that
underlie the meaning of the narrative. This is the point at which the series of sequential
narrative clauses of the ‘complicating action’ begin: secret [sexual] relations, pregnancy,

leaving the plantation, going far away to have the child, the raising and socialization of

this child, and his return to the plantation for revenge. In this section of Don M.’s

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narrative most details of the narrative are in the form of sequenced clauses:

Line 4: Secretly they had (sexual) relations

Line 6: she has to be sent far away so the child be born there

Line 8: and he grew and grew till he became an adult and the rebellion came, etc.
At least two or three evaluations occur at different parts of the narrative, confirming
Labov’s view that this strategy is used as commentary to remind the listener the
significance of the story. It also seems to play the role of commenting on the relevance of
specific events taking place or being newly introduced into the narrative. In Line 4 and 5
for example, MO makes an obvious effort to remind the listener of the circumstances
found in the universe of the narrative, that is, prohibition against interracial marriage:

Line 5: “secretly, because they could not marry...”

The ‘evaluation’ is a very important part of the narrative, according to Labov. It is used
as a means to indicate the main point of the narrative. Many Afromexicans of San
Nicolas attached much importance to this component in the narratives I collected,
possibly because they told the stories specifically in order to explain the issues of social
race and identity, in response to my (many) requests.

It had become clear in the complicating actions of Don M’s story (ending Line

13) that the narrative was mainly about “races.” Line 14 seems to mark the end of the
complicating actions; it is the resolution but it incorporates a frequently cited attribute of
negros of San Nicolas, which directly leads to the coda:

15 triunfa, su sangre e mah fuerte, y ast’ termina la historia ,
triumph, his [negro] blood is stronger, and thus ended the story. . ..

Lines 14-16 were elaborately explicit and even brought in other facts relevant to San

Nicolas history and culture which had not been mentioned in the main narrative. The

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section of the narrative thus serves to remind the listener of the main point of the story,
and its resolution (Line 16). According to Labov, the evaluation is used to remove the
possibility of the question “so what?” Since the evaluation is a commentary on the story,
it is not surprising that the narrator should take an outsider “voice” to insert the remark.
But s/he can also embed an evaluation in one of the characters’ voice, as in the line
occurring just before the onset of the ‘resolution’ part of this narrative:

Line 12: if they [blancos] do not like me I don’t care
I will show in the table below in the next section, that pronouns ‘they’ and ‘me’
correspond to ‘blancos’ and ‘negro.’ Notice the rich dialogue embedded in the
description of events, giving life to the individual players in the drama, each getting a
voice, modulated to suit the image of the participant (i.e. blanco, negro viejo, esclava,
etc.).

In Line 2 the blonca father discourages his son from marrying a negro woman
with whom he’d fallen in love: “why marry a black woman, she’s [only] a slave,” then
again in Line 4, “it can’t be, he [father, plantation owner] said, that you marry that
negro.” Driven by love, the plantation owner’s son turned a deaf ear and had secret
sexual relations with the negro who eventually got pregnant. Since social prohibitions
dictated that “they could not marry,” she had to be sent away (Line 6) to have their child
far away from the plantation.

Finally, it is perhaps easiest to recognize the narrative’s coda, i.e. that final part
which brings the listener from the story’s universe and back to the present world. Many
languages including Kiswahili and Gikuyu — posses an explicit sentence or clause or

otherformulaic utterance directly translatable as: “. . .and that is the end of my story.”

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There is here a formulaic coda added to the one already seen in line 16. The required,
explicit formulaic ending to every San Nicolan (and generally, Mexican) traditional
narrative is repeated here from Line 17-18:

calan’n calarada y la historia esta terminada, entra par un callejon y salga par

otro para ver quien nos cuenta atra,

colored colorin and the story is over, I go through an alley and come out through

another to see who will tell us another...

The transition of timeline within the story is not very smooth (Line 6 — 8). The
narrative picks up the story after many years, as the son of the banished negra woman is
growing into a man, receiving some counseling from an “old slave” (Line 7), until “the
time of rebellion came.” Two things can be noted here: first is the assigned role of an
“elder” within the narrative, his role as tutor, counselor or advisor. In San Nicolas, age is
accorded respect, and elders are consulted for all types of advice. When I asked for
folklore stories, for example, I was always directed to an “elder,” such as the one doing
this particular narrative. This was despite the fact that other younger members of the
community actually knew these stories, having listened to them many times before. It is
therefore not unexpected that an elderly character is inserted in the narrative text, to
reflect contemporary social roles. Second, the theme of “rebellion” is strongly rooted in
the folklore of many black communities since most them have a historical background
of slavery and colonialism. This particular narrative reflects the theme of negros having
had to rebel against an oppressor at some points during their past.

In Line 10, the story focuses on the particular blanco, owner of the plantation
from where the mulata son, leader of this rebellion, was banished together with his

mother. It is not clear in this section of the narrative if the owner of the plantation is the

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grandfather or the father of the mulata. The plotters decide not to destroy his hacienda,
but rather, to expropriate it.

The use of this word in the narrative is quite significant. It is a cultisma, or
formal word which is not common in the discourse of a rural Mexican with little or no
formal education. Nowhere else in these data did the word appear in San Nicolas
discourse. However, the word is very much part of Mexican national -— revolutionary ——-
discourse. The expropriacion of haciendas, during the years of revolution that began in
1910, and of the petroleum indusz in 1938 are important landmarks in the history of
modern Mexico. Through the use of this word, the narrator takes a “commentator”
footing stance, the history of Mexico’s social revolution is superimposed on the
contemporary narrative of slavery which took place a century before. Both the war of
Independence in the first decade of the 19‘“ century and the Revolution of 1910 were wars
waged by the poor against the rich, the oppressed against the oppressor. Although
expropriation would not have been applicable in the case of slave rebellions since there
are no known cases of Black slaves taking over plantations in Mexico — the act of taking
over abandoned haciendas by rural peasants was common during the revolution of 1910.
In line 10, therefore, the narrator clearly inserts national history and recontextualizes it
local terms by transforming the narrative events. This seems like a good example of how
“surface forms of language reflect social life, add meaning and structure to discourse
practices” (Schiffrin 1987).

5.2.3. The following is a shorter narrative about how the negros came to the coast of
Mexico. The content of Narrative A explained the state and emergence of social relations

among the co—habiting “races” but it did not offer an explantion of negro presence or

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arrival in San Nicolas. In the following narrative, MO explains how and when negros
came to San Nicolas.

Narrative B starts with an orientation in line 4 to situate the time when events
took place. It also introduces the protagonists (la raza) although it is not yet clear what
“race” is being referred to at this point. This orientation section remains full of such

,7

references “the people from there, “who spread themselves along the coast,” “the
morenos,” etc. Complicating actions begin in Line 9: “but the time came when after they
took them from here..came the ships.” followed soon enough by what appears to be an
evaluation midway in line 10 and marked by emphasis: “BUT when they could not fit
them they stayed all spread here by the brink of the ocean.” Unfortunately, the rest of the

sample is conversational as CH tries to get more details such as whether the negros were

first to inhabit the lands. The response in Line 13 is affirmative.

Nanatilefl
1 CH: bueno,cama le diga pue- a mime interesa tada esa histaria[
well,as I told you wel-me it interest me all that history-
2 MO: [coma no
[of course
3 CH: y usted ya tiene-
And you have-

4 MO: pues si: hace coma QUINIENTOS aiias pues
Well yes: about FIVE HUNDRED years ago well
estaba la raza de par aqui alla cuanda
there was the race here when

5 estaban aqui explataban esta tierra, la gente de alla, este, entance
después que vinieran esta
were here using this land, the people of there, well, then after came
this

6 gente de alla, se regaran a tada esta arilla del mar, quedaran

todas las morenos allr’ ((vendida))
people of there, spread themselves all this coast, stayed all the
morenos there ((sold))

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10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

alli, pero llegé el tiempa que despue’s las sacaban de
aqut’..entances vinia-vinieran las

there, but came a time when after they remove them from here then
came— the

barcas entances se echaran la gente para atrds PERO cuanda no
alcanzé a llevarsela

ships to take the people back BUT when could not fit them

quedé tada regada aqui par la arilla del mar.

they stayed all spread here by the brink of the ocean

CH: 0 sea, vinieran primera[
You mean, [they] came first[

MO: [primera]

[first

CH: y luega el barca vino para traer-

And later the ship came to take-
MO: si: pero dilataran aqui trabajanda, DILA TARON y ya después

echaran a reclamar
Yes but they stayed working here, STAYED and then after started
to reclaim
estas tierras entances se ((recularan))? Los negros se fueran, en
barca
these lands then they (( ))The blacks left, on a ship

CH: atra vez p’africa?
back to Africa?

MO: p’AFRICA
To AFRICA

MO: entances las pacos que pudieran ir se fueran
pero atras se quedaran par aca
So the few that could go left but others stayed here
quedaran..par tada la arilla del mar y después esa gente se echo a
praducir
stayed all along the coast and afterwards those people began to
produce

CH: clara
Of course

MO: a fundar que es la gente NEGRA que hay aqui en SAN
NICOLAS, MALDONALDO,
To found that there people BLACK that are here in SAN
NICOLAS,
MALDONADO TAPEZTLA tada esa par alli - tada la BANDA!
TAPEZTLA all those over there- all the GANG

CH: toda la arillal
All along the coast[

MO: [toda la arilla del mar..de ahi es la descendencia de

toda esta gente negra que esta..asi es..

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[all the brink of the ocean, from there descend all these
people black that is here, that’s how it is

Although the narrative is a bit confusing, it is easy to reconstruct it once we
properly identify who the participants of the story are. Negros were there first in the area;
they came to work but some stayed (apparently) because there was not enough space on
the ship that came to take them back to Africa. (Line 10). Afterwards there was a time
when “they wanted to remove them from here” (line 9); “they” would not fit them all in,
and so a few of “them” stayed (Line 18) spread all along the ocean brink (coast). The use
of speaker-exclusive pronouns (they and them) indicates MO’s footing as narrator. It also
puts an unidentified group (they) in conflict with ‘them’ (negros) since the former’s aim
was to evict the latter, to take them back on the ship and back to Africa. Notice how
gradually the narrator introduces the term negro by first referring to this group as ‘the
race” (Line 4); ‘the people of there’ (Line 6,7), and then “las morenos” at the end of Line
7 which is coreferenced to the previous two mentions. In fact it is not until Line 15 where
the term negro is used to refer to the same group of people i.e. the migrant workers who
later stayed. In Line 21, the term again is used with emphasis to describe the people of
OM’s community and those neighboring others. The story ends without a formalaic coda
as the previous narrative; nevertheless, Line 24 can still can be recognized as one that
‘brings the listener back to the present world:’

24. OM: [all the brink of the ocean, from there descend all these people
black that is here, that’s how it is..

148

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T '1 kl" 1 i ‘ .Ll LJ‘. 9" ‘fef'llr; .l Nam I.V ‘ '.-!' N- 1- - :

Line Reference Contextual meaning and interpretation

A,l 61, ella Introduction to the main participants of the narrative; a male and

a female. Pronouns are speake exclusive.

A,2 una negra The identity of the main characte is revealed as female, black.
‘a black’

(fem)

A,3 esclava, negra Description of social class and gende of the characte; historical
slave (fem), black but not clear if the feature ‘related’ or ‘part of self’ is implied.

Social norms prohibit the marriage of a black slave (woman) to a
white (master). Framed in the context of conversation between
fathe and son, using the dialogue of blancas.

A,4 esa negra Social identity of protagonist is repeated in the voice of blanco
‘that black (fem)’ fathe; takes the form of ‘undesirable characte’ attribute.

B,4 la raza Refes to blacks. Recall that ‘race’ and ‘extended family’

‘the race’ (“relatives”) mean about the same in San Nicolas. It is not clear
yet if MO refers to his own relatives or ‘negro race’ but most
likely both, hence a ‘solidary’ use.

A,5 ellos ‘They’ main characters of the narrative. ‘she’ refes to the negra
ella slave. The pronouns are speake exclusive displaying a form of

‘evaluation’ inseted as commentary about relations among races.

A,6 El nino Impesonal pronoun does not indicate his social identity (‘race’)
‘the child’ till late below

B,6 Gente dc alla Unclear at this point, who are the ‘people of thee,’ but following
(x2) ‘people of there’ lines 7-8reveal that MO means ‘immigrants’ from ‘there.’ At the

end of this narrative we get to know that ‘there’ means ‘Africa’
thus ‘gente de alla ’ refers to Africans, the historical negro
(Negrol).

A,7 Esclavo viejo More refeence to negros (since slaves are black). Notice that

‘old slave’ this becomes a crucial ally of the mulata son

A,7 Vamos a armalo, Speake inclusive pronouns begin to appear hee - at least within
ayudarlo the dialogue of the narrative — (‘We’ the negros) embedded in
We will arm him, the complicating action; we’ (negros, slaves) will arm him
help him (mulato) because he is now one of ours

B,7 Gente de alla..los Similar to the use in 6B refering to ‘immigrants.’ This is
morenos confirmed by the use of ‘los morenos’ in the same line in
‘people of describing who came and stayed. The chain of identity continues
thee. . .morenos’

A,8 ese joven El mulato represents a new generation, not new ‘race’ (i .e. is part
‘that young man’ of negros)

A,9 los demas Blancos, plantation owners, “the othes.” our enemies
‘the others’

B,9 Los sacaban While we now know the identity of the direct obejct‘los’ - them,
‘[they] were the negros, immigrants, the ‘removes’ who are assumed to have
removing them’ brought the forme to San Nicolas, are unidentified but we can

assume that these are the Spanish slave-traders although MO
does not make this explicit; through Line 14, pronominal
refeences have similar content

B,15 Los negros Afte a long section of implicit pronominal refeences, MO uses

the overt socio-racial terms of the group he has been describing
as ‘the immigrants/the morenos/the people of thee,etc’

A,11 le dieon. . .al blanco He (blonca) master is killed by them (negros); contrastive

 

 

 

 

149

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(‘they gave him [a pronouns are used bee in a speake-exclusive sense

blow’]
A,11 yo, mi raza My (mulata) identity is with “my negro race”

‘me, my race’

A,11 yo. . .ellos Unlike previous line, this is a statement of identity, mutual
dependence and solidarity; ‘me’ (mulato) and them (negros) are

‘1...them’ together because “my” race is “their” race

A,12 si no me. . .quieen If they (blancas) reject me, I do (mulata) do so too

A,13 Hicieon (X2) ‘they’ made peace (blancas and negros) made afte a long and
serious conflict

A,16 su sangre footing stance changes to that of commentator about “race”

‘his blood’

B, 18 Esa gente use of distant demonstrative makes MO seem to have reveted to

‘those people’ ‘historical negro’ of immigrant ancestors who are nevetheless
removed from self

B,20 La gente NEGRA dc Not clear if the refeence is speake inclusive, but we know that it

SN refes to present day populations, not to the distant ancestors

‘the black people of previously talked about

SN’

B,21 toda la BANDA Interesting use of slang to describe group to which self belongs.

‘the whole GANG’ A solidary term, it has strong connotations of strong in-group
alliances

B,23 Esta gente negra At the very end of the narrative, MO uses a ‘close’

These black people demonstrative to indicate that he refes to the present negros, (as
opposed to those negros of long ago) although he still does not
adopt an inclusive pronoun

5.1.2. Summary

The interpretation given to co-occurring pronouns referring to social races in San Nicolan

sample narratives shows some of the links between “linguistic surface forms and the

presuppositions behind their use” (Gumperz 1982a). Through contextual interpretation of
socio-racial terms, it is possible to infer background information that helps to understand

their use in narratives or in other speech events. The roots and dynamics of individual

‘racial’ identity as a function of social conflict, for example, explain why [+negro]

individuals are forced into an alliance against the blanco, driven by the words of the

mulata:

A12

si no me quieren ya no me importan,

if they [blancas] do not like me I don’t care...

150

 

The narratives capture the historicity of contemporary social organization. For
example, after having fought and killed each other’s members for a time, the three ‘races’
of San Nicolas found a level of peaceful coexistence in which they live today. In what
appears to be a continuation of the ‘complicating action,’ Line 14 of Narrative A
contains a dense number of reference to the three ‘races,’ of San Nicolas as well as the
words “triumph,” ‘dance,’ “Afiica, ” “tarimba,” and “arteza” (unique musical
instruments of San Nicolas, see Chapter 3 Section 3.2.). Such occurrence is significant in
that it brings together most of the key elements of Afromexican community and culture:
African origins, music, struggle and reconciliation which are all captured in the
narratives. Of course we also hear of the ‘racial attributes’ previously heard in interviews
of Chapter 4 and summarized in Table 4.5, such as that the negro is of ‘stronger blood’
than the blanca which made the negro triumph over his adversary. The point of this
particular narrative then is to emphasize the independence of negros who have liberated
themselves from domination by blancas
after an long period of conflict. The counter culture attitude is not uncommon among
minorities: “if you do not like me, I don’t have to like you either.”

The expression “yo dependo [de mi raza]” is interesting in the Afromexican
context. It was used several times in conversations with members of the community. In
this case, the mulata character is talking of his ‘heritage’ rather than ‘dependence’ on mi
raza (“my race”). In other instances, we find this usage in such examples as “yo dependo
de la familia X, ” “I am of that family” or “I owe allegiance to X family.” This idiomatic
use of the verb “depend” is uniquely regional, not part of Standard Mexican Spanish. It’s

usage probably derives from the heavy reliance on family, clan or other type of

151

association allegiance commonly found in rural Mexico whereby being a member of a
certain family entails a real dependence on that affiliation for all purposes including
protection from or involvement in feuds, land rights or access to water, etc.

Narrative A uses individual characters to represent the “races” as they are
historically understood in San Nicolas: a blanco father, a negro mother and a mulata son,
all within the context of a slave plantation. This reminds us of Figure 1.1. of Chapter One
where I showed how miscegenation and intermarriage produced new social “races.” For
example, blonca and negro parents produced a mulata child. It also reminds us of SG’s
comment that “la piel es moreno pero la sangre es blanca,” since she was referring to
this mixture of blanca and negro races in their own family; that despite the social identity
of ‘moreno,’ her grandson also has blanco in him. Racial identity was and still is a
function of individual identification with a particular ‘race’ and not necessarily a
biological prerogative, an individual choice to a certain extent. The mulata son clearly
chooses to identify himself with the negro (mother) race since the blanco father race
would not accept him. In the dialogue of the story, negra (‘black’, fem) and esclava
(‘slave’, fem.) like negro viejo (‘old negro’) or viejo esclava (‘old slave’ masc.) are used
interchangeably to describe the same individual. The abstract characteristics of negro in
these sample narratives compares very well with the ‘historical negro’ (negro ,)

discussed in Chapter 4 .

152

5.2.Versos
Although I am of the Congo race
I am not a born African
I am of the Mexican nation
barn in Almalanga
J osa VANSCONCELOS, 18TH CENTURY MEXICAN Pour
A special ‘form of talk’ in San Nicolas is the practice of versas or lyrical poetry which
rhymes and whose content provides social commentary on all types of issues of daily life,
such as love, engagement, school and village life, habits and racial attitudes. The practice
of “versifying” (versear) is widespread among Afromexicans of the Costa Chica during
several occasions of the year. This practice is one of the continuities of African linguistic
and cultural practices in the New World when we look at its origin, content and present
day form. There is some agreement among scholars of African presence and continuities
in Mexico. It is generally acknowledged (e. g. Beltran 1958, Guttierrez 1988; Moedano
1985; Pereira 1995, and others) that Africans in Mexico (re) created forms of expression,
took up new ones from others they came into contact with, and modified their own. It is
therefore not surprising that versas are comparable to other oral traditions of certain
African ethnolinguistic communities.

Genres similar to Afromexican versas are abundant in continental African
societies such as praise poetry widely practiced in southern African societies and West
African griot traditions. Among the Gikuyu of East Africa, the gicandi practice very
much approximates Afromexican versos in form, content and social function as they

existed in the past. They are lyrical and they encode social themes; they also have an

entertainment value in that they are performed for an audience (N jogu, 1992). Although

153

the gicandi is basically performed by male artists (women perform a closely related form
called kiriro (lit. ‘wailing’). Like Afromexican versadores, performers are noted for their
individualism and greater emphasis on words than on body movement (Kabira 1987).
Gicandi performances deal with coding and decoding of messages gleaned from social
norms and events. These parallels exist in such practices found in African Diaspora
speech communities.

Nevertheless versas origins have also been linked to the Spanish literary genre of
décima which was widespread and important in Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries.
However, important differences are found between those forms and versos as practiced
by Afromexicans in the Costa Chica. According to Prudente, et a1 (1993), the metric
organization (the form) of Afromexican versas is quite different from the Spanish
décimos, and so is the content. Unfortunately these researchers do not elaborate on the
“metric organization” alluded to with regard to form.

Afromexican versas themes reflect a past world of alienation, present lifestyles
and daily experiences. They tell important things about existing or past social relations
among the social “races,” confirming earlier insights I mentioned about the relationship
between discourse and context.

During important social events in San Nicolas such as weddings and funerals or
fiestas for patron saints, versas become an important component of those speech
situations. Men, women, children and elders may participate. There are two types of
versas: traditional versos which are memorized by individuals who then recite them
whenever appropriate situation arises (see table 5.2.), and spontaneously created versos

during retadas (lit. “challenges”), sessions when individuals engage in a verbal duel.

154

The traditional versas are taken from the community’s reservoir of oral traditions,
and they are recited from memory. Their creation may not necessarily be traced back to a
particular individual. The lines are learned through memorization and practice, but
delivery skills are essential for an individual to become an outstanding versador. In fact, I
often observed their use by elders in educating younger persons; instead of chiding or
lecturing children about manners, marriage and love, my host grandfather would often
start to recite versos relating to those topics.

The second type of versas is the unique, spontaneously created form called the
retada (lit. “challenge”) or controversia (lit. “controversy”). This type represents a
socially regulated confrontation or “war of words.” It is a public event, frequently held
during social occasions such as velorios (mourning the dead before burial), festive
reunions, at the cantina (known as congale in San Nicolan dialect), or by the river while
women do their washing. The versifier or challenger demonstrates and shows off their
verbal skills by throwing at his or her opponents sharp, witty, fast, versos which leave the
loser afrantado (with loss of face). According to Prudente et al (1993), retadas provide
an outlet for regulating ordinary tensions in the community. Challenging and defending
oneself through verso provides a less harmful and efficient means of discharging
hostilities without having to resort to physical violence. This is especially true among
women whose social position would demand verbal rather than physical confrontations.
More importantly, it is a creative exercise requiring spontaneity and quick thinking in
contrast to the traditional form which relies on memory and experience. While the
traditional versos are still predominantly the domain of adult individuals, today, the

‘verbal wars’ appear to be falling out of use among adults according to informants.

155

Spontaneous versos may be created on the spot to illustrate a point during
conversation. This is achieved by creating a framework by evoking this type of speech
event. In doing so, the speaker is more empowered to mention things or make claims in
ways that would not be possible in a different type of speech situation. The verso as a
speech event enables the speaker/singer to speak ‘baldly, on record,’ (Brown and
Levinson 1983) without causing (much) offense. This social function is quite similar to
the role played by gicandi practitioners, as well as the artistic value put on the words, the
performers and their expertise.

The impact of speech embedded in versas is ‘softer’ on the recipient who also
has a change to respond and ‘defend’ him or herself in similar ways. In the one of the few
examples of spontaneous versas I recorded, the verso was inserted into a conversation
to say something unflattering about a black man who was then a topic of our
conversation. Of course it was not easy to arrange for a controversia as it was to
obtain interviews. In a few occasions when they did occur I was unprepared, without a
tape recorder in hand. These are neither predictable nor frequent since they are by nature
spontaneous. However, participant observer notes and a few traditional versas available
to me do provide sufficient data to illustrate use of socio-racial terms within the genre of
versas. In my own observation versas vary little in terms of their content and form in
Afromexican villages of the Costa where I recorded their performance.

nv ' A

1 CH: no ha habida atras hombres GRANDES,negras de aqui?

there has not been other GREAT black men of here

2 MO: COMO NO COMO NO, coma no! estuva un FELIPE

SILVA, un

OF COURSE OF COURSE of course! Was a FELIPE SILVA, a
3 hombre negro, negro, aqui,se le dice NEGRO PAPA YA

156

man black, black, here, we say BLACK PAPAYA
negro papaya?

black papaya?
te echo un verso .7

Shall I throw you a verso?

umh? ((uncomprehending))
te echo un verso UN VERSO?

shall I throw you A VERSO?

aha si.’

aha yes!

((sings))VIEJO COMO NO TE MUERE VIEJO, VIEJO
COMO NO

OLD MAN WHY WONT YOU DIE OLD MAN, OLD MAN
WHY

TE M UERE VIEJO, CABEZITA DE ALGODON, SABE QUE
NO TE (BUSCO) NI AL DIABLO NT A MEXICO NI A LA
NACIONll Heh heh! eso es lo

WON’T YOU DIE OLD MAN, COTTON HEAD, YOU KNOW I
N 0 (SEARCH) FOR YOU AT THE DEVILS NOR IN MEXICO
NOR IN THE [WHOLE] NATION! Heh heh
que se canta con la arteza aqui, esa inventan al momenta

that is how we sing with the arteza here, made up on the moment
a ver si se te acurre otro!

Let’s see if to you comes another[verso]!

In Line 3, the speaker referred to a man as “negro papaya. ’ When I asked for clarification

by repetition (Line 4) to communicate my lack of comprehension of the term, MQ’s

response in Line 5 was: te hecho un verso? (“Shall I throw you a verso?”). The opening

line issued by RC is a contextualization cue which signals a change in ‘speech activity

typez’ versifying. However, I do not immediately recognize it as an instance of MO using

a versos as “verbal weapons” to make bald statements about a sensitive topic (e. g. ‘why

won’t you die old man? Why won’t you die?’ (Lines 10-11). By asking for permission

from the audience, MQ signaled the change of speech mode from conversation to verso.

My confusion about the term ‘negra papaya’ was far from clarified by the verso that was

‘thrown’ at me. But it became clear however that the social identity of the man being

157

discussed was negro, but a “negro papaya,” or a negro (‘yellow’ under the skin) whose
loyalty to the social group is or was questionable. In Chapter 1 I described a number of
terms used to describe different ‘types’ of negros in the Costa Chica area (e. g. changa
vestida ‘dressed up monkey’; labia volteada ‘turned up lip, etc.); of course, the
differences, just like the terms coined to describe them refer to behavioral or peculiar
physical attributes, rather than socio-racial ones since it is understood that their social
identity was negro anyway. MQ used a verso to respond affirmatively to my question
about prominent blacks of the past in San Nicolas. He used a verso which he ‘threw’ at
me as a ‘softening device,’ to reveal some negative characteristic of a prominent negro of
San Nicolas.

I will look at a number of short versas in greater detail in the next section, but first
Itabulate the occasions during which versas are sung in San Nicolas and also in many
other Afromexican communities of the Costa Chico. Some dates coincide while others do

not because they are relevant only in San Nicolas, such as the day of the local patron

saint.
T 1 ° ' i n i Ni 1
Date Event Situation
August 14 Day of the Virgin Mary Group of small girls (mariposas)versify at

church ceremony

September 10 Baile de Taros (Bull dance) Cowboys(vaqueros)versify while

on the day of the festival bull fighting
dedicated to San Nicolas (the
Patron Saint)
November Dia de las muertas free for all versifying by all
festivity which includes community members

158

danza de las diablos

(devil’s dance)

Various at funerals Padrinos(close friends) bid goodbye to

the deceased on the way to burial site

Various At weddings Sung by eldersduring la entrega

del presente (gift giving)

Various Dance of the arteza (also Versos are sung by those present to the
cajon); basically a “jam rhythm of the arteza, praising, ridiculing,
session” chanting those present in collective

festivity and spontaneous dialogue

Various non special occasions, Sung by selected individual at the request
relaxing in the afternoon from an audience
or evening, chatting
and/or drinking

5.2.1. Soda-Racial Term in Traditional Versos

Versos of the traditional type consist of carefully constructed oral messages
reflective of collective experience (e.g. slavery, war, racial attitudes, love and marriage,
etc.) with heavy reliance on individual improvisation and expertise in creating verses
with an appealing form (rhythm and rhyme). The topic of “race” and identity is present
both in modern versas, and in early colonial poetry such as that of Jose Vasconcelos (El
Negrito Poeta) — an 18th century Mexican Poet and nationalist quoted at the beginning
of this section. Versos are such an integral part of the language of San Nicolans that from
early on, children are encouraged to listen, recite and make up their own verses —
in general, to acquire competence in composition and interpretation.

Schoolchildren often create and recite verses that reflect their school life and
newly acquired knowledge which often appears to actually be a way of challenging each
others’ book knowledge creatively while demonstrating their own. Here are two

examples of versos sang by middle schoolchildren of San Nicolas.

159

 

A

Par ti suspiro
par ti me muera
por ti en la escuela
me saco cero

because of you I breathe
because of you I die
because of you at school
I get zero

 

 

B
te quiera matematicamente
con un amar trigonometral
porque fisica y
biologicamente
tu ere’ mi sistema decimal !

I love you mathematically
with trigonometrical love
because physical and
biologically

you are my decimal system !

 

 

The words of these versas recited by young schoolchildren are located in a school setting,
where mathematical concepts are used as words to describe love; they are also used for
rhythmical purposes and drama. The words of both versas tell of school and love among
youth I will use the stanzas of a number of short versas recorded in San Nicolas by
Prudente et a1 (1993) to show that uses of social racial terms in Afromexican versas are
consistent with those seen in narratives and in conversational data. Each verso is

numbered for reader’s convenience when referring to specific verrsos.

1e ‘ V wi m ed i -Ra i T rm
To see over the edge
1. My negrito is beautiful
Me subi a la punta del barco Like a cotton flower
a devisar pa '1 rincon I will not stop loving him
mi negrito e ’bonito Till he’s inside the grave
como una flor de algadon 1'11 cover him with soil
no dejo de quererla Then I’ll ask his forgiveness]
ha ’ta votarlo al pantean
primera le hecho la tierra 2. .
y despues le pido perdon Corre el agua par debaja
* corre el agua y no se enfn’a

[I climbed to the top of the ship que pensaria este moreno

160

que de cierto lo queria
yo le di la entretenida
mientra ’ mi amor venia

*

[Wate runs undeground

it flows but does not get cool
what does this moreno think
that 1 really loved him

but I entertained him along
While love was on the way]
3.

en un pocita profundo
ya sala me andaba ahoganda
par e’te negro briban

la vida me andaba co ’tanda

*

[Inside a deep well

I was drowning by myself
Because of this “bad nigge”
My life was being cut away

4.
al pasar par una huerta
me carte la mejor cana
no soy blonca ni bonita
soy coma la rosa de E ’spana
mi color e’ triguenito
pero sin ninguna maa

*
[While passing by a field

I cut the best cane

I am neither white nor pretty
I am like the Spanish Rose
My color is triguefla

But without a blemish]

5.

de arn'ba caya an panito
derechita al duraznito

deje de querer a an blonca
par querer un triguenito
tendra la sangre muy dulce
y por ser may hombrecito

up

[From above fell a worm
straight into the peaches
I stopped loving a whitelman]
In order to love a trigueflo
Who had sweet blood
And was very manly]

6.

161

dicen que lo negro es luto
yo diga que no e’verda’
porque tus ojitas son negros
y me dan felicidad

*

they say we mourn blackness

I say that’s not true

Because your eyes (dim) are black
Yet they make me happy

7.

me desprecia par moreno
tiene ’ toda la razon

entre perla’ y diamante

la morena es mejor

*
[They dislike me for being moreno
they have all the reason

between pearls and diamonds
moreno is the best]

8.

negrito de no ser tu
perdi la espeanza ya
porque solamente en ti
se encero mi voluntad

*
Negrito if it wasn’t for you
I’d’ve lost all hope
because in you, only in you
my will is confined

9.
al subir la e’calea
oi lo’s paso’ de Adan
acuedate morenita
que yo soy de Huehuetan

a:
[While climbing the stairs

I heard Adam’s steps
Remembe morena (fem. dim.)
That I am from Huehetan]

10.

negra sin tu amor no me hallo
nada, nada me divierte

mejor que te parta an rayo
para dejar dc quererte

[black (fem.) without your love
nothing makes me happy
better if lighting tore you apart

so I can stop loving you]

11.

en papel blanco te escribo
porque blancafue mi suerte
yo no quiera papelfina

ya lo que deseo es verte

as

[I write you on white pape
Because white was my luck
I do not want fine pape
What I want is to see you]

12.

dicen que el negro e triste
pero yo diga que no es verda ’
porque lo mejor besos

se dan en la ascuridad

[They say that the black is sad
But I say that’s not true
Because the best of kisses
Are given in the darkness

13.

ya note quiera negrito
porque ere’ como la cera
te derrites con el sol

y te pegas can cualquiera

tit

I no longe love you negrito

For you are like wax

You disappear with the sun

And you hold on fast onto anyone

14.

a las morenos bonitas

una corona imperial

y a las gueras descolorr'das
una penca de nopal

[To the pretty morenos

a royal crown

and for the discolored blondes
a thorn of thenopal!

162

I!1§!S°-E'l '11! 115

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verso Reference Contextual Interpretation

1 mi negrito e’ ‘Affectionate’ use of ‘negro’ in its diminutive form coupled with the
bonito commonly used phrase of pride; affirmation of self. The use is
‘my negrito is positive.
beautiful’

2 este moreno Singe takes on ‘outside’ footing to describe the foolish love. This use
‘this moreno’ is non-inclusive of speake, and not affectionate.

3 negro brib6n The negative (exclusive) use of negro is selected by singe hee to

denounce the irresponsible behavior such as that attributed to Negros2.
“bad nigge”

4 no say blonca Singe resorts to the social uses of (blonca, triglleilo) to describe he
ni bonito own identity. Seen little in our samples so far, it is actually a
mi color es descriptive term for a sub-set of negros/morenos , like prieto. zambo,
triglieflo etc. it is used to describe intenal diffeentiation among morenos.

“I am neither
white nor
pretty, my color
is trigu'eho”

5 an blonca Singe rejects a blanco in favor of a triglleilo who is ‘sweete’ and
es trigiiefto more ‘manly.’ This is an example of how social ‘race’ attributes those

of Negr02 are used to negotiate personal choices — at least
symbolically (in langu_age).

6 lo negro Neithe instance refes to social race or to individuals in this case, but
ajas negros this veso only gains meaning when it evokes the (negative) attributes
‘blackness’ of Negro2.

‘black/dark
eyes’

7 moreno Singe selects the outsider tem to make an evaluative statement about
her ‘race.’ Notice that she uses the pronoun ‘they’ in refeence to those
who dislike be. She then turns the negative views into a pltaform to
affirm he pride in self-identity.

8 negrito “affectionate” use of the tem in its diminutive form hee is similar to
the positive use in veso 1. It is a positive use since it refes to a
supportive/kind negro.

9 Another instanc of affectionate uses by an “outside” who nevetheless
morenita comes from Huehuetan, a prominent Afromexican community

mentioned in Conversations with MG (Chapter 4). It may be assumed
that the speaker is negro, because he’s from Huehetan; nevetheless,
the use of this term is an “outside.”

10 negro use of negro describe great infatuation. Since negro is being used
positively by speake, we assume that this is Negrol and the speake is
an “inside.”

11 A play of words similar to (6) above, but it is not clear whethe ‘white

blanco luck that Ihad’ is a good thing or a bad thing; nevetheless, there is the
blanca same exploitation of socio-racial terms for poetic purposes.

12

el negro Hypothetical negro (NegroZ), pitied by outsiders, but singe rejects this
notion (‘I say it’s not true’). Thee play on words (negro/darkness)
represents the range of possibilities of use of social racial terms to

 

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describe or express meanings.

 

13
negrito First instance in which the diminutive form of negro is used in a non-
affectionate manne. On the contrary, it is used in senses similar to
those of NegroZ. Important to note is that the term is evoked for
negative uses.

 

14
las morenos As in Stanza (7) morena (fem) is used in a positive way (‘bonitas’) and
contrasted with the gueras [who have lost their blondness], possibly
referring to those who seek to belong to a social race they do not
belong to.

 

 

 

 

 

5.2.2. Summary

All the verses described and analyzed above were created around the theme of
“race.” Overall, they rely on the understandings of socio-racial terms we have seen so far
in ordinary conversations and in narratives. An informant reported for example, that “the
ship, the cotton, grave and land are our things that we grow up knowing.” In the first
verso, this background information is present but not readily evident if the listener is not
aware of the social meanings of these words and why they are evoked. It is the lexicon
that contributes to the fixing of the context of events encapsulated by this story: land,
negros, cotton, etc, terms which create a ‘solidary’ basis to the meaning of negrito, a
diminutive form of negro. The term is commonly used by speakers of Standard Mexican
Spanish (“outsiders”) who invariably describe these uses as “affectionate.”

The term used to describe the protagonist in the story changes from negrito to
moreno in Verso 2. This is also a non-solidary term used by insiders but not insiders,
according to our previous data; its use in verso 2 refers to the character who is being
cheated by his lover is making a shift in psychological alliance by self-distancing herself
(by selecting different terms at different points) from the affected individual, but the

reasons for this move are not yet clear.

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Following that, the negative qualities of the protagonist bring about a switch to
the stigmatized social racial term “negro bribon” (“bad nigger’ ’) who is cutting short the
versodor’s life with heartbreak, and who, according to our analysis in Chapter 4, is
represented by negro,_. Other socio-racial attributes are explicit in the words of the verso,
such as “no soy blonca ni bonito” (‘I am not beautiful and white (fem.)’) also defined in
oppositional values of “good” and “bad,” “beautiful” or “ugly.” The last line of the stanza
is commonly heard in conversations, where speakers assert their [+negro] identity by
challenging the negative values or beliefs attributed to their social “race.” Verso 6
similarly challenges the notion that ‘they say we mourn blackness’ by clever use of
negro as a common adjective devoid of racial connotations (“your eyes are black’ ’) to
reject the negative ones that are associated with his social group. Versos 8 and 10 are
more expressions of affection for the [+negro] protagonist. Interestingly the term moreno
is consistently used in its feminine version (i.e. refers to females) while negro is
overwhelmingly masculine in all its occurrences except one in Stanza 10. This lends
support to the idea that moreno is the ‘softer’ term for use among Afromexicans when
used, and ‘negro’ is the ‘bald’ term of use inside the community. Another manipulation
of socio-racial terms occurs in Verso 12: “the negro cannot be sad because the best kisses
are given in the darkness”. By using negro and ‘dark’ as synonyms, the versodor
highlights the social (racial) meanings ascribed to the terms ‘negra’ and ‘blanco. ’ The
“very manly” attributes of negro man, who also has “sweet” blood were seen in previous
conversations and analyzed as expressions of racial pride within the context of local
competition among the “races.” There is a higher frequency of change of footing stances

between negro) and negro2 in versos than in narratives. This is to be expected in a verbal

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art of this type where sharp nuances and manipulation of meanings are the very basis of
their symbolic value. The contextual interpretations in Table 5.4. show that the multiple
and antagonistic uses of the term negro makes it an excellent ‘weapon’ for verso singers.

5.3. Corridos.

“Corridos are popular Mexican ballads typically celebrating the exploits of cowboy drug runners
in western and northern Mexico (Finnegan, 1996).”

The above quote from an article in the New Yorker magazine is just one example
of the overgeneralizations or stereotypical understandings of Mexican popular culture in
general, for nothing could be further from the truth about the carridas of San Nicolas.
Although most carridas indeed are composed around the theme of local individuals, I
have not encountered a single one that overtly celebrates drug runners. The conidos I
have listened to are mostly about singular (often violent) events involving local persons
and about love.

In general, carridas are not happy songs. The lyrics are most often sad
commentaries on past events in the community’s memory. They are in fact narratives
that trigger powerful emotion such as tears of sadness or outbursts of anger at the
memory of those events recounted in the ballad. Corridos are composed by individuals or
musical bands then may be learned by others and sung many times over in the
community when people have gathered for recreation, story-telling or any other
occasion when people are gathered to exchange stories or experiences. Some spontaneous
lines may be added to a corrido, to dedicate the song to someone present at the time of
performance, or to add new information to an older corrida.

San Nicolans take carridas quite seriously as part of their knowledge of the range

of local language performances. Corrido singing sessions take place in specific settings

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involving a limited number of performers (an individual or band of musicians), male
singers who can also play a guitar. As speech events, the language used in corrido
sessions includes some discourse markers that generally do not occur in other speech
situations (e. g. ayl, line repetition, and others). Corridos also serve the purpose of being a
social commentary on local issues and history, encoding in this way, community values
and socio-cultural rules. Their importance as an area of formal study is underscored by
the historical value of such songs given the familiarity of the singers in relation to the
actors and the nature of conflicts. I find corridos to be an important area of San Nicolan
ethnography of speaking because in their performance we encounter a particular ‘frame
of talk’ in which slightly different meanings and values may be inferred. My data from
the corridos I collected in San Nicolas does not, unfortunately, provide interesting data
about the use and patterning of socio-racial terms.

Moedano (1989) and Gutierrez (1988) reported that this particular verbal artistry
is a distinctive Afromexican cultural production. One of Gutierrez’s findings in his 1988
study of carridas was that the corrido musical tradition is “rooted in violent settings.”
But it is not clear whether this common theme is linked to the African component of their
culture. True, an overwhelming proportion of the corridos recount tragedies that have
taken place in the community, but so do most of the corridos sang in rural, non-
Afromexican communities especially in the northern region of the country. With few
exceptions, corridos are a male affair, sang by men and about men’s versions of bravery,
fearlessness in the face of adversity; nobility, chivalry, and those aspects of male
character (machismo) that are viewed as prestigious according to community norms. But

even though Mexican carridas are not unique to Afromexicans, they are comparable in

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form and content to similar verbal art from Diaspora communities in the Americas such
as Jamaican Dance Hall “gun-talk” or US Hip Hop, which are often artistic statements of
protest against perceived present or past oppression. They are also “expressions of intra-
group conflicts,” according to Pereira (1995) who further describes corridos as “another
form of resistance of marginalized groups, an affirmation of the self.” Afromexican
corridos themes reflect some of these conflicts with the establishment — el gobiema
(“government”) — which are frequently threaded into the narratives of intra-group
conflict involving local actors. “Government” in San Nicolas most often refers to the
“outsider” entity who frequently intervenes in local matters and exercises control over the
local inhabitants. By and large these are federal government soldiers or Guerrero state
policemen.

In this section I will provide three sample carridas from San Nicolas1 to illustrate
some of the socio-cultural information they embody using the same intersubjective
interpretation approach I have used in looking at the other areas of discourse practice.
Corridos represent a ‘form of talk’ which have an internal structure that is quite similar
to that of the narratives I examined earlier in this chapter, and their content, like that of
other narratives, serves to ‘recapitulate past experience by matching a series of
sequenced clauses.’ Corridos are in fact narratives of past experience structured in
similar ways to conversational narratives except that they are in the form of songs. I will
therefore analyze them using the same narrative structure framework, and I will

highlight these structural properties while interpreting their content. I continue to rely on

 

' Parts of these samples wee recorded in El Pitahayo, Guerreo in Decembe 1993. Full and better
recorded vesions of the corridos are taken from a commercially distributed tape, “Corridos
Guerrerenses,” which I obtained in Acapulco.

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my knowledge and first hand experiences while using them to gain more insights into
the ‘cultural backdrop’ of this community.
5.3.1.Corrido de Felicito N oyola

N oyola is one of the most widespread surnames in San Nicolas, El Pitahayo and
even beyond in other Afromexican pueblos of the Costa Chico. The head of my principal
host family in San Nicolas was married to a Noyola, and my host in E1 Pitahayo was also
a Noyola. The official civil registrars of both communities bear the last name Noyola.
The founding patriarch of E1 Pitahayo was also a N oyola. Genz (1975) discussed the
nature and origins of endogamy in one Afromexican community of Veracruz, however, I
will not discuss that aspect here.

The following corrido (source: 'Corridos Guerrenenses') embodies the
community life and of San Nicolas and El Pitahayo. It is a narrative involving actual
members of one of the most extended families there, and some of the events recounted in
this corrido are quite familiar to me, such as the Fiesta de Santiago, an annual festival to
celebrate the patron saint of El Pitahayo. Many San Nicolans who are relatives and
friends of the sister community attend this occasion. Horse races, cock-fighting and

dancing take place. Food and drink are served in many homes.

E . l l E 1' . 11 1
1 Un saluda para tadas

greetings to all
2 1970 fecha que no se me barra (repeat 2 times)

1970, a date I’ll never forget
3 par la fiesta de Santiago ay! mataran a Noyola

during the fiesta of Santiago, ay! they killed Noyola
4 El fue nacr’da en Peralta y creecida en Acapulco

He was born in Peralta and raised in Acapulco
5 el tenia muchos amigos dande hiza su fartuna (x2)

he had many friends where he made his fortune

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10

11

12

13

14

15

I6

17

I8

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

esa cuestian empeza con el senor maria mendaza

those troubles began with senor Mario Mendoza
ay! le raba una yegua a la senara elaisa (x2 )

ay! he robbed a mare of Senora Eloisa
sei'rar Tenor de Genela era amigo de Noyola

Sefior Tenor de Genelo was a friend of N oyola
ay! le paraba Ia yegua porque no queria prablema (x2 )

ay! he tethered his mare because he did not want problems
ay! dice maria mendaza esa no llega a la ley

ay! said Mario Mendoza, this is between us (not the law)
ya a Noyola la arregla can an tira de 16 (x2 )

me, Noyola I will fix [him] with a blast of (M)l6
el senor Maria Mendoza la tenia tada planeada

Senor Mario Mendoza had it all planned
para motor a Noyola par la fiesta de santiaga (x2 )

to kill Noyola at the fiesta de Santiago
El Mario tiro primera con la impresian de ganarle

Mario shot first thinking he’d win first
entace dice a Noyola "tu no me puedes motor"

but Noyola told him, “you cannot kill me”
le saco su pistala y le empeza a disparar

he whipped out his pistol and started to shoot (x2)
ay! tiraba el senor Perez tambien Adm-ta Ortiz

Senor Perez was shooting so was Altberto Ortiz
tiranda desde el cereza dande se iban a marir (x2 )

shooting from the bush where they were going to die
ay! gritaba Juan Fernandez, ”no se hogan bolas muchachos

Juan Fernandez was shouting “don’t mess up boys”
tiren can valor muchachos que nos se va Noyola "

shoot bravely boys lest Noyola gets away from us
ay! tiraban las Ortizes tiraban sin paders pasar

the Ortizes were shooting without being able to pass
tirandose contra tadas para paderse salvar (x2 )

shooting wildly to save their lives
tiraba Reimunda Ortiz tiraba coma ninguna

Reymundo Ortiz was shooting like no one else
descarga el M1 tumbandale una par una (x2 )

discharging his Ml, felling one after another
ay! senor Juan Hernandez parece que de a de veras

oh, senor Juan Hernandez saw it was for real
can an balaza en el braza empeza la carrera (x2 )

with a bullet in the shoulder he started to run
ya me vay a despedirme, muchachos no se hogan bolas

I am now saying goodbye, boys don’t make a mess
par la fiesta del santiaga ay! mataran a Nayola(x2)

at the fiesta de Santiago, oh they killed Noyola

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The theft of a horse belonging to Senora Eloisa by Mario Mendoza was the
apparent reason for the conflict. But it turned out to be a ruse in a plan to kill Noyola. It
appears that Noyola was informed by his friend Sefior Tenor (Line 8) of the theft, and
went for Mario (the thief) who responded with a challenge that the matter be settled
between them, not by the law (Line 10). Within the context of Guerrero, this is a
challenge to a duel which is made explicit by Mario’s threat “to fix N oyola with one blast
of M16” (Line 11). Of course, Mario’s intention was to provoke Noyola as a pretext to
finding a way to kill him. Indeed, when the duel time came, Mario fired the first shot
indicating his role as aggressor, and Noyola responded by whipping out his pistol saying
“you can’t kill me” (Line 15). As soon as he responded in this way, several other men
appeared on the scene of what turned to be an ambush. Sefior Perez and Alberto Ortiz
were the ones to die on that same bush from where they had laid ambush (Line 18).
Meanwhile the Otriz brothers were shooting desperately for their lives (Line 22) to
defend themselves from Noyola’s counter attack. Desperately, Juan Hernandez urged his
gun-men “not to mess up, lest N oyola escapes” even as he (Juan H) himself saw that
things were getting too hot, and escaped with a bullet lodged in his shoulder (Line 26).
The actual death of Noyola is not mentioned but it is implicit in the song’s theme and
title.

I will now refer the reader back to the structure of the narrative described in
Section 5 .2. Essential components of narrative are clearly present in the corrido. Lines 1-
3 provide an abstract: the killing of Noyola in 1970, at the annual Fiesta de Santiago. Of

course the brief introduction assumes certain background information, such as the

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knowledge of day of Santiago which will help to understand the significance of (the
events of) the narrative.

The orientation begins in Line 4 where the background of the main actor is given,
what he was like (‘had many friends,’ Line 5) and that he was well-to-do (‘had made his
fortune’, also in Line 5.

The complicating action section which gives detailed, sequenced description of
the events follows in Line 6: ‘those troubles began with Senor Mendoza,’ marking the
beginning of a series of clauses that describe the conflict that led to Noyola’s death
(Lines 7-11). An evaluation is inserted in Lines 12-13, where the narrator breaks the flow
of narration to comment to the listeners that “Senor Mendoza had it all planned, how to
kill N oyola, at the Fiesta de Santiago.” Notice how the narrator ‘reminds us of the point
of the story’ by constant repetition of the line that provides the theme of the corrido. The
complicating action lines resume in Line 14 through 27, intensifying the action around
Line 18 where dialogue lines of the actors are inserted for suspenseful delivery of the
story’s end. Line 27 is a resolution section of this narrative which also marks the end of
the complicating action. Line 28 marks the coda or the line that brings the listeners back
to the present world.

5.3.2. Corrido de Marcelo Figueroa

The structure of the second sample is similar to the previous one with the
difference being that the complicating action of the latter is longer and more detailed. A
short abstract, similar to the one of the first corrido, is found in lines 1-3. The

complicating action then follows, starting in Line 4; the events follow neatly in

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sequenced, chronological order broken only by an evaluation in Line 33. As in Corrido

de Noyola, ay! marks the beginning of each narrative clause in the complicating action.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

M' roa

el aiia de 1970 no me quisiera acardar

the year 1970 I’d rather forget
murieran tres Huehetecas y de pueblo San Nicalds

three Huhuetans died, one from San Nicolas
y una de Montecillo par no saberse cuidar

and one from Montecillo for not knowing how to watch out
le diio Gracialo a Marcela Figueroa

Gracialo told Marcelo Figueroa
y vamas al atra lado y regresamas ahora

we’re just going across, we’ll be back shortly
ay! le dija su mujer "ayes Marcela no vayas"

ay! Said his woman, “listen Marcelo, don’t go”
’fiva coma quera me vay me vaya coma me vaya "

I don’t care what happens to me, I’m going
y si no queda a regresar tal vez ya seria mi raya

and if I don’t come back, that may be my fortune
ay! agarraan el camino tadas despesperada

ay! They started out, all in desperation
porque habian sabida huma( ) estaba esperando

because they knew ( ) was waiting
y Juan Moctezuma dija "muchachos a dande se van

and Juan Moctezuma said, ‘boys, where are you going
tenga el presentimienta que alga les va a pasar

I have a feeling that something may happen to you
preguntaran par Alfonso que se la querian llevar

they asked for Alfonso, for they wanted to take him along
ay! llevaran el camina tadas coma unas gallas

ay! They took the road, all were like cocks
na mas cruzaran el campa y estaban en El Pitahayo

they’d only crossed the fields and soon were in E1 Pitahayo
luega que llegaran las empeza a ”saludar"

as soon as they arrived, they started to “greet”
que se saca su pistala y les empeza a "saludar”

they pulled out the pistols and started the greetings _
otro dia tadas muy tempranitas tadas andaban barrachas

the next day very early all were drunk
na mas cruzaran a Cuaji detras se fueran las gallas

they just crossed over to Cuaji, behind them the “cocks”
lleganda a San Nicolas tadas andaban bebienda

upon arriving at San Nicolas, all were drinking

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21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

tamanda en una cantina cuanda les caya el gobiema
while drinking at the cantina, the govenment fell on them
Graciano dija ”muchachos no tengan miedo"
Graciano said, “boys, do not be afraid”
vamas dejanda las armas porque les cae el gobiema
we’re dropping the guns, because the government is on us
que cuanda llegando a Ometepec can dinera lo arregla
as soon as we get to Ometepec, I’ll fix everything with money
ay! Manuel Medina diia ya no me rendire nada
ay! Manuel Medina said, I am not giving no way
se salio su rifle se salio de regulada
his rifle popped out, ..?
se salta coma rayo y hasta le rebalaba?
He jumped like lightening, until ....?
Marcela Figueroa coma querienda llarar
Marcelo Figuero was in tears
"mi hermada ya esta tirada, ya la tenga que pelear”
“my brother is down, I got to fight for him”
que se saco su pistala les camenza a disparar
he pulled out his pistol and started to shoot
a las primersa balazas gritaba Manuel Medina
at the first shots Manuel Medina was shouting
”ya me mataran a fausta " na dejo la Carabina "
they’ve killed Fausto, I shall not abandon the Carbine
ese salvadara criteria su carabina le salvo
it was this thing, the Carbine saved him
en vez de arrancar p’al mante mas p’al centra le metia
instead of pulling at the mounting, it went toward the center
su rifle queda tirada y por esa se salvo
his rifle was knocked down, that’s what saved him
ya me vay a despedir me deben de dispensar
I am now saying goodbye, you should excuse me
murieran tres huhuetecas y de pubela San Nicolas
three Huehuetecos died, one from San Nicolas pueblo
y una de mantecilla tambien Raul Petatar
and one from Montecillo,as well as Raul Petatar

5.3.3. Corrido de Lucio Cabafias

The third sample corrido is a good example of how corridos function as social

commentaries and as repositories of historical events. It is about a local character of

national reputation, Lucio Cabanas, a former schoolteacher who led a peasant guerrilla

war against the federal Mexican government in the early 1970’s and whose name was

174

mentioned in Conversation J of chapter 4. It will be recalled that the informant (RC)
described how his son had to fight boys who referred to him as a “cabaiiista” (follower of
Cabanas) at school in Mexico City. This stereotypical reference made it necessary for
RC’s son to fight back physically against those boys.

In fact, this corrido is distinct from the other two in that it does not recount a
sequence of actions on a single event Rather, it is an “insider” commentary about Lucio
Cabafias: who he was and what he stood for in terms of local perceptions of him and his
cause. It presents an alternative interpretation of who Cabanas was or who he represented

from an Afromexican community’s point of view. Lines 5-8 explicitly state this.

2111111 'El"

1 Escuchen este corrido que les vay a cantor
Listen y’all to this corrido I’m going to sing for you
2 Una histaria canacida les vay a relatar
A well-known story I’m going to tell you
3 De un hombre Lucia Cabanas de la sierra de Atayac
Of a man Lucio Cabanas of the mountains of Atoyac
4 En la republica entera Cabanas es perseguida
In the entire republic Cabanas is sought
5 Dicen que es un guenillera que tiene fama de bandida
They say he is a guerrilla who is known as bandit

6 Si tada esa firera cierta tiene que tener mativa
If all that were true, he must have a motive

7 Para buscar a Cabanas se tiene que tener razan
To search for Cabanas there has to be a reason

8 Un hombre que tiene gandalla tiene que tener canviccian
A man who has balls must have conviction

9 Para enfrenetarse a lgabierna can tada su carazan

To confront the government with all his heart
10 Mucha cuidada Cabanas note vayan a matar
Take care Cabanas lest they kill you
11 Recuerda la de Genara esa te puede pasar
Remember what happened to Genara can happen to you

12 Asi matan a las hombres que no se saben tratar
That’s how they kill men who do not know how to tread
13 Guerrero tiene la fama de tener hombres valientes

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Guerrero is famous for her valiant men
14 Esta Lucia Cabanas para enfrentar a su gente
Lucio Cabanas fighting for his people
15 Y su (asesar) Genara, aquel guerrera valiente
And his assistant Genaro, that brave warrior
16 Yo can esta me despida de toda el publica entera
With this I say goodbye from the whole public
17 Les he contada el corrido de un hombre guerrillera
I have recounted the corrido of a guerrilla man
18 El hombre es Lucia Cabanas del estada de Guerrero
The man is Lucio Cabanas of the state of Guerrero

5.3.4. Summary

The three sample corridos I have presented do not contain references to social
“race” even though I am aware that others not in my posession do. I have used them in
this chapter simnply to broaden the scope of my description of the speech genres found in
San Nicolas, to help contextualize Afromexicans’ local culture within the regional, and
even national socio-cultural production. Since carridas are not unique to Afromexicans,
the practice of singing them represents one of the many ties that Afromexicans share with
national culture. One aspect of carridas is in my observation, is that they are narratives
whose structure bears similarities with the structure of the personal and traditional
narratives I looked at earlier on: in fact they share many structural components, and they
do seem to serve the purpose of recapitulating past experiences.

Corridos reflect the lifestyle of rural Mexico while representing local experiences.
Regional influences come into play. For example, the corrido of Lucio Cabafias could
only emerge from Guerrero since the actors, the narrative and other aspects emerge from
the Guerrero context; similarly, the corrido of Feliciano Noyola reveals events and

experiences that arise from this particular Afromexican community. The stereotyped

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statement quoted at the beginning of this chapter reveals ingnorance of regional influences
and local material conditions behind Mexican cultural productions. Northern Mexico may
be a hot bed of drug traffickers and kingpins, which means that regional corridos may
reflect such activities, but this does not necessarily extend to the Guerrero region.

5.4. Negro in Popular Mexican Culture

CARTOON CHARACTER
Students at the University if Rhode Island deserve congratulations for their principled refusal to
apologize for an editorial cartoon that ran last week in their newspaper, The Good 5-Cent Cigar. They are
under attack from students who denounced the cartoon as racist. The drawing showed a black student
entering a classroom at the University of Texas Law School and being greeted by a goofy-looking
professor with the words: “If you are the janitor, please wait until after the class to empty the trash...if
you’re one of our minority students, welcome!" Othe students in the classroom look on in dismay. Thee is
nothing remotely racist about the cartoon which was distributed to the paper by a college press syndicate.
In fact, it is an attack on racial stereotyping and a defense of affirmative action. It was drawn by John
Branch for the San Antonio express during the Texas debate ove university admissions. The Rhode Island
protestes apparently did not get the irony of the cartoon, reacting only to the juxtaposition of a black
character and the word “janitor”. The Cigar staff responded with a thoughtful explanation of the
cartoon’s meaning and have expressed regret that people wee offended. They will not howeve apologize,
despite the threat of funding cutoff by the Student Senate and mixed messages from the University
administration. Tim Ryan, the editor, thinks the cartoon was a lighting rod for racial tensions that have been
building at the univesity. The paper, he says, has worked hard to report on and reduce those tensions.
Satire is a volatile commodity. It sometimes explodes in ways unanticipated by its creators, particularly in a
contemporary climate where offending someone is too often equated with oppressing someone. Hee is a
case whee a student pape is being charged with racism and threatened with sanctions for publishing an
antiracist cartoon. If the URI campus allowed those threats to prevail, then we would surely step through a
racial and academic looking glass that satire would be hard pressed to capture (Boston Globe).

One way that power is exercised in society is the representation of groups through
stereotyping. It is a way of maneuvering individuals and groups into certain roles, based
on simplification and generalizations. The relations usually depicted are ones of
domination. Racial images are situated within historical processes, in the midst of ideas
and ideologies, and they reflect the relationship between “otherness” and power dynamics
in different spheres of society. Afromexican representation in Mexican popular literature
continues to play an important role in the distribution, acceptance and maintenance of

negative stereotypes, some of which have already been elaborated. The attributes and

177

uses of socio-racial terms that we have seen so far appear to be reproduced in various
sectors of mainstream Mexican culture. In this section, I want to place the previous
understandings of socio-racial terms summarized at the end of Chapter 4 within a larger
discourse context in order to see how those local observations fit in with the larger
culture with this appeal to popular culture representations and the language contained in
the dialogues.
5.4.1. Racial Imagery in Mexican Popular Culture
Not only the physical representation of say, Memin, a popular comic negro character I
shall look at in more detail in this section (See Figure 5.1), but also the discourse therein
helps Mexicans continue to “build mental models of ethnic situations and generalize
these to general negative attitude schemata or prejudices that embody the basic opinions
about relevant minority groups” (Van Dijk 1987).

Racial stereotypes that were once prevalent in the US. are still in vogue
in Mexico and are constantly reinforced in the present day by what many
Mexicans regard as “harmless jokes.” But, more importantly, if questioned about
the racialist meaning and intent, the existence of racial stereotypes is denied.
Such 'expressions' are used for commercial packaging that features a black baker
boasting that his skin color gives him the expertise to recognize the right shade of
toast. Aunt Jemima pancake mix goes by the brand name 'La Negrita' in Mexico,
and even husbands “affectionately” call their wives “mi negro” during light
moments.

I noted earlier that there are two common sayings in Mexico: 1) “trabajar

coma negro” meaning to work like a black, that is, to work very hard, to be

178

overworked and 2) “trabajar como negro para vivir coma blonca,” that is,
working like a black, to live like a white. The idea, it seems, is rooted in the
history of slavery, where hard, inhumane labor is associated with the black slaves,
and easy living is associated with white masters. While these perceptions are
necessarily racist, they do in fact reflect a true historical memory of the
relationship between blacks and whites in the Americas. What is important in
such representation, however, is first the denial of the existence of racism; and
from the point of view of mestizo users, the view that such racial stereotyping is
normal. Racist lexicon and views are routinized to become part of every-day life,
nothing abnormal.

5.4.2. Memin: A Mexican “Sambofabrication”

A look at Mexican imagery and discourse clearly reveals the extent to which
widely read pocket books fit within such an approach. Comics of the Libra Vaquero type
(Cowboy Books); Dinastia; Coda Quien Su Bronco; Memin Pinguin and a host of similar
others — all copyrighted publications — rely on antiquated, outlandish visions of
Africans and blacks in general. Their history of slavery and colonialism is used to
‘produce’ racial ideology to feed the imagination of the ordinary, relatively (formally)
uneducated Mexican reader (the ‘subject’) whose perception of the black person as a
perpetual racial underdog is constantly reinforced. These popular comics make good use
of the attributes of “race” as discussed, especially relying on the “outsider” perceptions of
negro. The following instances gleaned from sections of a number of different popular
literature books I collected in Mexico City is a direct reflection of the social forces

involved in the process of socialization of the ordinary Mexican. What is the message

179

being sent (and internalized) about different social groups? Attributes of Negro which
were seen to emanate from “outsider" perceptions and which Afromexicans used in their
conversations to self-distance themselves (e. g. negroz speaks badly”) are exploited to
enhance the dialogues and to create plots for public consumption. All of this is regarded
as “harmless humor” and reminds us of the “affectionate” uses of negro and moreno
which we cited earlier.

A good example of “harmless humor” and racial caricatures is depicted by Memin
Pingut’n, a popular comic character which has been animated for TV and has entertained
Mexicans for several generations with its racist stereotype of “el negrito,” black people.
The examples I use are taken from Memin Pingut’n, Dinostr’o and Coda Quien Su Bronco
Series . The cover of the first comic book (Figure 5.1.) presents three little boys, Ernesto,
Ricardo and Memin, who seem to represent three racial or ethnic types: blonca, indio and

negro. Carlos, a blonca, appears inside the comic book.

180

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=
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u
on
4
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w
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w
o
o
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a
r.
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I
o
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Figure 5.1. Memin Pingur’n Comic Cover

Thus the three ‘races’ are represented. However, while Ernesto, Ricardo and
Carlos look like ordinary little boys, dressed in normal clothes, of normal height and
physical looks, Memin does not. He is a caricature representing a stereotypical
conception of what black people look like. His features are extremely exaggerated. He is

very dark in color, bald, and has large ears that stick out from the sides of his head. He

181

has big white eyes, and his pink lips are enormously thick and heavy. Moreover, his
stature, compared to the other boys, is diminutive, short, stunted and strangely dressed.
The stereotype conceptualization of Memin transcends the physical representation.
Throughout the interaction among the boys, who are supposed to be friends, Memin is
subjected to demeaning and disrespectful treatment Denigrating remarks are not limited
to the dialogue among the characters but are also included in the comic writers'
comments. In almost every page, Memin is insulted or yelled at to “shut up!” by his so-
called friends, peers and school-mates. For example Memin is seen entering the
classroom after a conversation with Carlos's father. First he put his hand out for a tip
from his father’s friend, “without shame as be extended his hand to accept the expected
500 pesos tip he was used to,” tiren the caption to that frame reads: “After the unexpected
conversation, Memin was even more zanza (“stupid” or “stupefi ”) than usual and he
entered the classroom without taking off his cap.” Further, Memin tells Ricardo and
Ernesto about his conversation with Carlos's father. The caption reads: “In his peculiar
style, not using too many words, the “negrito" (little black boy) began his narrative (MP-
132-6).2

While on the one hand, the comic author suggests that Memin has a limited
vocabulary and uses non-prestigious dialect forms (e. g. final s-deletion), non-standard
and non-prestigious prounciations (e.g. “maistra” instead of “maestro” in MP-132-18),
in another instance he is represented as quite verbose. Thus, sitting in class with other
boys (also extremely racially stereotyped with India and blonca features), Memin talks

too much and quite often irrelevantly before the group of students and teacher. This

 

2 Memin Penguin, Issue No. 132, page 6. Subsequent references are in this format.

182

feature of Pinguin's dialogue is quite interesting; it is a very long-winded discourse that is
obscure and full of idioms and proverbs, another stereotype of renowned African and
Afro-American verbal skills and rich metaphorical use of language (often “long winded”
and “irrelevant”). In reply to a simple question (MP-132-7), for example, Memin begins
with what may be a common opening line of a distinctive narrative style: “Get ready, but
hold on tight and open your ears because you are about to listen to the hottest news! ”
Along with the offensive, derogative remarks which appear as “normal”
interaction among the boys, Memin's stereotyped behavior stands apart from the other
students in the classroom, as expressed by the creator of the comic. In the classroom,
while others are depicted paying attention, Memin is seated with his feet on the desk,
finger in his mouth, eyes to the sky thinking far away thoughts. According to the caption,
he spent the first hours of class distracted, analyzing the conversation with Carlo’s
father. (MP-l32-5). The three boys are classmates and are most likely about the same age,
however: Memin is depicted as simple minded, forgetful, and stupid. In nearly every
page, his friends use denigrating remarks, call him names and take his word with
skeptism. Searching for a calling card he got from Carlos's father, Memin sweats,
shuffles and squirms on the floor before remembering that he put the card away in his
“safe”: his leaky smelly sneakers. Thus he cannot remember that he hid an

important card in his shoe. (See Figure 5.2) (MP-132-13).

183

 

t.su"zl"'ésr ia' >- ,
mo steam moments rm'
‘ven Manama ”

Figure 5.2. Inside Memin Pinguin

Memin:

Narrator:

Ernesto:

Ricardo:

Narrator:
Memin :

“Domnl, Where did I ever put it? Holy god! Maybe it fell ofi‘, ”
says a frantic Memin.

[In his desperate search, he turns a few times over his head to see
if it will fall afi‘ from his clothes — ]. “Little Jesus! I can't find it!,”
he moans to his flabbergasted friends.

Didn't I tell you Ricardo! This “zonzo” (idiot) lost the card.

It is unbelievable that his brain fails him even with such a simple
thing.

Suddenly, Memfn's face lights up with a huge smile:

“I remember! I put it in my “safe.”

184

Carlos: “In your safe?”
Narrator: Quickly, Memin removes his shoe and pulls out a card which he
holds up proudly as the other two hold their noses. (See Figure 5.1)
In yet another frame, the three boys go to meet Ernesto who hasn't been to
class for some while. In the first two frames Carlos hugs one and then the other
boy, asking how things were going. In the third frame, Carlos lifts up the
diminutive Memin and swings him around in the air saying: Negro! You deserve
a separate and special greeting; I see that despite the time that has passed you are
as ugly and black [as usual].
In yet another scene, Pinguin goes with his two friends to visit Carlos who

is from a wealthy family. The grandmother they meet there sizes up the three

until her eyes fall on the short Memin Pinguin (See Figure 5.3.).

Narrator: And she was about to abandon her
aristocratic stance when she saw the diminutive
and ugly body of Memin
Grandmother: Dear God. A negro!
Memin: Yes, Ma'am. Of guaranteed firm color. Not affected by
soap or water
Grandmother: How disgusting!

Memin (to Carlos): What relationship do you have with this dried up old
woman? Despite her being so undernourished, she rs a
heavy load to take.

Carlos (to Memin): Shut up!

185

 

 

 

 

Figure 5 .3. Memin meets his friend’s grandmother

As the dialogue continues Memin, the disrespectful one, continues comments
about the “vieja” (old woman) and is scolded by Ernesto and Ricardo, who besides
telling him that he should respect adults, tells him to shut up. (MP-132-27, 28). Although
no one else is referred to by their racial or ethnic identity, Memin is often addressed as
“negro ”, negrito” (page 6, 7, 9, 12, 22, 23); negro interesada (nosy nigger) page 11);

baboso (someone who drools, silly; page 4); pedaza de alcomoque (blockhead; page 5,

I86

10); tonto (fool; page 10); zonzo (stupid, idiot; page 13);impertinent, page 24; torugo
(stupid; page 28).

[One of the functions of stereotypes is to maintain social inequality and to retain
the images which represent the “natural” order of things/fiHence, to distort and
stereotype, to sambofy, is to say something about African people's being, their destiny,
their place in the racial ordering system. Ignorance, stupidity, disrespect, zongoness, the
obvious superiority of the white over the black are central presuppositions in this
dialogue. The existence of such discourse in Mexican popular literature is valuable
evidence that points out to the attitudes and internalized ‘schemata’ of Mexican readers
with respect to blacks in general. Memin Pinguin’s representation is enough to reveal the
extent to which black stereotypes (negroZ) are used in the Mexican entertainment
industry where they are reinforced and reduplicated many times over. There is a
deliberate exploitation of all forms of Negroz identity, which from the data is an outsider
perception of black Mexicans, from language to physical, mental and emotional
attributes. It is clear that even though Afromexicans recognize many attributes — both
positive (e. g. ‘brave, strong) and negative ones (e.g. ‘ugly) associated with their “race,”
they do not accept or recognize others. For example, that negros have a distinctive
narrative style may be common knowledge among ‘outsiders,’ but it was cited nowhere
in conversations nor was this ‘fact’ embedded in the genres; nor did the zongoness
depicted by Memin emerge from my data as part of Afromexican self-identification. The
uses of negro in these samples of popular literature and in the discourse of the Mexican
creators and readers of Memin, are those “outsiders” uses which I regarded as negraz. I

have summarized these ocurrences in Table 5.5 below, using the same method I used in

187

conversational and genre discourses of contextualizing the interpretation of their uses.
Before that I turn to look at another sample within this genre of discourse.
5.4.3. Michael Jackson and Race Discourse

‘Coda Quien su Branco’ (‘Everyone has Problems’) is yet another issue of
popular literature, a series dedicated to caricaturizing scandals that involve famous
people. The issue that I examined in this series (No. 15, 1995) is devoted to Michael
Jackson, whose persona lends itself very well to these ‘outsider’ perceptions of ‘race’
particularly because it conforms to such stereotypes of negro as musical talents (“knows
how to dance”) and feelings of insecurity because of possessing “inferior” or non-

prestigious physical looks (“is ugly”).

188

 

 

l.
(‘i
‘1
1‘

Figure 5.3. Michael Jackson “1 don’t like being Black.”
In another scene after the one depicted in Figure 5.3., Michael is seen lying in an

operating room in ‘Ward 8’ being operated on by four surgeons.

Narrator: “And it was true that Michael Jackson needed an infinite
number of operations to lose the face and features of his
own race”

1st Surgeon: “this negrito will end up beautiful!”

After the operation, Michael who is now depicted as physically blonca is being massaged

by twoblanca women in nurse's uniforms.

Narrator: “On his skin too, all kinds of treatments were applied”

189

Michael: “I want to end up blonquito, blonquita like Bush, or even better,
blonca as Snow White”.

A scantily clad blonde provides the final commentary to this episode: “And he (Michael)
has almost achieved it [becoming white as Bush or Snow White]. At this date, in 1995,
Michael Jackson is more blonca than negro”. Next to this image, a blonca Michael is
seen standing in front of a mirror, thinking:

Michael: “Mirror, mirror, tell me, who is the whitest negrito on the face of
the earth?”

At the end of the narrative, Michael Jackson is shown embracing his new wife Lisa Marie
Presely who has just announced that she is pregnant:

Lisa: “Listen Michael, what if our baby is born negrito?”

To which Michael answers with a confident smile: Michael: “Oh no. It has to be
blonquito like you and me”.

Most aspects of the previously seen treatment of the terms “negro” and “blanco”
which derive from the prevailing racial ideology in Mexico are well captured by this
dialogue. If Michael represents the Mexican negro in this story, it is not surprising that he
wishes to rid himself of the stigmatized “ugly” features associated with his racial group,
as was caricaturized by Memin. Also, the notion embedded in the mestizo ideology —
gradable color — is echoed in Michael Jackson’s question: “who is the whitest
negrito. . .” The first doctor's comment underlines this obvious purpose of his work: “This
negrito will end up beautiful [after we remove his negrito features]”.

As a reproducer of existing ideology about race, the writers employed by
Editormex astutely exploit what their readers have internalized. The attitudes toward race

implicit in these lines are evident ordinary discourse, including that of the Afromexicans

190

who are the principal subjects of this process. The equation between race and power
(“blonca master,” “negro slave”) is also seen where Michael expresses the desire to be
“as white as [George] Bush” or “Snow White.” George Bush became a symbol of Anglo
US power and domination with the invasion of Panama in 1989. At that time, the
discourse in Mexico highlighted those aspects of power which represented a threat to
Mexico, which, according to the media, “could alsobe invaded any time.” Seen in this
light, the mention of George Bush in this context of racial stereotypes ties in well with
the discourse of power in Mexico: the powerful blonca male on one hand, and the
white female “beauty” (e. g. “white and beautiful” seen in verso 4). These outsider views
about “race” are appropriately juxtaposed to the negro Michaels or Memins of Mexico in
a carefully constructed discourse. Finally, the discourse reflects an area of primary
importance in Mexican social attitudes about the issof “race” viz the concern for
“cleaning the race” as a means of upward social mobility discussed in a previous section
of this dissertation with words which might have come from an ordinary, concerned
(Afro) Mexican mother as seen previously, which, in this representation, is said by
Michael's new wife:

Lisa: “What if our baby is born negrito?”
In the following table I summarize all the instances of socio-racial terms seen in the
sample comics. I will show where each one occurs and that nearly all uses of negro refer

to negroZ according to the conceptualization I have developed so far.

191

T .1.

_o,o-R-. ° Trm inM P' 44.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.4-40- ' . Br 4 mi
Line Reference Contextual Meanings and
Interpretation
MP-39-3 Memin extendia la mano esperando el Memin begs “as usual” . Obviously
acostumbrado billete de 500 pesos (‘Memin negro?! because we know from data that
stretched his hand waiting the 500 peso bill negro] “does not like to beg.”
he was used to’
MP-39-4 Memin queda mos zanzo de costumbre. Usually, Memin is zonza but is more so
(‘Mernin remained stupid more than usual') this time. Negative negroZ.
MP-39-4 Baboso! (drool-mouth) Insult (negroZ).
MP-39-5 Ya me chiviaria si me encantrara un papa (1 Unlike his friends, Memin is the one
wish I would find a father) from a single mother household;
abnormal (especially in Mexican
context), he wishes for a dad.
NIP-39-5 Pedazo de alcamaque! Insult (negroZ).
(dumbcorklblockhead)
MP-39-6 En su [Memin] peculiar estila, ahorrando Reference to Memin’s unusual discours
palabras, el negrito empeza su norracian style (abnormal); negrito better refers to
(in his peculiar style, mincing words, the ‘strangeness’ rather than ‘affection.’
negrito began his narration)
MP-39-7 [clorete pero agorense y paren la areja Example of the unusual discourse
porque escucharan noticias de primera behavior of Memin.
planal
MP-39-7 Pensando que el negrito mentia..empezoron Even though these are friends of the
a bromear: same age discussing a serious issue, they
“se le bato la conical " patronize Memin.
“tienes calentura?"
“almorzaste macho .7 "
“tienes fiebre "
diga la verdad! [Memin I
(thinking that the negrito was
lying, they started to joke:
“do you have a fever?”
“Did you eat too much?”
“I’m telling the truth!” [MeminD
MP-39-10 Pedaza dc alcarnaque Insult: negroZ
(piece of corkhead)
MP-39-10 Un tonto (a fool) Insult (n_egr02)
MP-39-10 Quedaran pensativos ante la conclusion His friends are astounded by Memin’s
logica de Memin “logic" which, apparently, was
(They fell silent faced with Memin’s logical unexpected of him.
conclusion)
MP-39-l l Negro interesoda! Insult (negraZ).
(nosy nigger)
MP-39-12 Si este negro atinara Referential negro to a mutual friend
Suppose this negro is right indicates a dismissive patronizing
attitude.
MP-39-13 Ernesto: Este zonza Insult (negraZ).
(This idiot)
Ricardo: increr’ble que lefalle el coco hasta Is dumb; not inteflent.

 

192

 

 

una cosa tan simple! (incredible his head
fails him even with such a simple thing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MP-39-l4 Alla tu! ‘you’ by teacher refers to Memin,
(there, you !) followed by recrimination and
punishment. Memin is singled out even
though the three friends had extended
their shool break together.
MP-39-15 Can gala de erudician el chiquillo empeza More allusion to the abnormal verbal
su reloto skills.
(with the gala of eruditness, the little thing
began his account)
NIP-3945 La margura de todas las inditos [Memin Reference to historical ‘indio,’ but not to
says] historical negro] shows the lack of
(The bitterness of all indians. . .drove awareness of this aspect of national
Hidalgo to lead Mexicans in the war of history which he (Memin) is relating , as
independence) part of his punishment.
MP-39-16 Como pavo real... Both narrator and students in class make
- se cree un historiador! negative remarks to Memin’s
- presumido! accomplished recital of the nation’s
Like a peacock... history.
- he thinks he’s quite the historian
- arrogrant!
MP-39-17 Na digos tanterias...! Teacher to Memin who is sticking by his
(don’t talk nonsense) version of the history of Hidalgo.
MP-39-18 Baboso! Insult: negraZ
(drool -mouth !)
NIP-39-22 Negro!...veo que a pesar del tiempo sigues Clearly negroZ attributes, used by friend
igual de fea y de prieto! “humorously.”
Negro, I see despite the time passed you
continue to be dark and ugly
MP-39-23 El negrito salta una pregunta que las Foolishly (negrito) releases information
sacudia he was not supposed to tell; dumb
(the little negro threw a question that shook negraz.
them
MP-39-24 Impertinente! One of the friend rebukes Memin for
Qude!) asking about where the swimming pool is.
MP-39-24 Puedo boflarme en cueros While others ask for swimming wear,
(I can swim nude) Memin is coarse enough to suggest that
he cares not about swimwear.
MP-39-26 La diminutiva y fea figura de Memin Narrator’s description of the
(the short and Mme of Memin) grindmother’s impression of Memin.
MP-39-26 Dias bendito: un negro! Obviously negroz the undesirable (see
Holy God: a negro! next reference).
MP-39-26 Que asco! Very negative view of negroz.
QVhat filth !)
MP-39-26 Uno de mis mejores amigos, no obstante su Color is a barrier to friendship.
color
One of mybest friends, despute his color
MP-39-26 Na vayan a llevarse alga Grandmother’s instruction to man-

 

(watch they don’t steal anything)

 

servant after seing Memin;
untrustworthy negroz.

 

193

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MP—39-32 Le advierto no say an cachino ladran! Memin is aware of his being a suspect
[Memin to Servant: I warn you that I am not because of his negraz status.
a dirty thief
MP-126-5 Zonzo (idiot) negroZ (“speaks badly”).
Uttered while correcting Memin’s language
(“physician” not ‘physicist!”)
MP-126-5 Que dice este negrito? Dismissive, irrelevant Memin.
No hagas casa, es un chiquillo inquieta que
tiene la cabeza llena defanstasi’as
What’s this negrito saying? Don’t mind
him, he’s a fussy child whose head is full of
fantasies
MP-126-5 Callate Memin! Insult (negroZ).
Shut up!
NIP-126.5 Que chistosa y hablanin Describing Memin in dismissive terms.
How funny and talkative
MP-126-8 Te callas!
(you will shut y!)
MP-126-13 Callate Memin, Carlos y yo arreglaremois Memin is dismissed from serious
el asunta tranquilamente problem solving even though he is a
(shut up Memin, Carlos and I will resolve team mate and class mate of equal
this issue quietly) standing.
MP-126-20 Le entendiste Ernesto? Parque yo [Memin I I [Memin] cannot understand [what it
nada means to rematch a tied game].
Did you understand Ernesto? I did not get a Inferiority of negraz intelligence.
thug
MP-126-21 Collate! Reprimand from friends of equal
Shut up! standing.
MP-126-22 Pesado! Reprimand from equal friends.
Blockhead!
MP-126- E: Mi papa esta ern su despacho More difference established between the
126 C: Mi mama en la aficina three: the two have working parents
Memin: Y la mia en el lavandero while Memin’s is a househelp.
E: my dada is in his personal office
C: my mon is in her office
Memin: mine is at the laundry
MP-126- Apurate que el telefono cuesdta dinero! More allusion to the abnormal ltalk of
126 Hurry up telephones cost money Memin, his inability to be brief and
concrete.
MP-126- [To his Mother]: tenemos que defender Memin is aware of national history but
126 nuestra bandera de tres calores la que never shows awareness of negro’s place
defendieron Hidalgo y Morelos! in that history.
We have to defend our tri-colored flag
which Hidalgo and Moreno (founding
fathers) defended
MP-132-l7 Mi negrito adorado [Mama] Excessive show of affection while others
Followed by exaggerated hugging and behave “normally” with their parents.
kissing
MP-132-18 Veo a mi nino un poca asoleado..su “Humorous” irony about race and color
pielecita esta quemada inserted in this dialoue between Memin

 

194

 

 

Memin’s mother to Memin: I see that my
child has been in the sun a bit..his skin is a
bit tanned

and his mom, the only negros in the
story.

 

 

 

NIP-132-18 Maistro! (= maestro) “bad” pronounciation of negroZ “speaks
(teacher!) badly.”
MP-132-19 Fuiste nuestro nino de la buena suerte Negro Memin as an object that brings
(you were our child of good luck) luck; mystification, like labelling of
negro is part of his dchumanization
MP-132-23 No quisieron, servirme y advina por que In Dallas (USA) Memin was

Mama porque say negrito
They did not want to serve me and guess
why Mama, because I am negro

discriminated against and even thrown in
jail: a popular Mexican notion, that
blacks suffer in the US, not in Mexico.

 

NIP-13244

Asi estan las cosas alla. mama, si uno nace
prieto, empiezan las
“criminacioneas”...nos lleva la partulla a
la carcel

That’s the way things are over there, Mama
“criminilized” and we are taken in a police
car

Same as above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CB-15-36 Pero al estarfrente del espejo renegaba su Denial and dislike of their skin color
color de piel status is a negro trait.
But standing infront of his mirror, he denied
the color of his skin
CB-15-37 Yo quiera casarme con una mujer blonca Negros’ desire, according to narrator.
I want to marry a white woman
CB-15-44 Y casi lo ha logrado, a la fecha en este Gradable uses of socio-racial terms
1995, Michael Jackson ya es mas blonca where one can “more” or “less
que negro white/black.” This view was seen in
He has almost accomplished that, today in conversations with SG.
1995, MJ is more White than Black
‘Espejito espejita, quien es el negrito mas Exploiting folklore
blonca de la tierra?’
mirror mirror who is the whitest negrito of
the land
CB-15-42 Los rasgas propias de su raza Awareness of negro physical attributes
The features of his race which are not part of narrator.
CB-15-44 Este negrito quedara preciaso Once “ugly” physical features are
(this negro will end up beautiful) removed, one becomes beautiful.
CB-15o44 Quiera quedor blanquito, blanquito coma White is power as Bush
Bush a de perdis coma Blanca Nieves! White is beautiful like Snow White.
I want to be white like Bush or like Snow
White
CB-15-93 Si sale negrito nuestro bebe Fear of “ugly” stigmatized features and

 

(What if our shild is born black?)

 

the social consequences of that.

 

195

 

5.5. Summary

In this Chapter I looked at socio-racial terms embedded in other genres. First I
looked at their use in sample folk narratives, then their uses within versas. Corridos
yielded no data on socio-racial terms. Then I looked at their uses in popular literature,
focusing on two characters who best represent el negro in Mexican eyes: Memin, and
Michael Jackson. By situating the dialogues within a framework of ideology as discourse
practice, it was possible to link the attributes of negro (solidary and non-solidary) and
blonca (power and difference) which I gathered from an analysis of conversational
discourse and interviews in Chapter 4, to their uses in the popular literature. Since
popular literature appeals to existing “schemata” about people or issues in a given
society, the evoking and uses of socio-racial terms in creating dialogues and story lines in
popular Mexican literature reflects clear awareness of these ideas in the mind of the
Mexican reader. It is also apparent there are discrepancies in the understanding of one
term — negro — when compared to the understandings of Afromexicans: The physical
character of Memin represents the stigmatized, undesirable negro (negro , ) while the
dialogue of Michael Jackson interpreted within such a framework of analysis articulate
the inner voice of that same negro in popular imagination. This particular socio-racial
term is used in mainstream Mexican Spanish effectively in the reproduction of existing
ideas about “race” in Mexico and in ways that do not exactly reflect Afromexicans’ own
uses of these terms. It is obvious for example, that almost all uses in Memin and MJ
comics use negrar meanings and attributes.

Clearly, the negative negro is foregrounded in the discourse of mainstream

Mexico as evidenced by examples from popular literature but Afromexicans

196

overwhelmingly foreground the “abstract,” positive negro at the local “insider” level. An
examination of footing stances revealed a lot of shifting taking place between negro! and
negroz in Afromexican discourse (in narratives, conversations, etc.). but no such shifting
is seen in popular literature discourse because its creators are either unaware of the
dichotomy or are unwilling to flip the coin over and use negro! persona as their basis for

projecting the image of negro in popular literature.

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Chapter Six
CONCLUSIONS

This study has showed that socio-racial terms in San Nicolas are associated with
certain meanings and distinctive attributes which arise from a special socio-cultural and
historical backdrop. These meanings are evoked in speakers’ discourse to create or reveal a
conversational framework by speaker’s taking on ‘footing’ (or stances) of social personae,
according to their conversational intentions. The changes in footing signal participatory
status (solidary, non-solidary) best symbolized by the use or selection of antithetic pronouns
such as “we” and “them.” Speakers’ participatory status during conversation or while
versifying is revealed by how these pronouns pattern with the socio-racial terms.

For example, the term moreno is used by San Nicolans in conversation when no
special regional, racial or historical claims are being made or elicited, but when particular
in-group claims (such as land ownership or legitimization of their existence) are made,
negro , is selected. But when a speaker wants to evoke negative aspects of the socially
defined ‘morena,’ such as to insult or denigrate s/he will select negroz. The patterning of
moreno with third person pronominal elements, coupled with its association with negraz,
and its use in quoted speech suggests that this is an “outsider” term which also serves to
obfuscate internal distinctions otherwise recognized by “insiders”. The variable uses of
negro and moreno in the discourse of Afromexicans in San Nicolas may be evidence of
change in progress whereby moreno is still trying to take negra's (and other Afromestizo
terms') historical place as the socio-racial term for Afromexicans. Such have been the more
successful cases of indio (internally differentiated, e. g. mixtecos, mayos, Chichimecas,

oztecas, etc) to indigena, and from eurofindamestiza (including costizas, moriscas, etc) to

198

mestizo. The difficulties of achieving this transition derive from the “invisibility" of
Afromexicans since they have so far remained unrecognized as a distinctive social group of
Mexico like the indigenas. This situation is consistent with Mexico's nationalist ideology of
mestizaje, which emphasizes the native and European components of the “racial mixing,”
but does not take into account the African substrate of Mexican national identity. This has
created a situation in which ‘negros’ are not seen as Mexicans and dark Mexicans are
known as ‘morenos. ’ At the same time, this study has shown with supporting data, that
negro in mainstream Mexico is a convenient label for deviants, bad persons, slaves or used
to insult since, according to mainstream belief, it does not refer to any real group of Mexican
people. However, this study shows that this position does not quite capture the “insider”
beliefs of many Afromexicans who actually identify themselves as negros (negror).

It was observed in Beltran (1946:135) that moreno took the place of negro and
prieto as the term to refer to Afromexicans; it was supposed to replace all Afromestizo
terms that existed before, such as mulata, chino, cuculuste, zombas and was based on the
egalitarian intention of eliminating castas. This objective was within the spirit of liberal
political changes taking place in Mexico during the early part of 19th century (precisely in
1817 - partly as reward for the decisive participation of Afromexicans in the struggle for
independence), but it achieved limited success. While it offered a cover term for outsiders to
use in reference to that redeemed group of a formerly disenfranchised castas it did not
eliminate attributes associated with each one of them. For example the term negro continues
to carry some of those attributes that are now embodied in negro, Today, the use of socio-
racial terms in Mexico reflects a situation whereby socio-racial terms are being used to

convey different meanings at different times. This different symbolisms for different social

199

groups is in itself an indicator of “difference,” a perception that is at the very core of social
identity. The terms moreno and negro are used in context along functional lines and are
linguistic tools for projecting fluid social identities among Afromexicans of San Nicolas
Tolentin. Official legislation abolished social races or castas in the last century, while
increased mestizaje helped diminish the differences. Nevertheless it is clear that such
differences continue to be a social reath in San Nicolas today, and in Mexico at large. By
delimiting clearly existing categories of social "race" and by identifying their social
meanings which serve to demarcate the boundaries of these groups' social identity, I
propose to discredit the current ideology that historically Black communities of Mexico
have become "assimilated" into mestizo society to the extent that they no longer retain a
sense of one (“imagin ”) Afromexican community (Anderson 1990). The data from San
Nicolan discourse suggest that at a conscious level San Nicolans retain a vision of a larger
"imagined community," linked by a common history, linguistic choices, region and cultural
patterns stretching to other parts of the Costa Chico and even beyond, in Africa.

lexical choice and contextual meanings of socio-racial terms in the discourse of this
Afromexican community are different from those of outsiders and therefore have different
meanings giving rise to some misconceptions of Afromexican identity. Indeed while
mainstream Mexico (mestizas or ‘blancas, ’ according to San Nicolans) remains insensitive
to those distinctions between negro, and negro2 , for example, miscommunication is bound
to take place. The social meanings of racial terms and how they are used by speakers to
define their psychological status shows clearly that legislation alone cannot change deeply
entrenched social realities which define the language practices of a community. It also

clearly shows how linguistic performance is affected by social factors.

200

In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, I laid the groundwork for the view that divergences
of meaning occurred in the ideological development — and use — of socio-racial terms.
Within mainstream Mexican society their social evaluation as markers of identity is quite
different from their value among Afromexicans of San Nicolas where they appear to have
remained static in their historical, original senses. They may also have developed in ways
which are unrecognized or ignored in today's mainstream language of Mexico. For example,
the terms mestizo or blonca are hardly used in Mexico City to describe individuals and may
be considered archaic, or at least heavily marked; but they are prominent in ordinary,
contemporary Afromexican discourse.

There are some limitations of this study which have to do with the data.
Generally, interactive studies of discourse try to compare speech from the speech
communities across which barriers of communication exist. This is useful in establishing
the true grounds of miscommunication with evidence from both sides. The data that for
instance, Gumperz (1982b) used in some case studies consisted of verbal interactions
where speakers of different social and ethnic background unconsciously used discourse
strategies (including lexical choices) which conflict with one another. The speech
situations that are studied, though diverse, shared common characteristics which differ
from mine; they were goal oriented in the sense that each aimed to get something done,
i.e. to reach an agreement, to evaluate abilities, or to get advice. The data I analyzed in
this dissertation are different in two ways: they do not focus on goal oriented situations
but rather on different speech events and genres that provide sufficiently rich data for the
analysis of socio-racial terms, and, two, they are not comparative between Afromexican

and mainstream Mexican speech.

201

...
,
.’
r)“"‘-‘...-.—-a

Discourse analysts argue for the need to study and compare strategies of
communication among different speech communities particularly those which lie outside
of the mainstream (e. g. Blacks in the USA or Indians and West Indians in Britain). This

not only informs us of the roots of miscommunication arising from ‘surface features’ of a

‘ language. They also add to the body of knowledge about performance-based language

behavior. Thus, even though Afromexicans use Spanish lexicon, their communicative
“grammar” is distinct and may not be intelligible to others who do not have knowledge of
the speech community's ways of using them. Labov’s 1972 study for example
demonstrated that speakers of Black English (or African American English) construct
their discourse in significantly different ways from their White counterparts, partly as a
result of the Creole origins of their English variety. Such distinctions entail differences in
the organization of discourse, particularly such speech events as nar___ra,t,ives, ritual insults,
and even greetings as informed by their own specific socio-cultural patterns. The
recurrent debate on the status of Black English (“Ebonics”) is illustrative of the type of
social conflict arising from inadequate understanding of dialects and their implications
for social behavior. For example, the proponents of “Ebonics” are widely condemned in
the mainstream as advocating the use of a sub-standard variety which is considered
inappropriate in a school setting. In this dissertation I have concentrated on lexical rather
than syntactic or phonological variation to create an entry point for a more
comprehensive examination of the grammatical and phonological uses of Spanish among
Afromexicans.

“Free variation” of linguistic elements — whether phonological or lexical — is one

of the important questions for variationists. It cannot be assumed that speakers make

202

linguistic choices “freely;” those choices, we now know, are “weighted” by extralinguistic
factors, to favor the one choice more than the other. I tried to uncover those “weights” that
affect the choice of one term over another through a detailed, intersubjective study of
discourse in San N icolas. We can now see now, for example, that the socio-racial terms do
not occur haphazardly in conversations, but rather there are deeper socio-psychological
“weights” having to do with ‘solidarity,’ or participatory status (“insider/ outsider’ ’) of
speaker in relation to bearer/s and intent. An understanding of the socio-cultural and other
psychological motives that belie variability of linguistic surface forms makes it possible to
see variation in language as an interesting linguistic phenomena, not as the fringe,
haphazardly structured surface material of language. Additionally, discourse (linguistic)
behavior such as the ones I examined in this dissertation helps us say significant things such
as how Afromexicans understand “race” or how people perceive their own social identity as
a minority group in relation to others.

The tradition in modern linguistics that has most explicitly dealt with processes of
interpretation of intent and attitude in language use is the work in linguistic pragmatics
which builds on the philosophy of language, concentrating on speech acts and on Grice’s
(1975) definition of meaning as intention. Linguistic pragmatics is explicitly concerned
with presuppositions in the interpretations of intent. However, several differences exist
between this approach and those others that focus on discourse to discover intentionality.
The dagapalyses in pragmatics are based on situations where presuppositions are shared,
and the analyses are sentence based, concerned with the logical structure of
communicative events. It does not attempt to deal with the role of language in interactive

processes, and it relies heavily on fabricated (or at least “ideal”) data existent in “possible

203

worlds.” While the goal of such studies is to discover the “intent” expressed by language,
the sociolinguistic approach I used differs crucially in one important way: the
interpretation of intent is based on real data from ordinary speaker-hearers. Such
interpretation is a function of listener's linguistic knowledge (of socio-racial terms, their
uses and attributes); contextual presuppositions informed by certain cues (the terms
themselves) and background information brought to bear in the interpretation (the
historical and ethnographic backdrop).

I focused on the lexical inventory of socio-racial terms while recognizing other
channels such as idioms and other formulaic utterances such as proverbs and common
sayings. These are things Gumperz referred to as ways of speaking or “the actual
linguistic cues used through which relevant information is signaled” (1982b: 13); they
included those recurrent aspects of speech — socio-racial terms — that seemed to reflect
relevant aspects of Afromexican communicative history. Discoursal uses of socio-racial
terms are obviously informed by “cultural assumptions” (Gumperz 1982b) that prevail
inside this speech community.

It is clear that even though people in situations agree on the purpose of a given
interaction, there often are radical differences as to the goals and expectations of the
communicative instance, and this affects the reflexive behavior of participants such as
how Afromexicans address the intent of lexical choice. I observed that those differences
of evaluation arose from the cultural background of the speaker or hearer, and their
conversational goals.

With regard to genres that I looked at in this dissertation, carridas did not yield

evidence of the patterning of socio-racial terms. Nevertheless, their structure showed

204

interesting similarities with narratives. Considering the cultural value of oral tradition (to
pass on information by evoking previous experiences) this is not surprising and it should
open the way for a better comparison with similar others among Diaspora Africans.
Versos was were seen to reflect relationships of inequality, and I hypothesized that they
have roots in Africa, as readapted forms, possibly blended with European ones to
produce the ones that are today widespread in Mexican rural communities, including
non-Afromexican ones. Scholars of Afromexico take two divergent but complementary
positions about Afromexican cultural production: one of them is eurocentric in that it
emphasizes the European substrate of (Afro) Mexican culture; the other position which I
take, is afracentric’ and I interpret socio-cultural life and activities of Diaspora Africans
as intimate links to their past. The two approaches have a common basis in that
proponents of each position compare present New World forms with parallel ones of the
Old World. The differences lie in the analytical paradigm of either camp in terms of
which part of the ‘Old World’ to look to explain present Afromexican lifestyles,
language and socio-cultural patterns. A brief comparison of versas with the gicandi oral
traditions found in one African ethno-linguistic group is a first step in the right direction
to suggest that Afromexican practitioners of this particular ‘form of talk’ has a
fundamental African substrate.

Feature analysis is an important first step in the study of lexicon. According to
Wierzbicka (1997), “the lexicon is the clearest possible guide to everyday cognition and

to the patterning of everyday discourse.”

 

3 Used only as defined here,and not referring to ancient Africa.

205

Wierzbicka’s concern like mine was to identify “key words” of a culture, an
exercise that can serve to identify “focal points for the study of the cultural domains.” To
achieve an “objective” procedure for the discovery of such “key words” is as important as
it is difficult. Wierzbicka’s solution to this dilemma was that the question is not to
“prove” whether or not a particular word is one of the culture’s key words, but rather, to
say something significant and revealing about it. I hope I have shown some interesting
things about the uses of a particular set of lexical items and what they reveal about the
history, culture and attitudes of a very special group of Diaspora Africans.

Within Mexico and elsewhere, discourse and social structures are in a symmetrical
and direct relationship, a dialectic one in which one is both a product and determinant of the
other (Fairclough 1989). Discourse practice involves the reproduction of social structures
and expression of social structures and power relations but this relationship is often an
unconscious fact to many practitioners as evidenced by the ability of informants to describe
without being able to explain the significance of their own verbal behavior. It is therefore
important for the researcher to look at the nature of power in discourse and power behind
discourse, especially power relations in terms of roles — of subjects, producers and
interpreters. This pertains to how discourse is internalized by the individual so as to be used
in the process of socialization of those individuals in the capacity of subjects. An
understanding of the language-culture-society relationship such as the linguistic functions
and underlying meanings of socio-racial terms used by Afromexicans can help understand
better the dynamic social, cultural and historical forces that continue to shape Mexican

society.

206

Afromexican representation in Mexican popular literature continues to play an
important role in the distribution, acceptance and maintenance of the negative negro. The
physical representation of, say, Memin, a popular comic negro character, but also the
discourse therein helps Mexicans continue to "build mental models of ethnic situations and
generalize these to general negative attitude schemata or prejudices that embody the basic
opinions about relevant minority groups" (Van Dijk 1987). The necessary conditions for the
reproduction of ideology through mass media are met by the "negro" in Mexican mass
media: a deviant, (e. g. Michael Jackson'), labeling (negrito), and the projection of negro as
"troublemaker" (e.g. cobafiisto) and so on. These discourses reproduce, reconstruct and
redistribute negraI meanings which then makes potentially positive uses of “negro” very
difficult in Mexico as evidenced by people’s reluctance to even mention the term.

Afromexican social identity should not necessarily be equated to ethnic identity. I
discussed how difficult a term “ethnicity” is to define in strict terms. Certain features of
an “ethnic” identity do emerge in the case of Afromexicans, but others do not. Markers
of their identity fall somewhere between the “old” and the “new” types I discussed in
Chapter 2, and find a middle ground in the type of fluid identity found in Bethel, the
Alaskan community. It is not clear at this point that Afromexicans of San Nicolas are an
“ethnic group” in the same way that Mixtecos or Amuzgos (indios) are, for example.
Afromexicans do not posses a different language, nor dress in distinctive ways or eat
distinctive food. It is equally difficult to compare Afromexicans as a social group, to say,
US “Italian Americans” or “Irish Americans” or even “African Americans;”
Afromexicans lack strong political networks and goals even though they recognize one

another - literally and symbolically — as ‘one people,’ and they clearly perceive

207

differences in relation to “others.” Their political agenda (i.e. to participate in mainstream
society as a group, in one voice) remains largely undeveloped. I believe that this is due to
isolation and ignorance, elements that are fast losing significance today as links between
them and others outside their immediate environment increase through infrastructure and
technology. Afromexican social identity is complexly defined in terms of language and

region but chiefly through ideas about “race.”

208

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214

APPENDICES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 R 11 Ni 1 T 1 ntino
Respondent Sex Occupation Education
RC 63 Male Farmer Elementary
Tere 18 Female Unemployed High School
TM 24 Female Housewife Elementary
AD 55 Male Farmer Elementary
IS 25 Male Trader Elementary
SA 54 Female Housewife Elementary
TS 19 Female Student High School
‘MG 60 Male Farmer Elementary
MO 72 Male Farmer Elementary
MQ 70 Male Shop owner Elementary
IM 47 Male Farmer Elementray
RS 45 Female Housewife none
SG 60 Female Housewife none
UCRIHS - Sample

Ref #: IRB # 97-786

(Saludos). Me llamo Chege y estoy haciendo estudio sobre el lenguaje que se habla aqui en su
comunidad. Sera usted tan amable como para responder a algunas preguntas o contarme or recitar
algr’run verso usando su forma normal de hablar? Su participacidn es voluntaria y no tienes que
contestar ni comentar sobre cualquier cosa que no gustes. También puedes dejar esta
conversacioon en cualquier momento. Con su permiso, voy a grabar (mostrar) nuestra platica para
ayudarme a recordar sus comentarios después. Voy a usar estas grabaciones para escribir una
teésis sobre el lenguaje de aqui, por ejemplo los nombres y formats de dirigirse. Al escribir, no
voy a usar su nombre ni de cualquier manera revelar su identidad; tampoco voy a darle a ninguna
otra persona estas cintas. Gracias.

(Translation)

“(Respectitl title and name, if known, and greeting)”. My name is Chege and I am studying the
language spoken here in your community. Would you be so kind as to answer a few questions or
tell me some folk stories or recite a verso (local traditional poetry) in your ordinary way of
speaking? Your participation is voluntary and you need not answer or comment about anything
you do not want to. You can also stop the interview at any time during our conversation. With
your permision, I will record this on audio tape (show) to help me remember your responses. I
will use these recordings to write a thesis about the language of here, such as naming practices
and address terms. In my writing, I will not use your real name or otherwise reveal your identity,
nor will I transfer these tapes to anyone else. Thank you.

 

' Resident of Playa Ventura, Guerrero.

215

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