The Envios of San Pablo Huixtepec, Oaxaca: Food, Home, and Transnationalism

Abstract

On the northern perimeter of the San Pablo Huixtepec municipal plaza stands an impressive fifteen meters tall, square, red brick clock tower. Although the clock itself is less than reliable in telling the hour, the plaque affixed to the face of the tower tells several stories. The words on the plaque (translated) say: "This clock was donated by citizens of this community located in the cities of

Transnational Migration, Customary Governance, and the Future of Community

“…in both Analco and comaltepec, collective action based on shared communities of origin shows that migrants take their sense of community with them. through the establishment of hometown associations, community can be both strengthened at home and recreated among fellow villagers living in faraway cities (Fox, 2007;Grieshop, 2006;stiffler, 2007;Wiest, 2009). in particular, the monetization of the cargo and the tequio-obliging migrants to provide compensation for their nonparticipationprovides an opportunity for migrants to finance the continuity of local customs and ways of life.…”

Ntsambu, the Foul Smell of Home: Food, Commensality and Identity in the Comoros and in the Diaspora1

“…Food is particularly linked to memory in diaspora (Sutton 2005, 2008, Grieshop 2006: the daily consumption of a specific food may well have a social significance, but it is only once it becomes rare, sought after, that it begins to evoke memories. These memories are often collective, socially constructed, but also specific, constituted by what Vroon (1997) calls episodic memories, as opposed to semantic memories.…”

Savoring the Taste of Home: The Pervasiveness of Lead Poisoning From Ceramic and Its Implications in Transnational Care Packages

“…One of the key manners in which dislocated people retain a sense of home is through food (Abrahamson 1996; Grieshop 2006; Nabhan 2004; Saunders 2007; Vargas‐Cetina 2000). Modern shipping and transportation options allow families to share foods that previously were too perishable or fragile to send long distances, thereby bridging a once formidable time and spatial gap.…”

“…Modern shipping and transportation options allow families to share foods that previously were too perishable or fragile to send long distances, thereby bridging a once formidable time and spatial gap. Of great significance here is the informal shipping system of envios that has been standardized by families from Oaxaca (Grieshop 2006). In this system, products flow through individuals who carry them on international flights as personal luggage and cargo, rather than relying on expensive and often restrictive shipping agencies (Grieshop 2006).…”

“…In the process, the deleterious consequences of lead poisoning, a hidden and subtle crippler that had unknowingly been a part of their lives for generations in Oaxaca (Pérez 2007), became a major health issue for them in California (Handley et al 2007). The most immediate response by California state officials was to confiscate newly arrived food products sent from Oaxaca through the informal shipping system known as envios (but see Grieshop 2006). In the last few years local health officials in Monterey County have conducted unannounced inspections on businesses in Seaside, similar in structure to federally based searches that seek undocumented people and imports.…”