The Two Milpas of Chan Kom: Scenarios of a Maya Village Life

by Alicia, Re Cruz

An ethnographic account of Chan Kom, a contemporary Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico that focuses on the social schism within the community resulting from an accelerated process of migration to Cancun, a major tourist center.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791428303
• ISBN13: 9780791428306
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

useful update of Redfield's early work

Perhaps I have a disadvantage, but I read Re Cruz's dissertation, and her book, though certainly based on dissertation research, is a revised and updated examination of the Maya community of Chan Kom that compares nicely with earlier work by previous researchers. It might also be worth noting that Re Cruz is writing in a second language. The particular value of this book is its detailed and meticulous description of how contemporary Yucatec Mayas accommodate to and resist the resort of Cancun. Cancun provides a source of income and is thus like a milpa or cornfield but it is culturally disruptive and and threatening as well. Well worth the read!