Grieving for mestizaje: alternative approaches to Maya identity in Yucatan, Mexico

    Authors

    B. Reyes-Foster

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Identities-Glob. Stud. Cult. Power

    Keywords

    Maya; Yucatan; lived lives; identity; culture; ethnicity; ELITE; Cultural Studies; Ethnic Studies

    Abstract

    This article takes as its point of departure the highly contested theoretical terrain of Maya identity in Yucatan, Mexico. Set in the physical terrain of a state psychiatric hospital, this article uses a framework of identity culled from the narrative of a young woman, Claudina, committed to its wards, to argue that being in-between categories of ethnic identity, an experience she characterises as a painful sense of ambiguous loss, can be fruitfully analysed using an analytical framework of ethnic identity introduced by Claudina herself. Specifically, I argue that categories of identity culled from Claudina's story mestizaje and elegancia represent a valuable opportunity to think about how power dynamics and relationships operate in situations of ambivalent identities and social suffering. To this end, I use Claudina's language as a point of departure for understanding the lived experience of everyday life in Yucatan today.

    Journal Title

    Identities-Global Studies in Culture and Power

    Volume

    19

    Issue/Number

    6

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    657

    Last Page

    672

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000313100900001

    ISSN

    1070-289X

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