Understanding the Paradoxical Experiences of Indigeneity in Izalco, El Salvador Juan Gualberto Melara Pineda Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Political Science Political Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa ©Juan Gualberto Melara Pineda, Ottawa, Canada, 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ v Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... vi Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... viii Maps .............................................................................................................................................. ix Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Why El Salvador?............................................................................................................. 4 1.1.2 Researching Indigenous Identities in El Salvador .................................................. 16 1.2 “La Lucha Contra la Invisibilidad” (The Struggle Against Invisibility) ...................... 18 1.3 Research Question and Argument .................................................................................. 21 1.4 Outline of Chapters ........................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................... 25 2.1 Theoretical Problem ....................................................................................................... 25 2.2 Different Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Indigeneity ...................................... 32 2.2.1 Defining Indigenous Identities ................................................................................ 32 2.2.2 Institutional Approaches to Indigenous Politics ..................................................... 37 2.2.3 Quantifying Indigeneity .......................................................................................... 42 2.2.4 Materialist Approaches to Indigenous Politics ....................................................... 44 2.3 Theoretical Foundations: Decolonial Approaches and Buen Vivir ................................ 51 2.4 The Colonization of Knowledge .................................................................................... 54 2.5 Visuality and Regimes of Representation ...................................................................... 58 2.5.1 Colonial Representations of the Other .................................................................... 60 2.6 Cultural Tourism and Coloniality .................................................................................. 64 2.6.1 Economic Integration and Coloniality .................................................................... 68 Chapter 3: Methodology............................................................................................................. 71 3.1 Interpretivist Political Ethnography ............................................................................... 71 3.2 Decoloniality .................................................................................................................. 76 3.3 Immersion in Izalco ........................................................................................................ 77 3.4 Site of Analysis: Why Izalco? ........................................................................................ 84 3.5 Fieldwork Time Period and Period of Analysis ............................................................. 87 ii 3.6 Interviews and Participant Observation ......................................................................... 88 3.7 Spaces and Indigeneity ................................................................................................... 93 3.8 Indigenous Activist Groups ............................................................................................ 95 3.9 Ethical Concerns ............................................................................................................ 97 Chapter 4: Historical Context.................................................................................................. 101 4.1 The Municipality of Izalco ........................................................................................... 101 4.1.1 Historical Antecedents .......................................................................................... 102 4.1.2 Land and Ethnicity in Izalco ................................................................................. 104 4.1.3 The 1932 Massacre ............................................................................................... 106 4.2 El Salvador’s Civil War ............................................................................................... 110 4.2.1 Indigenous Politics during the Civil War.............................................................. 112 Chapter 5: Experiencing Indigeneity in Izalco through Public Celebrations: Contrasts and Ambivalences ............................................................................................................................. 114 5.1 La Cofradía: Historical Context .................................................................................. 116 5.2 Día de la Cruz in Izalco ............................................................................................... 121 5.2.1 Experiencing Indigeneity through Cofradías........................................................ 123 5.2.2 Indigenous / Religious Figures ............................................................................. 126 5.2.3 Celebrating Día de la Cruz ................................................................................... 128 5.3 Divergent Experiences of Indigeneity: Casa de la Cultura de Izalco.......................... 132 5.3.1 Overview of Casas de la Cultura ......................................................................... 133 5.3.2 Casa de la Cultura in Izalco ................................................................................. 134 5.3.3 Día de la Cruz at Casa de la Cultura ................................................................... 139 5.4 Rethinking Indigenous Identities ................................................................................ 141 5.4.1 The Politics of Indigenous Identification .............................................................. 141 Chapter 6: Old Wives’ Tales? Storytelling and Discursive Mestizaje in Izalco ................. 149 6.1 Discursive Mestizaje .................................................................................................... 151 6.2 Colonization and devaluation of indigenous beliefs in El Salvador ............................ 152 6.2.1 Devaluation of indigenous beliefs as a literary and political process ................... 155 6.3 Indigenous Narratives in Izalco.................................................................................... 167 6.3.1 Agricultural Production, Vegetation and Nature .................................................. 169 6.3.2 Contemporary Storytellers in Izalco ..................................................................... 170 6.4 Izalco: Ciudad Mágica ................................................................................................. 173 6.4.1 Pablo and Melida .................................................................................................. 175 iii 6.4.2 Juana ..................................................................................................................... 178 6.4.3 Fernanda ................................................................................................................ 180 6.4.4 Andres and Ramona .............................................................................................. 181 Chapter 7: Picturing Indians: Visual Representations in the Construction of Indigeneity in Izalco .......................................................................................................................................... 186 7.1 Dressing like an “Indian” ............................................................................................. 187 7.2 Representations of “Indian” Women............................................................................ 189 7.2.1 Public Representations of “Indian” Women ......................................................... 190 7.2.2 Private Representations of “Indian” Women ........................................................ 196 7.3 Representations of “Indian” Men ................................................................................. 202 7.3.1 Atonal, the Conquest Hero .................................................................................... 202 7.3.2 Indigeneity