Oaxaca
June 2000
17 June 2000
El sábado antes, fui a una fiesta. Estuve una fiesta Zapoteca. La cultura Zapoteca es una cultura matriarcal. Las esposas trabajan, y los esposos descansan en casa, limpian, y cuidan a los niños. Es una cultura muy interesante, y muy diferente de la cultura americana. En la tradicion antigua, las mujeres les daban 'toloache' a sus esposos para tenerlos entorpecidos. Después, sus esposos estuvieron buenos solamente en la cama.
[Last Saturday, I went to a party. It was a Zapotec party. The Zapotec culture is a matriarchical culture. The wives work, and the husbands stay in the house, clean, and take care of the children. It's a very interesting culture, and very different from American culture. In an ancient tradition, women would given 'toloache' to their husbands to make them 'numb'. Afterwards, their husbands would only be good in the bedroom.]
En este cultura cuándo un muchacho annuncia que el es gay a célebre. Es similar a muchos culturas de los indios americanos, antes de le religión de Christo.
[In this culture when a teenage boy announces that he is gay it is celebrated. It's similar to many of the cultures of native americans, before Christianity.]
La fiesta estuvo por uno grupo de los gays Zapotecas. Estuve muchos hombres con pantalones negros y guayaveras blancas. Las mujeres y los travestidos llevaron los vestidos con muchos colores y muchas flores bordado. Ellas son muchas bonitas.
[The fiesta was for a group of gay Zapotecs. There were many men with black pants and white 'guayaveras' (a traditional shirt). The women and the transvestites wore dresses with many colors and many embroidered flowers. There were very pretty.]
Whoo, enough Spanish for now, though those of you who speak the language may have noticed that I'm learning the pretérito, or past tense. (Yay! Enough of living for today!)
This party was known as a 'Yelas Istmeñas', and is a traditional party for the Zapotecs of the Mexican isthmus region. Though the party began at 8pm, everyone started arriving at around 10. The 'salon de fiesta' had only one narrow door in and out, and everyone (men and women) pushed and shoved their way to the head of the line. Folks were allowed into the hall in small groups. To be admitted to the fiesta, it was necessary to purchase a case of beer (for $70 pesos.) This case was the cost of admittance. You then gave this case to the person who invited you. They, in turn, gave out beers and food to their friends during the evening. I believe that the remaining beer was sold after the fiesta to raise money for whatever cause each individual person was promoting.
There was lots of dancing, followed by a procession of the queen and her royal court. I believe that during the evening, a new queen was selected. She was accompanied by a gentleman who earlier in the evening had introduced himself to me as 'la puta madre' [the whore mother] of my friend David. Two live bands played, folks danced and drank, and it was a great party. When I left at one, it was still going strong.
Ron
