A spring break trip inspired UNM students to share their experience of Chiapas, Mexico with the University.
"It's a sort of follow up to the delegation that we took to Chiapas during our spring break in 2004," said Silvia Soto, a graduate student in Latin American studies, at the Zapatistas exhibit's opening Saturday. "For me and for all of us, it was important to share with other people what we learned."
The exhibit's artifacts are made up of various books and pictures from the libraries, as well as collages and written statements by students from their trip to Chiapas.
Carolyn Mountain, program director of the Division of Iberian & Latin American Resources and Services, said the Student Organization of Latin American Studies, or SOLAS, came up with the idea for an exhibit.
SOLAS President Sandra Ortsman said they came back from their trip in the highlands in Chiapas, where the Zapatistas, indigenous Mayan Indians, struggle with the Mexican government for social issues and felt it was an important topic to bring to UNM. The students raised the money and found student grants to pay for the trip.
"The Zapatistas had received so much attention when they rose up in 1994, but it's really important that people know they are still organizing, and that they still exist 10 years later," Ortsman said. "People need to know that they haven't disappeared off the map because the media has chosen to divert their attention to other things."
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During the ceremony for "Chiapas: Persevering Indigenous Rights and Cultures," Neil Harvey, associate professor of government at New Mexico State University and author of The Chiapas Rebellion, spoke about the struggles of the Zapatistas over the past 10 years.
He also talked about the Mexican government's negotiations with the Zapatistas. In 1994, an uprising occurred in Chiapas, and Mayan peasants revolted against oppression. They claimed they weren't given autonomy to preserve their culture or political rights to fight off land seizure.
Harvey said nothing has been completely resolved, but after the uprising, the Zapatistas have taken a more pacifist approach.
The Zapatistas began in the early 1900s. Revolutionary martyr Emiliano Zapata helped form the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and staged a revolution against Mexico demanding liberty and democracy. Although the organization started in Chiapas, many other indigenous tribes are part of it.
Weavings by people in Chiapas are also on display. Mountain chose the pieces in the exhibit, which was sponsored by various Latin American and Iberian Institute organizations at UNM.
COMING ATTRACTION
"Chiapas: Preserving Indigenous Rights and Cultures"
Herztein Latin American Exhibit Gallery in Zimmerman Library - 2nd Floor
