Tarahumara
Tarahumara

Author: Bernard L. Fontana

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 1997-09

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780816517060

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Inhabiting the Sierra Madre Occidental of southwestern Chihuahua in Mexico, the Tarahumara (or Rar‡muri) are known in their language as the "foot runners" due to the way in which they must navigate their rugged terrain. This book offers an accessible ethnography of their history, customs, and current life, accompanied by photographs that offer striking images of these gentle people. The subtitle of the book derives from the Tarahumar's belief that the soul works at night while the body sleeps and that during this "day of the moon" both the spirits of the dead and the souls of the living move about in their mysterious ways. As the authors observe, the fact that "so many men, women, and children persist in distinctive, centuries-old cultural traditions in spite of their nearness to all the complexities and attractions of modern industrial society is an importatn part of the story." Their book tells that story and brings readers closer to understanding the Tarahumara world and way of life.

Born to Run
Born to Run

Author: Christopher McDougall

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2010-12-09

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 184765228X

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A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.

In the Sierra Madre
In the Sierra Madre

Author: Jeff Biggers

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2023-12-11

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0252056973

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A stunning history of legendary treasure seekers and enigmatic natives in Mexico's Copper Canyon The Sierra Madre--no other mountain range in the world possesses such a ring of intrigue. In the Sierra Madre is a groundbreaking and extraordinary memoir that chronicles the astonishing history of one of the most famous, yet unknown, regions in the world. Based on his one-year sojourn among the Raramuri/Tarahumara, award-winning journalist Jeff Biggers offers a rare look into the ways of the most resilient indigenous culture in the Americas, the exploits of Mexican mountaineers, and the fascinating parade of argonauts and accidental travelers that has journeyed into the Sierra Madre over centuries. From African explorers, Bohemian friars, Confederate and Irish war deserters, French poets, Boer and Russian commandos, Apache and Mennonite communities, bewildered archaeologists, addled writers, and legendary characters including Antonin Artaud, B. Traven, Sergei Eisenstein, George Patton, Geronimo, and Pancho Villa, Biggers uncovers the remarkable treasures of the Sierra Madre.

The Silver of the Sierra Madre
The Silver of the Sierra Madre

Author: John Mason Hart

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2008-05-15

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780816527045

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In the great barranca known today as Copper Canyon, the small mining town of Batopilas once experienced a silver bonanza among the largest ever known. American investors, believing that Mexico offered an unexploited cornucopia, began purchasing mines in the Sierra Madre, seeking to expand their hold on natural resources outside U.S. borders. From 1861 until the Revolution of 1910, the men of the Batopilas Mining Company ruled the region using their wealth, armed might, and extensive connections. The technology, industrialism, and politics their interests brought to this remote community tied the Tarahumara, Yaqui, Mayo, and other peoples of the barrancas directly to the economies of the United States and China. Local society was revolutionized, and a dramatic tapestry of human interactions was created. Based on many volumes of mining company records, The Silver of the Sierra Madre exposes the mentality and methods of mine owners John Robinson and Alexander ÒBossÓ Shepherd, vividly detailing their exploitation of the people and the natural resources of Chihuahua. Hart aptly demonstrates the human and financial losses resulting from President Porfirio D’azÕs development programs, which relied on foreign investors, foreign managers, and foreign technology. This unprecedented work also provides a highly interesting ethnographic and social description of one of the least-known areas of Mexico. It is a tale of power and desperation, respect and arrogance, adventure and tragedy, and, ultimately, triumph and survival.

God's Middle Finger
God's Middle Finger

Author: Richard Grant

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2008-03-04

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 141656571X

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From the acclaimed author of Dispatches From Pluto and Deepest South of All, a harrowing travelogue into Mexico’s lawless Sierra Madre mountains. Twenty miles south of the Arizona-Mexico border, the rugged, beautiful Sierra Madre mountains begin their dramatic ascent. Almost 900 miles long, the range climbs to nearly 11,000 feet and boasts several canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. The rules of law and society have never taken hold in the Sierra Madre, which is home to bandits, drug smugglers, Mormons, cave-dwelling Tarahumara Indians, opium farmers, cowboys, and other assorted outcasts. Outsiders are not welcome; drugs are the primary source of income; murder is all but a regional pastime. The Mexican army occasionally goes in to burn marijuana and opium crops—the modern treasure of the Sierra Madre—but otherwise the government stays away. In its stead are the drug lords, who have made it one of the biggest drug-producing areas in the world. Fifteen years ago, journalist Richard Grant developed what he calls "an unfortunate fascination" with this lawless place. Locals warned that he would meet his death there, but he didn't believe them—until his last trip. During his travels Grant visited a folk healer for his insomnia and was prescribed rattlesnake pills, attended bizarre religious rituals, consorted with cocaine-snorting policemen, taught English to Guarijio Indians, and dug for buried treasure. On his last visit, his reckless adventure spiraled into his own personal heart of darkness when cocaine-fueled Mexican hillbillies hunted him through the woods all night, bent on killing him for sport. With gorgeous detail, fascinating insight, and an undercurrent of dark humor, God's Middle Finger brings to vivid life a truly unique and uncharted world.

Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara
Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara

Author: William Dirk Raat

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780806128153

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The Tarahumara, "people of the edge", live on the boundaries of civilization, in the mountains and canyonlands of Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara. There, in southwestern Chihuahua, terrain terminates at the edge of canyons; there mountains border the sky. In these pages, words by W. Dirk Raat and images by George R. Janecek are testimony to the endurance of the Tarahumara people. Today, roughly fifty thousand Tarahumaras continue living in ways similar to those of their ancestors, retaining many customs from their pre-Columbian past. At the same time, as outsiders modify the environment in an effort to subsist - and to profit - the Tarahumara have adapted their culture in order to survive. Contemporary Tarahumara culture is a product largely of the Jesuit era, from 1607 to 1767. The native people responded to the Spanish either by trying to live beyond the influence of the Church or by becoming Christianized Indians and seeking Church protection. This distinction still can be seen. However, even those who became Christian did not succumb to attempts to eradicate traditional religious and cultural practices. Rather they incorporated Christianity into their own world view. The nineteenth century saw the arrival of gold and silver miners and of American promoters seeking to extend their commercial empire into northern Mexico. The twentieth century has witnessed the Mexican Revolution and the emergence of the "mestizo age". In the canyon homelands of the Tarahumara, railroads and electricity have facilitated extensive timber and copper mining as well as increased tourism.

The People's Guide to Mexico
The People's Guide to Mexico

Author: Carl Franz

Publisher: Rick Steves

Published: 2012-12-11

Total Pages: 770

ISBN-13: 1612380492

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Over the past 35 years, hundreds of thousands of readers have agreed: This is the classic guide to "living, traveling, and taking things as they come" in Mexico. Now in its updated 14th edition, The People's Guide to Mexico still offers the ideal combination of basic travel information, entertaining stories, and friendly guidance about everything from driving in Mexico City to hanging a hammock to bartering at the local mercado. Features include: • Advice on planning your trip, where to go, and how to get around once you're there • Practical tips to help you stay healthy and safe, deal with red tape, change money, send email, letters and packages, use the telephone, do laundry, order food, speak like a local, and more • Well-informed insight into Mexican culture, and hints for enjoying traditional fiestas and celebrations • The most complete information available on Mexican Internet resources, book and map reviews, and other info sources for travelers