Neza

The Neza newspaper is a rich collection that included a wide variety of texts and authors. While the ultimate goal of the newspaper was the revitalization of their Zapotec culture, the editors had a diverse set of interests that are reflected in the newspaper. The topics range from current events in Juchitán, to origin stories and songs, and public health. Authors published include members of the editorial board, students at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) such as Andrés Henestrosa and Gabriel López Chiñas, established Zapotec professionals in Mexico City and Juchitán like Enrique Liekens and Wilfrido C. Cruz, and better-known men like José Vasconcelos, who was a sponsor and personal friend of Henestrosa.Footnote ⁵ The newspaper was published for two years, from 1935 through 1937. In total, there were twenty numbers published in newspaper format.Footnote ⁶

The Vanguardia

The cultural anthropologist Howard Campbell (Reference Campbell1994, 124) has situated the Neza generation—named after their newspaper—within the Latin American and Mexican vanguardia. Campbell builds on Vicky Unruh, who writes about the distinct character that Latin American vanguards had in the 1920s and 1930s. She claims that this distinct character was fueled by “fundamental economic and social transformations” that occurred in Latin America after World War I (Unruh Reference Unruh1994, 47). These societal changes inspired intellectuals to delve into “often ephemeral little magazines, manifestos, or manifesto-style creative texts, and occasionally serious interdisciplinary investigations into language, history, folklore, and politics” (Unruh Reference Unruh1994, 47). The pages of Neza reflect all the topics Unruh mentions, with a specific focus on Juchiteco Zapotec language, history, and folklore.

Rodó and Vasconcelos

To further pinpoint the Neza generation’s context within the Latin American and Mexican Vanguard, I turn to José Enrique Rodó and José Vasconcelos as two key sources of inspiration for the Zapotec intellectuals. Much has been written about these two men, who were behind two significant intellectual movements in Latin America. They are often mentioned together, since Vasconcelos was clearly inspired by Rodó. Of particular interest for this article is the way that race has been analyzed in Rodó’s call to the youth, in Ariel, and in Vasconcelos’s La raza cósmica.

Rodó, an Uruguayan intellectual and politician, is best known for his role in shaping the Modernismo literary movement. Modernismo, a Spanish American movement, “began to free literary expression from the desire for fixed meaning” (Pineda Franco Reference Pineda, Sánchez Prado, Nogar and Ruisánche2016, 218). Modernismo resulted in many brief essayistic publications, including various journals, but it also redefined poetry (Pineda Franco Reference Pineda, Sánchez Prado, Nogar and Ruisánche2016, 218). The Nicaraguan Rubén Darío and the Cuban José Martí are perhaps the best-known authors behind this movement. Rodó joined their ranks with his influential essay Ariel, published in 1900, which inspired the youth in Latin America at the turn of the century to think about their role in shaping the future of Latin America. Through the use of Shakespearean characters, Próspero and Calibán, Rodó calls the youth of Latin America to find their own identity and resist the imperialism descending upon them from the United States. He argues that the United States has succeeded in an unnatural utilitarianism, but Latin America has the “spirit.” He, of course, was writing at a time when Cuba’s War of Independence in 1898 was appropriated by the United States and fueling anti-imperialist sentiments (McDaniel Reference McDaniel2021, 3). The critique of the United States is apparent in Ariel, with the United States holding various negative qualities related to utilitarianism. Often, his essay is read as a utopian call to Latin America and thought of as “raceless.” Still, scholars like Shawn McDaniel (Reference McDaniel2021, 13) have “read the silences” in the archive to argue that it was in fact “blanqueamiento” that served as the axis for Arielismo. Race in Latin America is not explicitly discussed in Ariel, and the Zapotec intellectuals take advantage of that absence to draw from Rodó and argue for the preservation of the Zapotec spirit.

Vasconcelos’s influence in Mexico and throughout Latin America cannot be understated. As the secretary of education in Mexico, he worked to expand public education and improve literacy rates throughout the country in postrevolutionary Mexico. Many of the ideas that would shape Vasconcelos’s writings and work were informed by his participation in the Ateneo de la Juventud, founded in 1909 (Manrique Reference Manrique2016, 1). A group of intellectuals who came together in Mexico City, the Ateneo consisted of such well-known members as Alfonso Caso and Diego Rivera, among others. Vasconcelos and the Ateneo were deeply influenced by Rodó, which leads to the connecting thread between the intellectuals and their focus on the “spirit.” Still, he is most known for his first book, La raza cósmica published in 1925, in which he argues for a mixed-race Latin America as the future. The anti-Black and white-supremacist undertones in his work even as he argued for a mixed-race future have been a source of critique. But recent scholarship on him as a hemispheric anticolonial thinker has highlighted ways his work can be considered subversive “against the backdrop of scientific racism” that was popular during his time (Hooker Reference Hooker2017, 6). Here, it is important to note how Indigenous intellectuals resisted that mixed-race future, instead opting for a Zapotec future.

This article enters this conversation from a different angle, not interested in analyzing and/or critiquing race in Arielismo and Vasconcelismo but delving into how Indigenous intellectuals utilized and appropriated these movements for their own goals. I argue that while these editors do not contribute to conversations on race explicitly, they view this moment of Vanguardia as an opportunity to insert themselves into the conversation, publishing a newspaper, and working toward their specific goal of Zapotec cultural revitalization.

Juchitán, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the State of Oaxaca

Just as the student-authors were navigating broad Latin American intellectual movements, they were also influenced by their background as Juchitecos, Istmeños, and Oaxacans. I identify two major threads of influence for the Zapotec intellectuals: the historical relationship between Juchitán and the capital of Oaxaca City and the central government, and also their role as intellectuals from Juchitán and part of the elite, making them cultural promoters but always grounding them to their pueblo.

Juchitán has a long history of autonomy, rebellion, and separatism that has been created and re-created by Zapotec intellectuals and politicians and analyzed by various scholars in recent years.Footnote ⁷ Two specific rebellions are used as cornerstones of Juchiteco history to emphasize the continuous fight for autonomy as emblematic of Juchitán. The first is the 1834 Meléndez Rebellion over natural resources, which “marked the beginning of a long tradition of istmeño separatism, born in mutual antagonism between Juchitán and the state government of Oaxaca” (Ristow Reference Ristow2018, 36). Then governor Benito Juárez sent in troops to squash the rebellion, resulting in Juchitecos’ contentious view of Juárez. In 1911, the rebellion of Che Gómez erupted over the “local office of jefe político (political boss)” (Ristow Reference Ristow2018, 2). Essentially, the central government always struggled to consolidate power over Oaxaca. Although at a shallow glance it appears that the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) held power, that power was always contested. According to the historian Alan S. Dillingham (Reference Dillingham2021, 15), while PRI politicians were voted in, if they did not comply with the people’s demands they were overthrown. The Juchiteco intellectuals were therefore influenced by two layers of autonomy and rebellion, first from their hometown of Juchitán and then as Oaxacans.

The Zapotec writers behind the magazine also belonged to an elite and intellectual class from Juchitán who did not see themselves as separate from their pueblo. According to the anthropologist Anya Peterson Royce, the elite in Juchitán play a pivotal role as cultural promoters and makers. When discussing what she calls “Zapotec style,” which includes clothing, music, and dance, among other markers, she argues that it was wealthier Juchiteco families who set the standard for that style, because “Zapotec style, in its fullest form, requires leisure, money, and knowledge” (Royce Reference Royce and Judith1993, 108). It was wealthier families, along with writers, poets, and intellectuals in collaboration with political figures, who “propelled the image of Juchitan beyond the boundaries of the city and the region” (Royce Reference Royce and Judith1993, 108). Many of the UNAM students behind the Neza newspaper were from these wealthier families, part of the elite. It makes sense, then, that they saw themselves as part of their pueblos, able to represent Zapotec culture even as they lived far from Juchitán. In claiming their Zapotec identity, they actively resisted assimilation and the state’s definitions of Indigeneity and mestizaje.

The manifestos, the spirit, the culture

What I call the manifestos, the primary focus of this article, are two pieces published in the first and fifth number of the newspaper. In June 1935, a piece appeared titled “A los paisanos del Istmo,” or “To Our Isthmus Townsmen.” This short piece is written by Gabriel López Chiñas and directed at the men from their region, both in Juchitán and in Mexico City. This brief piece, only six paragraphs, explains that a new sociedad had just been created with the goal of revitalizing their culture; it ends with a call to action, a call for support from other Juchitecos. In this piece, the publishers explain the various reasons for the creation of the newspaper, their approach to politics, and the role they believe they have as the juventud. The second piece is published in the fifth issue, in October 1935. “Por la cultura zapoteca” or “For the Zapotec Culture,” is not attributed to one author.Footnote ⁸ This text is longer than the first, continuing onto the sixth page of the newspaper. In it, the student-authors explain their motto, “For the Zapotec culture.” They claim that the youth are key players. Their goal is intellectual and artistic revitalization for their culture and for the preservation of their spirit. I pinpoint these brief articles as manifestos because they stand out, printed at the center of the first page of each newspaper number, very early in the life of the publication. Furthermore, they are clearly directed to their audience, asking for support. The two pieces are representative of the newspaper and the editors’ goals for its publication.

Two other pieces that are not as central as the manifestos but are also directed at the readership and discuss the student-authors’ goals are “Lanii” or “Birthday/celebration” and “A nuestros lectores” or “To our readers.” “Lanii” is published in the thirteenth issue, in June 1936. The title translates to birthday or celebration, and the piece reflects on the one-year anniversary of the newspaper. While the piece does not list an author, it seems that Henestrosa may have written it.Footnote ⁹ The author mentions the creation of two other publications that were not as successful as Neza, the first was La Raza and the second was El Zapoteco (“Lanii” 1936, 1). They then reiterate their goals for the publication, the continued investigation of their culture and ancestral knowledge (“Lanii” 1936, 6). The second piece is published in the following number on July 1936. “A nuestros lectores” expresses the worry that the editors have about the reach of their newspaper. They announce that they will cut the cost of the newspaper in half. In the previous number the cost was listed as $0.10 for the current number and $0.20 for previous numbers (“Neza” 1936, 8). They hope that with this price cut, their readership will increase, and they can continue with their goals of strengthening the knowledge of the vinigulasa (“A nuestros lectores” 1936, 1). Though not as impactful as the manifestos, these two pieces nonetheless continue to elaborate on the student-author’s goals for their cultural preservation and revitalization project.

Together, the four pieces are not the only ones in the newspaper that tackle the themes of the spirit, the youth, and culture. The editors and contributing authors mention these concepts across the twenty numbers of the newspaper. Furthermore, while Rodó is not explicitly mentioned, Vasconcelos is reprinted twice in the newspaper.Footnote ¹⁰ In the ninth number, published February 1936, the “guía de lector” is essentially an annotated bibliographical entry. That section starts with: “NEZA, cuya más alta aspiración es la de ser útil a los paisanos —los que aquí estudian y los que allá esperan— inicia, desde este número la publicación de notas bibliográficas con el objeto de ahorrar tiempo y evitar peligros de la búsqueda a los interesados en las cosas del espíritu” (Man, Reference Man1936, 5). In this bibliographic entry, the student-authors make a connection between culture—in this case studying and learning about culture—and the spirit. The spirit is also mentioned in articles that reflect on certain customs, like velas, and short stories. For example, in number fourteen, published in July 1936, Adolfo Gurrión, a regular contributor, reflects on the famous velas juchitecas and claims that one can see the Zapotec spirit in the celebration of them. He asserts that as the fishermen ride through the streets during the vela parades and throw their nets onto the townspeople attending the celebration, they turn into “pescadores de almas” (Gurrión Reference Gurrión1936, 3). Gurrión does not explicitly explain what he means by the Zapotec spirit, but he does allude to the fundamental Zapotec tenet of guelaguetza, once again, culture. In number nineteen, published in December 1936, Gabriel López Chiñas published the story “Guee Queela: ¿Sacerdote o demonio?” It explores the story of a man named Guee Queela who seemed to have the ability to talk to snakes. This story also alludes to the spirit and culture, ending with the words “Guee Queela, el demonio de estos días, sería, en el alma indígena de ayer, un sabio sacerdote poseedor de los misterios de Quetzalcoatl Zapoteca” (López Chiñas Reference López Chiñas1936, 5). This piece, though not explicitly analyzing the concept of the Zapotec spirit, once again links the spirit to knowledge and culture. Finally, another piece that explicitly addresses the spirit and culture is one by Enrique Liekens titled “Un Zapoteco que busca el alma de su raza” published in number fourteen. This piece is dedicated to Andrés Henestrosa, who at the time would be leaving the newspaper and Mexico City entirely to study at four different universities in the United States as a Guggenheim Fellow. Liekens (Reference Liekens1936, 4) calls attention to the work that Henestrosa has been doing, which he describes as “investigaciones y escritos en torno del alma y cultura de su Raza.” In this piece, Liekens exalts the work that Henestrosa has done, publishing his book Los hombres que dispersó la danza (1929), which contained short stories and myths from Juchitán, helping create the Neza newspaper, and two others beforehand, and continuing on with the support of the Guggenheim Fellowship to create a Zapotec language dictionary. I reference these other works to highlight that the topics of the spirit and culture were present across the newspaper, not just with the editors of the magazine but also with multiple contributing writers.

La Juventud (The Youth)

Both manifestos, and two other pieces, highlight the youth as cultural promoters, clearly inspired by Rodó’s call to the youth. They begin by claiming that they have organized themselves by creating a new sociedad, as the “new generation” of Juchiteco students in Mexico City. The language they use points to the influence that Rodó’s call to action for the youth of Latin America had on these student-authors. They write that they feel “en sus venas fuerza de juventud” and “en su espíritu la necesidad de encauzar la cultura en nuestros pueblos” (López Chiñas Reference López Chiñas1935, 1). The key words here are fuerza, juventud, and espíritu, which mirror Rodó’s (Reference Rodó2003, 23) call: “Y sin embargo, yo creo ver expresada en todas partes la necesidad de una activa revelación de fuerzas nuevas; yo creo que América necesita grandemente de su juventud. He ahí por qué os hablo. He ahí por qué me interesa extraordinariamente la orientación moral de vuestro espíritu.” Rodó calls on the youth of Latin America to help shape the future of the region, and the student-authors from Neza respond, but with a twist of their own. They believe that it is their responsibility, as the youth, to organize and begin a movement of Zapotec cultural revitalization. They see themselves as the youth whom Rodó is calling to, but not for Latin America, or even for Mexico, but for the Zapotecs specifically. Since their first issue, the student-authors had a clear influence and a clear answer. They continued to elaborate on their central role in the second manifesto, which explicitly argues for the importance of the youth in their cultural revitalization movement. With the second sentence, they begin, “Para la conservación de una cultura zapoteca, se han agrupado los jóvenes de la nueva generación juchiteca” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 1). Once again, they refer to themselves as the “new generation” of Juchitecos. They continue to explain the role of the youth for three paragraphs, including statements such as “El mundo es de los jóvenes” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 1) and “Nosotros creemos que es la juventud la que puede actualizar todas las potencias” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 1). The latter sentence reinforces the first manifesto, highlighting that they have specific goals and see themselves as the ones capable of achieving those goals. The youth are placed front and center in these two manifestos, but a few other pieces highlight the importance of the ancestors for these youth.

The Zapotec student-authors mold Rodó’s call in another way: Apart from focusing on the Zapotec, they also call back to their ancestors, and in utilizing language alluding to fertility, they point not to a romanticized Indigenous past but to a regenerative Zapotec future. Perhaps no quote better encapsulates the way that these Zapotec youth are thinking through their cultural revitalization project that simultaneously looks toward their ancestors and their future than one expressed in “Lanii,” their celebration. The student-authors exclaim: “Esta [Neza] promete, ahora que se detiene a contemplar los frutos de su cosecha prodigiosa, una mayor armonía en el ritmo de sus actividades, y un encenderse más en el rojo vivo de la pasión sana, para desentrañar a la Cultura la sabiduría de sus ancestros” (“Lanii” 1936, 6). Upon reflecting on the work in their sociedad and the newspaper, the student-authors state that, while they have plenty more to accomplish, their mission has never been clearer. Here, they use language that alludes to harvest, cosecha, and they explicitly name their culture and ancestors. In “A nuestros lectores” published in the next number, the student authors once again call to their ancestors, this time explicitly naming them, stating that they will strengthen the wisdom of the vinigulasa (“A nuestros lectores” 1936, 1). Their mention of the ancestors, though, does not point to an idealized, romanticized Indigenous past, but to a future, clear with the language they use of growth and regeneration. In their second manifesto, they write, “Por más que quiera pensarse lo contrario, en el recóndito de la conciencia se reconoce que la palabra incansable de los jóvenes es semilla fecunda que se siembra” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 1). Here, they call their work a “palabra incansable” that is being planted. Their work is that of growth. This language continues across the life of the newspaper, as it is also found in the sixteenth issue, in “A nuestros lectores.” They end this piece with the words, “Ahora, esperamos un poco tranquilos que las semillas sembradas con el himno más bello de nuestra juventud, asomen en breve, sus espigas de oro en vuestro fértil corazón” (“A nuestros lectores” 1936, 1). Their language connects the youth to production, creation, planting the seeds for the continued development of their culture through the revitalization of their ancestral knowledge. And in that manner, even as they argue for the importance of the youth, they are not discounting their elders or their traditions; instead, they aim to preserve their culture, planting themselves as the bridge between past and future, tradition and modernity. The focus on the youth—and the spirit—highlights the inspiration they take from Rodó’s Ariel. But again, it becomes clear that the Zapotec intellectuals are concerned not with the state of Latin America and Latin American culture, but specifically with their Zapotec culture, for which they are calling to regenerate. The central role of the youth in developing their culture is not the only connection to Rodó’s Ariel.

El espíritu (The Spirit)

A significant focus of their second manifesto is the “spirit.” This concept is especially interesting, considering that it has ties to Rodó and Vasconcelos, and to the way race was conceived in the early twentieth century. While the first half of the piece is dedicated to the youth, the second half is dedicated to the spirit and culture. The relationship of the spirit and culture is discussed later, but here, it is important to note how often the student-authors refer to the “spirit.” First, they write, “La cultura es del espíritu” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca”1935, 6). Then, as if to defend their position, their focus on culture, they elaborate, “Nosotros aun ponemos el espíritu por encima de la materia” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). They connect culture and the spirit and emphasize that culture is of the utmost importance to them. They finish their argument, “La conservación de un espíritu zapoteca: he ahí toda nuestra esperanza” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). In other words, their goals of cultural preservation are tied to the preservation of their spirit. They believe that their spirit is what makes them “ellos y siempre ellos” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6, original emphasis). While they do not explicitly state what their spirit is, it is clearly related to their essence. Their use of the term espíritu could be attributed once again to Rodó, who also writes about the “spirit” of Latin America. Still, the student-authors focus on a Zapotec spirit.

The mention of a Zapotec spirit is notable considering the relationship that race and spirit had during their time. Vasconcelos had published La raza cósmica in 1925, only ten years before the student-authors were publishing, and he had a substantial role in the life of Andrés Henestrosa, as his sponsor. Vasconcelos based his plans for the future of Mexico on a unique understanding and meshing of “race theory and vitalist spiritualism” in which mestizaje was the naturally occurring next step (Swarthout Reference Swarthout2004, 105). In other words, for Vasconcelos, race was not biological, as it was largely understood at the time, but spiritual. He used race to mean cultural heritage, referring to civilizations, customs, and language (Swarthout Reference Swarthout2004, 105). In the following passage, Vasconcelos (Reference Vasconcelos2012, 67) explains how mestizaje will become more common and how the spiritual will overpower the physical: “El indio es buen puente de mestizaje. Además, el clima cálido es propicio al trato y reunión de todas las gentes… El motivo espiritual se irá sobreponiendo de esta suerte a las contingencias de lo físico.” Vasconcelos was not unique in this definition, as the anthropologist Marisol de la Cadena demonstrates, focusing on the case of Peru. In the early twentieth century, race was popularly tied to the soul. In Peru, and more specifically in the capital city of Lima, ideas about race were influenced by European thinkers (De la Cadena Reference De la Cadena2000, 18). Like the definition that Vasconcelos was using, terms such as “racial soul” and “spirit of the race” were popular, which De la Cadena (Reference De la Cadena2000, 18) states could have been borrowed from “Romantic historiography,” used to refer to a people developing over time and distinct from others by language, religion, or geography. In the case of Peru, race could be transcended if an Indigenous person lived in the city, got an education, and dressed differently. Race therefore had less to do with phenotype and more with the “spirit.” Vasconcelos’s (Reference Vasconcelos2012, 72) ideas about race were in the same vein, where a new mestizo race would be created, but he was also assured that a whitening of people would occur naturally because it was “aesthetically pleasing.” He explains in more detail:

Two components of Vasconcelos’s ideology must be noted here: First, he equates ignorancia, miseria, and monstruosidades to Blackness, and second, he believes this whitening will happen because of aesthetics, because “las estirpes más feas irán cediendo el paso a las más hermosas.” Therefore, even though race and the spirit were tied, and Vasconcelos was calling for a mestizaje, he was still aiming for a whitening of the nation. Through the process of mestizaje, all the races that contributed to the “cosmic race” would disappear. This is important to note because the Zapotec student-authors would again borrow from these ideas about the spirit but redirect them to their Zapotec culture.

In the second manifesto, the student-authors also refer to a spirit, but they specifically name a “Zapotec spirit.” They, unlike Vasconcelos, did not name a “Mexican spirit” or a “mestizo spirit,” or even an “indio spirit.” Instead, they remind their readers that it is Zapotec specific, and in this way, they push back against generalizing and homogenizing discourses that do not distinguish between Indigenous peoples as well as assimilationist policies. After claiming that they want to develop their culture intellectually and artistically, they elaborate: “Pero decirla y rimarlo de acuerdo con su propia alma. Quiere tener la visión de las cosas a través de su propio paisaje. Pretende construir la síntesis de todas las cosas bajo su propio cielo” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). Taking into consideration the nationalization of Indigenous cultures in Mexico at the time, I read this very culturally and regionally specific focus as a claim to authority and continued existence. The student-authors remind the audience that the customs, the songs, the clothing that they are writing about in Neza (e.g., “La Zandunga,” the tehuana dress) are Zapotec specific, and Juchitán specific, too. It is quite the opposite of Vasconcelos and the case in Peru, where race could be transcended; they remind the reader that their Zapotec heritage is what makes them “ellos y siempre ellos” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). In postrevolutionary Mexico, their continued insistence on their Zapotec culture defies nationalizing projects that push for mestizaje. They appropriated the language of the time, the usage of the word espíritu and its connection to race, but they molded it to meet their own goal of preserving their Zapotec culture.

This concept of espíritu becomes only more complex when read through the lens of kab’awil, revealing how the student-authors are influenced not just by Arielismo and Vasconcelismo but also by Zapotec cosmology. In Zapotec cosmology, the “spirit” is related to guenda, an all-encompassing darkness that births everything and is among the most important concepts in Zapotec philosophy. Everyone and everything has a “spirit” precisely because they are born of guenda. The professor of Zapotec philosophy Juan Carlos Sánchez-Antonio explains, “Así, el vocablo xiquèla [peniàti], en su construcción lingüística refiere a la relación luz (xi-cilla) obscuridad (quèla), es decir en los elementos primordiales que constituyen la esencia de las almas” (n.d.b, 3). In his analysis, Sánchez-Antonio turns to the Zapotec language to decipher the connections between these words, and therefore these concepts. Guenda is also related to the concept of petáo or pitáo, “spirit” or “soul.” Following Francisco Burgoa, Sánchez-Antonio (Reference Sánchez-Antonion.d.a, 9) defines pitào as “ese impulso, aliento vital o ‘Alma del mundo’ ... que anima a toda la vida de los seres de la tierra y los mares.”Footnote ¹¹ Since everything is born of guenda, everything has pitào, an “aliento vital.” The student-authors refer to this breath in “Lanii” (1936, 1), when they write about the “soplo del mismo aliento” as their motivation for exploring their culture. And they continue to reference the spirit various times throughout their manifestos. While they are clearly influenced by Rodó and Vasconcelos, based on Zapotec cosmology, their definition of “spirit,” does not appear to be the same as their sources of inspiration. The first hint at this is the fact that they do not focus on a Latin American, Mexican, or mestizo “spirit.” Instead, they write specifically of their Zapotec spirit. Their insistence on culture, in relation to the spirit, also hints at the fact that they are defining spirit differently than Rodó and Vasconcelos.

La Cultura (The Culture)

For the student-authors, preserving the spirit means preserving their Zapotec culture. To explain what they mean by culture, they first distinguish between what is not culture, such as technology and the material, making the connections to Arielismo and Vasconcelos ever clearer. Reading through kab’awil also provides insight into the relationship that the spirit and culture have in Zapotec cosmology, further emphasizing their reasons for focusing on a cultural revitalization project. They begin by accepting that “la civilización [seguirá] su cauce,” including improving technology, which they are not opposed to. They agree that technology should be used to help men, but they clarify “no queremos confundir las cosas” because “la técnica es cosa manual” and “la cultura es del espíritu” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). Just as Rodó criticizes the United States for utilitarianism, distinguishing Latin America because of its spirit, so do the student-authors engage with the material. They do not disparage the advances in technology occurring in the early twentieth century, instead acknowledging their utility. Still, their focus is culture, precisely because culture is tied to the spirit.

Once they link the spirit to culture, they are careful to highlight how they view their culture as alive, again pushing back against assimilationist policies prevalent in postrevolutionary Mexico. They repeat that “la juventud de Juchitán desea una cultura zapoteca” and that they are not tied down to “normas” or “leyes” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 1). The sociedad emphasizes how their culture is not static but quite the opposite: dynamic, changing, and growing. They explain what they mean when they explain “cultura Zapoteca” as “un desarrollo intelectual y artístico” (“Por la cultura Zapoteca” 1935, 6). This is reflected in their focus on publishing poetry, songs, and traditions. They tie all those components, a “desarrollo intelectual y artístico,” to their culture. Contrary to Indigenismo that viewed Indigenous peoples and their cultures as part of the past, as static, and even outside of history, the student-authors insist on how their culture continues to live, and their goals are for their culture to continue to live.

The connection between the spirit and culture becomes clearer if we look to Zapotec cosmology and the concepts of guenda, petào, and làchi, all interconnected in a constellation of concepts that reveal an understanding of the world according to Zapotec knowledge. Guenda, previously mentioned, is an all-encompassing darkness that is the beginning of everything and gives birth to everything. Petào and làchi are essentially synonymous, meaning “spirit” or “breath of life.” I argue that, just as the student-authors draw from both Rodó and Vasconcelos, they also draw from Zapotec cosmology much older than both aforementioned authors and the Vanguardia movements. They are alluding to a growing field of Zapotec philosophy that will develop partly from their independent publications only a few years after Nez a.Footnote ¹² Delving into these concepts allows us to see how the Zapotec intellectuals were in conversation, not just with widespread intellectual currents of the time, but also with Zapotec philosophy and cosmology that was being (re)worked contemporaneously. Now, with some distance, the connection between these concepts becomes clear, underscoring the reasons why preserving their culture, their Zapotec spirit, was so pressing for them in a postrevolutionary Mexico that was attempting to unite the people under a new nation.

The language that the intellectuals use in both their manifestos originates from the concept of guenda. Sánchez-Antonio (Reference Sánchez-Antonion.d.a, 14) explains this concept in the following manner:

Guenda is repeatedly defined as “ser el ser de todas las cosas,” the essence of everything, an all-encompassing darkness. Macario Matus references this darkness in a series of poems titled “Orígenes” in his book, Los zapotecas Binni záa. Matus (Reference Matus1998, 15) begins, “Toda oscuridad era / cuando nacieron los zapotecas.” This darkness bears everything: “De la obscuridad surge la pareja primordial para crear la luz, y con ello el tiempo-espacio, los días y las noches, el calendario y el lenguaje” (Sánchez-Antonio Reference Sánchez-Antonion.d.a, 5). Guenda is at the center of the constellation of concepts that we find woven throughout the manifestos of the Sociedad Nueva de Estudiantes Juchitecos. Guenda, the beginning of everything, from which everything is born, is connected to the concept of the spirit, intelligence, and culture. Here, we focus on each concept independently while acknowledging their connections.

In Zapotec cosmology, there is a direct relation between spirit and culture and customs. The spirit is related to la conciencia, and therefore intentions and actions: “Al alma, alude no sólo a la conciencia, sino también a nuestras intenciones, que podría estar relacionada con nuestra voluntad, nuestro deseo, por ejemplo, làchi se traduce como ‘intención o fin’ (folio 236, columna 1) o ‘pecho por la intención’ (folio 306, columna 4)” (Sánchez-Antonio Reference Sánchez-Antonion.d.b, 4). In other words, the spirit or soul is reflected in consciousness and intentions. These intentions are then related to actions and, most importantly for the Zapotec student-authors, to customs and culture. Sánchez-Antonio (Reference Sánchez-Antonion.d.b, 4) explains: “Así, por ejemplo, làchi se traduce también como “costumbre” (folio 096, columna 2), es decir, los hábitos sociales o comunitarios que hemos heredado y construido en la vida. Tener conciencia de nuestras costumbres parece ser importante, e implica, según nuestra hipótesis de interpretación, examinar o preguntarse lo que ha hecho el alma.” According to Zapotec cosmology, customs, which stem from culture, reflect the soul’s actions. The reason that the Zapotec intellectuals speak of their spirit, and specifically of their Zapotec spirit, when their goal is cultural preservation and revitalization is because there is a direct connection between spirit, customs, and culture. When the student-authors write about spirit, they are basing their ideas on a “spirit” that stems from guenda and therefore has a direct connection to customs and culture. In this rare instance, there appears to be a convergence of their cosmology and widespread intellectual currents that were also speaking of an espíritu. The connections they draw from the spirit to culture and customs are inherently intertwined in Zapotec philosophy. As university students in the intellectual circles they were a part of, well versed in both Rodó and Vasconcelos, as well as Zapotec cosmology, they were making connections clear to themselves.

Kab’awilian strategies for Zapotec futurities

Through their use of kab’awilian strategies, the student-authors merge Latin American traditions with Zapotec cosmology for their own goals of Zapotec cultural preservation and revitalization. The two manifestos and two supporting pieces analyzed in this article provide insight into the Zapotec intellectuals’ goals for their publication. They used the opportunity of the Vanguardia, as wealthy intellectuals, surrounded by key literary and intellectual currents, taking part in popular movements while holding on to their Indigenous Zapotec identity. They agree with the role of the youth in Rodó’s Ariel and lean on it. They also speak of a spirit, but unlike Vasconcelos’s spirit, they refer to a Zapotec spirit. This Zapotec spirit is inherently intertwined with culture, with their people, their pueblo. Campbell (Reference Campbell1994, 124) has noted: “Although from a national perspective, Neza, Henestrosa’s writings, and the other works of the Juchiteco intellectuals may be considered part of a larger process of postrevolutionary indigenismo in which the Mexican state attempted to assimilate Indian traditions and communities into “the nation” for Juchitecos, they were emblematic of Juchitán’s independent cultural vitality.” If we use a kab’awilian lens, we can see how both can be true. These authors utilized this opportunity that opened up to them in postrevolutionary Mexico to begin crafting a Zapotec literary history. There was a celebration of the vitality of their culture and in that celebration, they began to write down their explorations of Zapotec thought. Their newspaper would have an impact for generations to come, considered by many as the start of contemporary Isthmus Zapotec literature. And as Campbell (Reference Campbell1994, 127) writes, while the newspapers were “primarily for consumption of Zapotec people, they also were directed to the society at large, as a statement that a thriving regional/indigenous culture persisted on the Isthmus within the confines of mestizo Mexico.” Since the student-authors were living in Mexico City, they highlight how their culture persisted in the capital, in the heart of the nation-state that was pushing for assimilation through various avenues. They not only drew attention to their culture but also began making concrete plans for its continuance to ensure Zapotec futurities. In other words, in producing their magazine, they were looking to their ancestors and to their descendants, with the principal goal of continuing as Zapotec people. The student-authors were publishing this newspaper—along with other efforts such as the creation of a Zapotec language institute—in service not just of themselves in the present day, but also of their descendants in the future. Though these authors might not have set off to kickstart contemporary Zapotec literature, language revitalization, and philosophy, their newspaper was instrumental in their development. In writing and publishing about these important concepts, they ensured their continuance, all while relying not just on Zapotec cosmology, but also larger wide-spread intellectual movements in Latin America.