The blood of the serpent : Mexican lives / Robert Joe Stout.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stout, Robert Joe.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social problems--Mexico.

Social problems.

Mexico--Social conditions--1970-.

Mexico.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

viii, 301 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Algora Pub., [2003]

Summary:

Unlike the United States, Mexico took shape suddenly and abruptly.Earlier civilizations systematically were destroyed and newcomers tookover. There was no systematic formation of boundaries and possessions.While the first English pilgrims clung perilously to a few acres ofMassachusetts forest, Mexico already had laws, churches, mines, shipbuilding, riots and a compelling mestizo conscience.This narration takes readers through Mexico City at night and in thedaytime, through its suburbs rich and poor, into its ceremonies -Christian and pre-Christian - and on journeys with reformers, rebels, manipulators, workers. It unravels "The Imaginary State of Petroleo"(which is more real than you might think), explores the orchards andlanded estates of northeastern Mexico and the deserts where ancientcave paintings mark the existence of lost cultures and where drug dealershave established hidden landing strips.From rural villages in the northwest through Tijuana and the meleethat is life on the U.S.-Mexican border, and from Baja and the cultivatedcoastal plains to the changing rhythms of Oaxaca, Chiapas andYucatan, the experiences, opinions and adventures of Mexicans from allwalks of life form a mosaic designed to perplex, provoke and entertain.

Contents:

Part I The Urban Core 7

Chapter 1. City of Life, City of Death 9

Nuevos Ricos 9

Special Services 15

Young Eyes, Old Brains 18

A Witch's Pit 21

A Margin of Respect 25

Chapter 2. Problems! Problems! 29

The Sprawling Suburbs 29

Welcome to Neza 29

Making It in Neza 36

The Battleground 39

Choices 46

The Tiradero 51

Meat for the Table 57

Chapter 3. Where the Past Is Not Forgotten 63

The States Surrounding the Distrito Federal 63

Reasons To Cheer 63

Raiders and Thieves 66

A Malicious Prank 69

The Scar 74

Sacrificial Pigeons 77

Things Are Seldom What They Seem 79

Part II All Roads Lead North 87

Chapter 4. Elusive Dreams 89

"Soy Cristiano!" 89

Why Laws Mean Nothing 93

Highway Ants 97

The Hunger March 99

The Cure 103

Chapter 5. Nowhere-Land 113

"Mojado" No More! 113

No Way Forward, No Way Back 115

What Are They Talking About? 116

Medicine without a License 120

Chapter 6. The Baja Aberration 125

Too Close to Hell 125

Igniting Everything 130

Nothing Is Simple 133

Closed Eyes 138

The Gay Side 141

A Few Extras 146

Marcos Is Here! 148

Now or Never 149

No One To Show It To 151

Chapter 7. Down the Mountains to the Sea 155

Stool Pigeon 155

Street Dog 161

Getting Rid of the Squatters 166

Diarrhea Syndrome 168

The Winning Side 172

Practicing for Bigger Things 175

Like a Bird! 180

The Edge of the Volcano 181

Part III The Tortured South 187

Chapter 8. Where Trees Once Grew 189

Leave Your Women, Come! 189

Life Afuera 192

Missionaries and Coffee Beans 193

A Living Experiment 197

The Brujo Bueno 200

Chapter 9. Too Soon for Some, Too Late for Many 203

The Guardian of Market Day 203

I Won't Melt 206

There Are No Fathers Here 212

A Cloud Floating Past 215

A Road Back 218

Maes-tros! 221

The Curandero 225

Chapter 10. A Complicated Dream 233

Where the Magic Doesn't Work 233

Blancura 236

Singing New Songs 238

Separate Dimensions 243

Not by Magic! 253

You Are the Problem! 257

False Rumors 261

Over the Hills Through Guerrilla Land 265

Different Faces 269

An Angel on Earth 276

The Destruction of Mexico 277

Chapter 11. Land of the Mayas 281

Scheherazade Eyes 281

Se Habla Pemex 284

The Black Disease 287

Choices and Gambles 292

Used Up 294

The Passing Suns 300.

ISBN:

0875862152

0875862160

OCLC:

51637799