372 UNIT 3 MODERN MESOAMERICA
They are drawn by the possibilities of work or freedom, pushed in part by uncertain
economic conditions and political persecution in their own countries. But most are
drawn by the processes of restructuring of the world economy, which are generating
sources of labor for international capital through a new international division of
labor. These same processes, including the movement of production to poor coun-
tries, have generated migration waves and have created new ethnic minorities
throughout the world. These populations are struggling today to claim a space of
their own in their new homelands (see Box 9.6).Transnational Homes
Native peoples of Mesoamerica have experienced instances of voluntary and forced
migration through time. They have long been accustomed to developing strategies
for survival in new regions and have adopted innovations within and outside their bor-
ders to adapt to their new environments. It is common for these peoples to use tra-
ditional networks effectively to survive in new settings. Compelling testimonies from
refugee camps in Mexico during the Guatemalan civil war during the early 1980s at-
test to some of the strategies applied. Refugees not only had to deal with the pain and
stresses of departing from their homes but also had to deal with the difficulties of rein-
tegration in their original communities. Many migrants never returned, and they
formed new networks in their newly adopted home countries.
Life in the United States generally has not been easy for Mesoamerican migrants.
They have experienced, and continue to experience, discrimination and exploitation
in the workplaces and in daily life, in addition to other hardships related to criminalBox 9.6 Celebrating an Indigenous Ritual in a Transnational SettingIn the celebration of the Christ of Esquipulas, a procession enters the church preceded by the
deep and familiar smell of incense. The beautifully carved Black Christ is carried in the traditional
way on the shoulders of men dressed in traditional Mayan attire. Elegantly dressed children carry
candles and incense and an image of a quetzal bird, the Guatemalan national symbol. The en-
tire audience, about 500 of them, sing familiar songs in Spanish.
The priest speaks in Spanish with a heavy accent. Being January 15, it was very cold. There
is snow on the ground. This is a typical winter evening in the borough of Queens, New York City,
and very few of the participants are indigenous Mayas. Those who are, are not wearing native
clothes. Instead, those exhibiting the traditional Mayan attires and participating in the ceremony
are non-Mayas, which is to say, ladinos (mestizos).
Gathered at the church are some of the several thousand Guatemalans living in the United
States. They migrated at different times from the 1950s on. Some arrived in the 1980s during the
Guatemalan civil war. They continue celebrating their traditional holidays, claiming the symbols
of Mayan identity as part of their national identity, and reproducing elements of the life they all
miss and therefore ritually reproduce on every possible occasion. The ceremony in the church is
followed by food, marimba music, and dance. This is just another celebration of the yearly com-
memoration of the patron saint of Guatemala in their new northern home. (The preceding account
is based on fieldwork by Goldin in Queens, New York.)