Every Woman is a World: Interviews with Women of Chiapas (review)

Every Woman Is a World: Interviews with Women of Chiapas presents the lives of women born in Chiapas and others who have made Chiapas their home. The book consists of a foreword by Elena Poniatowska, an acknowledgments section, an introduction, and twenty-eight interviews. The initial remarks present the purpose of the book: to introduce the hard-working, and often unrecognized, lives of the women behind the men.

The interviews reflect the struggle and stamina of women, aged 60-108 years, as well as the cultural, social, and political changes experienced by them. They also demonstrate ethnicity, class acceptance, and resistance from the upper-middle class who seem unreceptive to change and equality. While written in English, the interviews were done either in Spanish or in the indigenous language of the interviewee, which may bring into question the accuracy and precision of the translations. Gayle Walker and Kiki Suárez have depended on the knowledge of natives and their own command of the languages and cultures of Mexico. A photograph precedes each interview, creating a personalized connection and some insight into the interviewee's individual and socioeconomic condition. The book begins with one of the eldest of the group and concludes with an equally remarkable abuelita.

Guadalupe Vázquez does not remember her age, but she is one of the oldest in Amatenango. She considers herself Indian, and her story is one of a feisty and strong woman whose loveless marriage, arranged by her parents, forced her to stand up to her husband in order to have a voice in raising her children.

Teresa Domínguez Carrascosa is a ninety-six-year-old woman whose family lived through the Mexican Revolution, Carranza's occupation of San Cristobal, the influenza epidemic of 1918, and the period of hunger that followed. Her father's resistance to change shaped her life and her marriage. Her story also reflects the norms of a conservative society where obedience and unquestionable acceptance of societal norms can make a perfect marriage. Perhaps, the most extreme position comes from Dilery Penagos Gutiérrez. Viewing herself as part of the Coletos, she seems to acknowledge that the treatment of Indians needs to change, but it becomes clear that she believes that the learned "respect" for Indians was not based on equality but economic interest. As she states "Each of us had our own place" (143).

Other narratives depict the experiences of poor indigenous women. These are perhaps the most compelling because they speak of a reality that is seldom discussed in Mexico. What makes them mesmerizing is that it is not an academic speaking about them but indigenous women themselves reflecting on their lives and struggles in their communities. Their stories make the reader confront the marked social classes that persist in Mexico, fundamentally defined by race, ethnicity, gender, and economics.

María del Carmen Gómez Gómez's story shows us that drinking and domestic abuse can result from poverty. She recalls hiding from her father and taking her siblings to the forest to avoid physical abuse. This led her to reject marriage until false promises from her parents and boyfriend pushed her to marry, only to find herself hiding from her husband's abuse. Her story is not that different from Francisca Gómez López, whose memories of her father include being thrown out of the house with her mother when he was drunk. Her story also reflects the hundreds of indigenous women who leave their towns to work in Mexico City only to encounter exploitation. The abusive upbringings of these women have led to their avoidance of marriage. Such is the case of Sebastiana Pérez Espinoza, who believed that married men drank too much and hit women, leading her never to marry. Rather, she became a nun who, despite being illiterate, created her own order, refusing to repeat her mother...