These first two weeks in Ziquítaro have been truly fantastic. The classes have surpassed my expectations as all age groups are not only advancing but also exhibiting an intense gusto for learning. Their enthusiasm has allowed for the classes to become fun and interesting while simultaneously dissolving my lingering doubts regarding the worth of the classes. Many children attend extra classes as well as stay after class to learn additional material while members of the adult classes often attend the teens’ classes and vice versa in order to maximize their practice time.

My exposure to townspeople over the past two weeks has increased thus facilitating my integration into the town’s social life. This has simultaneously allowed me an enhanced exposure to the migratory phenomenon for new friends have begun to pour out stories about their families and lives – and in Ziquítaro, town member’s stories often revolve around the migration of immediate family members or their own migratory experience. A few members of my teen group and adult group have been particularly friendly and through our conversations they have given me rich insight regarding Ziquítaro and migration. According to this group of females one of the most serious consequences of the massive out-migration has been the creation of broken families as husbands often leave wives and children behind for years, while in some occasions both parents migrate to the US and leave their children behind with family members.

When I mentioned my prospective research proposal – exploring how the large waves of predominantly male out-migration in these small towns has changed the traditionally patriarchal familial and communal relations as women have assumed the formative role in both the household and the community – the women immediately became very excited and began sharing their thoughts about the topic. One woman explained her perspective quite concisely when she stated: “Here in Ziquítaro women are in control. We are mothers, carpenters, cooks, workers and we even run politics, for we are the ones who vote and influence public opinion while the men are away in the US. And when they return they expect things to be running in the same patriarchal way they were before they left. They could not be farther from the truth”.

Thanks to an invitation by this group of women to a community-wide religious celebration, I was able to observe the interactions between the town’s women and men. The celebration, which involved about a half an hour of communally sung prayers around a nativity scene, was entitled a “levantamiento” or “the raising up”. The town’s women and children all actively participated in every aspect of the celebration- from the preparation of the ritual to the actual praying. In contrast, the men were physically separated from the celebration as they sat in the garden and talked loudly, often interrupting the prayers. They even remained separated during the meal which took place after the ceremony – the women, teens and children ate and chatted on the porch while the men ate in the garden in a self-contained group. When I asked my friend who had invited me to the party why the men separated themselves she replied “that is what they always do”. She said that they generally do not actively participate in community ceremonies such as “quinceañeras” (fifteenth birthday parties) and other similar festivities. When I asked the priest about this occurrence he explained that the lack of male participation could be attributed to “machismo”, the intensity which varies among families. Hopefully my interviews and community experiences will give me a more concise view of this seemingly muddled occurrence.