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San Jose de Gracia: Mexican Village in Transition (Texas Pan American Series) | 
 enlarge | Author: Luis Gonzalez
Creator: John Upton
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $3.15
You Save: $19.80 (86%)
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 776307
Media: Paperback
Pages: 406
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0292775717
Dewey Decimal Number: 972
EAN: 9780292775718
ASIN: 0292775717
Publication Date: 1982
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Binding solid; text has some very minimal scattered highlighting. Light cover wear. No remainder mark, no ownership markings, NOT a former library book. Same or next business day ship, careful packaging, no surprises.
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Product Description
The village of San Jose de Gracia is not mentioned in any history of Mexico, nor is it referred to in any of the annals of the state of Michoacan. It is not to be found at all on most maps, and almost none show its correct location. It is an unknown point in space, in time, and in the consciousness of the Mexican republic. In Luis Gonzalez's classic history of the world of San Jose, he turns his attention in every direction: toward what is lasting and what is ephemeral, everyday and unusual, material and spiritual. The story is, to some extent, the story of rural life anywhere, in any age; to some extent it is peculiar to the world of the peasant all through Mexico's history; and to some extent it can be said to be true only of San Jose. The history of San Jose is also the history of the village as victim of the megalopolis, not only in Mexico but everywhere in our time. With the small community will be lost traditions and a sense of continuity that may prove irreplaceable and essential to human wellbeing. While Luis Gonzalez does not suggest that he knows what the fate of San Jose will be, one feels that he knows all too well, and that his questions are only "How?" and "How soon?"
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| Customer Reviews:
everyday life September 25, 2005
James B. Seymour Jr. (Cypress, Texas)
In San Jose de Gracia, Luis Gonzalez traces the incidents of a small Mexican village in order to depict the history of rural Mexico. Gonzalez calls the town "an unknown point in space, in time, and in the consciousness of the Mexican republic" with "unproductive land, plodding lives, [and] undistinguished inhabitants." Because of these characteristics, he argues that San Jose displays "[s]mallness, but typical smallness" and represents the "intimate relationship between natural surroundings and rural life." Gonzalez believes that local studies are necessary to fully comprehend Mexican history.
Gonzalez begins with three origins for San Jose de Gracia. The town sprang from "a quasi-mountainous landscape; and early state of upheaval and subsidence; and a small cultural backwater made up of rude cattle farmers." In the mid-nineteenth century, land reform created small rancheros, which formed the backbone of society in the area. Gonzalez describes six noteworthy events, including the Ochoa rebellion, the great famine, and the appearance of a comet, that took place during this initial period. Under the peace of the Diaz regime, middle class ranchers decided that they needed their own community and, with political and ecclesiastical help, founded San Jose. The townspeople were largely homogeneous, because of their isolation, and self-sufficient. Gonzalez argues that they lived without social discord, extreme poverty, back-breaking toil, or big-city comforts.
Gradually, the outside world intruded into the town and ended its isolation. Newspapers, mail, and seminary students brought information about national events. Political discourse entered San Jose and incipient nationalism and regionalism developed. Commerce shifted from a consumer-based to a market-orientated economy. The onset of the Mexican Revolution halted these trends and brought poverty, isolation, and self-sufficiency to the town. These "years of depravity" produced hunger, bandits, and a lowering of public morals. Gonzalez believes that "[t]he people of San Jose were like dry gunpowder ready to burst into flame at the slightest spark."
The Cristero Revolution ignited the people. The federal government initiated a series of anticlerical measures, which provoked a loyalist backlash. The people of San Jose supported the Roman Catholic Church. Federal troops burned the town and forced the inhabitants to abandon it. After various skirmishes, a negotiated peace calmed the land. Although the people rebuilt the town, animosity towards the government lingered because of humiliation, poverty, and injustice. Gonzalez argues that the Cristero movement united the townspeople.
Agrarian reforms initiated under President Cardenas shattered this unity. People split between the agrarianists, who favored the reforms, and landowners, who resisted them. Despite this vigorous opposition, property was transferred from larger landowners to the landless and smaller landowners. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of San Jose de Gracia eventually healed these wounds and reestablished the solidarity of the village.
The construction of a highway, the introduction of radio and movies, and the influx of various outsiders prompted closer daily contact with the outside world. Villagers became increasingly assimilated into Mexican national culture. Older and more traditional people fought to keep others from leaving the village for the temptations of the cities. Modernization brought additional changes to San Jose. Inadequate technology, education, urbanization, and money troubled the town. Gonzalez lists other problems, including the "disfigurements of the original landscape," the "privacy complex" of the bourgeoisie, and the "present state of discord" between younger workers and their employers, that afflict San Jose.
Despite these changes, many good qualities, such as the environment, population, code of honor, religious fervor, and love of community, endure in the town. Gonzalez concludes that "San Jose is on the verge of ceasing to be a village in transition."
Luis Gonzalez provides a comprehensive analysis of small town life in San Jose de Gracia. He deftly renders the primary historical events of the community and places it within a larger historical perspective. Gonzalez implicitly favors the pastoral life of the early years. The later chapters, when he describes the modern changes in San Jose, especially reveal his bias. Further, these conclusions are quite dated. A reappraisal of conditions in the thirty years since the research of the book would prove useful. Despite these limitations, San Jose de Gracia serves as a useful micro-history of rural Mexican life.
everyday life September 25, 2005
James B. Seymour Jr. (Cypress, Texas)
In San Jose de Gracia, Luis Gonzalez traces the incidents of a small Mexican village in order to depict the history of rural Mexico. Gonzalez calls the town "an unknown point in space, in time, and in the consciousness of the Mexican republic" with "unproductive land, plodding lives, [and] undistinguished inhabitants." Because of these characteristics, he argues that San Jose displays "[s]mallness, but typical smallness" and represents the "intimate relationship between natural surroundings and rural life." Gonzalez believes that local studies are necessary to fully comprehend Mexican history.
Gonzalez begins with three origins for San Jose de Gracia. The town sprang from "a quasi-mountainous landscape; and early state of upheaval and subsidence; and a small cultural backwater made up of rude cattle farmers." In the mid-nineteenth century, land reform created small rancheros, which formed the backbone of society in the area. Gonzalez describes six noteworthy events, including the Ochoa rebellion, the great famine, and the appearance of a comet, that took place during this initial period. Under the peace of the Diaz regime, middle class ranchers decided that they needed their own community and, with political and ecclesiastical help, founded San Jose. The townspeople were largely homogeneous, because of their isolation, and self-sufficient. Gonzalez argues that they lived without social discord, extreme poverty, back-breaking toil, or big-city comforts.
Gradually, the outside world intruded into the town and ended its isolation. Newspapers, mail, and seminary students brought information about national events. Political discourse entered San Jose and incipient nationalism and regionalism developed. Commerce shifted from a consumer-based to a market-orientated economy. The onset of the Mexican Revolution halted these trends and brought poverty, isolation, and self-sufficiency to the town. These "years of depravity" produced hunger, bandits, and a lowering of public morals. Gonzalez believes that "[t]he people of San Jose were like dry gunpowder ready to burst into flame at the slightest spark."
The Cristero Revolution ignited the people. The federal government initiated a series of anticlerical measures, which provoked a loyalist backlash. The people of San Jose supported the Roman Catholic Church. Federal troops burned the town and forced the inhabitants to abandon it. After various skirmishes, a negotiated peace calmed the land. Although the people rebuilt the town, animosity towards the government lingered because of humiliation, poverty, and injustice. Gonzalez argues that the Cristero movement united the townspeople.
Agrarian reforms initiated under President Cardenas shattered this unity. People split between the agrarianists, who favored the reforms, and landowners, who resisted them. Despite this vigorous opposition, property was transferred from larger landowners to the landless and smaller landowners. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of San Jose de Gracia eventually healed these wounds and reestablished the solidarity of the village.
The construction of a highway, the introduction of radio and movies, and the influx of various outsiders prompted closer daily contact with the outside world. Villagers became increasingly assimilated into Mexican national culture. Older and more traditional people fought to keep others from leaving the village for the temptations of the cities. Modernization brought additional changes to San Jose. Inadequate technology, education, urbanization, and money troubled the town. Gonzalez lists other problems, including the "disfigurements of the original landscape," the "privacy complex" of the bourgeoisie, and the "present state of discord" between younger workers and their employers, that afflict San Jose.
Despite these changes, many good qualities, such as the environment, population, code of honor, religious fervor, and love of community, endure in the town. Gonzalez concludes that "San Jose is on the verge of ceasing to be a village in transition."
Luis Gonzalez provides a comprehensive analysis of small town life in San Jose de Gracia. He deftly renders the primary historical events of the community and places it within a larger historical perspective. Gonzalez implicitly favors the pastoral life of the early years. The later chapters, when he describes the modern changes in San Jose, especially reveal his bias. Further, these conclusions are quite dated. A reappraisal of conditions in the thirty years since the research of the book would prove useful. Despite these limitations, San Jose de Gracia serves as a useful micro-history of rural Mexican life.
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