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Lydia's Open Door

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Lydia's Open Door Lydia's Open Door INSTDE MEXICo's NIOST MODERN I] ROTI.IHI, ZONA GALACTICA $ 3.OO Patty Kelly 3 {-l u;J I tr\|\'t,.RsI'f l otr (i ,\ t, t t,'o R N I A t, lt l,lss Ilerkeley Los,4trg'les l,ortdott f rontispiecr: lirxtlr Needs Vru. P.rrticipatel (Entry ticket to the Galactic Zone.) Lnivcrsity of California Press, onc ot tlre m()st di{tinguishcd umversity presses in the Unitcd States, enriches lives around the world by For rrty cousin Jofut, utho /irst int,itetl me advancing seholarship in thr: humanities, social sciences, and natural s.:ienca;. Its activities are supp()rtcd by the UC Press Foundation and by to Chiapas philanthropic contributions from indit'iduals and institutit'rns. For more information, visit www.ucpress.ed u. For nty tetu:lie'r Jttrtt,. tt,ho bntup;ltl trrc buck Paru of this btxrk appearcd prcviously in "I Made Myst'lf from Notfring" in lv(rncn in Chittlttrs: Mtking History itr Timts of Struggle and Lhe. ()uläctit:tt, Hope, ed. Christine Ebe.r and Christine Kovic (New York: Routledge, For u)oürcn oJ'tlte Zonu 2tro3), and "Awkward Intimacies," in Anthropologists in the Fidd, ed. who mode rne u)ent lo ,strtr: Lynne Hume and Jane Mulcock. O ztxtT Columbia Univcrsity Press. I{cprinted with permission of the publisher. Univeruity of California Press llerkeley and Los Angeles, Califonri.r Univcrsi$ of California l,ress, Ltd. London, England tO u$ by Ttre Regents of the University of California Ubrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Public.ttion Dlta Kc'lly, Patty, 1968-. Lydia's open door : inside Mcxico's most modcrn brothcl / patty Kellv. P. cm. lmludcs bibliograpltical referenct s and index tsrN ; 92b52G25535-7 (cloth : alk. papt r) - |'rN 9?6-G52l>25516'{ (pbk. : alk. paper) l. Ptstitutrs - Mcxico-Tuxtla (,uti6rrez. z. prosti tu tion- TuxtlaGutidnez. l. Title rirer5rJ8{r44 2<xA , -dcz: zoo7oz898t I in thc United Statcs of Americ.r i. :*t !{ U 12 tr 1() tg oö *',? 6 r r r r I Fin&d ln Ncw Leai [co&xrk 5o, a rur,7u rccycled fiber of f Hücd pGlcor|sumcr wa5te, prrxessed chlorine.free. end m€cts the minimum rcquirements of lPmnwttcc ol Palxrl. l,et us cartortize lltc wltores. Sat.urrlay's r:alt'ttr.lar ol lltt' s:rints: Belr'. l,ola, virgins. rtrt:ottstitttlt:tl, pul'v(:vot lllartyls Ntalgot " 1rer1tt'tual lirll ol grucr'. i( )lltt'('s ()l' g('lt('rr )sil \'. \brr gi'e Pleasure" .lt n lt.rt' trttlu'tltt:r ,f tltrt w,rkl' ltrtrl votr ask lbl rrothitrg iIr cxchangtr but sotttt: trtist't'itlrh: rtoitts' Yott tlott't dt'rttaltrl to lxr Ioved. respcctecl, taktlt t'ttrt'tll. ttor tlo Yott itttitaltt lltc u'ivt's with ttreir *hining, reprirlantls, atltl jcalousy. Jairle Sabirres, Tirxtlcco pu'l I have said to rrty tlir:nts, l'rotrt this door to lhele [tlrtr rtlar rvall of hcr room], you ('an takt: dowrt lny Parlls as yotr wish. lrettilttst' that is what I do. But t-rursirlc, rcrsp(x'l rle. ' That I will always grrard:lhat I ask for reslxr(l. [,orerra. Tttxtlet a sex l'ol'kt'r jrrs( srrrvO tlurrrr, ltut Thet, [the tlients] rhiilk tlrilt a,,(' iu.1r l11rr.1' 10 that's nol lrow it is. Bärlrara. Tuxtleca sex xrtrker Contents List of lllustrations XI Preface xiii Map of Chiapas xxiii Introduction 1 1. Modern Sex in a Modern CitY )2 2. Hidden in Plain Sight Street Prostitution 53 3. Inside the Galactic Zone: Regulating Sex, Regulating Women 76 4. Convergence: Panistas, Prostitutes, and Peasants 7o2 5. "It Began L:rnocently": Women of the Ambiente 721 6. Sellers and Buyers r5a 7. The Secrets We Keep: Sex, Work, Stigma r83 8. Final Thoughts: Understanding, Imagining 20.4 Epilogue 214 Nofes 227 Bibliography 2)9 Index 255 Illustrations 1. A surprise birthday party in the Zone xvii 2, Aserenade xx 2 3. Clients and taxi drivers at the main gate to the Zona Galäctica +. Tuxtla's newest shopping mall 37 5. The road to the Zona Galäctica 40 6. A microbus 4a 7. Dofla Mari's mödulo 44 8. Women detained inside the Centro Reclusorio talk to a man on the street 58 g. A suspected street prostitute being processed after a raid 6r 10. Gloria, Javier, and Carlos Prepare for a day of work 79 11. A room in the Zone 83 tz. Inside the Anti-Venereal Medical Service 86 L1'. A client heads home 217 xi Preface I I had passed by the road leading to the place dozens of times since my first stay in Chiapas inlggz. The sign said simply, Zona Galäctica. Alarge white arrow pointed south. I had thought the Galactic Zone, located in the bustling, lowland capital city of Tuxtla Gutt6rrez, was some kind of center for astronomical observation. Five years later I was again in south- ern Mexico, visiting relatives and rooting around for a dissertation topic. I went north to Tabasco and considered working there. But the state lived up to its name-it was really hot-and I soon retumed to the cool moun- tains of Chiapas. There, a friend who knew of my interest in commercial sex told me about a man I should meet-a doctor who worked at the Comitän Center for Health Research. Days later I was sitting knee to knee with the doctor in his cramped, book-filled office. Dark eyes flashing and hands moving wildly, he spoke to me about sex work in Chiapas. To say he was enthusiastic would be an understatement. He leaned forn'ard, put his hands on my knees, looked into my eyes and said, "For example, I am xltl ft+ tii XV rir PRLfACI PREFACE a hygiene" movement that sought to control'among nld. a'd I u'ant t. have anal sex with you.,, He was speaking hypo. ont of a "social illness'2 thetically, course, about female prostitution and sexually transmitted 'f the difficulties and risks sex workers face con things, cerrring client desires ,'Mujer,,, from municipal authorities to do ethnographic and condom use. he said, giving my thigh iffiil"*jpermission a gentle "There G alactic zone e1sr enousL_,o11 slap, is s.meplace you have to see.,, The next dav oiida*ori i" the y: he ,,This 1L Ronald::ii^Ht-: weitzer brought me to the Calactic Zone. i*ia" the brothel? world [of commercial sex]," 'ä to account It vvas a side Chiapas tl*s, not offer easy access to the outsider' which helps of I had never seen before. orderly, clean, orga- "does research in many key areas; but gaining access should nized-it seemed that e'erything was in its place. Modern concreE .ffi" paucity of buildings :F challenge rather than an insuperable barrier."3 once painted pink and blue and orange and yellow and green J"*"0 as a Women of various I found that access was not a problem'a Populations who a1;es arrd appearances lingered in doorways, strolled iäOru,rc zone, (prisoners' the mentally ill' prostitutes' about, or sat and ate at o.e of the zone's food stands. in some way The Gaiactic Zorn .t,.riümür"Oonalized was not a planetarium but a who are scrutinized by others brothel, and not just any brothel. It was a F,c students), 1t"1t1t: l.t]lli: what Michelllttttt Foucault calls fairly new, legal, and state-regulated supermodern or'the state), and who are subject to model brothel built f|o,s- with public funds gaze, a surveillance that maket.itn::110]: a'd intended to transform commercial . ing sex in the i'norr,uti, ::.Tilti:sci- region from an are, for better or worse, easily studied by social uncontroiled, informar activity to a highry regulated forur i.ä;Sr, to pÄJ",,,, of formal service-sector employment. rh" *o-"r, of the Galactic Zone *":" My decision was a visceral one, | i.T:::1"^tj:li:ll111Y unmarked to question and examinationby doctors' adminis- by thoughts about the realities of caree{, funding, and field- "*;täoin"a, and subiect ease (and n'ork. s.mething rike rove police' This disturbing fact lent a certain at first sight, it was deeply felt anä not partic- btors, and municipal zone as an anthropoiogist who ularly logical. I had found my field site. l.. unease) to my entry into the tsao*ona I Furthermore' given the local panista returned to Chiapas to start fieldwork a year rater. Begiruring 5' ioutd also question and scrutinize' the pro and ject, I went t. the palacio policy of transparencia (transparency-clear actions Municipal to meet with rüxtla,s director of pub ü ;";"nJs lic heath, pnnisttt (meml'er to create distance.froT a of the conservative right-wing National i: tco*,t"Uility intended their beliefl*.t:Tq in the l1?":lt:::3zone as a legit- Action Party, or PAN) and a gynecologist. He introduced i U-t*OOon impunity), along with me to the newly "r,a deny c.lected m;1yor, also a panista young, i public works project, there was little reason to gynecologist. good_looking, and ir"," ard i-portunt called. They were proud charismatic, the mayor extended a hand to ,,It u..o, to ihe Galäctica, as it was sometimes me and said in English, is i * fairly a p.'asure t. meet you. döveloped relationships' some casual' some close' I am the mayor." I liked him. My flars about '' d ttu place. I in the zone and with govem- rvorking closery with members of a politicar party t qtt*t and naturally with many women whose conservative at orl sexuality, religion, certain others I was unable to form a relationship 'rews and politics were so very different from my ., i*t offi.iutr.
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