Full Description
In 1983, a group of citizens in San CristÓbal de las Casas, Chiapas, formed Sna Jtz'ibajom, the Tzotzil-Tzeltal Maya writers' cooperative. In the two decades since, this group has evolved from writing and publishing bilingual booklets to writing and performing plays that have earned them national and international renown.
Anthropologist Robert M. Laughlin has been a part of the group since its beginnings, and he offers a unique perspective on its development as a Mayan cultural force. The Monkey Business Theatre, or Teatro Lo'il Maxil, as this branch of Sna Jtz'ibajom calls itself, has presented plays in virtually every corner of the state of Chiapas, as well as in Mexico City, Guatemala, Honduras, Canada, and in many museums and universities in the United States. It has presented to the world, for the first time in drama, a view of the culture of the Mayas of Chiapas.
In this work, Laughlin presents a translation of twelve of the plays created by Sna Jtz'ibajom, along with an introduction for each. Half of the plays are based on myths and half on the social, political, and economic problems that have confronted-and continue to confront-the Mayas of Chiapas.
Contents
Foreword: The Visitors' Question (by Carter Wilson)
Preface: Recollections of a Ghost (by Ralph Lee)
Acknowledgments
Pronunciation and Translation
1. Looking Back, Looking Forward: In the Beginning
2. Febrero Loco: A Live Theatre in the Making
3. The Theatre on the Road: The Great Adventure
4. Personal and Social Impacts
5. The Immokalee Special: Social Action in Florida
6. The Future
The Plays
The Loafer and the Buzzard
Who Believes in Spooks?
Deadly Inheritance
Jaguar Dynasty
Let's Go to Paradise!
From All for All
Torches for a New Dawn
The Story of Our Roots
Workers in the Other World
When Corn Was Born
Mexico with Us Forever!
The World Turned on Its Head
Appendix 1: Individuals Referred to in the Text
Appendix 2: Members and Former Members of Sna Jtz'ibajom
Appendix 3: Length of Service
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
