Title

Grieving For Mestizaje: Alternative Approaches To Maya Identity In Yucatan, Mexico

Keywords

culture; ethnicity; identity; lived lives; Maya; Yucatan

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. © 2012 Copyright 2012 Taylor & Francis.

Publication Date

11-1-2012

Publication Title

Identities

Volume

19

Issue

6

Number of Pages

657-672

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2012.734766

Socpus ID

84872389995 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84872389995

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS