Discarded Pages: Araceli Cab Cumí, Maya Poet and Politician

334 Pages·2007·11.38 MB·English

by  Kathleen Rock Martín

“Araceli Cab Cumí has lived
almost all of her life on the same
half block where she was born
Women  Latin America  Literature
in Barrio Tres Cruces, Maxcanú,
Yucatán, Mexico. Th e house in
D
which she was born and the one in
which she lived with her paternal
Araceli Cab Cumí is a contemporary Maya writer,
i grandparents are just across the street
grassroots leader, and political party activist from Mexico.
s
from the house where she and her
She is also the only indigenous woman to have been elected
c
husband lived, reared two children,
to the State Congress of Yucatan, serving two terms of offi ce.
a and where she still resides. . . .
Discarded Pages is Cab Cumí’s life narrative accompanied Discarded Pages
“Yet the achievements of
Kathleen Rock Martín r
by her essays, poems, personal narratives, and political and
Araceli Cab Cumí extend beyond
is associate professor of public policy papers. Titled in honor of Cab Cumí’s earliest d the boundaries of her barrio,
anthropology at Florida
writings, which she had thrown away, thinking them of e hometown, state, or nation. In a
International University, Miami.
little value, Discarded Pages showcases her expressions and Araceli Cab Cumí place and time where women are still
d
thoughts within the context of her eventful and unusual life. underrepresented in partisan politics,
In addition to translations of her work, Cab Cumí’s original indigenous people a rarity, and
P
Spanish and Yucatec Maya writings are included in the book. Maya Poet and Politician indigenous women hardly a presence
Gramsci’s theoretically innovative concept of the “organic a at all, Araceli is a successful longtime
Maya woman politician. A grassroots
intellectual” is used to analyze Cab Cumí’s life and career. g
leader and political party activist
Th e book expands on Gramsci’s original concept to include
e
since 960, she is the only indigenous
discussions of gender, new social movements, and the social
s woman to have ever been elected to
context in which organic intellectuals labor as activists and
the Yucatecan State Congress. She
thinkers. Th roughout Discarded Pages Cab Cumí movingly
has in fact served two terms in the
represents the worldview of a Maya woman seeking to 
Congress, once in the mid-970s
represent other Maya women.
and again in the early 990s.

“But Araceli Cab Cumí is also
exceptional because she is a writer.
M
Over the past thirty years she
has written the political speeches
and position papers expected of a
a
politician, but she has also composed
r essays, poetry, and personal
t narratives. She has delivered many
í of the political speeches and position
n Kathleen Rock Martín papers in the Yucatecan State
Congress or at other political events.
jacket photo: isbn 978-0-8263-4066-5 Her essays, poetry, and personal
© Corbis, Antistock xHSKIMGy340665zv*:+:!:+:!
narratives, however . . . , were unread
jacket design:
by anyone other than Araceli until she
Kathleen Sparkes University of New Mexico Press
and I began this book.”
unmpress.com • 800-249-7737
—from Discarded Pages
Discaded Pages


Discarded Pages
Araceli Cab Cumí,
Maya Poet and Politician

Kathleen Rock Martín
University of New Mexico Press • Albuquerque
©2007 by the University of New Mexico Press
All rights reserved. Published 2007
Printed in the United States of America
3 2  0 09 08 07  2 3 4 5 6 7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martín, Kathleen R.
Discarded pages : Araceli Cab Cumí, Maya poet and politician /
Kathleen R. Martín.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8263-4066-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
. Cab Cumí, Araceli, 932–
2. Yucatán (Mexico : State)—Politics and government.
3. Politicians—Mexico—Yucatán (State)—Biography.
4. Poets, Mexican—20th century—Biography.
5. Maya women—Mexico—Yucatán (State)—Biography.
I. Title.
F376.C4 2007
305.48’8974207265092—dc22
[B]
200704093

Book design and typesetting: Kathleen Sparkes
This book was typeset using Minion Pro otf 0.5/4, 26p
Display type is Brioso Pro otf
In Memoriam
To Maria Isara Cumí Carbello with the best homage I can give her
To Román Ek, Donato Dzul, and Isamuel Zi
with honor and respect to our race
To Guibaldo López Lara as a symbol of teaching
To Dominga Cen and Maestra Paula Cruz Estrella
To Elvia Carrillo Puerto and Felipa Poot
To Don Pablo del S. Patrón Cih2
—Araceli Cab Cumí

To my two beloved grandmothers, Martha Ethel Whitney Jones and
Margaret Cecilia Tierney Rock. Gramma Jones was a woman of dignity,
love, and endurance. She is grievously missed by all of our family.
But also much remembered for the happiness, wisdom, and love she
brought to our lives. Gramma Rock died too young for me to know her.
Yet I feel her graceful and enduring presence living in our family memory.
And to my beloved Aunt Margaret, who gave us a lifetime of humor and
love. She taught us happiness in the most humble of life circumstances.
—Kathleen Rock Martín

Dedication
To Othón Baños Ramírez, Beatriz Castilla Ramos, Beatriz Torres Góngora,
and Juan Castillo Cocom, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán; Kathleen
Rock Martín, Florida International University; Allan Burns, University
of Florida; Sharon Mújica, University of North Carolina. To the primary
school, “Doctor Montessori” of Maxcanú, to the Cultural Missions of my
state, to the National Institute of Adult Education. To my brother and
sisters, Hugo, Dalia, and Maria. To Aidee Ventura, Carmela Dzul, Martina
Catzim, Edelmira Catzim, Teodora Rodriquez, Isidra Chan, Ernestina
Lopez, Cristina Ku’mul, Maria Candelaria Uc, Ismelda Ventura, M. Teresa
Canto C., Rosalia Pinzon R., M. Elena Martinez, Margarita Tun; to Emilia
Cime and to Nidelvia Ventura R.
—Araceli Cab Cumí

As Araceli says, “Death does not exist.” So I dedicate this book to my
father, Robert Francis Rock, for a lifetime of kindness, faith, and love,
and to my husband, William Alexander Martín Gonzalez. Memo,
you are my light and my reflection.
—Kathleen Rock Martín

Contents

List of Original Writings of Araceli Cab Cumí x
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction
A Maya Poet and Politician, Araceli Cab Cumí 
Chapter one
Writing the Contours of a Life 9
Chapter two
The Poetry of Place and Community 63
Chapter three
On Behalf of Women 05
Chapter four
An Agenda for the Maya 49
Chapter five
Poetry: “Because I Have a Heart” 97
Chapter six
Endings? 227
Conclusions 253
Appendix
Methodology 263
Notes 270
Works Cited 297
Index 307