Maritel Yanes Perez She has a degree in Law from the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, a teacher in Demography from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, and a PhD in Population Studies from El Colegio de México. Conacyt Commissioned Chairs at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur Villahermosa Unit. Topics of specialization: violence, gender, human rights and indigenous peoples.

Realidades socioculturales

Gender roles in Totonac culture within coffee production. The case of Zongozotla

  •  Maritel Yanes Perez
  • Luis Roberto Canto Valdes

Keywords: coffee, worldview, gender, native peoples, Totonacs.

In this study we analyze the gender roles assumed by some men and women of Totonac origin who are dedicated to the cultivation of coffee in the municipality of Zongozotla, in the Sierra Norte of the state of Puebla, to see what traditional practices are still observed and evidence those values and beliefs that have been modernized. We used the participant observation technique, we conducted fifteen interviews with Totonaco-speaking women accompanied by their husbands. We interpret our results from a gender perspective, but respecting the indigenous worldview of the interviewees. We find traditional patterns of behavior and some elements that force us to rethink gender from the perspective of original people.