THE CURPITE DANCE FROM SAN JUAN NUEVO, PARANGARICUTIRO, MICHOACAN: CULTURE AND IDENTITY IN THE

TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXT

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University, Fullerton

In Partial Fulfillment

o f the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

in

Anthropology

By

Juan Valdez

Approved by:

U ts/ t -DateDr. Eric Canin, Committee Chair

Department o f Anthropology

Dr. Barbra Erickson, Member Department o f Anthropology

Date

UMI Number: 1526254

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ABSTRACT

This thesis studies culture and identity in the transnational context as I used a

visual ethnography that incorporated participant observation to document the Curpite

dance from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro in both Mexico and the United States.

Throughout this investigation, I noticed that the diversification of values in the United

States relies on the inclusion of groups that are rarely part of the construction o f an

American identity. Yet many boundaries are drawn between nations that restrict the

concept o f diversity. The Curpite dance adds to the social relations that may complement

not decrease the quest o f another American cultural asset (i.e. culture). When national

borders restrict the transit o f culture, alternative ways to mediate between the individual

practice and the external force are adjusted. I suggest that defining identity for the people

o f San Juan Nuevo is not a matter of adapting to changes more than becoming a

reflection about this changing process. The reorganization o f strategies to structure values

that construct the hegemony of the local, national, and global participant takes on a

virtual space where the physical locations are no longer definite markers of

representation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................. v

LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................... vi

PREFACE................................................................................................................................ vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................... xiv

Chapter1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1

The Purhepecha............................................................................................................. 3The Curpite Dance........................................................................................................ 6

Purhepecha Hierarchy........................................................................................... 9Symbols of Identity Through T im e.................................................................... 10

Research Questions...................................................................................................... 14

2. CULTURAL RESURGENCE AND DA N CE.......................................................... 17

JuchariUindpik.ua........................................................................................................ 17Barrios in San Juan N uevo.................................................................................. 21Dance in the Highlands........................................................................................ 22

3. DATA COLLECTION................................................................................................. 26

Preliminary Findings.................................................................................................... 27Fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro......................................................... 28

Institutional Review Board (IRB)....................................................................... 29Video Recordings................................................................................................. 29Conversations with Participants.......................................................................... 30Limitations and Validity...................................................................................... 32Computer Software, Data Protection, and Closing Remarks.......................... 33

m

4. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE D A N CE..................................................... 35

Social Relations............................................................................................................ 36Organization........................................................................................................... 36Courtship................................................................................................................ 38

The Curpiteada............................................................................................................. 40Reciprocity............................................................................................................. 40Competition........................................................................................................... 41Performance........................................................................................................... 47M usic...................................................................................................................... 49

5. RESULTS..................................................................................................................... 52

Framing the Curpite Dance......................................................................................... 54

6. DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................. 63

Paricutin......................................................................................................................... 67Senor de los Milagros.................................................................................................. 70Family............................................................................................................................ 71Agriculture.................................................................................................................... 77

7. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................ 81

Transnational L ifes...................................................................................................... 81Indigenous Diversity.................................................................................................... 84

APPENDICES........................................................................................................................ 86

A. 2013 FESTIVAL PURHEPECHA MICHOACANO IN LOS ANGELES... 86B. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD............................................................ 87C. COVERAGE MEDIA PA SS.............................................................................. 90D. “LORD OF THE MIRACLES” STORY.......................................................... 91E. TRADICION DE LOS CURPITES................................................................... 95

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 99

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Reduced number o f counts per most frequently used words duringconversations................................................................................................................ 56

2. Top three participants scoring the most frequently used words perconversations............................................................................................................... 57

3. Cross coding words to make sentences...................................................................... 59

4. Agricultural calendar in the Highland Communities............................................... 77

v

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro, M ichoacan.......................................................... 2

2. Curpite dancer. Unknown a rtis t................................................................................. 6

3. Tarepeti dancer (Moya Rubio 1978)......................................................................... 7

4. Maringuilla dancer (Moya Rubio 1978)................................................................... 8

5 Mesoamerican calendar symbols compared............................................................. 10

6. Purhepecha day names (Swadesh 1969) and some glyphs (Edmonson 1988:239) 11

7. Post-classic (AD 1200-1521) types o f bells (Hosier 1994:133)............................ 13

8. Purhepecha flag............................................................................................................. 18

9. San Juan Nuevo’s “Water and Land” holding title signed by the Spanish in1715................................................................................................................................ 20

10. San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro m ap........................................................................ 26

11. Curpite dancers wearing bells before practice. 2013: Photo Juan Valdez 51

12. Word frequency throughout fieldwork conversations............................................ 55

13. After competition. Unknown artist............................................................................ 66

14. Life in the highland community. 2013: Photo Juan Valdez.................................... 67

15. Parangaricutiro and Paricutin volcano map (Rees 1970)........................................ 68

16. Image of El Senor de los Milagros, San Juan Nuevo (Zavala 1972).................... 70

17. The Lord of the Miracles inside church. 2013: Photo Juan V aldez).................... 71

18. Belt loom (Beals 1946:37).......................................................................................... 74

vi

19. Troje (Moheno 1994).................................................................................................. 76

20. Honorable cuerpo de Cabildo and Semaneras Grandes in San Juan 2013......... 79

vii

PREFACE

I arrived in San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro one morning of New Year’s Day

after riding a cab for twelve minutes from the Uruapan airport in the state o f Michoacan,

Mexico. I spotted for the first time the red brick towers of La Iglesia del Senor de los

Milagros looking through the taxi window. I asked the driver to drop me off right after

we passed the temple where I immediately noticed the city council building. It was

difficult to imagine that over nine thousand people would be gathering here in just a few

days to experience the Curpite dance competition of January 8.

I was very hungry after spending the entire night and part o f the morning in at

least three different forms o f transportation coming from California. I wanted to avoid

being looked as a tourist by the local people although I was uncomfortably pushing my

luggage through the streets. I approached a woman who had just placed a big basket on

the curb in which she kept uchepos (sweet com dough wrapped in com husk and topped

with sour cream, tomatillo sauce, and cheese). I bought one o f them while I asked her for

directions on how to get to the Cultural Center. I told the vendor that I needed to find Ms.

Celia Mincitar Pulido to which she replied:

You’re going to have to come back tomorrow because the cultural center isclosed, don’t you see today is a holiday.

Noticing my frustration and despair, she kindly pointed me to a nearby pharmacy

so I headed over that direction coming across a public pay phone. I decided to call my

community advisor in California, Narcizo Guerrero Murillo, who quickly explained to

me that it was very common to substitute people’s proper name for nicknames in San

Juan Nuevo. The same situation applied to street names with people using houses, traffic

routes, buildings, and businesses as reference when giving directions. The phone

conversation dropped after a few minutes o f talking perhaps due to the 4,125 feet above

sea level altitude o f the town. I eventually made my way into “the small white door o f the

yellow house towards the entrance o f town where the Galeana buses leave to Uruapan”

as someone had just told me at the pharmacy.

Nana Celia, as she was locally known, came to answer after I hesitantly and

softly knocked on her house door. She invited me to come into the house and offered me

to join her in the kitchen where she was going to heat up water to make us coffee. She

knew about my visit because she had previously done work with Mr. Guerrero Murillo

and Dr. Gabany-Guerrero. I asked her to give me instructions on how to find a hotel in

town where I could stay for the time of my field research in San Juan. Nana Celia insisted

that if I went to San Juan to conduct fieldwork she was not going to let me stay at a hotel.

Neto who spoke perfect English after living sometime in the United States walked into

the house an hour later. The rest o f Ms. Celia’s family including three more sons and

seven grandsons joined us afterwards in the evening.

There was a comfortable feeling being in San Juan Nuevo surrounded by people

that made me feel at home. I sympathized with several stories I heard that night

especially with those about living a transnational live. With an approximate 3,000 people

from San Juan Nuevo residing in places like Paso Robles California, there were plenty of

anecdotes to share. The stories reminded everyone about the ties the community o f San

Juan Nuevo holds with their traditions. San Juan Nuevo has been the center o f reunion for

diaspora returning migrants, neighboring visitors, and local community members during

many celebrations with the Curpite dance always attracting the biggest crowds.

Everyone called it the night after interesting conversations revolved over the

dinner table. Neto had already prepared a room for me in the house where I found a large

bed, a comfortable desk, a storing cabinet, and o f course Wi-Fi internet access. Before

falling asleep, I remembered about the time I volunteered for the mounting o f a museum

exhibit to be held in our school department at Cal State Fullerton. The students enrolled

in the class and I formed a committee to plan for the opening reception under the

direction of museum curator and instructor Dr. Tricia Gabany-Guerrero. We wrote a

proposal to the Vice President Office o f Student Affairs to ask for funding to rent a

performing stage. Part of the inaugural museum program and reception consisted on

having dancers showing the traditional Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo.

I did not know what the Curpite dance was at that time but I held the special

responsibility to meet up with the dancers and escort them a walking distance from their

hotel into the university. The dancers were coming in part due to an open invitation

arranged by the Mexican Environmental and Cultural Research Institute, Inc.

(MEXECRI), who advocates for the cultural preservation o f indigenous communities of

Mexico in the United States. This non-profit organization served as the transnational

liaison between our museum exhibit and the diaspora community people living in Paso

Robles California.

When I met up with the dancers, they invited me to walk inside one o f their hotel

rooms. Upon my entry, I noticed various suitcases placed on top of the two beds. The

dancers opened the cases and slowly emptied various dancing ornamentations and attire

x

items they were going to wear for the performance. Approximately four or five non­

dancing participants assisted the five dancers to dress up making sure items were

perfectly tied and in place. I was very impressed to see the final transformation of a fully

dressed dancer in less than thirty minutes. Masks were placed last by the dancers and

suddenly it became very difficult if not impossible to recognize the people I had just met

at the hotel.

We exited the hotel and walked towards the main quad o f Cal State University

Fullerton. There was already a big crowd waiting for the opening performance and the

reception of the museum to begin. We came across various students who quickly pulled

out their cell phone cameras to take pictures of the dancers. I am not sure if their curiosity

derived from the silvery colored bells decorating the calves o f the dancers which made a

rhythmic noise while walking, or the bright sequin woven fabric aprons reflecting back

the sun rays in various tones and colors, or the silky handkerchief linen wrapped around

the dancer’s head giving an additional forward protuberance to a finely painted wooden

mask.

I started wondering if the four cups of coffee La Lucha I drank earlier at the

dinner table with Nana Celia’s family had anything to do with being unable to sleep on

my first night in San Juan. I think it was the overall excitement to be able to witness the

Curpite dance competition in person again but this time I would become part o f the

celebration. That same night, I also remembered how I met “£ / Pack” when he came to

perform with the Curpite dancers to the university during our museum reception at Cal

State Fullerton. Pack invited me to attend another Curpite dance competition taking place

at his neighborhood in Paso Robles California. He told me about the local group of

Curpite dancers from Paso Robles taking on the visiting group o f dancers from Rialto

California. I accepted the invitation and borrowed a camera from the On-line Academic

Strategies and Instructional Support (OASIS) studio staff members’ Timothy Abad and

John Montoya from Cal State University Fullerton. Liza Alvarez who completed graduate

ethnographic research in the department of Anthropology assisted me with another

camera. With two cameras in hand, we took on a four-hour drive from Fullerton to Paso

Robles California on June 25, 2011.

We recorded the Paso Robles’ Curpite dancers when the main leading dancer and

performer called Tarepeti was being assisted to dress up before this competition. I was

handed a pair of Curpite dancing shoes and some bells to wear on my calves. Before we

headed to the competing fairgrounds, I was encouraged to follow Curpite dancing steps

while music played from a car stereo. This was my first lesson on how to coordinate the

music and feet in the rhythmic style known as zapateado.

I went a second time to Paso Robles to observe a folkloric group of dancers

organized by choreographer professor Jose Alberto Velazquez Campoverde on August 17

o f 2012. Mr. Velazquez Campoverde, who lives in San Juan Nuevo, had planned a

folkloric dance tour in places like California, Nevada, and Utah where approximately ten

different dances from Michoacan including the Curpites from San Juan Nuevo would be

presented. In this occasion, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the diaspora

community from San Juan Nuevo living in Paso Robles California to build a dancing

stage for the visiting dancing performers. Every time I went to Paso Robles was because

Pach or Ignacio became an informant who constantly updated me about events taking

place in his neighborhood. Aside from visiting Paso Robles California, I also attended the

Festival Purhepecha Michoacano within the same year on September 2012.

The city o f Bell Gardens in the Los Angeles County area, along with the

Mexican Government from Michoacan and La Federation de Clubes y Asociaciones de

Michoacanos (FECADEMIN), organize a four-day annual event as a way to

commemorate the Mexican Independence Day in the United States. This festival offers

the opportunity for diaspora members from Michoacan and the public in general to come

together and enjoy various traditional foods, performances, and cultural workshops. It is a

place where Curpite dancers also come to perform their traditional Purhepecha dance.

I eventually began to wonder if Purhepecha dance was being used to neutralize

boundaries between the United States and Mexico. The Curpite dance in particular

engaged the community members across borders resulting in two different versions of

cultural representation. Whereas some people could live dual lives traveling across from

the United States to San Juan Nuevo some others were duplicating similar cultural values

to preserve an identity in the hosting country. Surprisingly, the Curpite dance contributed

to the cultural diversity o f the United States putting aside from any type o f uncertainties

caused by the immigration law.

So far, I knew what I wanted to do in school as this solved one half o f the

challenging question commonly faced by any graduate student when selecting a topic. I

only needed to find out how to study this cultural transit o f the Curpite dance across

national boundaries. After scheduling a meeting with my former thesis advisor Dr.

Gabany-Guerrero, she suggested that I conducted fieldwork in Michoacan in order to

gain an insight about the direction to follow. The idea would solve the second half o f my

interests about this cultural tradition I had only seeing as a diaspora representation in the

United States. Nevertheless, participant observation would raised issues about security

and safety after the university placed sanctions against visits to Mexican destinations

including Michoacan. It was clear how media reports on the news regarding organized

crime would limit anthropology at studying human kind.

The entrance into the community was arranged specifically for me and depended

on contacts from my professor, community advisor, and community members in both

Paso Robles and San Juan Nuevo. Both Dr. Gabany-Guerrero and Narcizo Guerrero

Murillo provided me with the names o f contacts holding administrative positions in the

local government o f San Juan Nuevo. Furthermore, the social support to conduct the

study I received from the diaspora community in Paso Robles had already grown to an

unconditional commitment without restrictions or boundaries.

Neto was knocking on the door while I heard Nana Celia asking if I was awake.

She was ready to take me over to the Cultural Center to be introduced to some

community members and authorities in San Juan Nuevo. Although this was only my

second day visiting the town, it became evident how the American dream could be a

nightmare. The museum exhibit “Cultural Treasures o f Mexico: the Purhepecha of

Parangaricutiro” woke me up on May 12 o f 2011.

xiv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I give special thanks to everyone who in some way or another helped me during

the process o f my graduate studies. Due to space limitation I can only mention those

whose influence resulted in the completion of this manuscript as they have touched my

life in a very personal and significant way. I dedicate this study to the community of San

Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro both in Mexico and Paso Robles California. I give special

thanks for all their help to make me feel at home and sharing with me their food, dance,

and traditions. The present work would not have been possible without their constant

support, motivation, and friendship.

My appreciation is given to Jaime Soto Ventura and Ignacio Ciricuti 'El Pach ’ for

coming to Cal State Fullerton and bringing the Curpites despite having a restricted

schedule. I want to thank the Curpite dancers in Paso Robles especially Juan, Pelon, and

Polio for giving me a quick dancing lesson before a Curpite competition. My

appreciation goes also to the Ciricuti family for their hospitality in Paso Robles

California in particular to Casimira Guerrero de Ciricuti, the testimonials o f Jesus ‘el G ’

Ciricuti, who is also a professional dancer, and the friendly reception o f two daughters

Paola and Jasmin Ciricuti

I want to thank and wish the best prosperous future to Narcizo Guerrero Murillo

for arranging my fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro. The same facilitated my

access to information and meeting with informants for my study including Narcizo’s

xv

nephew Jose ‘el medico ’ who picked me up and drove me throughout the boundaries of

San Juan Nuevo at places like San Nicolas, El Rancho Los Aguacates, Cerro Chino, and

the Tancltaro highway. I want to thank Lourdes Anguiano Alfaro and her husband

Epitacio Velazquez Guerrero for letting me film inside their home and granting me an

interview with their daughters Juanita Velazquez and Maria Paula Velazquez. I want to

thank Professor Manuela Velazquez Guerrero for assisting me with information on the

aprons. My special thanks to ‘‘El Pacoimas, ” ‘‘El Cari, ” Macedonio “El Nono, ” and his

son Felipe “El Nonito, ” Vicente Contreras “El Mosca, ” Juan Aguilar Chavez “El

Peligroso, ” Francisco Rodriguez “el Khuri, ” Juan Aguilar Saldana, Aniseto Velazquez

Contreras, Miguel Pantaleon, the retired priest Mr. Jose Guadalupe Cuara, Andres

Echavama Don Diego “el Pa chen, ” Professor Jose Alberto Velazquez Campoverde “el

Pepino, ” the Aguilar Delgado sister’s, and everybody else who opened their houses to

me while I visit San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro.

I want to specially thank Ms. Celia Mincitar Pulido “Nana Celia” and her family

including Ernesto Mincitar “Neto, ” Dr. Juan Martin Mincitar “El Juaneco, ” “El D iony”

and his wife Mary, and El Chaco. I also want to acknowledge all the children who

showed great interest in the “obsidian project” including los Chuchines, las Pichis, and

los Jerochis. I give my special thanks to the Prioste o f the community Chapel Hospital

Maria Azucena Anguiano Murillo and her husband the Mayordomo Pablo Murillo

Anducho who allowed me to interview the Palmeras Maria Guadalupe, Cleotilde, Elvia,

Maria Luz, Maria Gudalupe, Lolita, Connie, and Kathy.

During my visit in Michoacan, I had the honor to meet with many people I would

never finish writing about in regards to my generosity to thank them. In particular, I was

very glad to meet with the Honorable Cuerpo de Cabildos from San Juan Nuevo

Parangaricutiro to whom I am thankful for having told me about their costumbres and

sharing with me their time. In particular, I thank Mr. Narcizo Guerrero Sr. "El Chicho

Teruto, ” Mr. Jose Anguiano R., Mr. Manuel Echevarria C., Mr. Fernando C.C., and Mr.

Luis Roque C., and o f course the head o f communal authority on community affairs Mr.

Jose Aguilar. I want to thank the Semaneras Grandes Rosa Aguilar and Petra Sandoval,

the Regent of Tourism, Culture, and Education Dr. Angelica Remigia Gonzalez Guerrero;

the Regent of Health and Equality for Women Lucero Garfia Bedolla; the Regent of

Agroforestry and Cultural Ecology C. Martin Lopez Soto; the Regent o f Planning and

Development on Indigenous Culture Roberto Echevarria Heredia; the Director of the

Casa de Cultura Mr. Felipe Contreras Anguiano. I want to thank the municipal secretary

C. Julian Anguiano Chavez and Municipal President C. Vicente Guerrero Ruiz for setting

up the museum meeting.

I also want to give special thanks to personnel at Cal State Fullerton including Dr.

Abrego, Dr. Moore, Jamie Hamilton, Yvette Espinosa, Janet Hayder, Tannisse

Collymore, and Debra Redsteer for their resourceful input and generosity. I want to thank

the staff from the office of Graduate Studies specially Dr. Powers, Dr. Arellano, Dr.

Armendariz, Joyce Royce, Norma Ramirez, Yessica Penate, and Catalina Olvera. Special

thanks to Dr. Gradilla who introduced me to the Enhancing Postbacularatte Opportunities

for CSUF Hispanic Students program from which I once received a Graduate Assistant

position. This job saved me the money to buy the camcorder I used for my fieldwork

which otherwise I would not have ever had. I also received the support of EPOCHS to

present my research locally in San Jose California during the Southwestern

Anthropological Association meeting and nationally at the American Anthropological

Association meeting in Chicago.

Last but not least, I would like to make special mention to the close family and

friends who although not physically present with me at all times, their spirit has taught

me how to get an education. I want to thank my mother Maria Cristina Rojas who lives in

Mexico City who once during my childhood brought me over to the Museo de

Antropologia e Historia. She did not know but I was being slowly inducted into a long

quest for human cultural diversity. I would normally return to the museum just to find out

there were more questions than answers about the human past.

It was until I received formal training that some o f this answers became evident

through the mentorship of my anthropology professors at Cal State Fullerton. I want to

thank the academic advice given to me by Dr. Erickson, Dr. Callahan, Dr. Canin, and Dr.

Nevadomsky. They all joined me throughout this discovery and accepted being part of

this thesis as my committee members. This thesis remains a sample o f all their constant

patience so I could recognize this strange yet pleasant field called anthropology. Most

importantly, I am highly in debt and would like to thank my former thesis advisor Dr.

Tricia Gabany-Guerrero for sharing with me the beauty of Mexico through the mysticism

of Michoacan. I offered her my infinite gratitude because she always believed in this

academic quest I created to myself. She helped me to navigate this promising yet

surprising educational path as a first generation college graduate student. Dr. Gabany-

Guerrero not only inspired my quest for human equality and community advocacy but

also gave me valuable research techniques, fieldwork experiences, and enthusiastic

anecdotes. I feel very fortunate for receiving her support, friendship, mentorship, and

constant commentaries on this thesis manuscript. All of those helped me to be motivated

to define this academic path in times of hardship. Dr. Tricia Gabany-Guerrero frequently

sought the progress of this thesis until the very end when she had to leave the world of

the living. She fought against cancer without this preventing her from continuing her

professional work and dedication to her students. When the time comes and the situation

allows for me to continue doing research, it will no longer be an assignment to finish but

a legacy to give back to the people a common good in the memory o f justice.

Thanks Dr. Gabany-Guerrero.

xix

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

My thesis studies the meaning o f identity within a transnational context based on

a particular indigenous dance. The significance of the study discusses national borders

when it comes to diverse cultural values. Dance, in this case, illustrates and encourages

social relations among participants regardless o f place and location. In the following

pages, I conceptualized dance as a field of practice during both diaspora organized events

held in the United States as well as local dance competitions held in Michoacan, Mexico.

As I learned more about the Purhepecha culture and tradition, I took a closer more

intimate approach to investigate the Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro

through fieldwork research.

San Juan Nuevo receives many visitors since it houses an important catholic

religious temple called Iglesia del Sehor de los Milagros or the LORD OF THE

MIRACLES CHURCH. The church reads some of the town’s history through the display

o f painting murals located inside. One o f this murals makes reference to Parangaricutiro

as the Spanish translation “canoa de agua metida en el paredon” [water falling from the

ravine into a canoe]. The word Parangaricutiro may represent a location or place above

the ground as Parangatani or “poner levantar la xicara de el suelo” [to pick up the

container from the floor], Parangaricuni “estar el sol en el cielo” [the sun being in the

sky], Parangariquaro “un pueblo en Thzirosto” [a town in Thzirosto], and Parangaritani

2

“ponerlo alii” [to put over there] have a similar root word that means above something1

(Figure 1).

San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro

Mexico

Figure 1. San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro, Michoacan.

The Purhepecha

The word p ’urhe translates to “the people,” “the person,” “those who inhabit the

earth’ (Argueta Villamar 2008:42). Purhepecha means “common people,” “people o f the

town,” “the ethnicity” and “the spoken tongue” (Lopez Austin 1981:19). We know little

1 Members o f the municipal township who I interviewed made reference to the town simply as comunidad or community. I will be using San Juan Nuevo to mean the geographical locations that encompass the Indigenous community and the municipal entity. I translated from Purhepecha to Spanish using an on-line dictionary to provide the English equivalent o f the words inside the brackets only for this section. The dictionary can be found at www.purepecha.org last accessed on October 6 ,2014 . Hereafter, all translations from Spanish to English within this manuscript are my own with my intention to keep the original writing o f the author and not the definite equivalent o f the translation with all errors to be my own.

3

about the origin o f this people to whom the mexica called michoaque or “those from the

place of fish” and to whom anthropologist now call “purepecha” (Schondube 1996:14).

The Purhepecha are sometimes called Tarascos although the etymology of the

name is disputed making the implication to be the given name. Lopez Austin (1981)

makes reference to how Bernardino de Sahagun explained that “the indigenous people

borrowed the name from their god Taras and called themselves Tarascos” (Lopez Austin

1981:132). In a very similar way, Fray Joan Baptista de Lagunas offers his own

interpretation about the name Tarasco best summarized by Foster (1946:9) as follows:

The most common explanation, is that, following Spanish practice, the conquistadores took Indian women as wives and concubines, and were called tarascue, “son-in-law,” by the fathers o f the girls. Thinking that the term was the name o f the tribe, the Spaniards referred to all as Tarascos (Foster 1946:9).

Other versions have also being proposed including the splitting o f two groups at

the crossing of a river. The males from the first group made a wooden raft using their

own clothes to tie it up and hold the rafting canoe together. They found their clothing

ripped and useless after crossing the river. The males had to borrow from their wives

some of their clothing since the female clothing was composed of two pieces. The males

used the top part to cover themselves from the hips and above whereas the females kept

the piece that covered their hips down. When the second group caught up on the first

group and noticed this exchange of clothing, they laughed since they managed to cross

the river without any confrontations. The successful group that crossed without issues

commented that the not so lucky group made the noise taras, taras, taras every time they

walked by the bouncing o f their genitals (here the given name Tarasco). The first group

4

felt embarrassed and decided to stay back after crossing the river whereas the second

2group left on the journey .

Lopez Austin (1981:134) sustains that there is a lack of evidence to validate any

given version for the etymology of the word “Tarasco” concluding that the most accurate

source should be that of the ancient historical manuscript called the Relation de

3Michoacan . For instance, the Relation de Michoacan talks about the fusion between the

sedentary fishermen living in the outskirts of the Patzcuaro Lake and the semi nomad

bands coming from the north. The intermarriage between the two gave birth to the people

of Michhuacan (the place o f fish). Nevertheless, Lopez Austin (1981) makes note that

this was not a smooth accommodation between the two groups since they praised

different gods. The fishermen and semi-nomad bands, thus, had to share religious beliefs

in halves creating divisions between their communities (Lopez Austin 1981:22). The

division created a strong centralized subdivision within the communities corresponding to

2The full version o f this story could be read in Lopez Austin (1981:132-133) Tarascos y Mexicas book

published by the Fondo de Cultura Economica in Mexico. 1 also read the story in Fernando Nava (1999) El Campo Semantico del Sonido Musical P ’urhecha book which reminded me o f some people from Sahuayo Michoacan 1 met as a newcomer to the United States. Every time they heard news, stories, comments, or conversations that were shocking to them, they responded by using the expression jO l a huevos! [such a bolded genital you are!] as a way to make an implication that the stories were over exaggerated.

3The full name o f the manuscript is Relacion de Michoacan: Relacion de las geremonias y rrictos y

poblagion y governagion de los yndios de la provingia y governagion de los yndios de la provingia de Mechuacan hecha alyllustrisim o sehor Don Antonio Mendoga, V irreyy governador desta nueva Espaha p o r su magestad, ecetera. The manuscript contains three parts, focusing on the Tarascan State religion, Tarascan Society, and official state history, including the Spanish conquest. All but one folio o f the first section have been lost (Pollard: 2003). Although this manuscript takes a Uactisecha perspective (Pollard 1993) in general with that from Tzintzuntzan (Gabany-Guerrero 1999) in particular, the Relacidn de Michoacan also comments on customs that may still be in practice today. I used the on-line version courtesy o f the Colegio de Michoac&n last accessed May 12, 2013 athttp://etzakutarakua.colmich.edu.mx/proyectos/relaciondemichoacan/. The illustrations are from the English translation manuscript called Chronicles o f Michoacan. The original is housed in the Biblioteca Real del Monasterio de San Lorenzo, De El Escorial, Spain, also refer to web address for location at http://rbme.patrimonionacional.es/ (Gabany-Guerrero 2013 personal communication). Other copies are found in the Library o f Congress in Washington D.C. and the University o f Michoacdn in Morelia. I will refer to the same as Relacion de Michoacan hereafter.

5

particular pre-Hispanic barrio segments which “corresponded to community identity,

power, and prestige (Chance: 1989), socio economic stratification and kinship (Carrasco:

1976), and specific religious concentrations” (Lopez Austin 1981).

Furthermore, the indigenous religion before the conquest was based in the cult to

the gods who represented the different natural elements, economic activities, and the

social groups formed by kinship division of labor (wards, specialization, towns, etc.)

(Carrasco: 1976). Gabany-Guerrero (1999) summarizes three layers o f supernatural

structures in connection to animate and inanimate deities in the Purhepecha cosmology:

Cuerauaperi, Curicaueri and Xaratanga appear to have dominated the pantheon of the Purhepecha Empire as described in the Relacion where the deities may be categorized into three distinct types: 1) deities based on constellations, astronomic observations and time; 2) deities based on the relationship with the earth and animate things (deer, eagle, snake, gopher) and the spatial areas they occupy; 3) deities based on their association with particular people, leader, place (inanimate, e.g. rocks, mountains, thermal springs) or time (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:118).

Thus, hierarchical organization was an important marker in the Purhepecha or

Tarascan social culture4. The Tarascan society had a ranking system with the King

Cazonzi or Irecha in the highest level and the “Petamuti or supreme priest as the second

in hierarchical position presiding all other priests and over the most important ceremonies

in Tzintzutzan, both civil and religious” (Pollard 1993:145 my emphasis). Although we

can only guess on the type o f events and manifestations o f identity in the past, the direct

descendants o f the Purhepecha today practice celebrations that continue a strong presence

of cultural values. For instance, the Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro

brings an approximately 9,000 people together every year in the month o f January.

I retained the word Tarasco as it appears in the quotes borrowed from other authors. I use the term Purhepecha with more frequency for the purposes o f this thesis hereafter unless otherwise specified.

6

The Curpite Dance

The word Curpite translates to Spanish as los que se juntan or los que se agregan

(Prospero Maldonado 2000:36), or its English equivalent “those who gather in, attach

themselves, those who join in” (Bishop: 2005). Maldonado (2010), and Argueta Villamar

(2008) argue that Curpites resemble a butterfly. Bishop (2009:398) suggests “Curpites

physical form as well as proud demeanor reflect those of the rooster.” Brody Esser

(1984:75) explains that “Curpites make guttural noises and imitate clucking birds.” Ralph

Beals (1946:156) described the Curpite dancers as “correct and very restrain,

accompanied by shouting and leaping in the air almost like an impossible bird (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Curpite dancer. Unknown artist.

The main characters of this dance are the Tarepeti and Maringuilla who parade

the streets o f San Juan Nuevo along many Curpite dancers in order to “express

entertainment motifs only to reflect the happiness o f the young (Vargas Gonzalez

1950:30). Ralph Beals (1946:155) observed how “the music varied according to various

aspects o f the Curpite dance with changes being indicated by the Tarepeti leader when

ringing a bell.” The bell is placed around the neck of a wooden carved head of a horse

being attached to a scepter symbolizing command. The scepter is carried along the

shoulder o f the leading dancer Tarepeti to distinguish his mastery performance on stage

at the beginning of the dance competition (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Tarepeti dancer (Moya Rubio 1978).

The main leader Tarepeti dances along with his female companion called

Maringuttla who is actually another male. The Maringuilla “wears a decorated kerchief

on her hips to trick the Tarepeti dancing moves” (Chamoreau 2004:96). Despite the

uncertainty to know where the cross dressing o f the female character Maringuilla within

the context o f the Curpite dance begins, the term Maringuilla or Maringueri is utilized in

8

the Purhepecha language when referring to a young unmarried indigenous girl (Brody

Esser 1984:68) (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Maringuilla dancer (Moya Rubio 1978).

We can only speculate that the male/female transformation within the Purhepecha

culture may relate a symbolic attribution given to a deity. For instance, a similar

male/female depiction appears in some Mayan codices to represent the com god (Bessie-

Sweet 2000:2).

Although Purhepecha kinship relations were based on matrilineal descent, at some

point in the history of this people men became dominant in the political and religious

9

hierarchy (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:94). In the pre-Hispanic Purhepecha political

organization, symbolic power was materialized by carrying a sacred scepter through the

actions and ceremonies given by the Petamuti (Mendoza: 2003) where myths, legends,

norms, and other successes were transmitted to the town orally during the

Ecuataconsquaro celebration (Schondube 1996:16).

Purhepecha Hierarchy

In a very similar way that Purhepecha social structure was composed, the Curpite

dance also involves complex social organization representing hierarchy and prestige in

the representation of each one of the three different dancer characters. Prospero

Maldonado (2000) assimilates the prominent role o f the contemporary Curpite master

dancer Tarepeti with that of the pre-Hispanic leader Petamuti.

los mismos elementos que simbolizaron un alto rango en la antigiiedad, y que de manera tan evidente, permanezca esta figura de linaje en una danza tradicional a pesar de haberle cambiado su representation.. .pudiera tener origen en la ya citada celebration Equata-consquaro [the same components that symbolized rank in the ancient organization which for some reason continue to be part o f today’s traditional dances must have its origin in connection to the Equata-conscuaro celebration] (Prospero Maldonado 2000:65).

Prospero Maldonado (2000) derives the Sicuindiro celebration as the starting point to

observe elaborated dances and rituals in the history o f Michoacan. However, comparisons

maybe misleading in particular those mentioning the Sicuindiro celebration since “we do

not have the name of the month to which this ceremony pertained because the first folio

o f the Relacion de Michoacan was destroyed or lost in Spain” (Miranda: 1988 cfr

Gabany-Guerrero 1999:39). Gabany-Guerrero (1999) states that the word Sicuindiro

comes from sucuindirani or suicui meaning “to flay” after her comparisons o f the

Purhepecha calendar on previous studies made by Pollard (1993) and Caso (1943).

10

Symbols o f Identity Through Time

Caso (1943:11) indicates that “the Relation de Michoacan names thirteen

Tarascan months with four o f them having a corresponding date in the Christian calendar.

Edmonson (1988:240) refers to the “autonomy of the Tarascan writing system and

linguistic independence to have valuable implications when considering Purhepecha

calendars. Gabany-Guerrero (2012) discovered a Mesoamerican 260-day calendar

symbol on the church of San Juan Parangaricutiro which may provide additional support

for ideas about how the Purhepecha counted days (Gabany-Guerrero 2012) (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Mesoamerican calendar symbols compared.

As a matter of fact, the relationships between the Purhepecha and the Teotihuacan

calendars “lead to an initial dated Classic counting systems derived from that o f the

Yucunudahui” (Emondson 1988:240). This calendar does not go back earlier than the

fifth century AD (Edmonson 1988:102). Edmonson (1988:239) found archaeological

records of glyphs to support his theory that there were Purhepecha day-names (Figure 6).

1Calendar Symbol Calendar Symbol

<1 CakadvftnapiktSBOchathtMnr

11

a. Uxpi/Alligator

b. Tarhiyata/Wind

c. Kuahta/House

d. Uahtzaki/Lizard

e. Akuitze/Serpent

f. Uarhini/Death

g. Axuni/Deer

h. Auani/Rabbit

i. Itsi/Water

j. Uichu/Dog

k. Ozoma/Monkey

1. Uitzakua/Grass

m. Isimba/Cane

n. Puki/Jaguar

o. Uakusi/Eagle

p. Tukuru/Owl

q. Yumiri/Quake

r. Tzhinapu/Flint

s. Manikua/Rain

t. Tsitsiki/flower

Figure 6. Purhepecha day names (Swadesh 1969) and some glyphs (Edmonson 1988:239).

The relationships between similar calendar systems may pertain to linguistic and

religious purposes according to Edmonson (1988:1). However, having a counting system

that is used by other groups may also relate to trade. For instance, the Purhepecha

supplied the Teotihuacan counterparts with Spondylus shells for ritual ceremonies (Hosier

12

1994:249). The need to have a regional counting system to track periods o f demand for

this products was a requirement. Hosier (1994) mentions that after Teotihuacan collapsed

roughly during the early classic period, the Purhepecha brought their shells to the

Monteno in Ecuador who introduced metal working in exchange where teotihuacan’s

decline could explain the timing of metallurgy’s appearance (Hosier 1994:249). Hosier

(1994) summarizes this perspective in the following way:

We cannot be certain how Mexican polities responded to the political and ideological disruptions brought by the collapse of Teotihuacan, but whatever the responses, there is no doubt that metal objects provided a novel, visually and aurally powerful means o f communicating with (and recreating) the sacred through bell sounds, a new and unusual material with which to mark hierarchy and social status, and a new item to trade (Hosier 1994:249).

Gabany-Guerrero (1999:145) interpreted Caheri Consquaro (the name o f one out

o f eighteen Purhepecha months) after Caso (1943) and Pollard (1993) with the linguistic

expression Conconascani which means “to make the bells sound” or “sonar los

cascabeles.” Archaeological investigations by Dorothy Hosier (1988:833) also pointed

out that “bells, cast to shape using the lost-wax technique, were manufactured in greater

quantity in West Mexico than any other object made o f metal.” The choices o f what to

make takes place in a specific social context and is determined by an accommodation of

social realities with the physical properties of materials (Hosier 1994:4). Late Postclassic

(1300-1600AD) bells were excavated near Nuevo Parangaricutiro where their size

appeared to have a significance with the person’s age; children o f various ages were

each found associated with one bell, varying in size with the age of the child (Gabany-

Guerrero 2012) (Figure 7).

13

Figure 7. Post-classic (AD 1200-1521) types of Bells (Hosier 1994:133).

The archaeological record o f San Juan Nuevo may further explain some o f the

Curpite dance components while adding to Purhepecha investigations in general.

Gabany-Guerrero (1999:183) “identified several archaeological sites within the region of

Tancitaro that merit archaeological surveys.” Nevertheless, the detail analysis of

archaeological findings in San Juan Nuevo resides outside the scope of this study. The

ceremonial associations in both Purhepecha pre-Hispanic rituals and contemporary

dancing celebrations may provide examples on how the Purhepecha traditional

commonalities do not reside in the roles of the characters but in the differences o f their

14

celebrations where knowing the origin of the Curpite dance in San Juan Nuevo

Parangaricutiro remains an ambitious endeavor.

Research Questions

The purpose o f the present work focuses on how national borders function as

points o f reference to filter diversity and cultural values and how virtual spaces become

alternatives to redefine agency and identity. I derive my examples from the indigenous

Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo which takes a transnational direction with their

participants complementing the cultural diversity of their hosting nations. I emphasize the

following research questions as a way to carry out this study:

1) How does cultural practices allow for the experience o f diversity concerning a

transnational world?

2) How do practical continuations of culture become cultural continuities o f the

practice?

3) How do individuals negotiate external forces o f organization through

interconnected networks?5

The organization of this thesis is composed of seven chapters where I cover the

following aspects. Chapter one provides with a brief introduction about the Purhepecha

and the Curpite dance. I also introduce a Purhepecha symbol that was carved in the old

church of Parangaricutiro. The symbol may relate to how the Purhepecha counted days

although there is no further evidence to make such a claim. Archaeological findings may

bring more insight to this speculation as a way to know more about the Purhepecha

5 Geisteswissenschaften is a German term advocated by Boas which emphasizes individuals over groups as the center for anthropological investigation. As Boas (1940) would explain “the center o f investigation must be the individual and the many threads that enter the individual case”.

15

culture in general and the Curpite dance in particular. Chapter two deals with the quest

for hegemony as many contemporary groups in Michoacan are successfully claiming

their self-determination. San Juan Nuevo is not an exception to this rule relying on the

participation of a communal assembly to sustain their forest. Also, this model of

organization in the community o f San Juan has been an important component for the

preservation of cultural activities where dance appears as early as 1590 in

Parangaricutiro. Whether the Curpite dance has been an old tradition in the community or

not, the people o f San Juan experience a strong bond with each other through a dancing

tradition. The community organization as a model would require of an elaborated and

systematic way to be analyzed. Chapter three refers to the methodology I used to carry on

such an investigation. I first relied on reading detail sources o f information including

bibliographic records and on-line accounts about the Curpite dance. I then conducted

fieldwork in the community o f San Juan Nuevo to engage a visual ethnography that

incorporated participant observation to study this organization. This led to the application

o f theoretical considerations to conceptualize dance as a field o f practice and identity as a

product o f culture. Chapter four combines these two ideas in order to construct the

structural organization of the Curpite dance in terms of habitus. I relied on the narratives

I collected during fieldwork to produce an account about the events that took place from

January 6 to 9 in regards to the Curpite dance. Using a reverse order to describe these

events, I hope for the reader to construct the celebration as a process where the end o f the

chapter becomes the beginning of the celebration. Identity for the people o f San Juan is

the continuity of a changing process where the Curpite dance has neither an end nor a

beginning. In chapter five, I give more details about the Curpite dance in terms of the

16

results I found during my fieldwork using an on-line computer software. Since this study

concerns the people o f San Juan in particular and the anthropological community in

general, I opened the chapter with two examples where a successful breach between the

two has brought good results. However, I make an explicit call to continue providing with

results that are representative o f people under investigation. This would require the

inclusion o f researchers within the studies where community issues become academic

concerns. In chapter six I recall some o f these issues and concerns in the community

about the Curpite dance in the form of a discussion. This chapter explains the way

customs and traditions are handed down through the generations using the advice of the

elderly members in the community o f San Juan Nuevo. I provide some o f the stories

about the Curpite dance as these were given to me making a connection of the stories

with some available bibliographic records. I conclude this chapter by suggesting that the

Curpite dance today relies on the hands of new generations to continue the oral tradition

in the brink o f technology. Chapter seven concludes this study bringing the transnational

aspect in relation to cultural practices like the Curpite dance. Dance is not only as a

cultural practice but also a political manifestation where entrance and access to diversity

is mediated by an external hegemony of national borders.

17

CHAPTER 2

CULTURAL RESURGENCE AND DANCE

Juchari Uinavik.ua

Ethnographic studies in the 20th century situate the contemporary Purhepecha

within four sub regions of the state o f Michoacan, Mexico to include La cienega de

Zacapu [the Zacapu marshes], La cahada de los Once pueblos [the glen road to the

eleven towns], La region del Lago [the Patzcuaro Lake region], and La Sierra

Purhepecha/Me set a Purhepecha [the Purhepecha highlands]. The four regions come

together as a single unifying emblem of identity as it is representative in the colors of the

Purhepecha flag. The blue signifies the people o f the Lake which corresponds to the

ancient inhabitants who settle in the outskirts of Patzcuaro and live a sustainable diet

based on fishing the local species. The purple represents the communities living in the

marshes who at some point lost their mother tongue but retained a huge appreciation for

com. The green symbolizes the density o f the forest and the wood available to those

living in the highlands. The yellow represents the eleven towns that settled throughout the

Duero River to form the eleven ancient towns. The flag comes from the contemporary

indigenous Purhepecha quest to revitalize community values after the confrontation

between Santa Fe de la Laguna and Quiroga. These two communities located to the

northeast region o f the Patzcuaro Lake experienced a disagreement regarding land and its

privileges. According to Cortez Maximo (2013) “the indigenous resurgence began at the

end of the 1970’s as a way to maintain communal values in response to the irresponsible

uses of natural resources” (Figure 8).

*U©|

Figure 8. Purhepecha flag.

Sanchez Diaz (2013) summarizes the origin o f the legend and symbolism to the

center o f the Purhepecha flag:

The flag has an obsidian figure to the center which represent the principal pre- Hispanic god o f Michoacan called Curicaueri. The same is encircled by flames to symbolize the mythical provenience of people descending from the sunrays. It also has four bunches o f arrows pointing to four comers that distinguish territorial extension reached when throwing an arrow. The story o f the phrase underneath the central icon began after various ethnic groups joined together at the central plaza in support to o f Santa Fe de la Laguna. Each group exclaimed a phrase using their native tongue to make their presence be heard. The Purhepecha then expressed their unity of strength by saying “Our Strength” Juchari Uinapek.ua (Sanchez Diaz 2013).

Luis Vazquez Leon (1986) explains cultura comunal or communal culture as a

way to “restore communal property and ethnicity through cultural political mobilization”

(Vazquez Leon 1986:47). This local action seeks to alleviate “the deepest suffering

experienced by the indigenous community to be the loss o f their economic sustain

through the communal property o f the land” (Carrasco 1976:34). The litigation,

documentation, and recovery o f pre-Hispanic Purhepecha territory continues due to the

finding of land holding titles in the public and private archives (Sanchez Diaz 2013;22).

At 19.4 degrees o f latitude and 102 degrees o f longitude sitting at an elevation of

1,866 meters above sea level with an approximate population of 18,000 people

(INEGI:2013), San Juan Nuevo corresponds to the denominated meseta Purhepecha.

“The Tarascan ‘Sierra,’ the largest o f all the sub-regions, is not a mountain chain but

rather a volcanic plateau . . . whose surface has been roughened by large composite

volcanoes, scores o f small cinder cones, and extensive lava flows called malpais’XWest

1948:2). West speculated that indigenous occupations o f the highland retained local

hegemony during the time of colonial expansion in Michoacan. He noticed less

population decline and great language retention in the sierra region suggesting that “the

pine-oak tree forest, with little palatable grass and numerous predatory animals, offered

few attractions for the Spaniards (West 1948:17).”

San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro declares rightful ownership o f their territorial

boundaries by holding a land title signed by the Spanish Crown in the year 1715. The title

specifies the access to “Water and Land” with many provisions being made thereafter.

The latest amendment occurred in 1987 from which the communal forestry organization

o f San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro took a huge impulse. Today, the indigenous

community seeks to preserve and defend its territory through community forestry and

sustainable natural resource management (Corcoran 2012:6). Furthermore, the Forest

20

Stewardship Council (FSC), awarded San Juan Nuevo with the green stamp in 1999 due

to an excellent silviculture drive of its forest (Estudios Rurales 2007:191 )(Figure 9)6.

Figure 9. San Juan Nuevo’s “Water and Land” holding title signed by the Spanish Crown in the year 1715.

The Comunidad Indigena de Nuevo Parangaricutiro in association with the Comision Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR) launched a documentary in YouTube.com on August 27, 2013 under the name “Comunidad Indigena de Nuevo Parangaricutiro, Michoacan.” The video contains resource management techniques that are making San Juan Nuevo an example to follow due to the sustainable system to protect, use, and reproduce their forest.

21

Barrios in San Juan Nuevo

Surrounded by the mountains of La Laguna (3,200m), Prieto (3,100m), Pario

(2,910m), San Nicolas (2,900m), and Cutzato (2,810m)(Velazquez 2003:46), San Juan

Nuevo Parangaricutiro is composed o f six barrios each one representing an annual

celebration within the Catholic calendar holidays of La Asuncion, Natividad, Santiago,

San Francisco, San Miguel, and San Mateo. All the towns and barrios have a patron saint

whose cult relates to labor specializations to be under protection of their saint (Carrasco

1976:61).

Moheno (1985:39) and Gabany-Guerrero (1999:193), observed that several pre-

Hispanic communities, each corresponding to the barrios referenced in San Juan Nuevo,

existed prior to the formation o f new town (1943) and the original congregated

community (16th century). Moheno (1985:39), and Zavala (1972:21) attributed Fray Juan

de San Miguel for the congregation of Andajchura, Tzintzicaro, Tzicatatacuaro,

Tzirajpan, Cutzato and Coringuaro as what later became Parangaricutiro around 1530-

1535. Gabany-Guerrero (1999) pointed out that “Luis Cuarao, and several members of

the cabildo, sustained that the original communities which formed Parangaricutiro were

ordered to unite under the rule o f the Cazonzi and not the Spanish (1999:196) .

Cabildo refers to a group o f councilmen who advice the community on important decisions (see chapter 5 on San Juan Nuevo museum organization meeting). When Gabany-Guerrero conducted fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo around 1993 to write her dissertational thesis Deciphering the Symbolic H eritage o f the Tarascan Empire: Interpreting the Political Economy o f the Pueblo-Hospital o f Parangaricutiro, Michoacan, she wrote about oral histories reporting “repeatedly to Pantzingo as one o f the original highland communities before the Spanish congregations consolidated the people into Parangaricutiro " (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:184). The Cabildo members have gone through many and perhaps all religious burden positions giving them the knowledge as spokespeople for the community. Brody Esser (1984:53) emphasized how holding positions within the civil religious ceremonials, the indigenous communities are expected to make contributions that sometimes take over twenty years o f their work to pay the debt incurred for the celebration.

22

Dance in the Highlands

No document has been found to validate this account although community

members petitioned it to the king of Spain to allow for the continuation of local dances on

July 7th, 1590 (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:198).

The document stated that the community was already an important center for religious celebrations, which included elaborate and extensive dancing.Complains had been raised (it does not say by whom) about the “pagan” nature of the celebrations, but the result o f a petition from the community to continue these traditions was to uphold their right to practice “ancient customs” (Gabany- Guerrero 1999:198).

Moheno writes about a celebration which “included notorious animal dancing” by

men wearing the skins o f wolves, snakes, lions, oxen, eagles, and cats (Moheno 1958:53).

Some o f the conversations I held with community members also suggested that “our

ancestors used to wear masks to venerate the harvesting season” (Juan Aguilar Personal

Communication 2013). Masks work by concealing or modifying those signs o f identity

which conventionally display the actor, and by presenting new values that, again

conventionally, represent the transformed person or an entirely new identity (Pollock

1995:584). Brandes (1979:37) noticed that “masked dancers in Tzintzuntzan are animal

like and nonhuman, as much in the senseless sounds they make as in their other

behavior.” Despite the bundle of terms on the doer of all that doing: agent, actor, person,

self, individual, and subject (Ortner 1984:143), there is an obvious role reversal in the

dances (Brandes 1979:49).

According to Canclini (1985:24) “the main Purhepecha celebrations that use

masks today correspond to dances of Moros y Cristianos, dances of devils, dances of

little blacks, little old man, ranchers, hermits, maringuillas, and curpites.” Rocio

Prospero (2000) mentions that “the execution of dances varies according to the

23

geographical location where the dance o f the Little Old Man is the most popular in

highland communities like Charapan, Cocucho, Ocumicho, San Felipe de los Herreros,

Ahuiran, Paracho, Cheran, Sevina, Pichataro, Aranza, Tanaco (Prospero Maldonado

2000:33). Prospero Maldonado (2000:33) further adds that “dances o f Moors and

Christians, Little Blacks, Soldiers, and Nativities are frequent among the Zacapu marshes

and the glen road to the eleven towns communities with the Patzcuaro Lake region

having their own variant o f all the previously mentioned dances” (Prospero Maldonado

2000:33). Brody Esser (1984) also researched various Purhepecha dances making

emphasis on the Purhepecha highlands and using masks as her frame o f reference. Brody

Esser (1984:21) makes note that “there are three variations o f masks for the dances

during winter time that could be summarizes as follows:

The little Old Man, the Little Blacks, and those for Nativities. Each mask has an opposite counterpart denoting oppositions such as restriction-abundant, serious- eccentric, old-young, black-white, masculine-feminine, and rural-urban. Since many of these oppositions refer to moral qualities such as good-evil, responsible- careless, etc., the mask characterization enters yet another group that represents the “refined and dignifying” versus “grotesque and ridicule” (Brody Esser 1984:21).

Lastly, Rocio Prospero (2000) makes note o f some other dances o f important

characteristics in San Juan Nuevo to be the following:

La larga lista de danzas y bailes incluidas como las de pindekuas (costumbres) incluyen: danza del Vaquero, danza de Moros y Cristianos (incluyendo todos sus personajes), los Chichimecas, los Tsimani-uarari (bailadores de dos en dos), los Pastores y Viejitos (t'are uararicha), la danza de las Mangas, la danza del Negrito, las kanakuas (coronas), el baile del Corpus con los oficios y las Palmeras, se baila ademas en cada fiesta de los Barrios, en la fiesta de la Asuncion, en la "lavada de la ropa de la Virgen" en la fiesta patronal de San Juan y el 14 de Septiembre en la fiesta del Senor de los Milagros [The long list of dances which include local traditions are: the dance o f the cowboy, the dance of the Moors and Christians (including all the characters), the Chichimeca dance, the Tsimani-uarari (pair of two) dance, the Pastors and Little Old Men (t ’are uararicha) dance, the dance of the Mangas, the dance of the Little Blacks, the Kanakuas (crown) dance, the

24

dances during the Corpus with all the labor skills and the Palmeras dance, people dance every time their barrio has a fiesta, like the fiesta to our lady of Assumption, the washing of the Virgin’s clothes, the dance during the patron saint of San Juan and the 14 o f September during the fiesta o f the Lord of the Miracles] (Prospero Maldonado 2000:35).

The Curpite dance as a metaphor for identity calls for a collective type of

celebration as any other cultural gathering does including the United States Fourth o f July

declaration o f independence.

The metaphor o f independence is retained as real, though often in its celebration it has been submerged in the metaphor of nationhood. The nation, in its turn, has come to represent not Independence, but a collectivity o f equal individuals (Dolgin 1977:355).

Dance, as one of these cultural forms, is anthropologically relevant for the study

o f structure, social relations, ritual, and philosophy (Kaeppler 1978:32). For the

indigenous communities, calls to the supernatural were facilitated by vigorous movement

o f the body rather than contemplative immobility (Houston 2006:144). Anthropology

enables us to determine tendencies that are common to all mankind and tendencies

belonging to specific human societies (Boas 1940:261).

Purhepecha music is already changing the way the world sees indigenous cultures.

The Pirekua has traditionally been transmitted orally from generation to generation,

maintaining its currency as a living expression, marker o f identity and means o f artistic

communication for more than a hundred thousand Purhepecha people (UNESCO 2010).

Fernando Nava (1999) also indicates how Pirekua songs express oral narratives about

life, tradition, and struggles experienced by the Purhepecha indigenous communities8. As

Presenting the selected music played during the Curpite dance would be a topic on its own. This thesis refers to the dance and not the music as my focus o f analysis. For a quick overview about the music played during the Curpite dance, the reader can review Prospero Maldonado (2000). For ethnographic importance

25

a way to continue exposing Purhepecha teaching values, I considered the Curpite dance

in alignment to the world’s cultural heritage.

about the music played during dances in other areas o f Michoacan, the reader can refer to Fernando Nava (1999) book El campo semdntico del sonido musicalp'urhepecha.

26

CHAPTER 3

DATA COLLECTION

Cultural or Social Anthropology remains the only social science that relies on

fieldwork based on participant observation as its central method (Sluka 2012:2). I

investigated and gathered preliminary background information about the Curpite dance

before conducting fieldwork in Michoacan. I participated during Purhepecha

transnational museums and festivals, reviewed on-line videos and websites, and read

bibliographic journals and articles about the Purhepecha for approximately two years. I

then used a visual ethnography that incorporated participant observation to conduct

fieldwork in the community of San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro in the state of

Michoacan, Mexico (Figure 10).

Michoacan

Mexico1

0 S a n Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro

— Street• Locations

►Two Way Road ►Dirt Road Road Opening Sidewalk

Figure 10. San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro map.

27

Preliminary Findings

I had my first impression of the Curpite dance after I spoke to some performers

during the museum reception “Cultural Treasures of Mexico: the Purhepecha of

Parangaricutiro” held at Cal State Fullerton in 2011.1 collaborated with the mounting of

this museum exhibit and for the first time I watch the Curpite dance. A group o f dancers

invited me to attend future diaspora Curpite dances in the city of Paso Robles California.

I made two visits to see these performances where I noticed the basic background

choreography about the Curpite dance. I recorded these events I attended in Paso Robles

one in June 2011 and another in August 2012.

I wanted to find out more about this transnational experience where participation

was inclusive to anyone willing to enjoy Purhepecha dance and tradition. I held casual

conversations with some of the performers, community leader organizers, food vendors,

and amateur filmographers who attended Curpite dance events. As this became a topic of

interest, I also went to the Festival Purhepecha Michoacano held in the city o f Bell

Gardens California where Curpite dancers have performed since 2007 (Appendix A).

I followed up on the conversations I held with these diaspora groups during the

cultural events by searching for general concepts via Internet. I selected video websites

including YouTube.com to watch Curpite dances held in the United States and Mexico. I

noticed most videos contained the competing plot o f two master dancers against each

other who represented each a different group.

The on-line picture gallery o f Curpite dancers during the Festival Purhepecha Michoacano can be reviewed at: http://festivalpurepechausa.org/ffameset.php7urH/Bienvenida.html (last accessed on December 16,2014).

28

I read about the choreographic background to understand more about the roles of

the participants. I became familiar with Rocio Prospero Maldonado (2000) Herencia

Tradicional de San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro: Los Kurpiticha where the author

describes the competition, music, characters, and overall involvement of people in San

Juan Nuevo to participate in the Curpite dance. I read the basic history of the town in

Carlos Moheno (1985) Las Historias y los Hombres de San Juan where he used historical

documents to track the unification of and ancient geography of the town. I found many

more celebrations within the calendar year and found excellent pictures in Zavala Alfaro

(1974) Agonia y Extasis de un Pueblo where I read about the general background

information about San Juan Nuevo and the Curpite dance in particular to be a highly

awaited tradition every year for the community members10.

Fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro

In addition to the participation I held during museum exhibits, cultural festivals,

on-line observations, and bibliographic records about Michoacan and the Curpite dance, I

also conducted fieldwork in Mexico living in the community o f San Juan Nuevo for

approximately one month. I recorded with a video camera seventeen unstructured

interviews, twenty hours o f the Curpite dance celebration, took approximately 300

pictures, and wrote ten pages of fieldwork notes from January 1 to January 26 of 2013.

Mr. Vicente Contreras suggested these three books within the first days o f conducting my fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo. Stage (2003:99) mentions that “if a respondent refers to historical texts recommended to the interviewer or local lore on the topic being explored there is a responsibility to consider such information and seek to understand the respondent's experience in relation to or in light o f those referenced events.” I also used these three books as referential sources during fieldwork as Mr. Contreras kindly let me borrowed his copies when I visited him for an interview in San Juan Nuevo.

29

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

I received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee

members from California State University Fullerton (CSUF) with case number HSR-13-

0130 on 03-20-13 to conduct my fieldwork. I read the participants a written statement

that provided their full protection as it appears in the Code of Ethics of the American

Anthropological Association (1998) and the CSUF office of Grants and Contracts

Assurance No. FWA 00015384 (2008) (Appendix B).

Video Recordings

During this fieldwork, I also recorded with a video camera real time events during

the Curpite dance four day celebration from January 6 to January 9 and collected

unstructured interviews related to the Curpite dance competition. I selected an informant

whose influence in the community demonstrated “judgment sampling” (Johnson

1990:28). Judgment sampling refers to the preference of finding the most knowledgeable

member in the community that could lead the researcher to potential participants. I

selected this community member as per suggestion o f previous ethnographers conducting

fieldwork in the same region. This informant was very familiar with academic research

and some members in the community to be considered as participants. Judgment

sampling allowed me to find a cultural broker in the community in order to minimize the

time spend in the fieldwork recruiting participants.

For instance, my informant introduced me to the staff in the presidential building

o f San Juan Nuevo. I asked these authorities for their permission to allow me videotape

events taking place on the streets during the Curpite dance festivities. In particular, I met

with Dr. Angelica Remigia Gonzalez Guerrero who oversees the administrative duty as

30

the Chair of Education, Culture and Tourism. I told Dr. Remigia Gonzalez the purpose of

my investigation and showed her copies of IRB and consent forms in both English and

Spanish. Dr. Gonzalez made a file o f the paperwork I presented to her and kindly issued

me a media coverage badge to conduct open recordings in the streets. Most important,

this badge allowed me to enter the dancing stage on January 8th to record the matching

performances between the two competing Curpite dancing groups (Appendix C).

I also recorded a series o f activities related to the four day Curpite dance

competition and celebration occurring in the following order:

1) The entering of the musical orchestras or entrada de las bandas de Musica on January 6.

2) The mass and the entering of the “Ugglies” or la misa y la entrada de los Curpites Feos on January 7.

3) The annual Curpite dance competition of January 8,2013

4) The farewell of the orchestras and the remaining carryings to the girlfriends or la despedida de las bandas de musica y las ultimas llevadas a las novias on January 9.

Conversations with Participants

Based on the knowledge and guided suggestion o f my informant, I furthermore

recruited a total o f twelve males aged 32 to 82 years old and five females aged 18 to 60

years old. Participants had various occupational backgrounds including employment

within the local government, independent business owners, college students, dance

professors, community advocates, and advisory council members. I considered

participants to have different backgrounds in order to obtain a diverse range of answers.

The interviews for the study were open-ended and structured only to the extent o f being

guided by a general set of topics (Erickson 2007).

Conversations were based on the common understanding . . . of explicit purpose,

avoidance o f repetition, balanced turn taking, use o f abbreviation, occurrence of pauses,

expressed interest, and curious ignorance by both parties (Stage 2003:99). I used a grand

tour questioning to collect information based on Spradely’s (1979) The Ethnographic

Interview book. The method consisted on participants giving answers to general questions

that I later followed up as conversational patters. The answers opened the next sets of

questions creating a snow ball effect. I asked questions about the Curpite dance as

observed in the following examples.

What kind o f changes have you noticed in the Curpite dance?What is the most representative component o f the Curpite dance?What is the origin of the Curpite dance?Can you tell when somebody will be a good Curpite dancer?How do Curpite dancers win competition?Who participates in the Curpite dance?What are some o f the ornamentations worn by the Curpite dancers?Please mention the names that you can remember o f be the best Curpite dancersin town.

I gathered most interview information on a one to one basis within time frames

ranging from fifteen minutes to one hour per interview. I only conducted one group

interview lasting thirty five minutes with five participants providing small individual

interview segments no longer than ten minutes each.

Spradley’s grand tour questioning also served as the basis to gather additional

visual data in the following way. I ask the participants to allow me to take their picture

after the interviewing process. I later returned those pictures and paid particular attention

to the feedback on the photographs. My original intention was to return with the pictures

to meet again with participants in the attempt to clarify any information. The pictures,

32

however, demonstrated a local visual representation on symbolic markers to be discussed

later in this thesis (see Discussion Chapter in this thesis).

Limitations and Validity

My ability to speak Spanish resulted in substantial data collection since Spanish

was also the main language spoken by the participants. I understood some of the

colloquial use of language made in reference to jokes, sports, TV shows, food products,

and geographical locations. I paid particular attention when the participants referred to

some o f these topics when they explained the Curpite dance to me.11 Although I

approached the participants in a very casual and comfortable way, there were instances

when they declined to collaborate mistrusting the purpose of the study. I attempted to

create rapport by discouraging my own intentions to collect data. This was difficult due

to the limited amount of time I had to collect data within the time frame January 1 to

January 26.

I sometimes scheduled visits to meet up with potential participants with no

particular results o f getting an interview. I held a positive view that eventually

participants would change their mind and collaborate with the study. I sometimes

received extensive amounts of information for visits I did not plan in advance. For some

reason participants knew about this study perhaps by word of the mouth. My presence

was made obvious by activities such as setting up my video camera to take wide shoots of

the town. Once the community was used to see me around in the streets, it took less time

*1 The Mexican channel Televisa use to run a popular show every Sunday called “Siempre en Domingo”. This TV show was during the 80’s and 90 ’s in channel 2 hosted by Raul Velazco. It was explained to me by a community teacher named Manuela Velazquez Guerrero that Curpite dancers participated once in this show. The host made a comment on the fine quality aprons and detailed embroidery patterns making a comparison to the fashion clothing produced in Paris, France. This show was and may still be the most popular remembered TV program in Mexico.

33

to record random rather than specific participant interviews. The community perhaps

observed my activities more than I recorded information about them.

I set the parameters o f investigation by enclosing but no limiting the wording of

the answers provided by participants based on my questions. In their book

Anthropological Research: The Structure o f Inquire, Pelto and Pelto (1970) proposed the

following research questions as an example about variables within questions:

How can we find true and useful information about a particular domain of phenomena in our universe? How can we personally investigate some domain of phenomena in order to obtain true and useful information? How can we know, with some assurance what other persons (researchers) mean when they assert propositions about information and how can we judge whether to believe them? (Pelto and Pelto 1970).

In order to generate my questions, I used the background information I had

already gathered about the Curpite dance and the community o f San Juan Nuevo. The

study related to very general terms I found in previous observations, readings, and

notions I held about the Curpite dance. I did not ask the questions in any particular order

and not every participant received all the questions. The participants were very different

in terms of gender, affiliation, and occupation in the community o f San Juan Nuevo.

Computer Software, Data Storage, and Closing Remarks

Upon my return from the fieldwork, I transferred all video recordings, pictures,

and notes to a password protected computer located in the Cultural Anthropology

Ethnographic Laboratory Room 422A at California State University, Fullerton. I created

an excel document to keep track on the participants’ information including their name,

gender, aggrupation, affiliation, length o f interview, and collection date. I also uploaded

this document along with the interviews to an on-line qualitative computer program

34

called DedooseO. This on-line software facilitated my research with the tracking of

patterns and word frequencies

I used general questions to open conversations about this dance practice in both

diaspora cultural events in the United States and community organized festivities in

Mexico. For approximately two years, I gained preliminary background information

about Michoacan in general and the Curpite dance in particular. I then used a visual

ethnography that incorporated participant observation to record the Curpite dance

through fieldwork in San Juan Nuevo. I analyzed the data I collected using the book The

Logic o f Practice by Pierre Bourdieu (1990). This theoretical approach allowed me to be

a participant and observer turning the academic practice into practical knowledge. In

other words, the theoretical considerations involving this study relied on the interaction

between community issues and academic concerns (see Chapter Five results section of

this thesis).

35

CHAPTER 4

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE DANCE

Renato Rosaldo (2013) pointed out during the 2013 American Anthropological

Association meeting held in Chicago how “theory is to be found in the details of

participant observation” (Renato Rosaldo in conference 2013). The theoretical framework

for the purposes of this thesis progressed through the process o f participant observation

by recording with a video camera the Curpite dance competition. I describe the Curpite

dance competition using what William Kentridge (2012) calls “utopian perfectibility”

where reversing the order of events captures the first impulse o f action. For instance,

William Kentridge (2012) explains how “filming events such as tearing a piece o f paper,

scattering a ja r o f pencils across a room and throwing a bucket o f paint over a wall may

recall a pristine world if watching the film in its reverse order where the piece o f paper

repairs itself coming back to the hands, the pencils are caught coming from all comers of

the room, and the paint enters the bucket without a single drop being spilled on the

floor.”12

In this chapter, I discuss the theoretical considerations for this manuscript using

the work of Pierre Bourdieu (1990) on the Curpite dance as a field o f practice where

structuring the mediation between individuals and groups defines identity. In the

12William Kentridge (2012) A Natural H istory o f the Studio held at Tel Aviv University.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmljuXIaCsg last accessed 11/5/2014).

36

following pages, I provide a detail description about the events that took place in San

Juan Nuevo from January 6-9 as examples o f habitus. The principle o f this construction

is the system of structured, structuring dispositions which is constituted in practice and is

always oriented towards practical functions (Bourdieu 1990:52). In this chapter, I write

about the Curpite dance as an interconnected system of social relations where theory and

practice revolve around organization, courtship, reciprocity, competition, performance,

and music. I then mentioned how the first instance in time related to the Curpite dance

relates to sound when dancers wear bells.

Social Relations

Organization

The Curpite dance organization begins at least three months in advance as it was

explained to me by Mr. Andres Echavarria Don Diego “el PaChen,” a former Curpite

dancer and organizer. The organizers start finding the best dancers before the competition

o f January 8th. This gives them the ability to start the selection by attending to the Curpite

dance practices that are held at various locations including backyards, garages, salons,

local gyms, etc. Once the organizers have an eye on a particular dancer, they ask to go

one-to-one with another dancer to start making a selection process. The process of

elimination is called topes or duels and defines those who will be representing their group

at the competition The dancers improve their resistance and coordination through

constant practice, dedication, and discipline making the selection process very

challenging for the organizers.

The organizers are single non-dancing males taking on the leadership roles to

mediate the Curpite dance celebration and competition. They are called encabezados or

37

“those to the front” and their responsibility includes balancing the costs for the four day

celebration. For instance, they have to find volunteer participants to host dinners during

the four day celebration, hire the orchestra to play the music, buy fireworks, arrange a

special permission with the authorities for the ceremonial, and mediate with the opposite

encabezado group the terms and conditions of the competition. They also have the special

obligation to break any fight if friction arises during the celebration, pay additional costs

if there is a shortage of money, map out the routes when bringing dancers over to visit

girlfriends, relatives, local businesses, and other areas in town. Last, the encabezados

must purchase a decorated sweater for their master dancer Tarepeti representing their

group. Since the costs and duties during the Curpite celebration may quickly add up,

there are three types o f encabezados that split their roles in the following way.

Encabezado de a parejo (all equal) take the responsibility to hire the orchestra,

make proper arrangements with the local authorities, and come up with additional money

in the event that there is not enough to cover all expenses. They are at the center of

organizing the entire event and keeping track of the money they receive and spend. As

previously mentioned, they must find those who can provide with the meals to be given

during the four-day celebration. These meals include four lunches, and four dinners, with

the possibilities to find sometimes someone willing to give a late dinner before everyone

calls the day. The main role of the encabezado de a parejo is to organize everybody

including the Curpite dancers for the day of the competition.

Encabezado por mitad (only half). The costs for the four-day celebration during

the Curpite competition are added up. The total is split among the entire group of

encabezado (por mitad, de a parejo, de a brinco). Normally, the encabezado por mitad

38

pays approximately a little bit more than half of what the encabezado de a parejo pays. If

a total o f eight encabezado has been secured and the total costs add up to $10,000MX

pesos, then, each encabezado de a parejo pays approximately $1,200MX while the

encabezado por mitad may pay approximately $800MX or one third o f the total cost to

contribute with the total costs. The money is used to pay the hiring o f the orchestra and

the soft drinks the musicians drink while playing throughout the town, the fireworks, and

the pictures taken during the competition.

Encabezado de a brinco (those who jum p in only). Encabezado de a brinco

normally gives less money than the rest o f the other encabezado. He has little rights when

it comes to the carryings. As a matter of fact, he is required to pay at the front before he

intends to bring the Curpites over for a carrying at any location usually the house of a

sweetheart. The encabezado de a brinco joins the parades throughout the town waiting

for an opportunity. This means that if one o f the carryings o f the other encabezado

happens to be in a very close distance from where encabezado de a brinco would like to

bring the carrying, then he would have to give the encabezado de a parejo at least

$300MX for all the Curpites to make the additional stop and meet his request.

Courtship

The girls also get involved in advance and participate within the celebration.

Single females make aprons in exchange for candies that Curpite dancers will bring to

them during carryings from January 6-8. The female elaboration of an apron symbolizes

the bonding between the couple as this announces their dating status in the community

(son novios). Making an apron takes about three to four months and involves at least four

hours o f labor per day. The time depends on how much help the girls receive from their

39

female family members, relatives or other girlfriends. Everyone helps with the

expectation to receive part of the candies that the dancers had agreed to bring to their

sweethearts.

Las muchachas duran dias con los dulces y van las tias o las amigas a decir “y te trajeron los Curpites, dame un dulce” y la otra para presumir que le llevaron muchos dulces pues las invita a pasar y a ver los dulces para darles [The candies last a long time so many acquaintances of the girl who received candies would visit her and ask “did the Curpites show up?, give us some candy!,” the young girl would invite her visits to come inside her house so they can see her candies and give them some] (Celia Mincitar Pulido, in conversation with the author January 24, 2013).

The aprons with the most elaborated decorations and patterns according to their

own standards are given to the best dancers to wear on the day o f the competition. The

encabezado choose amongst the most distinguished aprons given to the dancers even if

those receiving aprons from their girlfriends are not selected to dance.

Era una satisfaction de un muchacho que digiera el delantal que me regalo mi novia lo van a usar para el Tarepeti o la Maria. Entonces pues la muchacha tambien se sentia satisfecha cuando miraba su delantal que lo traia el Tarepeti o la Maria arriba en la competencia [It was a young dancer’s satisfaction to know that his apron received by his girlfriend got selected to be worn by the Tarepeti or Maria. Thus, the Young man’s girlfriend would also feel satisfied to see on the day o f the competition that the Tarepeti or Maria would be wearing the apron she made] (Miguel Pantaleon, San Juan Nuevo business owner, in discussion with the author, January 22, 2013).

Although females do not dance as Curpites during the competition of San Juan

Nuevo, two male dancers called Maringuillas perform by dancing and wearing a female

traditional dress. In her magnificent replica of indigenous dress, the Maringuilla

personifies the dignity and strength o f the Purhepecha woman o f status (Bishop

2009:398). The complete Tarascan woman’s dress consists o f petticoat, blouse, apron,

rebozo or shawl, and a number o f woven belts or fajas (Beals 1946:40 my italics). The

40

Maringuttlas from the two opposite groups perform by displaying/ty'ay with both hands

up in the air with extreme delicacy and female presumption (Felipe Contreras: personal

communication 2013).

A group of young non-married females called Palmeras13 commit to make the

two male dancer Maringuillas two aprons to wear for the competition. The Palmeras buy

the highest quality products and if they happened to be dating one of the dancers, their

contribution doubles in cost but also receive twice the amount of candies (Prospero

Maldonado 2000:62).

The Curpiteada

Reciprocity

Besides the social relations previously mentioned, there are other instances of

reciprocity within the Curpiteada that deserve to be mentioned. For instance, the

Maringuillas also receive two elaborated blouses to wear along their aprons from one of

the most prestigious civil-religious burden groups or cargos in San Juan Nuevo named

cargueros del nihito de los viejitos or the burden of the Holy Child o f the little old Men.

The winning Curpite dancers meet with the members holding this cargo the day after the

competition to reciprocate with them for making the Maringuillas ’ two blouses.

13 The Palmeras hold one o f the most expensive civil-religious ceremonial positions in the community attending the chores o f the Chapel o f the Hospital for one year (Bishop 1977). The Palmeras are elected by the Mayordomo and Prioste o f the community Chapel o f the Hospital. Brody Esser (1984) documented that Curpites feo s (ugglies) appear on December 26th when the Chapel o f the Hospital receives the new mayordomo and Prioste and consequently the new Palmeras. Bishop (1977) offers a literal translation o f Prioste as “Provost” or “Steward o f an order.” In some Tarascan towns this officer is superior to the “Kenji,” running either the Hospital o f the entire, albeit in some cases attenuated, hierarchy o f cargos (Bishop 1977). The young Palmeras are nonmarried volunteers who help with the maintenance o f the Chapel by changing the flowers offered to the Virgin o f the Immaculate Conception and bringing water from a nearby spring location called Patzingo. The water is used to wash the clothes o f the virgin o f the Hospital to celebrate the festivity Tsimani Uarari which commemorates the story o f the virgin appearing near a water spring.

41

The Curpite dancers wait outside the temple o f the Lord o f the Miracles on

January 9th at 8am in order to escort the viejitos cargo as they must relocate the Holy

Child to the new house o f the person holding the burden. The MaringuUla carries the

image of the Holy Child along with the rest of the Curpite dancers and escorts the

cargueros in companion with the rest of the dancers. Everyone walks in procession to the

house of the new member holding the cargo followed by an orchestra. The Holy Child

will stay at his new location for one year where again he will be transferred by the

winning Curpite group the day after the competition.

El ganador aqui en el pueblo es el que lleva al ninito al otro dia. La MaringuUla agarraba al ninito, pasa el Tarepeti y se iban ya todos los Curpites ya con musica suavecita llevando al ninito [The winner in the town is the one that escorts the baby Jesus the next day. The MaringuUla grabs the little baby, the Tarepeti joins her and they both along with the Curpites escort the little figure with soft music] (Miguel Pantaleon, San Juan Nuevo business owner, in discussion with the author, January 22, 2013).

Later during midday of January 9, another mass is given to attend the civil-

religious cargo group called cargueros del ninito de las pastorcitas or “Holy Child of the

Little Pastors.” The Curpite group losing the competition also wins by receiving the

honor of escorting this other Holy Child. The saint is similar but wears a different type of

clothing made of red fabric. The people holding this cargo are also responsible to transfer

their Holy Child to the house of the person holding the burden. Again, the Curpite

dancers reciprocate by transferring both of these Holy Children to their new location the

day after the competition.

Competition

The Curpite dance competition of January 8 becomes the center of reunion for

diaspora returning migrants, neighboring visitors, and local community members with an

42

approximate 9,000 people gathering together every year at the central plaza. Local TV

channels, community web-sites, and radio stations broadcast the festivity via internet.

Various stores, schools, and buildings will close to the public due to the heavy transit of

people in the streets. The Cultural Center and the municipal Ayuntamiento or Town

Council in San Juan Nuevo installs seating stands where people arrive as early as 5am to

reserve a seat.

The program during the Curpite dance competition includes the presentation of

the Curpite kids’ group, the dance of the Palmeras with their traditional vestido de fiesta

dress, the 3 o’clock Curpite dance competition between the two main rivals, and the

presentation o f the Feos.

Ese dia yo voy a la plaza y me encuentro muchos amigos que estan en Estados Unidos y no los he visto. Es el dia que nos reunimos los del pueblo y nos juntamos un rato [That day, I go to the plaza to meet with friends visiting from the United States I have not seen in a long time. That is the day when all people in the town gather together for a little while] (Miguel Pantaleon, San Juan Nuevo business owner, in discussion with the author, January 22,2013).

The Curpites proceed to engage in carryings through the town rewarding their

girlfriends with candies they put inside silky handkerchief bundles after one winner

Tarepeti dancer has been officially announced to the audience,

. . . asi se pierda la Maria, pierdan los Curpites que son los que participan tambien ahi en el baile de los dos Curpites asi pierdan ellos, si gana el Tarepeti pues ya se gano el barrio [ . . . even if the Maria loses and the Curpites lose themselves, if the Tarepeti wins the group wins too] (Juan Aguilar Chavez (Curpite dance expert and competition narrator) in discussion with the author, January 6th, 2013.)

The llevadas or carryings consist on bringing the female representation

MaringuUla and the master dancer Tarepeti along the Curpite group over to the house of

a sweetheart. They dance in the patio or the living room while the Curpite dancer delivers

43

the candies to the bedroom of his girlfriend only if they are allowed to enter inside the

house. The orchestra plays the music outside of the house for the dancers to execute the

llevada.

Antes llevaban los Curpites y bailaban afuera de la casa. Y si alguien se descuidaba y se metian los Curpites pues era ya como una deshonra. Porque el papa esta para cuidar la casa, la mama para cuidar a las hijas. Entonces si se entran los Curpites que este la puerta no bien cerrada y que se metan pues ya es como una ofensa para los papas. Un descuido y para la gente pues ya dicen: “Que en casa de fulano se le metieron los Curpitesl” Ya no dicen: “Le llevaron los Curpites a la muchacha, se le metieron los Curpites.” Entonces ya era como una falta de respeto y para los papas pues era un descuido [The Curpites used to show up only outside of the home. If someone in the house got distracted and the Curpites managed to get inside, it was an embarrassment for the household. The father was supposed to take care of the home and the mother was in charge o f the daughters. Thus, when the Curpites broke into the house due to a door not being properly shut, it became an offense for the parents. It was a big distraction and people would say “In such and such house, the Curpites broke in!” people no longer say “the Curpites visited the girl” but instead they say, “the Curpites successfully managed to break in!” Thus, it became a lack o f respect for the home and a big distraction for the parents] (Celia Mincitar Pulido (Casa de la Cultura) in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

The Curpites sometimes grab some of their girlfriend’s belongings on their way

out after the llevada. They steal teddy bears, perfumes, pictures, soap or clothes from

their bedrooms. The Curpites may also take decorative plants in the house to break

14outside on the street to conclude the llevada .

The first llevadas to bring candies to the dancer’s girlfriends occur after the 8am

Catholic mass of January 7. This mass takes place during the second day of the Curpite

four-day competition. Part o f the Curpite celebration involves bringing their dancing

regalia to the church to be blessed by the priest. The single female girls who accorded to

I recorded with a camera some instances where the Curpites break many planters outside the houses where they conducted a llevada. Although 1 lack the meaning behind this action, it was obvious that the Curpites had just visited a girl in town by leaving dirt traces o f broken plants along broken fragments o f the planters on the streets.

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give the gift of an apron meet the dancers in the morning before the mass begins. The

palmeras also show up early to turn in the two aprons they made to the male MaringuUla

dancers. The encabezado give a decorated bright beading, lace, and sequin custom made

sweaters to their master dancer Tarepeti15.

In addition to the gifts the dancers receive from their girlfriends and supporters,

they bring various other items including masks, boots, and loom belts, which they placed

by the church altar during mass. Several photographs are taken outside the fafade with

the two main characters Tarepeti and MaringuUla holding and posing their dresses on

large round silvery trays. The supporting members wait one at a time for their turn to get

a picture taken with the dancers representing their group. Everybody knows that these

two leading figures (Tarepeti and MaringuUla) are their main competing representatives

who will participate during the competition in the name of their group called cuadrilla6.

A last picture is taken of the entire cuadrilla before they leave the temple o f the

Lord of the Miracles and head over to the house of some volunteer giving lunch to the

participants. The itinerary is carefully planned in advance due to the encabezado ability

to find volunteers to feed the entire group. The volunteers assigned to host the dinners are

called Personas de almuerzo o comida or people in charge o f one meal during the day or

evening. At least eight volunteer people must provide foods for the dancers, the

The encabezado give this sweater to their master dancer Tarepeti to show the prestige o f the dancer. The encabezado arrange the elaboration o f the sweater with local designers who specialize in this making trade.1 interviewed the designers named “Disefios de las Hermanas Aguilar Delgado.” They claimed to be amongthe best designers to elaborate dancing regalia with clients placing orders to bring their products to exhibitsin Mexico in places like Cancun and Veracruz and abroad the oceans to countries like Cuba and Italy.

^ The dancing groups are referred by the community members o f San Juan Nuevo by the name o fcuadrillas. At this stage o f the analysis, the term cuadrilla is used to describe either o f the two dancingfactions in San Juan Nuevo.

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musicians, other guests, the cuadrilla members, and any other friend or family supporting

the competition. Each persona de almuerzo must pay the charges for the rental o f the

room facility, chairs, tables, two entrees (an appetizer and main course), soft drinks, and

alcoholic beverages. Sometimes the persona de almuerzo will host these dinners outside

his home location arranging tables, chairs, tents, and decorations. The family o f the

persona de almuerzo must help preparing, serving, cleaning, and ensuring the guests are

enjoying themselves during the meal. For instance, the family members bring from inside

o f the house many trays carrying the two courses until everybody seating at the tables

receives food. The persona de almuerzo also gets help from his family to cover some of

the expenses since this may range from US$900 to US$1400 depending on the type of

food, the location, and the alcoholic and soft drink beverages. The persona de almuerzo

surprises his guests by serving food nobody anticipates at the table. There were instances

where they serve churipo or a chunky beef broth with chopped cabbage and onions on the

side and many other times they may serve seafood soup. After eating lunch and

performing a few dancing songs, the cuadrillas make their first appearance on the streets

o f San Juan Nuevo wearing their full dress or traje (Rocio Prospero Maldonado

2000:108):

Anteriormente una cuadrilla mlnimo trala unos cuarenta a cincuenta Curpites. Ahorita dificilmente se medio visten diez o quince Curpites por cuadrilla [It was customary in the past that each dancing group had at least forty or fifty fully dressed Curpite dancers. Today each group is composed at the most for ten to fifteen half way dressed up Curpite dancers], Francisco Lopez Rodriguez “el Khuri” (Ecoturismo San Juan Nuevo) in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

The persona de almuerzo has many privileges among the most prestigious

includes the escorting o f the Tarepeti and MaringuUla to the top of the dancing floor the

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next day during the competition. For the persona de almuerzo this experience is very

rewarding since he is the last person in charge that makes sure the Tarepeti and

MaringuUla are wearing their dance regalia in place before they compete against the

opposite cuadrilla. They are also given the priority to bring the Curpite dancers and band

along with them to three locations throughout town. These locations could be carryings

over to the persona de almuerzo’s girlfriend, a friend, a relative, or someone in the

community to whom the persona de almuerzo attributes respect, honor, and gratification.

The first llevadas or carryings for the day to the Curpite sweethearts must occur

just before the feos take over the evening of January 7. Since the feos represent rules of

reversals by dressing up on exaggerated opposite trajes of Curpite, they must bring their

wives chunks o f hard brown sugar instead of expensive fine candies. They are no longer

single unmarried dancers for being a feo implies loosing charisma to wear nice clothes

and act in a neat manner.

Mientras que los viejos lucen esplendidos, los feos visten harapos. En tanto que los Viejos son decorosos, los feos son extravagantes. Mientras que los viejos son reverentes, los feos son blasfemos [While the ‘Old Men’ look explendid, the ‘Ugglies’ wear rags. Whereas the ‘Old Men’ act with decour, the ‘Ugglies’ are flamboayant. While the ‘Old Men’ are revered, the ‘Ugglies’ are obscene (Brody Esser 1984: 64).

The feos dance in the Imaculada Concepcion Chapel of the Hospital before they

chase people around with fireworks they made out of a wired ox figure called torito. The

feos also visit the presidential building and the temple of the lord o f the miracles while

making pranks and drinking a fermented fruit juice beverage called Charape.17

17Members from both cuadrillas carries along with them several gallons o f the fermented juice called

Charape. Each group makes their own Charape batch a few days before the opening encounter o f the Curpite dance competition. According to an organizer and Charape maker from the San Miguel cuadrilla, the relocation o f newcomers from Nahuatzen into San Juan Nuevo brought with them the behavior o f

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Originalmente el Charape pues es el tepache fermentado de cascara de pina con piloncillo y agua. Ahorita pues ya solo es un licor de fruta que se hierve con azucar quemada y alcohol [The Charape used to be made out o f the pineapple fruit peelings and fermentation o f brown sugar and water. Today, it is just a liquor made when boiling water, fruit, sugar, and alcohol] (Francisco Lopez Rodriguez “el Khuri,” Ecoturismo San Juan Nuevo, in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

Not only are the public drinking and associated rowdiness classic examples of

inversion, but many other less obvious aspects o f the performance may also be defined as

such (Bishop 2009:398). For instance, the Curpite ecabezados not only make Charape to

be consumed during ritual drinking but also throw it out on a fierce competitive duality

18clash where participants end up covered in the same,

. . . hay una comunidad vecina aqui cerca de la comunidad de la meseta Purhepecha que en serial de jubilo de gusto, ellos tiran el vino. Muchos atribuyen a que personas de esa comunidad vinieron a vivir aqux. Y que ellos comenzaron a hacer la misma expresion pero con el Charape, tirarlo. . . . [There is a neighboring community who lives close to the Purhepecha highlands that sprinkle their wine with each other as a way to show their jubilee. Many attribute the Charape war clash to imitate the same expression after some of those neighboring visitors established themselves within our community] (Francisco Lopez Rodriguez, “el Khuri,” Ecoturismo San Juan Nuevo, in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

Performance

Despite the satire and rules of reversal presented by the Curpites feos, the

celebration pertains to the young Curpites. “There is an energetic drive part o f the

splashing Charape as this is a customary tradition o f their hometown (Francisco Lopez Rodriguez “el Khuri” personal communication, 2103).18

Print shops also sell customized empty gallon recipients to be filled with Charape. This plastic gallon recipients display the name o f the cuadrillas usually with graffiti style letters and pictures o f previous master dancer Tarepetis glued onto them. Each cuadrilla member also wears a custom made artwork logo shirt to differentiate their corresponding group with creativity, imagination, and style to execute the Charape throwing out. These are perhaps newer additions to the Curpite dance celebration occurring as a consequence o f the Curpites adopting other customs.

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encounter between the two cuadrillas (even within each Curpite group) to find the best

ways to gain attention and become prestigious among the single marriageable girls in

town” (Maldonado 2000:41). The most individualistic attribute each dancer possesses

consists o f performing to the rhythm of music while marking dancing steps with their feet

called zapateado.

Los movimientos de los pies los va llevando de acuerdo a la musica que escoge cada quien en el mismo zapateado [The movements o f the feet are guided according to the music each one chooses to duplicate their zapateado] Andres Echavarria Don Diego, “el PaChen,” former Curpite dancer and encabezado organizer from the San Miguel cuadrilla, in discussion with the author January 25, 2013).

The Curpite dance does not go unnoticed through previous generations o f good

dancers in the community. The Curpite dancers as cultural carries are advised to dance in

similar ways to their predecessors including retired dancers who become critical about

modifications to the dancing steps or zapateados.

Si pones a bailar a un abuelo nuestro pues ellos te echan mas zapateado que cambios, y ellos es tambien lo que critican a las nuevas generaciones que son mas cambios que zapateado [If you match our grandparents against the new generations you would notice how the elder give you more zapateado versus the younger ones who only throw changes] (Francisco Lopez Rodriguez, “el Khuri,” Ecoturismo San Juan Nuevo, in discussion with the author January 28,2013).

The cuadrillas also “dance in the atria o f the three loci of authority in the town:

the parish church, the town hall, and the Hospital (Bishop 2009:395).” The Curpites

dance three to four songs per location by taking turns and inviting leading authorities to

join them at each of their destinations. Whoever is called up to the front to give a short

dancing demonstration must meet this request o f his group with the exception of the

priest in the temple of the lord o f the miracles.

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The cuadrillas are rewarded with a small gratification for their performances

including a blessing from the visit to the temple of El Senor de los Milagros, a bottle of

liquor from the visit to the presidential building, and exposure to the community

especially with unmarried single females from the visit to the chapel o f the Imaculada

Concepcion.

Ahi les esperan las Palmeras, mas de alguna semanera, y muy discreto el mayordomo del Hospital en tumo quien vigila el desarrollo adecuado del ceremonial [The palmeras are waiting for them along some semaneras to the discretion o f the chapel mayordomo who observes the proper development of the ceremony (Prospero Maldonado 2000:105).

Music

The Curpite celebration starts on January 6th as this first day is known by the

participants as the entering of the musical orchestras or “entrada de las bandas de musica

(Personal Communication Narcizo Guerrero-Murillo 2014).”

People start to congregate at the entrance of the town when the sun goes down waiting for the two music bands to arrive. The music bands do not compete officially there, but people enjoy which one plays better. The young participants not enrolled as Curpite dancers try out their best jumps that they have (Personal Communication Narcizo Guerrero-Murillo 2014).

Music sets the stage within the four-day celebration where participants support San

Miguel or San Mateo as their preferred dancing group. Although there are five barrios in

the town, San Juan Nuevo splits between the upper (to the west) and lower (to the east)

sides o f town (Brody Esser 1984).

Each cuadrilla hires a musical band to play sane s. abajenos, and toritos that the

organizers have carefully selected to represent their dancers. However, the exponential

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execution o f the toritos played by both orchestras form the competitive character in the

19Curpite dance (Prospero Maldonado 2000:41),

cuando entren las musicas, por muy sencilla que sea la musica o por que no haga mucho ruido, que se yo, pues cada quien al oir las canciones pues como que se nos pone la came asi de pollito, se nos enchina la piel, porque traemos eso adentro de la sangre [.. .when the music enters, regardless o f being a small or large noisy band, everyone hears the songs and gets the “goose skin” because we have it inside the blood](Vicente Contreras: personal communication 2013).

Music triggers the “utopian perfectibility” as William Kentridge (2012) would

call this moment as the first instance in time where the participants can predict many

moments o f excitement within the next four days. The dancers in particular do not

amplify the sounds of the orchestras by attaching bells on their calves while they dance

during the entrada de las bandas de musica. The sound of the bell gives the dancer an

identity he can claim as his own based on his rhythmic accompaniment to follow the

music. The small Purhepecha bells were used, and are still used by sewing them together

in wide strips and binding them around men’s calves and ankles (Gabany-Guerrero

1999:124) (Figure 11).

19Sones, toritos, and abajeflos are musical interpretations common to the Purhepecha regions. Although

this musical interpretations are fundamental components within the Curpite dance, I only acknowledge their variations. The work o f ethnomusicology could provide a complete understanding about these musical differences. Within the scope o f cultural anthropology, I considered dance to be the main purpose o f this study (see concluding remarks on chapter two for further acknowledgment on Purhepecha music).

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Figure 11. Curpite dancers wearing bells before practice. 2013 Photo Juan Valdez.

The Curpite dance takes a reciprocal participation between genders where the

detailed fabrication o f aprons and other items, elaborated banquet dinners, extensive

dance rehearsals, careful organizational planning, and a culminating competitive

encounter become the constructive structures o f the practice.

The practical operators which constitute the habitus and which function in their practical state in gesture or utterance reproduce in a transformed form, inserting them into the structure of a system of symbolic relations, the oppositions and hierarchies which actually organize social groups, and which they help to legitimize by presenting them in a misrecognizable form (Bourdieu 1977:97).

The Curpite dance brings people together despite the rival competition between

the two dancing groups named San Miguel and San Mateo. The structural composition of

the cultural continuity in the Curpite dance is not a matter of winning a competition more

than it continues a trajectory about finding ways to enter into the winning process.

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CHAPTER 5

RESULTS

The visual representation o f the Purhepecha community is somewhat prominent in

the academic institutions. The department o f Anthropology at California State University

in Fullerton opened a museum exhibit called “Cultural Treasures of Mexico: the

Purhepecha of Parangaricutiro” on May 12, 2011. This exhibit touched on the various

aspects o f Purhepecha culture including history, geography, language, and music to name

a few. The exhibit included the mounting of a video about the Curpite dance along a full

dress on loan by a contemporary leading dancer Tarepeti. The label contained the

following description about this segment o f the museum exhibit.

The Curpite dancers take great care in the detail o f their costume. The unmarried men dancing in the festival wear bright and detailed dress, including intricate beading and the addition of copper bells on the leggings. Each costume has been made by the dancer’s girlfriend, and is the sign o f a future bond. The costuming includes vibrantly colored ribbons; bleached cows tail wigs, lace and sequins. Carved wooden masks, with detailed, painted faces are worn by all the male dancers. The dancers wear velvet britches that go to the knee, with ankle boots wrapped with fajas or women’s belts. The boots are also adorned with many copper bells wrapped around them.

The Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo has been a topic of interest that

generates attention to the outside public. This interest to know more about Purhepecha

tradition is bringing academics and local communities together. For instance, the Latino

Outreach Council of San Luis Obispo was awarded a New Californians Story Project

grant funded by the California Council o f the Humanities in 2004 to conduce the project

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“Through our own eyes/Con nuestros propios ojos.” The project director Pedro Inzunza

in collaboration with Catherine J. Trujillo and Steve E. Miller provided some skills and

cameras to young adults form San Juan Nuevo living in Paso Robles California to

document their experiences about having bicultural identities. I observed this exhibit on­

line where forty three out o f approximately 7,000 photographs were selected and two of

20them included Curpite dancers.

Whether it is through the mounting of a museum exhibit or the use o f photograph

in the internet to show on-line cultural practices, the choices o f the visual materials to

represent the other are not easy. When the anthropologists meet the communities, the

communities necessarily meet the anthropologists back without them being present

anymore. Visual anthropology and written ethnography “cannot help but to create a

limited picture of cultural phenomenon based upon their own sense o f truth as they select

out the fragments of discourse meant to represent, if not create, their version o f the world

(Clair 2003:17).

In my particular case, I filmed the Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo and

collected seventeen unstructured interviews among my data. I faced the same dilemma

when it came to analyze the results of my study. I take this opportunity to provide with

information about the Curpite dance as some participants express their comments to me. I

The photographs were exhibited throughout many California educational venues before becoming part o f the special collection archives at Robert E. Kennedy library in the California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo University. The pictures were digitized and can be seeing on-line at:http://digital.lib.calpoly.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/With%200ur%200wn%20Eyes%20%252F%20Con% 20Nuestros%20Propios%200jos%20Documentary%20Photography%20Project/mode/exact (last accessed November 24, 2014).

54

explain my selection process while demonstrating the results concerning this chapter of

the thesis manuscript.

Framing the Curpite Dance

I used an on-line qualitative program called Dedoose to upload the seventeen

conversations I held with various community members in San Juan Nuevo (see methods

Chapter 3 for participant selection). I transcribed half o f the interviews using a word

processor to generate an approximate 3,500 characters. Dedoose allowed me to highlight

particular words while reviewing data whether these were on video, audio or text formats.

The selection o f words that I implemented using this program began early during the

interviewing process. For instance, I paid close attention to the conversations I held with

the participants in order to account for general ideas that were shared with me. I also

carried a note pad every time I met with the participants so that I could take notes about

the conversations. This provided me with a rough sketch to select words once using

Dedoose.

After concluding my fieldwork in the community of San Juan Nuevo, I visited a

community member living in Paso Robles California. We watched some of the video

recordings I collected back in San Juan. This allowed me to compare my fieldnotes with

the comments he made about the Curpite dance. I also noticed his reaction watching the

footage in several instances where I detailed segments of importance within the

recordings. I used Dedoose to highlight these particular segments o f relevance. Instead of

wording themes to match my data, I selected only specific words to begin a theme

tracking process within the conversations. This resulted in a total o f fifty seven words as

a starting point that included all the conversations. The following figure shows the total

55

number of hits per word with the size o f the word reflecting the frequency the words were

mentioned by participants throughout the conversations (Figure 12).

old dancers

Figure 12. Word frequency throughout field work conversations.

I eliminated words that were not highly mentioned throughout the interviews in

order to manage the total amount of data into a smaller working sample. I selected one

word within the conversations that related to some but not all o f the conversations I held

with people in the community. For instance, the word “com” was neither the most

frequently used nor the least representative word throughout the conversations. This

word, however, retained a significant value in the stories that were shared with me. There

was a particular story about the Curpite dance that referred to the community ancestors

dancing around com. This became interesting because com was also harvested at the end

of the agricultural calendar season which happens to be within the same time when the

56

Curpite celebration takes place in the present. I extracted the following excerpt from one

of the conversations to provide an example about this situation.

Una vez que terminaban las cosechas hacian un ritual y de esa manera bailaban alrededor del maiz o de lo que cosechaban como una forma de agradecer pues [Once the harvest was over, they (the ancestors) would make a ritual to dance around com or other foods in order to thank the season] (Juan Aguilar Chavez, Curpite dance expert and competition narrator, in discussion with the author, January 6, 2013).

The selection of the word com cut the sample size to one third of the original size

number o f total words. This is also consistent with the total possible number of hits per

word to be three times greater than the word com. Thus, I kept com and all other words

greater in number of total hits that came after it. This gave me a smaller number of words

to work with which was still representative throughout all the conversations. The

following table shows the reduced value per hit per word after the word “com.”

Table 1. Reduced number o f counts per most frequently used words during conversations

Count M n Max Mean Median186old dancers159dance

Curpites 154old dancing style 151

Barriocompetition

1.4musicdancing regaliaCourtship

comSource: Field work conversations, Juan Valdez (2013).

So far I have made a selection of codes and reduced them to one third after an

original amount of total possible hits o f words within the conversations. This may be

representative o f a sample that could generalize views about the Curpite dance. The

question becomes who are the participants that held this general views? I proceed to

explain how I filtered data even further to continue analyzing the results for the study.

This time I assigned a provisional role of being experts in the field of the Curpite dance

to only three participants. I exchanged their names for codes as a way to prevent any

association made by participants. The following table demonstrates these top three

participants that scored the highest word number o f hits throughout the conversations.

Table 2. Top three participants scoring the most frequently used words per conversations

89L 13H 8GTarepeti 20 17 6Marin gu ill a 5 11 8Curpites 26 30 12dance 31 12 16old dancing style 36 23 10courtship 13 5Banrio 34 10 6competition 12 17 9music 6 7 9dancing regalia 12 4 5old dancers 29 40 17com 2Total 211 184 105

Source Fieldwork conversations Juan Valdez (2013).

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I also used the cross code analysis o f Dedoose to combine the short version of the

words to observe their relationship. This cross reference use o f the words was useful to

determine within the conversations how many times any two given words combined with

each other. For instance, the use of the word com has very few pairs in combination with

other words since this was the word I selected to draw a cutting point. The rest of the

words after com will have more pairs as the list increases the frequency. Since the word

com is still part o f the working sample in this particular case, I mention the relationship it

has with the rest o f the data. I wrote in my fieldnotes a rare occasion about the Curpite

dance to have originated from the parody performed by the “Uglies Taking this into

account when reviewing the word com in Dedoose, the following excerpt resulted within

the very few instances the word shows up in the sample:

Los feos llevan malz y piloncillo en lugar de dulces, ellos avientan en lugar de dulces maiz y piloncillo, [The “Uglies” carry com and chunks of brown sugar instead of candies, they throw com instead o f candies] (Manuela Velazquez Guerrero, community professor in San Juan Nuevo, in discussion with the author, January 6, 2013).

It would be difficult to know from this investigation where or how did the Curpite

dance originates. However, a narrative about the Curpite dance could be made based on

the combination of sentences that formed from the pair o f words. If we combine the

provisional experts about the Curpite dance we found in table two along with the pairs of

words in table three, we not only get a narrative but a good narrator. The following table

shows the cross coding results that could be used to make sentences for a narrative about

the Curpite dance.

Table 3. Cross coding words to make sentences

SBSBKSSSs. ffMtftffWft

107

142

171

114104

133core

m n iin

Source field work conversations Juan Valdez (2013).

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The last comment I make about using a computer software to analyze our working

sample relates to actual sentences I put together from the previous table. The following

excerpts make reference to the final findings in this study. Not all the selections are from

the three participants on table two since data must be brought back again to the original

working sample to check for content distribution of all participants. I found three main

themes emerging from the conversations that repeated throughout the shorter version of

the working sample. These were “the Curpite dance is a courtship ceremony”, “the

dancing style has been modified”, and “how to preserve the Curpite dance”. I proceed to

describe this last section o f the results in the following narrative.

The Curpite dance is a courtship ceremony:

Las muchachas buscan el novio para que les lleven los Curpites y los muchachos pues tambien buscan la novia para que les de el delantal y pues asi tambien ya tener que ponerse [The single girls look for single guys so the guys can bring the Curpites and the single guys look for the single girls so the single girls can give them aprons so they have something to wear] (Celia Mincitar Pulido, Casa de la Cultura, in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

Ya que se vistan los jovenes, vas a mirar bolitas de muchachas, platicando con un Curpite por ahi en la calle, viendole sus delantales, viendole sus botas, alabandolesus cascabeles yo conozco muchisimas personas que dicen, yo me robe a minovia tal dia, o yo me anime a entablar comunicacion con la que es mi esposa porque solamente asi [Once the single guys dress up in their fiill attire, you will see little crowds o f girls talking to the Curpite dancers in the streets, the girls are looking at the aprons, their boots, praising their bells... I know a lot o f people that say: “I got engaged that day or I would have never had the chance to talk to my current wife if it was not that way”] (Vicente Contreras, owner Mariscos Rey Restaurant, in discussion with the author January 6, 2013).

Mi novio se va a subir a bailar y en la tradicion de San Juan la novia le confecciona el delantal, [My boyfriend will go up to the dancing floor and it is our tradition in San Juan to make the aprons] (Juanita Velazquez, student, in discussion with the author, January 6, 2013).

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The dancing style has been modified:

El zapateado debe dar un sonido y una afinacion al momento de que esta bailando, no todos los danzantes inclusive no todos los tarepetis que se supone que son los mejores danzantes de cada barrio tienen ese cuidado y no todos los tarepetis te saben sonar el cascabel y eso es importantisimo dentro de la danza de Curpites [The zapateado must give you a particular sound while you are dancing, not all dancers, as a matter of fact, not all the tarepetis know how to sound the bell with their zapateado and that is fundamental within the Curpite dance] (Jose Alberto Velazquez Campoverde, dance professor, in discussion with the author January 27,2013).

Porque ahorita ya casi no zapatean. Lo que hacen son unos asi como desplazamientos que eso yo nada mas lo veo o lo vi con el ese Michael Jackson.Y antes no eran esos si no era el puro zapatear, zapatear, y otro senor bailaba de puntitas y otro de rodillas. Pero de andar haciendo ese cambio asi como un desplazamiento que asi arrastrando el zapato, no. No, no, no. No se en que iran a parar, iran a seguir asi o no se pero si. Es muy triste ver a la danza de los Curpites ahora [Lately, the dancers barely engage a zapateado, what they do instead is a type of scattering motion that I saw once with Michael Jackson. Those movements were never part o f it but only zapatear, zapatear such was this old dancer who did it over the tips o f his toes and sometimes with his knees. So that quick motion pulling the shoe over the floor, no. No, no, no. I don’t know where will these dancers end up, would they continue like that or not? It is very sad to see the Curpite dance today] (Celia Mincitar Pulido, Casa de la Cultura, in discussion with the author January 28,2013).

How to preserve the Curpite dance?

Yo tengo la solucion pero desgraciadamente no tengo el liderazgo, la solucion seria sacar una docena de Curpites con su Tarepeti y Maringuilla con su vestido [I have the solution but unfortunately, I have no leadership to move it forward. The solution is that we promote one dozen of Curpite dancers along their Tarepeti and Maringuilla all dressed up] (Miguel Pantaleon, San Juan Nuevo business owner, in discussion with the author, January 22, 2013).

En aquel tiempo la danza de los Curpites, se hacia como hoy dos cuadrillas y los bailadores que es el tata keri y la maringuilla eran gentes contratadas con experiencia [Back in the day the Curpite dance was just like today with two competing groups and their dancers tata keri (Tarepeti) and maringuilla although these were hired people due to their dancing experience] (Aniseto Velazquez Contreras, Parangaricutiro Tourism, in discussion with the author January 20, 2013.)

Entonces son muchisimos detalles que a lo mejor de aqui a manana o pasado no

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vas a encontrar las respuestas pero si te vas a dar una idea de mas o menos por que bailamos la danza de los Curpites a tu modo. Porque aqui yo te puedo decir una cosa, Juan otra, el dia de manana, mi amigo, que de algun otro, o sea, otro miembro de aqui de San Juan te va a dar otra version mas [Thus, the details are many that perhaps tomorrow or the day after tomorrow there are no more answers to be found, you will get an idea about why we dance the Curpite dance in your own way. I can tell you one thing, Juan another, tomorrow, somebody else’s friend here in the community, will give you just a new version why the changes] (Vicente Contreras, owner Mariscos Rey Restaurant, in discussion with the author January 6, 2013).

The word/image juxtaposition would suggest, if used to characterize the

difference between writing and filming, that words constitute an articulation o f reality

whereas images are an expression of reality (Crawford 1992:70). Although there is not

solution yet to be found when it comes to represent the values o f the main participants in

the Curpite dance, the preceding information indicates the importance to create a breach

between academia and community to find common values that increase social relations.

What needs to be objectified is not the anthropologists performing the anthropological

analysis of a foreign world but the social world that has made both the anthropologist and

the conscious or unconscious anthropology that she or (he) engages in her

anthropological practice (Bourdieu 2003:283). As this kind of research increases, some

way must be found to publish these results of both film and articles (Heider 2006:117).

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CHAPTER 6

DISCUSSION

Ethnography is not simply the methodological expression of anthropological field

trips . . .but the expression o f history, politics, culture, and the essence o f being (Clair

2003:19). In this chapter, I include some of the narratives pertaining to the Curpite dance

as the community members in San Juan Nuevo explained them to me. The theory and

practice o f Purhepecha traditions for the people in San Juan Nuevo involves “systems of

ideas attached to particular persons as representative of cultural values” (Sapir 1949 cfr

Mandelbaum 1964). Minoglo (1992:323) mentions how “a society in which oral

transmission is fundamental uses the elders, instead of the book, as organizers of

knowledge and sign-bearers.”

I experienced this model of organization in San Juan Nuevo after being a

participant observer during the planning of a local community museum. As part of my

graduate coursework at Cal State Fullerton, I made an educational segment about the

preservation of local archaeological findings in San Juan. I did not know much about the

town at that time but my former instructor Dr. Tricia Gabany-Guerrero mentioned to me

the importance o f the project. I filmed Professor Edgar Huerta at that time since he was

proficient in experimental archaeology. The video features a story about obsidian

arrowhead points and their association with thunder cutting through the skies. The

making process about these objects was also explained to make a connection between the

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21artifacts and ancient technology. After we watched this video during the meeting, the

mobilization of ideas included comments in reference to cultural heritage mostly

proposed by a group of members called cabildos (see Chapter One).

The cabildo described their predecessor’s ways as oral histories in terms of

pindecuas. The Purhepecha word Pindecua literally translates as “customs” or

costumbres in Spanish to manifest the importance of traditions transferred through

22generations orally. The cabildo members participate to make important decisions on

ceremonial affairs using a hierarchical authority based on experience. Other decisions are

made by the government representatives in alignment with the political structure of the

state and country (i.e. .presidents, board of directors, supervisors, etc.). The cabildo

members recommended the community museum as a way to preserve the ancient

traditions and open a window from the past into the present.

Este proyecto sera de gran beneficio para la ninez, para la juventud, y para las gentes mayores de aqui y de otra partes que vengan para demostrar de donde venimos, quienes somos, y hacia donde estamos hiendo” [This project is o f great benefit for the children, the youth, and the elderly adults who live here and for those visiting us so that we demonstrate who we are, where do we come from, and where are we going in the future] (Celia Mincitar, personal communication January 26, 2013).

The aim o f the project was to show how ancient technology was part o f the heritage left behind through material culture discharged by people. The video can be found athttps-.//www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7qm7cn-0IY&list=UUtq-DciiTuuh35pkPiSac_A last accessed November 17,2014.

22With the arrival o f the Spanish conquerors, these traditions were also written in the form o f textual

manuscripts called Pindecuarios. The Pindecuario o f Parangaricutiro (PP) proved to be a vital source o f information regarding community organization, the lineage system, the political economy o f the pueblo- hospital and written Purhepecha language (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:208).

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An early account about the Curpite dance also involves the intervention o f an

elder to break a fight between two young rivals. Most people familiar with the Curpite

dance recalls Espiridion Anguiano and Espiridion Equihua encounters for the love of

Fermma Lopez. An elder participant appearing to be the father o f Fermina Lopez

encouraged them to enter a dance competition to break the fight and prove themselves.

The advice o f an elder in the community helped to dissolve the friction between the two

rivals.

Tambien es una historia oral que nos transmitieron los abuelos y precisamente se trataba de dos personas que querian pues a esta m uchacha. . . y es cuando dice el papa “muchachos no se peleen, no se peleen, mejor demuestrenlo bailando y el que baile mejor pues que se quede con mi hija” [It is an oral history transferred through our grandparents that gives reference to the two young rivals for the love o f one girl...thus, the parent said “don’t fight anymore, why don’t you prove yourselves at dancing and whomever wins marries my daughter”] (Juan Aguilar Chavez, Curpite dance expert and competition narrator, in discussion with the author, January 6,2013).

The rivals were also very different in terms of social status and taste which added

a singular way to compete among themselves. While Anguiano was rich and enjoyed

horseback riding, Equihua was poor and found pleasure playing the guitar. While

Anguiano had his own group of followers called the Terepecuas, Equihua was also

supported by his own circle of friends named Cutzeras. Their duality was inevitable

although the only thing they held in common was their ability to perform the Curpite

dance.

Fermma Lopez was a beautiful women who held an equal preference for both of

the young competitors. For instance, she would give a gift to Anguiano and later would

bring something else to Equihua. This situation increased the tension between them to the

point o f being very close from hurting and even killing each other. In order to bring this

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rivalry to an end, the father o f Fermma Lopez, an elder member in the community,

advised the two men to arrange a dance competition where the dancers could have equal

chances to courtship Fermma Lopez. The two competitors agreed to meet outside the

presidential building each with their own group o f friends. They entered this competition

and up until today the same still exist between the dancing faction of San Miguel and San

Mateo. Fermma Lopez fell for one o f the dancers and the dispute was resolved (Figure

Figure 13. After the competition. Unknown artist.

23The story must be veridical since claims dated to approximately 1901 when the confrontation between

Espiridion Martinez and Espiridion Equihua was booked in the police records o f the city in Uruapan Although I did not see this document, some community members encouraged me to look it up in the police records o f the city council in Uruapan. Due to time limitations for the duration o f my visit in San Juan Nuevo, 1 did not arrange this trip although the piece would sustain more evidence about the dispute between the two dancers. I summarized the story based on the testimonial given by Juan Aguilar Chavez 'el P eligroso’ in conversation with the author January 6, 2013.

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Paricutin

Mr. Vicente Contreras, owner of Mariscos el Rey restaurant, invited his friend Mr.

Juan Aguilar Chavez so that they could tell me more about the Curpite dance. After we

engaged some good conversation, Mr. Contreras asked me to go on the roof of his house

so that I could record a panoramic view o f San Juan Nuevo. I asked him if I could take

his picture and he agreed to the idea so he posed along his friend Juan to one side of the

roof. Mr. Contreras asked me twice to take his picture since his head was covering the

mountain behind him (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Life in the highland community. 2013: Photo Juan Valdez.

Pink (2001:23) explains how "some material objects are visual but visual images

are not necessarily material.” This rupture between visibility and reality is significant for

an ethnographic approach to the visual because it implies that reality cannot necessarily

be observed visually (Pink 2001:23).” According to Pollard (1993:149) “in the

Purhepecha mythology, mountains were seen as the logical mediators between the earth

69

and the sky, the location of rituals, individual spiritual guests, and refuge in time of

chaos.”

The Paricutin volcano is perhaps the closest related experience to this power

attributed to the mountains. On February 20,1943 the Paricutin started giving signs of an

upcoming eruption that would jeopardize the nearby communities including

Parangaricutiro (old San Juan), Paricuti, (San Salvador Combutzio), Zirosto, and Zacan.

The community members of San Juan Parangaricutiro were reluctant to abandon their

home until the lava took over the cemetery. Only when the lava reached the graves of

their ancestors -over a year after the appearance of the volcano- did they pick up their

saints and begin the three-day march to the new town site (Bishop 2009:407) (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Parangaricutiro and Paricutin volcano map (Rees 1970).

The people of San Juan Parangaricutiro carried the image of El Sehor de los

Milagros and began their journey to a new location on May 9, 1944. San Juan Nuevo

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today sits at the hacienda Los Conejos within the south center west volcanic belt region

in the state o f Michoacan, Mexico. Annual pilgrimages are held to the old community of

Parangaricutiro to commemorate the community’s salvation from the volcano via the

intervention o f el Senor de los Milagros (Gabany-Guerrero 1999:182). The volcano took

over the ancestral land where the community flourish a few centuries back.

In 1600, San Juan Parangaricutiro became a separate Agustinian convento with its

own subject villages, Angahuan and Paricutin (or San Salvador Combutzio) (Leon Alani,

1997:301 cfr Gabany-Guerrero 1999:196). Muleteers were responsible for transporting

the cantera and wood needed to finish the Parangaricutiro cathedral in 1610 (Basalenque

1963 cfr Gabany-Guerrero 1999:201).

“Parangaricutiro was renowned for its arrierla (muleteer traders), jarcieria (from

which the Purhepecha produced maguey fiber rope), fruit, chancacas (tamales), velas

(beeswax candles), paintings, bateas and embutidos” (Basalenque, 1963 (1644):264 cfr

Gabany-Guerrero 1999:198). Both oral history from Parangaricutiro and the evidence of

conflicting written histories in the Relacion de Michoacan support the hypothesis that

parallel lines of authority (Tarascan and Spanish) existed long into the colonial period

and that the symbolic power of the Purhepecha Empire is still a powerful force in the

collective memory o f the community (Gabany Guerrero 1999:196).

This was also the time when for the first time, the people of Parangaricutiro

makes reference the image of el Senor de los Milagros. An unknown person appears to a

native o f Parangaricutiro named Maricho. The stranger offers to leave one sculpture

among three he had for sale. He did not receive any payment, nor ate any foods for the

time period he stayed in Parangaricutiro. The vendor spoke to an Augustinian priest from

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Zacan after leaving Parangaricutiro never to be seeing again. The priest order to bring

flowers and praise the saint the vendor had just left saying that the saint would concede

many miracles. The Lord o f the Miracles mesures ninety centimeters from one arm to the

other ninety three centimeters from head to toe (Zavala Alfaro 1972:50) (Figure 16).

Figure 16. Image of El Senor de los Milagros, San Juan Nuevo (Zavala 1972)

Seflor de los Milagros

The significance of the miraculous saint was also made apparent during my

fieldwork while collecting data within the four-day Curpite dance celebration. I took a

picture of the cargo group belonging to the Holy Child o f the little old Man outside of the

church of the Lord o f the Miracles. This was on the last day of the competition when the

winning Curpites escort the holy child to the house of the new cargero. I was interested

72

to ask details about the cargo organization and I thought that by returning this as a gift to

those in the picture I would be able to ask some questions. When I went to the house of

the cargo holders and visit the family who receive the image of the Holy Child, a female

member holding the cargo was amazed by the almost perfectly captured image of the

Lord o f the Miracles in the background o f the picture. She considered this to be the best

photo she had received so far since no other picture would have this effect. It came to my

surprise that she did not even mentioned herself in the picture nor the other cargo holders

but again to the background of the same where she could identify the Lord o f the

Miracles Christ inside the church (Figure 17).

Figure 17. The Lord of the Miracles inside church. 2013: Photo Juan Valdez.

The Family

Some people attribute the characters in the Curpite dance to represent religious

patrons. The character o f the Maringuilla representing the Virgin Mary and the Tarepeti

Joseph who take the context of a Christian family. It was explained to me by Father

73

Cuara Anguiano, that during the first years of the Spanish conquest, the missionaries

would find it easier to transfer their faith by having the indigenous communities perform

religious passages. In other words, the missionaries would congregate a group of

indigenous people together in order to have them personify the biblical characters.

According to this story, the culminating act occurred during Christmas time with the birth

o f the baby Jesus. However, the happiness o f the main characters, the Virgin Mary and

Joseph, got them distracted and they lost from their sight the baby Jesus. When they

realized that the baby was no longer with them, they had to go back in the attempt to find

him (Appendix E).

The indigenous people received instructions on how to personify each character

but they could not understand how was it that the Virgin Mary and Joseph went on this

quest alone. It was suggested that the indigenous people held companion with each other

at all times. They would not let the Virgin and Joseph venture on this quest without

arranging the proper company for the trip. The Curpite dancers are those that join the

Tarepeti and the Maringuilla for their trip to help on the quest for the baby Jesus. The

Curpite dance choreography, thus, represents the unity o f the family that has come

together in this version o f the story. Rocio Prospero Maldonado (2000:37) provides

additional information about the family characterization of the Curpite dancers as

follows:

el Tarepeti representa a San Jose porque la danza fue copiada de la de los viejitos, el baculo representa al burro, el guaje, agua para Maria, la faja que era costurera” [the Tarepeti represents Saint Joseph since this dance was borrowed from the “Little Old Man” dance, his baton of command represents the donkey where they travel and the gourd carries water for the Virgin Mary while her loom belt means that she was a seamstress] (interview to Mr. Luis Cuarao cfr Prospero Maldonado 2000:37).

74

Currently, the families of the young participants whether male or female may play

a big role to help them buy accessories for the Curpite celebration. Some parents support

their daughters with the cost o f buying materials to make aprons for their daughter’s

boyfriend who will be dancing. The mothers take their daughters over to the nearest

market to help them select among different colors of velvety texture fabric, ehakra beads,

sequins, and fine needles to make an apron. The colors they select have to combine the

dancer’s preowned items he will be wearing so the entire piece of the dancing gear

matches in color.

The loom belts and aprons are very important female contributions that

represent the gender reciprocity in the context o f the Curpite dance. The Curpites wear

fajas in at least three parts o f their bodies including their calves to hold pants and bells

tightly, their waists to hold up the pants called encimas, and on their heads to tie up

their masks.

Cuando te pones las fajas junto a tus botas se siente un gran soporte que te hace mas fuertes tus piemas para brincar. [When you wear the loom belts along the boots, it gives you a stronger support on the legs to jump up] (Narcizo Guerrero Murillo, 2014, personal communication).

The fajas are not as noticeable as they used to be since dancers now place

several bells to the top:

Las fajas se apreciaban porque el Tarepeti traia como a media piema los cascabeles y el Curpite traia dos o tres vueltas nada mas. Porque los cascabeles tambien nos indican que la persona que trae mas, es de mas alta autoridad, por rango. Entonces ahorita ya los Curpites ya, pues ya se igualan con el Tarepeti. Pero antes no era asi porque le daban el lugar al Tarepeti y tambien se apreciaba la labor de la mujer, que es el tejer las fajas. Ahorita ya no se ven las fajas. Y antes eso era lo que lucia tambien el trabajo de la mujer, la faja [The loom belts were visible because the Tarepeti would have only a few bells on his calves while Curpites would wear even fewer so loom belts were noticeable. It is difficult to distinguish the loom belts on the dancer’s calves today since they now wear a lot

75

more bells covering all the loom belts. The loom belts were representative of the female labor specialization and today it is no longer the case] (Celia Mincftar Pulido, Casa de la Cultura, in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

Las mujeres se ocupaban principalmente en la confection de maravillosas colchas

o cobijas, que elaboraban en tela de cintura combinando hilo de algodon con lana tenido

previamente con tintes naturales, de ahi que tambien se les conociera al lugar como San

Juan de las Colchas [The women used to make marvelous blankets in the belt loom

combining wool previously tinted with natural colors, that is how the old town got its

nickname San Juan de las Colchas], (Prospero Maldonado 2000:25) (Figure 18).

Belt loom. Proportions arc distorted to show detail: the actual w idth of the belt is about I 12 inches. The central part of the waip is double The view shows schematically the various sheds created by the shed bar and the four hcddlcs. Length is 3 feet 9 inches between the loom bars b a a .

J* tO B M

B A T T tH

tO O fl BAA

emotr bach

k a*CO BAALOOfl BAIT

Figure 18. Belt Loom (Beals 1946:37).

76

The male dancers sometimes depend on the financial help from their parents and

family members to host banquet dinners. If the dancers are very young and they still do

not have a formal way to earn an income, they may receive help from their older brothers,

uncles, and parents to support some o f the costs to dance as Curpite. Even when some

dancers receive an apron from their girlfriend, they still have to match the rest of the cost

to secure the full attire on top of rewarding their date with at least $2,000MX worth in

candies during the carrying (see Chapter 3 on this thesis for a detailed Curpite carrying

procession).

In the past, males used to turn themselves into various labor occupations not only

to make additional money for the competition but also to impress their girlfriend’s in

laws to become part o f the family through marriage (Figure 19).as the following excerpt

suggests:

The pretentious boyfriends would find jobs that needed to get done such as fixing a fence, moving a wooden house, and even harvesting the com. Their intention was to gain the trust of the family specially the father so that he would agree to the relationship and courtship o f his daughter. If the father had com fields, some boyfriends would go late at night to harvest his com. The next day when the father was getting ready to do the job, he was surprised to find the chundes already filled with com placed outside his troje (wooden house). The males would always find ways to impress the family members o f their sweethearts specially the fathers. This was also an opportunity to get closer to the daughter at least through hard labor (Celia Mincitar Pulido, Casa de la Cultura, in discussion with the author January 28, 2013).

77

Figure 19. Troje (Moheno 1994).

Males also used to visit the girls in secret at night risking being detected by

parents. For those whose interest escalated into the possibility of a formal courtship, the

girls would receive a piece of sweet chunk o f sugar called piloncillo. This was brought

also in secret and introduced through a hole opening of the wooden kitchen’s house (see

figure 19) or troje where the girlfriend used to live. If the girl consent to the courtship,

she had to make a sweet flour tortilla called iururis. This was later given to the boy

indicating their dating status.

This was a type of game since the young woman had to make iururis (flour tortillas) with the piloncillo that was brought by the young boy as a way to establish their dating intentions being helped by their friends and hiding from their parents (Rocio Prospero 2000:37-38; and in conversation with Aniseto Velazquez Contreras, Celia Mincitar Pulido, Juan Aguilar “el peligroso ” (San Juan Nuevo community residents and participants, January 2013).

78

Agriculture

Despite dating being not permissible by parents in the past, the rushing moment at

the end of the agricultural calendar year opened for an opportunity to make extra income

and participate in the Curpite dance. It has been documented by Moheno (1985:78) how

“la cruza se llevaba a cabo entre los ultimos dias de Diciembre y los primeros de Enero:

La musica de los Curpites (danza que se realiza entre el 6 y 8 de enero) se oia en el

campo mientras se laboraba”, [the Curpite music could be heard between the 6th and 8th

of January while people were working the fields] (Moheno 1985:78).

This one calls for an autochthonous gathering ritual taking place before colonial

time to celebrate the harvesting of crops. This version characterized the transformations

of the indigenous people into anthropomorphic animal representations including birds,

coyotes, tigers, and deer among others. While jumping and making loud noises according

to the animals the indigenous people symbolized, the wearing of masks and skins

enhanced the ritual. It was suggested that this event took place after harvesting the crops

24so that celebration was called by the successful season.

I met with a farmer in his cornfield to find out more about planting maize and

gain general background information about this product. I asked him about the jobs he

dedicated to his field and the different types of maize he planted. The following table

provides information on the activities taking place in the field per season in the

Purhepecha highland communities (Table 4).

24The full description o f this version was given by Nana Celia and Juan “El Peligroso” and could be found

in the Appendix V o f this thesis.

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Table 4. Agricultural Calendar in the Highland Communities

A cti c u l t a r a lG d e a d a r m th e H ie h la n d Cornum m itie s

W>! A p r . Mw Ju n e Ju ly A u g . S q X . p e t . N o v . D e c .

C o m ?P $P P P W R W R H h

B e a n S P S P P P W R W R H H

S a u a s h S P S P P P W R W R H H

" a b a B e a n S P S P P P W R W R H H

W h e a t $Pfl H$P ?P ?P H

J a r ie v S P /H HISP S P S P H

SrilPircg.SP__ Piaatiag P_____ W f t d R a r c y d W R __ H«y«tiagHSource: Nunez (1989).

The farmer also confirmed previous work conducted in Cheran by Beals (1946).

Maize seed selection is always done when the moon is crescent and neither selection nor

shelling is done after full moon (Beals 1946:23). Beals (1946:28) further elaborates:

Most beliefs and customs centered about maize are those about the red ears, cocu, where the red is described as the mother, chief, and ace (ceremonial leader) of all maize. In the storage lofts, red ears are mixed with the yellow and white to act as guardian o f the rest (Beals 1946:28).

In an agrarian civilization, it is perhaps expected that much of life would be

dominated by the agricultural cycle (Pollard 1993:141). The Purhepecha were extremely

interested in all details o f cultivation o f com (Gabany-Guerrero 1999: 105) from the

enormous focus on the parts of the plant, phases of growth, season of harvest, and types

of food preparation, to a metaphor for birth, strength, and renewal in the society as a

whole (Pollard 1993:141).

Urton (1993:129) mentions how in Peruvian land disbursement requires dancing

battles where females must side with winners. “These battles were (and still are) often

associated not only with the plowing o f new fields, but also with the capture and/or

exchange of women in marriage” (Urton 1993:129). When the farmer explained to me the

process to plant seeds o f com, he showed me a quick and constant movement of his feet

to press the seeds into the ground. This almost instantly reminded me about the complex

Curpite dancing style known as zapateado.

Bourdieu (1990) indicates that “the assembly of the loom and the opening of

ploughing are opposite labor specialties that allow for the social production and

reproduction of the practice.” In a very similar way, the practical knowledge o f making

an apron and the practice o f dancing as Curpite differentiate the social structure in the

same way as the practical knowledge of dancing as Curpite and the practice o f making an

apron constructs the social unit o f the family.

Before I begin the next chapter, I would like to acknowledge the Honorable

Cuerpo de Cabildo and the Semaneras Grandes who taught me about their traditions in

San Juan Nuevo. The following picture shows from left to right Mr. Manuel Echevarria

C., Mr. Luis Roque C., Mr. Jose Aguilar, Mr. Jose Anguiano R., Juan Valdez, Fernando

C.C., Nana Celia, Rosa Aguilar, el senor mandon, Lucero Garfia Bedolla, and Petra

Sandoval (Figure 20).

Figure 20. Honorable cuerpo de Cabildo and Semaneras grandes in San Juan 2013

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CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

Transnational Lives

For indigenous people, the visual media can serve as an instrument of political

action (as among the Kayapo), cultural reintegration, and revival (as among the Inuit), or

as a corrective to stereotyping, misrepresentation and denigration (as among many Native

American groups) (MacDougall 1997:284). The Curpite dance brings people together not

just at the physical locations the dancers visit but also through virtual spaces the

community members have created to redefine their dancing practice. Visual

representations about the Curpite dance through video and photograph are not new for

the community o f San Juan Nuevo.

Many local videographers constantly record and upload Curpite dance photo,

video, and audio materials to internet websites, blogs, and social media sites. Video

websites like youtube.com make uploading videos easy and available reaching up to

10,000 views for some Curpite dance videos. Furthermore, the Curpite dance competition

appears in the internet using the latest digital video imaging technologies including 3D

and special effects. Some Curpite dance videos go back in time to competitions held in

1992 perhaps digitized from old VHS video tapes making the implication that studio

editing is not a new skill available to videographers in San Juan Nuevo.

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The internet has also been used to document the trajectory of more recent Curpite

dance performances. Some videos show performers coming across the Mexican border

under visas who participate at events like the Festival Purhepecha Michoacano organized

by FEDECAMIN (Federation de Clubes y Asociaciones de Michoacan) in Los Angeles

California. For three consecutive days in the month o f September, the diaspora

communities from Michoacan are reminded about their traditions including the Curpite

dance from San Juan Nuevo. The Curpite dance has become popular among foreign

audiences not only in the United States in places like California, Nevada, Utah,

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York but also over the sea by some

dancers performing in countries like Cuba.

The Curpite dance has no boundaries for the people of San Juan Nuevo whose

travels usually complement the hosting nations. Nevertheless, there are many restrictions

behind these experiences which are often the results o f hegemonic national borders.

Bishop (2009:404) comments on this experience for some young Curpite dancers who

live in the United States:

The young men of San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro have a fiesta they can claim as their own— one that involves them in a set o f multi-vocalic ritual behaviors that speak not only to their conditions as young men desiring adult status and the respect it brings but also to their ambitious and uncertain existence in a foreign country that desires their labor but does not value them as whole people (Bishop 2009:404).

Gonzales (2011:617) mentions that “the Immigration Reform and Control Act

(IRCA) o f 1986 provided the last large-scale legalization program for undocumented

immigrants.” Whereas some people could live dual lives traveling across from the United

States to San Juan Nuevo or vice versa, some others must duplicate similar cultural

values to preserve their identity in the hosting country.

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When single traits of culture among distant peoples arise independently from each

other (Boas 1896:901), a comparative method can detect differences on those external

environments acting on the particular individual practices. Dr. Christine GT Ho (in

conference 2014) agreed that “if there was a unifying factor among the different

immigrant groups that could be used to organize an immigrant rights mass movement, it

would be labor (GT Ho 2014 in conference)25. Dr GT Ho (2010) summarized a similar

position in an earlier article as follows:

What is needed are immigration policies that are informed by a deeper understanding of how economic globalization fuels illegal immigration. We must recognize that economic forces and relations of power are the major reasons why people leave their families, their countries, and risk their lives to relocate. Even if all the undocumented vanish from the U.S. today, more would come tomorrow for the very same reasons (GT Ho 2010).

The American political climate under the Obama administration seems to be

acting on policies that take an opposite direction. According to an article in the New York

Times published in 2013, “deportations under Mr. Obama were on track to reach two

million, or nearly the same number o f deportations in the United States from 1892 to

1997 (Shear 2013, correspondent for the New York Times).

Obama, nevertheless, committed to a presidential mandate to grant work permits

for two years to young adults despite the rich cultural heritage this applicants can bring to

the United States. Since not all unprotected adults applying under this regulation are

Curpite dancers, the requirements for those eligible under the mandate can best be

explained by Gonzales (2014:1856) in the following way:

25During the 2014 “Technology and Creativity” Southwestern American Anthropology meeting held in

Garden Grove, California, 1 asked Dr. Christine GT Ho after she made an engaging presentation on immigrant detention centers if there was a unifying factor among the different immigrant groups that she would consider to unite all immigrants from various nations for which she replied labor to be among her suspicions.

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To qualify, applicants must have arrived in the United States before the age o f 16 years (and have proof) and must have been younger than 31 years when the program began on August 15, 2012. Eligible youth must have resided in the United States continuously for the past five consecutive years. Finally, applicants must attend high school or a GED program, or have a high school diploma or equivalent. Youth who meet those criteria must undergo a lengthy application process and pay $465 (Gonzales 2014:1856).

Indigenous Diversity

Indigenous communities increase the diversity o f this nation can provide with

solutions to find reciprocal benefits despite oppositions. For instance, the peasant

community o f Aguanuato found a way to split their labor based on the particular needs

and seasonal opportunities of both the United States and Mexico during the 1980’s.

Mostly males from Aguanuato would make a trip to the north in order to find work

opportunities and earn an additional income. They planned this trip carefully based on the

slow seasonal chores that their own farms in Michoacan required. On average, the

community agricultural farmers of Aguanuato had approximately ninety days where their

crops required minimal attention. Menial tasks were then assigned to other family

members including women and children who stayed in Aguanuato so that males could

relocate doing temporary work in the United States. Once the males returned from their

journey in the United States, they would become fully active on the production of their

own lands during the harvesting season. Santana (1986:15) concluded that “los

campesinos de Aguanuato han descubierto una manera de trabajar y de vivir que no es

seguramente ni mejor ni peor que otras, pero que es en todo caso original” [the peasant

community o f Aguanuato had found a way to work and live that was neither better nor

worse but merely unique] (Santana 1986:15). Making multiple migratory trips back and

forth became increasingly costly and dangerous throughout the 1990s and the first decade

86

of the twenty-first century, so more unauthorized migrants began creating permanent

homes in the Unites States (Gonzalez 2011:602).

The gathering o f San Juan Nuevo community members in foreign nations takes

place as an extension o f elaborated dinners, Curpite dance practice rehearsals,

organizational event planning, and many forms that include participants into a celebration

that represents diversity. Non-profit organizations like the Mexican Environmental and

Cultural Research Institute Inc. (MEXECRI) are advocating for indigenous communities

of Mexico living in the United States. This agencies are making a contribution to raise the

bar on immigrant restrictions to bring cultural performances like the Curpite dance to

places like California. The writing o f interest letters to have this performances facilitates

the granting of visas under the American embassy in Mexico.

Anthropologists today are now convinced that the locales we study are caught up

in change, rather than stability, that cultures are hybrid and mixed rather than

homogeneous and exactly patterned, and that societies are increasingly interconnected

rather than bounded and independent (Dunham 2001:134).

The Purhepecha-speaking forebears o f the people o f San Juan Nuevo, like all the

indigenous people of Mexico, faced military conquest and centuries o f oppression, yet

they created a communal structure that allowed them to survive both physically and

psychologically (Bishop 2009:409). The new generations face the challenge to represent

the values o f the community to include the oral tradition and value for the Curpite dance.

The cultural production of identity lays within the hands o f the new generations of

dancers and organizers to continue a tradition in alignment with technologies, the

internet, and global influences.

87

APPENDIX A

2013 FESTIVAL PURHEPECHA MICHOACANO IN LOS ANGELES CA

The Curpite dance is popular among other communities of Michoacan including

Angahuan and Caltzotzin. Dancers from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro made their first

appearance at this festival in 2013 according the following flier.

’ < rlri)f .md<» rl 111<» \ I.i IndrpcpdriH 1,1 (It* Mr \u «I! ( . w., f-v.il.'! {\!.»t. «!*■ Mh v. ,'fi [ i , .• ■.Lv! ({<- y.f'.i (. *fitem, \ L»

J . ■ i . f . i > > ' ■ 1. < S’ ;! *»-. . \'J . v.'« v . <k V t ( E i - ' I .*('■ r . J . • la T lU

I < \ S ( ! \ <ll I >l II ( ' | H ‘< f I t l / \ 1 k I k ) < u < u i o ^ . O ! >

\ i o n i c s 1 3 , s . t h< ido1 4 v d o m i n g n 13 d e S cp t i e m fo re

VERONNIK'A D I A / VICTOR GUERRERO]

Vot e r a n s P a rk , 6662 L o v e la n d Ave. Bell C a rd e n s , CA 9 0 2 0 /

88

APPENDIX B

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB)

I received approval from the Institutional Review Board office at California State

University, Fullerton. I verbally reminded the participants about their rights and

protection using the sample letter in Spanish during my fieldwork.

C A L IF O R N IA S T A T E U N IV E R S IT Y , F U L L E R T O N

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A m m y & j y p T J C E .From lBeJftsx?tOtioQaLRev,*ev/^8oafO„ Colifornto Stot&JJnfvetffty.FuiJ^rron

OciKPrortr.

, f M<KCh 20. 2013.,

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Fos©epor£mbriif'

Juon VoW ttAn*dSoo*3fcy.*v5¥.42S4 • ■f &Ue

S « - Use ^HuSorvo^ S'6^^c^l^^eA*o«cAPfOj©Ci eod3e<£• Tfre^CuP^e^do^ ^ c^^tKQ^to.^tri&rn jSan iu o n N u»»o P o rongo rtcu tko ; O b se rv a tio n s

recording'Ir>id_h^Iduor j«^tirn<KiVots o n d g ro u p p a r tic ip a tio n

fhe torms you £ubntfue<* c& ce (egodlaft she use o< humoo subgecs* In the otoove-reJereocebp c o ^ s o O ^ ^ &*&&&&>Comp*e>nc« Coorbfctotor eo<* toe O totr o t m e CaitorsvtoSsb*e ‘ ib s i^ n o d f &«£tew Soo-c f “CSUF IRS*}. Your propose! is PeseartbeP to b e^ ' ‘ • ■

f& m M m meulj. eMeepj - to weftcfc m e <S«f to m e’ humon relel^1ovpfc*e«^'!tofc Pirtd b e n e * . ihfc cp p ro v d notice

may. b e required. -;...’"--'".''V’''' ■ -'in >. v • .?* * 11 ‘ -v ■■ *»j«,tej, ■- •!■•.-. ..u. -.. \. . .■- r.

„ .- ,- .r ,sf. - v . Ks .bean com pleted toy Morch H . 2014 you must mourns tenew ed cmXot§mp&p&&...........................K tc 04 otnros; ImcStxtopce ^ iy d o s x tc d y o d h e te so ihepulce ines for hurncnporslclpoilonondihctyou t o ^ r She plcr^^ihooofc»s^/<xbc«&Otes dese^edV > 'yot*f eiocrch p ro p o sa l' Any chonge In protocol Of cOnsetv fobs* o tbeeooto .'»otA»,y«SSuatKlfcs*On to the CStX* £% (or oporovpl prior X> Impiementorlon. A4JdUanc4y.ina orJodpcHTMMSccJof rbtKi promptly report, In wrtang, any uncntldpotee: orodv'ecse even» c o u in o 4 6 s to re re o c ft poofdponu or others,

Pteose b e ocMved ihcr i! you o re sensing eoornct funding lor ihts proposal she above-referenced slsto shotAdmosch exactly v&nshe $fe suixrfctec to mo funding ip o n sa . Any ch an g e In pcojec: ffcle should b e submlped to sbe CSOF IRS pilot solrnptpmaniCflon.

6y copi/'offihfe nodce. the chctenan of you* deportm ent (end/or co-lnr/esflgcfof) b rem inded uici s/he is responsible ibr.being Informed concerning research protects Inuo*4ng hum on pootefcsonis In jjso Peportoneni, rand shooltf reutew o« p tw ocob o i sioeh tnyesilgoilont os often cts n e e b e b lo ensure shot Ihe pro |eci Is b ^ n g cooOocseO In com pionce v4Sh oor InsHiuslonct po*etes en o v * h OMMS regdo-Jonj.

■ M rln tM o a nos o n Assuronce w ijto w ia t ih eO lace .'or Kumon Seseorch Protec Jons.Use Assurance tHsmberls PWaOOOISQSs.

C c: Dr. j.'lctc Oooon-/<Ajarroro Apptcodon Mo. KSR-I3-OI30

Institutional Review Board Consent Form (English')

A ppend ix M.a

C o n sen t Form

S am ple English

Dear San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro community m ember.

My name is Juan Carlos Valdez Rojos and I am a graduate student under the direction of Or. Tricia Gsbany-Guerrero,

anthropology professor, from California State University. Fullerton. I am conducting an investigation to define the antecedents

related to the *tos Curpltes- celebration from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro in the s tate of Michoacan, Mexico. The study consists of investigating this dance from historic, anthropologic, and social perspectives. The related history, interviews, dance

practices, costum es and knowledge regarding this dance are of great relevance for the study. The majority of this project consists of recording the dances that a re performed in pubSc with a video camera, the interviews of those dancers that became retired as well as those current dancers, the dancer trainers and organizers, families, friends and the general public who identify and know this particular dance from San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro,

if you wish to participate in this project, I would like to record with the video camera your dance as a Curpite. your testimonial as participant or any other link with this dance of San juaneco tradition. The benefits of your permission and participation

include a copy with no edits m ade about our conversation o r practice in a 0V0 format after one m onth of your participation. The information you give could be published as primary data and will not reveal your identity. The information could lead to a

M aster thesis in Anthropology, You will receive special mention as cultural expert if you agree to ghre that permission. Keep in

mind th at your identity, participation, commentaries, declarations, and any other information will be confidential and protected by all laws. This same anonymity will give you the power to stop participation at any tim e without running any risk or penalty for stopping.

Your participation involves approximately one hour of your time and includes an interview in person a t your hom e address or favorite spot. This place could be an open location such as the Church of Senor de los Milagros, any restaurant you prefer, o r any business location where you feel secure and protected to give your testimonial. If you do not wish to m eet up for an interview in person, you could still participate over the phone. You could call me in town at the local cell phone num ber (4521 594-0189. Your phone number will not be stored in a caller ID and your contact writ not be used for purposes o ther than the

Curpite dance investigation. You do not have to answer questions th at m ake you feel uncomfortable or make you feel a t risk. You win be reminded about this before the interview takes place. The recording of the dance and the results o f the study could be edited into a short Aim th at registers antecedents of the dance for academic and educational purposes.

There Is no particular monetary gain associated with this investigation. All information wiU be kept under protection w here only the two researchers wUI have access. After one year of your interview, practice on tape, or testimonial wilt be transferred to a hard drive removable computer memory which will be under protection of university professors. You could give me a call if you

have any questions to the local number (452) 594-0189 o you could also send me an e-mail to titanthroous@ fullcrton.edu. You could also contact mi faculty advisor, Dr.Trida Gabany-Guerrero a t tgabanv-guerrero@ fulierton.edu for m ore details about this study.

I declare to have carefully reed the terms and conditions of my participation. The same ideas w ere explained to m e for further

understanding. With my signature, I declare to be a t least 18 years old and I agree to be a participant of this investigation.Name of Participant: Sign:

CSUF »RSWSPCS*? ■' "JTT ApprVKf TV -(h

Institutional Review Board Consent Form (Spanish)

Appendix ll.b Consent Form Sample Spanish

Kstimado m iem bro de la com unidad San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiru:

Mi nom bre es |u an Carlos Valdez Rojas y soy un estudtante de posgrado bajo la dircccion de la Dra. Tricia Gabany- G uerrero d e la Univorsidad Estatal d e California Fullerton. Estoy conduciendo un estudut para defm ir antecedent?* relacionados al baile de los Curpites de San |u an Nuevo Parangaricutiro en M ichoacin. Mexico. F.1 estudio consiste en la busqueda d e este baile desde una perspectiva histdrica, antropologica y social que identifiquen sus caracteristicas actuales Tanto an tcceden tes de relato, entrevistas. p ric ticas de baile, indum entarias y conocim ientos acerca d e e s te baile son de m ayor im portancia p ara mi estudio. Gran parte de este proyccto consiste en e s ta r grabando con una c im a ra de video algunas en trev istas tan to de los Curpites retirados como los actuates, los eneabezados y m acstros. fam iltarcs y am igos u o tra s p ersonas que identifiquen y conozcan e sta particular danza de San |uan Nuevo Parangaricutiro.

Si ustcd acepta participar en este proyccto. me gustaria g rabar con la c im ara d e video su p r .k tu a dc Curpite, el testim onio como participant? o cualquier o tro enlace a esta danza de tradicion San luanoca l,m benelicios de su pernuso y participation inciuiran una copia sin ed ita r de la conversacidn o pVactica en form ato CfMlVD a un mcs de haber participado. La inform ation que u sted o torgue tam bien podria se r pubhcada en calidad de datos prtm arios. Los mismos conducinan a una tesis de m aestria en A ntropologta cultural que Nevada mi nom bre. Ust6d rcc ib iri m enct6n h o n o rd iu como expertn cultural at haber dado su aprobacidn. Tenga en m ente que su identidad. participation, com cntarm s. declaraciones. y d c m is s e r in confldenciales y protegidos bajo todo el derecho que la ley otorgue. Este m ismo derecho de anonim ato le b rinda a usted el poder de de tcn e r su p artidpacidn en cualquier m om entn sin correr ningun tipo d e riesgo o falta

Su participacion involucra aproxim adam ente una bora de tiem po que inriuye una cntrev ista en persona a su domicilio o lugar d e prcferencia Dicho lugar puede se r un lugar ab ierto como la plaza de la igiesia del Seftor de ios Milagros, algun res tau ran t? local, o negocio donde usted se sien ta comodo y seguro p ara o torgar su testim onio. Si usted no e s tf de acuerdo en una en trev ista en persona puede tam b itn participar m edtante una llam ada telefonica. Me puede c o n ta c u r desde San Juan al num ero de celular (452)-594*0189. El registro d e su num ero no s e r i a lm aceiudo para o tros p ropfc itns o fines que no esten relacionados at baile de los Curpites Usted no tienc que corni-star p reguntas que lo hagan sen tir incdm odo o que sienta que lo ponen en riesgo. Se le hara un recordatorio de esto antes de com enzar la en trev ista ablerta o telefdnica. La grabacidn del baile y los resultados de este estudio pueden ser edtlados en una pelicula que registrc an tcceden tes del baile con propdsitos aradem icos y educativos

No cxiste ningun tipo dc ganancia m onetaria asoriada enn esta investigation. Toda la inform ation sera m antenida bajo p ro tec tion confidential ddnde unicam ente los invcstigadores ya m encionados te n d r in acceso. Despu£s de un aAo todas las entrevistas. p ric ticas, y testim onios s e r in transferidos a una m em oria de disco d u ro que p e rm an eceri bajo custodia universitaria y unicam ente p rofesores titulados p o d r in ten e r acceso. For favor contactarm e si tiene alguna pregunta al num ero local (452) 594-0189 o m edlante el correo electrbnico titan thropusgcsu .fu llerton .edu . Puede tam btln contactar a mi aseso ra de t4sls. Dra. Tricia Gahany-Guerrero. p e r correo elect r6 n k o tgahanvfueiT eroafu lleron .edu p ara m ayor detail? acerca d e este estudio.

Declaro haber leido claram ente los t£rm inos de participat ion y los nusm os fueron exphcados a mi para m ayor com prensi6n. Con mi firma, declaro que tengoal m enos 18 a n o sd e edad y tam bien que estoy de acuerdo en participar en es te proyectn.

Nombre del Participant?: F irm a :

APPENDIX C

COVERAGE MEDIA BADGE

I received this coverage media badge courtesy of the presidential building

Juan Nuevo after I asked for permission to record the Curpite dance competition.

n< WUW<I>»<

u m m m a m m m m m m - u

KURflTES 2 0 1 3

92

APPENDIX D

“LORD OF THE MIRACLES” STORY

The origin of the Lord o f the Miracles or Senor de los Milagros appears in

Vivencias del Paricutin y Exodo de San Juan Parangaricutiro. I received a copy of this

booklet from Father Jose Guadalupe Cuara. The full version can be found in the

convenient store outside the church temple o f the Lord o f the Miracles.

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Saeaatiin Go^ifi Mago con La tmagao e« aata Sarto Cr a P^angarcuw o •< *Ao oa 1597

la aratomia Oat SaAor Oa toa M ilages no •» praoaaman 3a un M*gu*t Angat o on laonaroo da v n© pa'O tampoco a* tmaganfaa atconruneo• » armOn-coyatoriunadoain»o<rada»c co'O-a aipraaa cerractamanta lo t •ufrxmaneoa 4a Nuaatro S jaaw cr.ato an ia Cru* v no podam oa oiv>oar at ata<n< tcfcraraturai qua anvuatra aapaoatmanta a aata tmagan

Es costumbra qua aata Santuano dot SaAor oa toa M<<a mwcnaa paraonaa amran Pads'1 do con un i,ima oa '/ a t pa toa r se ’anta y oo t nac*a atraa como tam pan qua caoa 14 oa mat gran nuiraro oa paraonaa oa! puatfo y paragrnos nagan m i oa ioa cnctxmacaa como una atabanca a) SaAor aa< como Uat- na v«tio at canwtar por ta cana Ea costumbra an aata Santi agraOacarta. tuptcarta y atabar at SaAor oa toa t/Magros c< ea-’a quo ta vuaita oractOn corpora) la ta oraoon aa rotnon rutagro qua >a feto an at aAo Oa IMS at SaAor Cura 0 Pabfc Rio Qwan nao*a contraido t*i gravo rtumat/amo qua practwatr o nabia Oa»aOo parai>t>eo At! un oia agobtaOo por au inubboa poatro area <a outca anagan oat SaAor oa to* NMagro* y ta tup** • On SaAor. ap>*OataOaateain4aAipaeaoor'Mucboaatoquat paro pongo toOa n* aaparanta an b OtOrgama ta aaiuO • promat-o qua si to curaba ponoria au Imagan an at attar ma* trabagar* .neanaabtamanta para qua fuara conocOo. ama giont*caoo fc< aacaroota atguto oranoo an attanoo racoro- mantaimata atgunos nutagroa oa Nuaatro SaAor Jaaucnato cor jat paraM«o curaOo OaapuOa oa aaa oraoOn un aatramaom aut>< racorrio todoa toa mambros Oat cuarpo Oat aacaroota coma eorr>anta atOctrica to sacud>0. un aacatotrio aobrana n»ad»0 toOo at cuarpo Oat SaAor Cura y an aquOt iwamo ins

quaOO total manta sano y aa moWa Oa sm ba abate y racori • im c o m na»a o«i S«n(uar<o y a n Oar at tooavta crSO>to a < prooige atngu’ar smpaao a ba»*ar con iagr»m** oa gratitud a agria y tooaa tas paraonaa qua aa aneontraban ant at «a>

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96

APPENDIX E

TRADICION DE LOS CURPITES

The following written record corresponds to the one version about the origin of

the Curpite dance from San Juan Nuevo. This document was facilitated courtesy of

Father Jose Guadalupe Cuara.

fRADIOON SO»HI: lOSCURPnTSDHSAN JCAW PARANCJARICUriRO MICHOACAN

Cuando a ptincipks de este sigto crnfciaba yo a vi\ir m'< j«nv i»id. wsi urn natural alkifa al canto, a fa nwsica y al boik. sentla un gusto particu­lar por la darau de h* curpites. por cso poafa mucka atcncfrt cuando ofa a qutcncs platicaban lo que elk* habian 0M0 de sus antcposado s sbrr esta daiun.

Sc me qucdo tmiy giavado lo que, platicaban los tcspctabks <cftons ori- f i nawv v vccmus de San Juan Parangaricutiro: Lionso | Lcwtcio j Ldpcz.

Agnstfa drive/. y Antonio, conocido no por su venJadero apdltf<\ sino ctxiM' lo nutnb-aban todos: Antonio “ T/iyu **. Dec fern elk* que vjs- antcpa-

conlaban que los primeros Mbtoocros, para cibaUm/nr a tos Mlge- tws. Ics fcriq algurws pasajcs del Santo Evangctio y los tndivavtn pan quo l«*i cscenilkarin con cl fin de que cntcadieran y se les gm varan uvtor

Por cso .dttian, knemos aqul cn San Juan Pamngaifcutiro: Us iststorc- las. lots vkjitos. los pasiorciios k» sokladitos. los mores, los mKhcios y , pci supucsto hdtuna mis popular y qucridade todos, cspeeiainKntc de la ntuchactafa: - LOS CURPIlliS

Esta danea cs otigtoaria y propta de San Juan Parugariculiro. pucs bas­in el «lh it* boy no U hay en ningun otro pocMo do Miehoacin

COMO COMENZO ESTA OANZA

l ey.ado a1 pueblo los Mbionctos del Evangelio^ .. la name-fit';" del t kqe que Itkkron San J«yi y fa Viigcn Maria a la gra» que cpiki 4<k> wW-rabaa los judios en Jerosalcn. Ilevaron consigo til NINO Jt Si ;S que tcifa ya la edad de 12 ( doco ] altos.

r*wvJ;; tetnund la fiesta. regresaron a su pocbio. Nua/ct.. con far. Jc.*\is pc« son is del mismo ptxWo.

Eta vostumlnc que todas Us mujeies se icunfon y cimtnsban juntas y los bowbrev s su vez, Hnctan lo mismo. pcro iban a una vista. 1-os niflos varon- cilcx. |n>li !ti r con los homines o con hs mujeies

Pit c v < latta cuando ictminaron d primer dla de se viaje de tefjeso. cn vi (Niinc jomaib. comose teuulan aids familia para poser Ir f.vhc, Jose y Maria. •»; dan cucnta que El Niflo Jesus no va con ningunu. n; con Maria ni con lo c Muy proocupados lo boscan entrc todo el gfupo, > al no eecon- liarlo. sc r>-gr*»n BinKdiatamcntejaunque tuvkran que caminar (k nocbe.

Lo encontraron al teieer dfa en d tetnplo cn medio de kis doctores dcia U*>. cstdicindolcs y prcguntandolcs sobre La Soma BiWU.

Al cnavibario su podrcs. He nos de alegrfa. rcgicsaton con cl NiAo Jcsds a Namrcl li-4c cs cl patqc dd Evangdio.

Lo* indipoaas se propusicroa esccaifcar este acotrtccifniento. Pcro como cUo* en lodo tc acompadaa, no podfaa pcaaar que a San a Saa Joel y ala Virgeii Maria lo* bobbraodqiado ir (do*, sboqeeun gmpode varo- nM f»n>fi»iwwn> jAii w se jantavoa y decidfevoa acorapefkarlos.

De esta mason qeisietoa to S a y w w m i eaoeniflcarestepaseje del cvangclio: Al a caMrw la Saadnma Virgco Marfa, San Joai y d gmpo de jdveaeealNlftO JESUS, saka dal teaipb y coa sa fbgotidad. vfealidad y alegrfa, prop** de ta edad, salea fritaado bailaAdo y brmcando porqae haa coofetrado al Nido Perdido.

Asf reconieroa todo el paeMo pan ammeter <|ae habten cncontndo al Nido leads, feacicado aa vtwh dero dla de fiesta, csto lo bicictoo coa la daazadekjsdapiles. Lo mfaain kicicroo al sqpiicntc ado, y Jeidc eatoo- c tt se rtptle cada afio dd 6 al 9 de eaero ea noestro pueblo.

As! itacid esta danza qaa la liamaroa “ los cdrpites “ pocque aqadkn jdvnee sejaatam y decidkrea aooiapafiar a Maria y a Joed.

Loa pcrsoaejcs prhc^palet aoa :14 LA MARINGU1A " qot represent* a la Samfcima V irfn Maria y* EL TATA KERI“ llamado tambtfct- EL TAREPIT1 - qoe repRseataSan Josd.

Dedaa los raspcasblea tcAorcs, <pw al priocipto la raaringjula en uoa mopr jdvea boaita y rasprtaMe, aaa “ Yurftejoiri Es decir, seAonta mu- chachafad^aayvnfea y que llevaba sombrero porqaecraacaminantes. peregrine*.

Despuds. porqoc cn la taka anger ea toda la daaza y ponpie cn mtiy dan la teenade toda la lleete. aobre todocaaado la akvgeron a la vispen y dos dies completes, cmpezaioa a poacr tniscan y trajc fcmeainos a — boolbt Ca im veatnario virtoao, elegante y dcccate, cl roodo de vcattir las “ yurtoqoim Pwo niafnno sapo dedr la feeba exacts de esta suoaso.

El Tartpili o - Tati Kcri " se dmiagno por w pmtancia y elcgaacia va- ranll, por so tnye may propb y origiaat, por el bdcnlo o bastta como sefal de eutoridad y maado. Este, Dev* ea la paite saperfor la cabea de un bari­te _ drrlan loi rnanstihlf* ninres cm era noraur caando San Josd Hevaba al Nido leads huyaado pooqae el ry lo qaorfa mew. Is Vngea ibe ca an banitoy Sao Josd b fca jaiaado de la gamam, Deva tambter un guaje car- §ado a b aspalda para el agaa, pass toa peragriaoe ea caauao.

Todoe loa partictpaates ena jdvcnes, fob iwqtfTVt Desde d primer ado Uovabaa aaa mdanHalarfa eqpccwl que los dstfafaia de todos los demds. A ottos, como ya b bemo* dkbo, porque se joataroa pan acom padar a Maria y a load, be daawroa cdrpites.

El mtoario fae m^onado bases Degar al actual elegante y vtoooo trajc.I BfnPKtl WfW <K\wn wwi V9MVIDM WflOlte, COIMIUO OPS 90M CtNp

drilla, pero al crecer el puebb, por d wadaierodecdipilei, formaroa das cvadrifias lade San Mateo y lade Saa Miguel, sin tampoco saber cusnd) <«npez6 rsto.

98

Tambkn dgeron: desde que aasotros reoordamos, las (fc» coiMktihtt. sin Wevar nadr el tnge tfpico de curpites, salts a la oriHa del pueMo, toda la modiachada. poo taabtda hombrcs y roqjcre*. aduHos y aidt*. A icctbif las orqaestas qae aowagzariaa loda la fleet*.

Primcro «aa y dcspods la otra caadrilk se dfcigk* primero al lempto, ponpw abt cedi ei Nido Josds. Pasaa «i curato y la onpicsia luca ua mo ca pfcteocw dd Seflot Can, «n seflal de respcto por see la mixime Mlondad. pass despots a Is prcsidenck muiiictpai, tambkn como sefial de respeto > las aaeotNkdes dvies. pues tambka los MitRmeroe iacalcaroa a los nue- vas cristianof qoe toda aoloridbd roeroct iguabncnto rcspctc. Ahl loca la onjaesta afro rata.

Ha ttfuMs pasan a la capita de - EL HOSPITAL “ donde se ven*» a k SaatKima Viryta Maria " LA INMACULADA CONCEPCION - imiy querida y venensk por todos. Aqui vtvea lodo el ado el mayo«k*jto y ei priosie ea (urno, para cutdar k capita y sos anexos, comcrvaodo d ia- awdMc y backndoie aipnos mejoras cada aSo„ crtando al pcadicnte dc la Images de k Santisfane Vtrgen, orgaafaando ks fiestas ea su honor, p- estaado al peadleak de ks ceiebracioaes de aiisas y rosarios lodo el aAo

Ea d antifao San Jnaa caidafaaa ao solo de k enseiaim de k doctrine crstkoa ?hk< tamhrta de qoieaes etufiab/a leer y esCTtbir o a tojercolctas y otrM ptvndas de patacoi

Aiciktfaa ttmbicw a los ceutinaaiei qvc dan dc pax>. cspc;Ulwic«a< a los otfctmos, poresok Ikmaroa CAPIIJA DEL HOSPITAL

Loadks’ly g 10a los dks centrales dc k fiesta de los carpttcs. ei dk 9 es dk de k despedida de las osqaestas.

Los nMpetabksseaoees dice* que desde que <Mo* rectMrda*. los carpiles lievabaa ■ tut novias " aaa " bailada ** qae coostsie <n que iba lo- da k dsnr/a. a hadar a ks casas de sus novks. donde Kxkw los ciupitet. pe* ro cspccotiucotc d aovio dc k muchacba dc css can, avicntaa t'okctonea y toda clitte de dukes a lodo k gentc.

El dk a ik «|ierado para lodos «s d dk 1. serene lodo <1 puifblo ee k pkzaparapreseaciarks.amesperadasCOMPETENCIAS quetompocn sopo akfuan k fecfts exack decvdadofberoaki primers*.

Conifx.ltai ks orqacftai: Ejccmaado ka mqorcs tones y abajcios pnn- cipabneMc. a ouyo rilmo ootnpken ks dos caadrillas. kcieado su rnejor vesluarfu. -ai mdor oomportamieaio y osdeo. k racjor preseiwac >«i y baik' origkal de nda k daaza

Coiapilea doscdspiiesdecadacodrilkdelosmejonasbodad<a«s>csov jldos por sms prapks caadriHas.

FioShneaie lo tads fsp*Taitft y frnin*iftnantf. qae haoen dcsbonkr <fe pno y alepia a todos los espectadoras: LAS COMPBTENCIAS DE IAS DOS MAKIOUIAS ENTRESI. LA DE LOS DOS TAREPIT.S TAMBIFN FNTRF *;t VI A DB CADA TARHPITI CON IA MAKING!JL\ NO LA

do su caadriUa mk> lade h otn.SE NOMBRABA UN JURADOCALIF1CADOR ESPECIAL V

COMPETENTE .ALQUE SE RESPETABA SU DECISION.

X X X X X X X

Cuaado ef pacMo w c—b>6 • eoie l»for por moiivo de It cntjKita del vokAn eoftbwrode 1913, aoaepenti6eetiboailBtiadfcidii,a poor que m Saa Juan PmN|MieallfO por eolo osImio nothro no se ctkbru ei ado de 1944.

Supcdcapadeqiicdcade 1945, caando apcnas tenia S | ocho ] racacs de nacido M t Nmvo Sm Juaa Pareagaricutiro, votvkm i i d i lot ctepacs aqaL Yocreo, poos yo me eocomnbo auewoo, qae de uoa moacra may radJoacatarie por la dotoroea staacida ecoofatic* Cm precaria que se vivla.

CfartMneale ea 1947 ya aaliaa, como ea wmtro rfcja, qucrido e iaolvi- daMeSaa Jaaa Pawagariraibo. VovalvlapartldparcB laacoBipcleaciaa oomoTati ICM

Afcon aqul ea Nacvo Saa Jaaa Panagaricatlro, d dia 6 dc eocro por Is laidei oo oalo o rodbar ho enpMOtw. El dia 7 oa It aaaflaoa MmpnuM h Mariapia, el Tali K<ri y los c6rp*ea dee laa doc eaadrilie*, {goal qae en Son Jaaa heaapricuriro. voo oi lemplo doado eocoeaftaa ol Ntifr) JESUS ydeaputsdenha oefctmnosJcsfceacocMfro: brmcaodo, gjfcwwio > baUendo eJ ida de la rmkiica has* d dk 9 qee deapfclea • ks onpicsou.

Me pwecc que cosi eodoa hoa otvidado one oripea do la daaza y estftbeoo tolo bos tto^Uddo poc oosttootNnB* Pwo sipBCB ©cJcfcwodo 6StB fieata igual que ea aaeatro AftORADO VIEIO SAN JUAN.

Niepmo do los tee reapetOMes a e ta ta aupfcroa decir por qac m cakbrabe esta fiesta ol 4fo 6 do «mio.

Dos A«lonio “ Ttiyfc ** ft* ono do lot raejores “ Mi K4m - y don Agastln Chdvez uaa de las mojone mariagufae ca Saa Juan Punagericutko. Sa savidor partfcqpd tambtfa ea Saa iaaa ParangarkMifn y oa Naovo Sob laoa Paraagannairn <a variaa compcacnriat, como aao u Dtro de erica pcnoaqpoc.

Coda Mo va eieado into coaodda y flmosa cata (fauna y cwla m vieROT 09 BOB DOwORBR* BOB pBaBuBOS 0 RKBBBWOL CSpOCOHBlCBSE 61QOI08 USKunprtov aa, A peaaf qao d camiao do traccria quo leacmoo dc Unmpao a San Jaaa csptoamo.

Naevo Sm Joan Parangiricutiro Mick Fcbrero dc 1950

DANIEL CUARA LOPEZ

100

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