The Life of a Bottle

¡Thanks to Joel, who is 14 years old, for making this video of the journey of a plastic bottle from the streets of San Cristobal de las Casas to the Cañon del Sumidero National Park!  Please share and remind everyone that our garbage doesn´t just disappear...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE-13pgovMo

When the thread is thinnest

"When the tread is thinnest...when we sense the tragedy of endings...when life and grace is threatened by deafness and ugliness...when tenderness is bullied...when fences of enclosure overshadow the last scrap of commons...then, which is now, comes a ferocity on the side of life, to protect, to cherish and to envoice what cannot speak in human language." Jay Griffiths.

Cesar Moya on Conflic

"In conflict, people and communities mature and grow.  In conflict, faith, hope, and love are strengthened." César Moya

Words in Tseltal

K’alal ay slamalil k’inal
tsel ko’tantik yu’un

[When we are in peace - profound silence inside and outside -

That is the reason our heart is content and happy.]

On the other side of the sun

June 22, 2017

Elena Huegel

San Cristóbal de las Casas

México

The Other Side of the Sun

            I had spent the day thinking about the back and forth flow of migrants through this historic city known to this day by the Mayan Tseltal and Tsotsil people as "Jovel" or "Jobel"  (The Valley of Tall Grass) and registered on maps as San Cristobal de las Casas.  Each new wave of residents over the centuries has renamed the city. 

            The Mexicas, natives from Central Mexico, called it "Hueyzacatlán" ("Beside the Tall Grass" in Náhuatl) while the Spaniards, who took the valley away from the Tsotsiles, named it "Villa Real de Chiapa" (Royal Village of Chiapa) after the indigenous Chiapan  people who preferred to jump off a cliff rather than submit to the conquistadores.

            Colloquially, the city was called, "Chiapa of the Spaniards" while the nearest town down from the lush, cool, mountains and in the sweltering lowlands where there were large plantations was called "Chiapa of the Indians."

             Those who can claim Spanish heritage in this city are still part of the inner power circle and call themselves "los auténticos coletos" (the authentic pony tails - after the male fashion of long, tied back, hair in colonial times.)

             I don´t know why in the year 1529, the city was renamed "Vicious City" or "City of Vices," but I can imagine... 

            In 1531, it was decided, understandably, to change the name again to San Cristóbal de los Llanos (plains) after the patron saint of the town. 

            The name was changed again to the "Royal City of Chiapa", then to the "City of San Cristobal."  This name was then modified to "San Cristobal de las Casas" after Friar Bartolomé de las Casas, who was "converted" by the cruelty he saw during the conquest and so became a defender of the rights of the original peoples and one time Bishop of Chiapas.

            Again the name was changed to "Ciudad de las Casas" and eventually back to "San Cristobal de las Casas," the name that remains to date.

            For nearly five hundred years, people have come and gone from San Cris, as the tourists fondly call it today, migrating in and out for different reasons.  On any given day, as I walk down the main street, closed to vehicular traffic, I can hear people speaking Tsotsil, Tseltal, German, Italian, French, English, Chinese, and a wide variety of accents from the different Spanish speaking countries. Some are permanent residents while others are tourists or merchants who come into the city to sell their wares. There are people from Guatemala, el Salvador, Honduras, Cuba and other Caribbean and Central and South American countries making their way north, through Mexico, in what is considered the most dangerous leg of their painstakingly slow journey to the United States.  Now a days, the flow is reversing, and people either forced or choosing to leave the United States are seeking more favorable living conditions in Mexico. Some are settling in San Cristobal while others are  trying to return to what used to be home in countries further south.

            After I had spent a morning last week writing materials on dignity for the local migrant shelter, I walked down the pedestrian street on the way to my Tseltal language and culture class.   First I came across a little boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old, sitting in front of an outdoor cafe on top of  a large cardboard box wrapped in newspaper, a folded piece of paper with a couple of coins on it laying on the pavement in front of him.  With great vigor and showmanship, he was wailing out a song and banging on the box as if were a drum.  His mother, with the dress of a woman from one of the Tsotsil communities, was selling crafts nearby.  Some of the patrons of the café were smiling; some dropped another couple of coins on the paper.  What he lacked in musical ability, he certainly made up for with serious dedication in helping to earn a living for his family.

            Along the next block, I came across another singer.  This young man with his unmistakable Argentine accent, was singing "The Other Side of the Sun" by Albert Louis Hammond and Janis Ian in a beautiful "folksy" voice while skillfully playing the guitar.  Sitting next to him  on the curb and singing along in a wide variety of keys and rhythms was a very intoxicated man, toothless and in tattered clothes.  The Argentine was not in the least bit fazed by the discordant accompaniment.  He smiled at the man beside him, swaying in sync to the music, and then in an instant, smiled up at me, locking his gaze with mine as if to say "I honor this man´s dignity as well as yours."  

            I stopped and listened to the words and was reminded that in one way or another we are all pilgrims on the path, migrants trying to find a way home, through the tall grass, and back from the other side of the sun.

            Even as I'm leaving I'll never stop believing you are the one
            Who can make me laugh and can bring me back
            From beyond the other side of the sun,
            Beyond the other side of the sun.

Tsajtayamel jbeel - Take care of yourself  your path.  (Tseltal good-bye)

Elena

Slamalil Kinal

According to the Tseltal people, for there to be "lekil kuxlejal" or good and abundant life, there must be tranquility and harmony as understood in the phrase "slamalil kinal," often translated as peace.  "Slamalil kinal" is social and cosmic tranquility, felt by the individual, but that reflects unity of wills, dreams and hopes that make up "a single heart", "jun nax ko´tantik.

Legacy of a Bishop

Legacy of a Bishop

BY ELENA HUEGEL ON MAY 09, 2017

jTatic Samuel, as he was lovingly known to all in this region of Mexico, was the visionary Bishop of the Catholic Church in San Cristobal de las Casas from 1959 to 1999. jTatic was the title the Mayan descendants, the Original Peoples of Chiapas, gave him and means "our dear father", a sign of respect and appreciation for his tireless work on behalf of the marginalized and the poor.  There are many ways to describe the life and ministry of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, but there is a particular legacy that touches my life and the work of Global Ministries here in this southern state of Mexico on the border with Guatemala.   jTatic Samuel knew he would not be around forever, but he saw  his call to "see that justice is done, let mercy be (his) first concern, and humbly obey (his) God" (Micah 6:8)  as growing and expanding in the organizations he helped to create during his time serving the church and the broader community.

In the  Institute for Intercultural Studies and  Research (INESIN in Spanish), organized by members of the Catholic Church and the United Church of Christ,  jTatic Samuel deposited his vision for ecumenical and intercultural dialogue where people from across religious divides and representing a  broad range of countries, races, and languages could come together, learn from each other and work towards healing the wounds of political and social oppression, environmental degradation,  forced  immigration, and gender inequality.  Mayan, Catholic and Protestant spiritualties come together, pooling their strengths to build God's kingdom of Shalom.  This is the organization where I am serving in Chiapas on behalf of Global Ministries.

Last week, Cara McKinney a Global Missions Intern who grew up in the Ohio Region of the Christian Church,  (Disciples of Christ),  arrived to San Cristobal de las Casas to work with another organization started under the auspices of jTatic Samuel: Melel Xojobal, which in the Tsotsil language means "True Light".   This organization works with indigenous boys, girls and teenagers encouraging them to promote, defend, and exercise of their rights through participative processes while discovering ways to improve their quality of life.  Cara will be working with teenagers in both school and out of school programs.

As both Cara and I enjoy and learn from the legacy of jTatic Samuel, you will be hearing more about how the seeds of justice, truth, hope and faith planted by one man have multiplied into a great harvest in the lives of individuals and communities throughout the state of Chiapas in Southern Mexico.      May we be faithful stewards of this legacy!

Shalom,