ABSTRACT

This chapter examines how the Jose Maria Perez family's ethnic status was fashioned. It analyzes how this changed over time and how this shift sparked the emigration of almost the entire family. Most Tapenos are aware of the biological link between the Perez family and the priest's illegitimate offspring, but nevertheless consider the latter to be runa. To understand fully the dominant position held by the Pérez family one must include the regional power structure in the analysis. A number of the family's characteristics, including physical appearance and life-style, combined with the fact that the first Perez was a Catholic priest representing a power of European origin, set them apart from the rest of the villagers. The dissolution of ethnic relations prompted the Perez family's third and in particular its fourth generations to migrate in far greater numbers than other Tapeño families.