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The Triqui community
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| July 29, 2002. |
Located in the Ixtapa neighborhood,
it has been hard for it to adapt to urban food and culture,
but it has remained faithful to its customs and teaches
them to the little ones so they will not be lost.
We can smell the food cooking on
Señora Francisca's oven, while she happily stirs
the chicatana ants that will serve as food for
the family. There are four little ones near her looking
on curiously, waiting for some of the chicatanas to
fall from the pot so they can quickly snap them up to
eat them.
The enjoyment of such a succulent
dish was not an easy task to accomplish because the
chicatana ants come out after the rain and they
gather around sources of light. In the morning they
fall onto the ground and that's where the hunt begins.
Everyone gets up early to see who can gather more ants.
The little ones smile joyfully when
Doña Francisca blows over the big ants and a
shower of wings go flying into the air.
Apart from fending off the children
who steal the ants straight out of the pot whenever
she's not watching, she also has to deal with the household
pets who follow her everywhere because, unlike her neighbors',
her pets are cute little mapaches, domesticated,
that nest under the stove.
Lost among the residential areas
of Ixtapa, there is a small community of natives originating
from the state of Oaxaca, better known as "Triquis",
their original name in their mother tongue. Far from
finding humble homes, most Triquis have been adapting
to the town's way of life and some of its customs.
Doña Francisca is the mother
of Tomas, the head of the Triqui family that lives in
the Niños Héroes "colonia" in
Ixtapa. They came eight years ago, wanting to better
themselves and leave behind the extreme poverty in which
they used to live. But even though they are coexisting
in an urban setting, there are many Triqui customs that
they have not forgotten.
Originally from Santa Cruz Tilapa,
a community of Copala in Oaxaca, they stand out as a
family because of how united they are. The children
learned to speak the Triqui language from an early age
and in the afternoon, they gather on the patio to make
necklaces and bracelets to sell in the main tourists
areas of the city.
Tomás tells us that there
is no exploitation in Triqui families. Everyone works
for himself. He stressed that they do not take advantage
of the children, though it is customary for the bigger
ones to help in the selling to improve the family's
financial situation. "It's not always easy. There
are good days and bad days." Nevertheless, thanks
to their peddling, they have been able to buy a piece
of land and build their own little house.
With regard to the authorities,
the head of the family says that there have been no
problems to date, except for the despotic treatment
by some Regulations inspectors who sometimes treat them
with contempt.
"I have my permit but there
are those who don't and they're always pursuing them."
From a medical and educational point of view, services
have been good and they haven't experienced any discrimination.
They prefer to be peaceful and maintain good relations
with neighbors to avoid problems.
Tomas mentioned that the typical
Triqui costumes are no longer used on a daily basis,
but rather only on fiesta days, especially on the big
one that occurs on the third Friday of each month.
Pride in Being Triqui
Javier Guzmán García
is an authentic Triqui youngster. He learned the Triqui
dialect and at his nine years of age, he speaks better
Spanish than his mother, Magdalena. He even worked as
translator for the words his mom didn't understand during
our conversation.
Javier came to Vallarta when he
was two months old, but he goes back to his rotos regularly
because his parents do that to visit their relatives.
Señora Magdalena acknowledges that it is difficult
because the bus takes two days and is very expensive
as the family is made up of 11 members.
Javier's parents do not have a permit
to sell on the beaches, but they do have the authorization
to sell in the main square and outside the church.
Javier is very proud of his roots
and his history. He likes the fact that his mom is constantly
talking about her hometown and its customs. They miss
their community but they are sacrificing for the sake
of a better life.
Customs Travel But They Bring Nostalgia
Along
One of the Triquis' special fiestas
is the Day of the Dead. They are not used to going to
the cemetery but they take great pains to erect an altar
to the dead where they set down a typical stew made
with beef and served on a big platter. The rule is to
set down nine dishes on the altar, no more no less,
as well as nine gigantic tortillas made by hand for
each dish, made fifteen days ahead of time. The number
nine in Triqui culture is the number of people who are
no longer part of the terrestrial world. The altar is
then decorated with flowers and candles.
Baptisms are also special occasions
attended only by Triqui folk. It is very rare for people
who are strangers to their customs to attend. On such
occasions, the child's father offers a set quantity
of beer and refreshments to the future godfather, and
on the day of the celebration, the godfather arrives
with double the quantity of beer that was originally
given to him. He is the one responsible for passing
the crate among the guests until the beer has been totally
consumed. The usual food consists of enchiladas and
the children who are baptized are sometimes dressed
in their very best attire.
We should also mention that Triquis
are 100% Catholic although they do not attend mass as
regularly as they would like to due to their work in
the streets.
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