Sons of the Sierra

By Patrick J. McNamara,

Book cover of Sons of the Sierra: Juárez, Díaz, and the People of Ixtlán, Oaxaca, 1855-1920

Book description

The period following Mexico's war with the United States in 1847 was characterized by violent conflicts, as liberal and conservative factions battled for control of the national government. In ""Sons of the Sierra"", Patrick McNamara explores events in the Oaxaca district of Ixtlan, where Zapotec Indians supported the liberal cause…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sons of the Sierra as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

McNamara’s wonderful account shows how communities in Oaxaca understood military service as both a duty to their region, to their people, and as a way to connect to the wider national project and specific presidents. Fighting for the National Guard created a different stake in Mexico and in political life, and the ways that Zapotec peasants remembered this gives new insights into participatory political culture. 

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