Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The Zapatistas Interrogate History

"...We will conquer the place that belongs to us and that we deserve as indigenous people, as peasants, as the exploited. The fight is ours, our heritage is our, history is ours."
– Comandante David
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
September 16, 2005

LA GARRUCHA, CHIAPAS; AROUND 2. A.M. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2005: The relentless tromp of boots pounding through the mud, exhausted, electric minds in the Tzeltal region of the Lacandon Jungle, looking for a place to throw their bones after a long journey to La Garrucha - the third Caracol, named, "Resistance for a New Sunrise."

The after-midnight, anxious rumors place the head count in the thousands. Tents are popping up everywhere. The familiar indigenous music of the canyons is hitting on all cylinders. Hundreds are dancing in the muddy quagmire. The place is alive. This is why murals are made. This weekend will make history.

195 years ago, late in the evening, around 11pm, of September 15, 1810 in Dolores Hidalgo, Miguel Hidalgo seized on the swelling energy of the Mexican masses, and shouted, in what is now known simply as 'el grito', "Viva Mexico." The history books will tell you that 'el grito' was the pinnacle of colonial Mexico's desire for freedom and independence from the Spanish crown; it was the pivotal moment, the turning of the tides, when the peasants and indigenous of Mexico united following the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo in the revolution of Independence. What the history books won’t tell you is that 'el grito' was a moment of false promises - the beginning of failure. For the next century Mexico would be led by an incestuous, feudal oligarchy that utilized the language of freedom and independence, but pushed for neither.