Modalities of community participation of the hñähñus of San Miguel Tlazintla, Hidalgo, who emigrated to California and Tennessee

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the inhabitants of the indigenous towns of Mexico have emigrated to the United States, due to the conditions of poverty and marginalization they face in their places of origin. Such is the case of the Hñähñu indigenous population, originally from San Miguel Tlazintla, in the state of Hidalgo. Despite the distance, the hñähñus communities have managed to maintain their cohesion, based on the preservation of practices that lead them to maintain and consolidate the different forms of community participation in their place of origin. The objective of this work is to know the different modalities of community participation of hñähñus migrants who live in the cities of Anaheim (California) and Nashville (Tennessee). A survey was established as a methodological strategy that considered the following: a) identifies the sociodemographic profile; b) establish the forms of community organization, defined by the members of the study group themselves; c) define the terms in which participation is carried out and the process of linking between the place of origin and the place of destination is given rise. The main findings show that this migrant population, for the most part, faces serious problems of educational backwardness, lack of social security, with precarious jobs, and with undocumented immigration status, however, they continue to participate in the social organization of their community of origin. Through the main elements of communality, such as the task, the cargo system and the assembly, usually with the support of family or friends.