Memories of War: Race, Class, and the Production of Post Caste War Maya Identity in East Central Quintana Roo

Abstract

More importantly, however, this dissertation serves as the first collection of personal narratives on the Caste War from the vantage point of Caste War Mayas. As noted by Victoria Bricker (1977:257) over twenty-five years ago, "the history of the Caste War of Yucatan needs to be rewritten with more attention paid to the Maya version of the conflict." By highlighting their own often-silenced views of history in relation to the Caste War of Yucatan, and by looking at the way in which memory works to maintain a complex local, national and transnational identification, this dissertation not only challenges the theoretical presumption held by some that Yucatan's Caste War was purely a class conflict but also demonstrates the ways in which memories and mnemonic performances are used to mobilize local and transnational networks of political and social action across Maya communities throughout the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico.