My first experience with rural Mexico

One of the most memorable moments thus far took place on the 25th and 26th of January. Some quick background: I have three classes here at Tec. One is studio, one is a Mexican history class (fascinating stuff and is actually helping to explain and give depth some of my observations), and a class entitled Viviendo (dwelling or living). The purpose of this class is to study the vernacular architecture of the rural Altiplano region of Mexico, which is basically a desert area in the northern part of the country. (This class takes the place of ARCH 526, Fundamentals of Historic Preservation). This class is focused on a very small village (20 families, less than 100 people) named San Felipe. San Felipe is an ejido, or communal village, and traditionally relies on local resources for survival. In recent years, the people of San Felipe have begun using materials such as concrete and corrugated metal from distant places. These materials are easier and faster to build with, but they cost more, are uncomfortable in cold and hot weather, are harmful to the environment, lose the sense of place that is San Felipe, and simply are not as pleasing to the eye. Most of the people in San Felipe have relatives in the United States that send them money, and some of the men in the village have (and continue to) spent time in the United States working, usually in the summer and usually in construction. This foreign influence has two noticeable affects on the construction of the village. First is the idea that using concrete and metal, which go through many steps of transportation and manufacturing after raw materials are extracted from the earth, have a higher social standard than a house made of elements that are very close to their natural state (i.e. earth blocks, reed ceilings, thatch roofs, etc.). Second, the construction techniques of buildings in the U.S. are learned and implemented into San Felipe. The purpose of the class, other than documentation, is to continue work on a prototype house that uses vernacular and traditional building materials and methods as much as possible, while using new materials when needed.

Earlier I listed problems that arise with the use of concrete and metal. I first struggled, and still do to a degree, with justifying some of these problems. I felt like we were imposing problems onto the community. The idea that the materials were removing the sense of place from San Felipe and the fact that they were not pleasing to the eye seemed judgmental. But that is what architecture often is, making judgments about built structures, judging the proposed work of others, and judging our own decisions. I realized I was hesitant to recognize some of these problems because I did not want to come across as condescending. But by being afraid to be condescending I was not putting this community on a level playing field, in the architectural sense. Because the people of San Felipe have a different lifestyle that I am not familiar with and because I had the impression that they did not have a lot of resources to choose from, I felt bad being critical of their choices. But not being critical and standing by while someone makes a bad or uninformed choice when I am in the position to be a source of information or a resource of labor, than I will not be able to do any good and will not be able to gain true understanding. As long as I am approaching the situation in a top-down/people-in-need-of-help style instead of an approach that has the future condition, stability, knowledge, and sustainability of San Felipe as the focus than I might as well have never gotten involved in the project. But realizations like this (no matter how ashamed you sometimes feel having them) are great to have, and I'm glad that the last year has been full of them.

So these were the thoughts in my head going into this project, most of them before I had made my way to San Felipe. At 6:30 am, I arrived at the campus of Tec to meet up with Pedro Pacheco, my professor, and two others who were going to San Felipe on the first visit of the semester. (Side note: There are several projects headed by Tec that are focused on San Felipe including capture and storing of rainwater for human drinking, irrigation, and animal consumption; better agricultural methods; improved latrines; production of biofuel; strengthening of the ejido (communal) system; creation of business opportunities from agriculture; and the building of a sustainable prototype house.)

We began the 3 hour journey in a good sized pickup truck, the four of us. We soon stopped for coffee (why everyone has to drink coffee I will never understand) and I was unfortunate to discover we were also meeting another person who would be joining us in the truck. He turned out to be quite large, which means he automatically got shotgun while I got backseat, middle, feet on the hump. But after tons of beautiful scenery, some breakfast that included green eggs (due to the salsa verde), a cd of a Mexican comic which had everyone cracking up (except for the non-Spanish speaker), and a short nap, we were soon there. And by there I mean a 4-mile long lane just off the main highway leading off into the distance. The lane was dirt, had several ruts, and not-so-subtly suggested not traveling over 10 mph.

After a few minutes on the lane we came to the crest of the hill and looked over a small valley, and in that valley in the distance began to appear some earth-colored one-story structures in a near-grid pattern. This was my first glimpse of San Felipe. We entered the village and parked in front of the community building known as Casa Vida. Within minutes nearly all the men in the village made their way to the the building (it is hard to enter the village without everyone knowing it). I had two surprises immediately. First was the dress of the men. I wasn't sure what I was expecting exactly, but it was not what I saw. They were dressed exactly like my uncles do on their farm in Indiana. I wasn't expecting primitive rags or anything, but I was expecting something somewhat Mexican or traditional. But why would they wear the kind of clothes that requires either special ordering or actually making them rather than wearing clothes that are easy to get. The second striking thing was that only men showed up to the building. In fact, that entire day I only came within speaking range with seven women and girls.

The conversation in the Casa Vida went on for 2 hours. I know this because I recorded it on a digital recorder with hopes of listening to it later to better understand what was said, the length seems daunting, however. From what I understood, the directer of Tec programs gave a summary of the progress that had been made and then some of the people of the community voiced concerns or thoughts they had.

We then took a short tour of some of the village including a prototype house the people of the village have started on their own, the prototype house that Pedro has started, some of the houses that people live in, a house that has been abandoned after the owner died, and just walking through the paths between the buildings.

Pedro & Sergio discuss the height of the community prototype building.

A traditional ceiling. This is not able to collect water and also can be full of dust and insects.

A traditional chimney that houses the cooking area.

While visiting the prototype house I saw a demonstration comparing two types of blocks made from local earth. The comparison was dropping them from chest height. One retained its original shape, the other chose to become many smaller earthen pieces and dust. There was a larger stack of the later block type, I don't think that is a good sign.

Block that survived the fall.

Did not survive the fall.

It was interesting to see the current state of the prototype house as there are construction methods I am not familiar with and will get to experience first hand as I begin to work on the house later on in the semester.



We made our way to what I consider the most elaborate house in the village (paint, details, garden layout, respect that people seemed to have for the owner) for lunch. It was delicious.

The hand-washing area just outside the kitchen.

Pedro then showed me some of the details of the abandoned house, which was falling apart, which is very nice as it allows us to see the layers of a traditionally-built house. I will definitely be spending more time in that house. He also showed me some failed attempts at recent building. The residents of San Felipe have forgotten some of the aspects of traditional building and have tried to mix traditional building with concrete. The results have been unfinished corners with rebar skeletons reaching up into the sky and un-roofed walls.



Another thing Pedro had me notice were the different fences. There were the usual chain-link or barbed wire, then there were what he calls "living fences" made of cactus and plant fibers, and then a mix of of the two ("half-living" or "comatose" fences perhaps?).





By this time it was about 3:30 in the afternoon and the men from Tec were ready to leave. I was signed up for a trip organized by the school to Real de Catorce, which was 2 hours further south. Rather than travel the 3 hours back to Monterrey and then travel 5 hours the next morning to Real de Catorce, I planned to stay the night in San Felipe and then catch a bus to Real de Catorce on my own in the morning. Pedro insisted that this plan would work out. I was skeptical but went along with it. Before the others left we made sure that I had a place to stay by asking the men at the meeting if anyone would be ok with letting me have a room. There was about a 15 second silence, then a man named Sergio said it would be ok. Also, Damasio and Jesus agreed to show me around the village for a while.

Immediately after the others from Tec left, I went to look at the water collection tanks that are fed by the roof of the Casa Vida and began asking some questions in bad Spanish.



Damasio must have grown bored because he wandered off. San Felipe receives all of it water for drinking, cooking, and bathing from rain. The groundwater in the area is contaminated with arsenic, from natural practices. For awhile the people were getting their water from a nearby pond, the same pond that local animals were drinking from. The result was serious and common stomach problems. Tec got involved and helped to set up a rainwater collection system. Now the people have a fresh supply of water, but they must use it sparingly. Jesus told me that the tanks were currently about 1/3 full. I asked Jesus how much it rained, but he was hesitant to tell me an amount or schedule. He said it rains when it rains, it's very unpredictable. The last time it rained was about 4 months ago.

We then wandered over to the primary school, which is one room. It was made of concrete blocks and a metal roof. I asked why these materials were used, and Jesus told me that the government has paid for and built the school, therefore the government picked the materials. There were also 3 empty buildings within the school lot that were once the houses for the teachers, but are now unused. From what I understood, the teacher comes from outside the community now, and I do not think that there is class every day of the week.

I then suggested we visit Jesus's house, he seemed pleased that I wanted to see it. We neared the house and I saw that it was made of concrete blocks and a metal roof. I asked about the temperature in the summer, and he said that it was not bad. He left two sides of the common room open air to allow for air flow, and he explains that this keeps the house cool. He made it very clear that only half the house was finished, as one side did not yet have plaster on the inside. I thought it was funny how there seemed to a chicken on every piece of furniture, until Jesus chased them out. Compared to the traditional houses I was in earlier, this house did not seem as inviting. It seemed like a shelter, not a home. But Jesus seemed happy that he had chosen to use concrete and metal.

Roof detail on Jesus's house.

After the short tour, Jesus explained that he wanted to be with his family and excused me. I had no idea where to go next, so I headed to the house where we had eaten lunch since it was my favorite house so far. As I approached the house I saw that there were 5 men sitting around the table in one of the rooms. I asked if I could join them and they offered a seat. We spent a few moments talking about the meeting earlier and I also learned that two of the men, who were just a few years older than me, were from Monterrey and could speak decent English. This was helpful so that when I did not know a word in Spanish I could ask for a translation instead of fumbling around for another way to say something. We also started talking about the rainwater collection and they asked me if I had seen the storage tanks outside the village. I was not aware they existed, so we jumped in a pickup and headed out into the nearby desert.

There were 4 water collection areas near the village that was used to water the cattle and goats, some of which are semi wild. Each storage area has water filtered by gravel and is surrounded by a chain link fence and meter-high berm to protect from contamination.



After the tour of the water storage areas, the two visitors from Monterrey left for home and the other men excused me. Not knowing what to do next, I discovered that the village teenage boys were playing volleyball. By the time I reached the court it was minutes to dusk so the game was winding down. I asked them what people did at night, and they told me that sleeping was popular. They all decided to go elsewhere, so I hit the streets again. As I was looking for something to do, I noticed that a popular activity of the late teens was to simply drive around and kick up dust just outside of the village. Realizing I could be hit if I stayed in the street, I wandered to the small store beside the Casa Vida where I saw a few people sitting. There were 3 men and two boys sitting and listening to some music playing from a parked car. We made some small talk then it was time for the store to close (8 pm) and they all headed home. I did manage to ask them if every weekend was like this, and they said they have fiestas with nearby villages at least once a month. So there is a regular dose of excitement.

With nothing else to do, I went to Sergio's house were I found him working on the back axle to his truck. He invited me to sit down and watch some TV to improve my Spanish, which I did. He soon invited me to eat some dinner, where I got to taste some of the water collected from the rain. All day I was contemplating whether or not I should risk drinking the water, but once it was offered to me I thought, "what's the worst that could happen?" and went for it. The worst that happened was a moth fell into the glass and drowned, and I got a fresh glass. I then returned to the TV and become re-acquainted with a Mexican soap opera I had seen a few years ago. It was so horribly dramatic, but it was entertaining.

I went to bed somewhat dreading the experience with finding the bus stop and waiting for the bus that was supposed to come. I also reflected on the high points of the day. I hoped I made a good impression on most of the people by giving my best attempt at Spanish and by asking questions. The people are not unfriendly, but they are not really outgoing to strangers either. When I started a conversation, they were happy to talk. I will be visiting again soon to continue documentation, and then work on the prototype house will begin in late-February or March. Much will be learned.