Economy and materiality: Land and water from the Mexicas to El luto humano

Until very recently Mexico was mostly a country of campesinos (farmers), so much so that the 1920 revolution has been considered an agrarian revolution fought to achieve a just redistribution of the land. In this talk I will analyze how the Mesoamerican so-called cult of Tláloc (God of water) dilutes religion into a moral and political economy through a commitment to land and water. In El luto humano (1943), José Revueltas goes back to that commitment and posits it as the undercurrent guiding the Mexican Revolution and the stubborn affirmation of campesinos who chose to remain such against all odds. 

Speaker: Dr. Ivonne del Valle (University of California-Berkeley)

Time/place: Wednesday, February 8, CTIHB (Jewel Box), 4:30pm.