ABSTRACT
Whether one speaks in terms of the cultural properties of nationalism or the political perquisites of the state, the role of the intellectual in multiethnic populations is a critical one. The intellectual, whether writer, artist, or politician, is the one who articulates grievances, formulates nationalistic statements, and translates popular belief into a coherent ideology. The Zapotec of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, especially those of the city of Juchitan, offer excellent material for a discussion of the role of intellectuals in mediating local, primarily ethnic concerns and the political dispensations of privilege on the part of the nation. After Nahuatl and Maya speakers, the Zapotec represent the third largest indigenous group in Mexico. Juchitan has always depended on the work and recognition of its intellectuals and its artists for its status as a special city, a preeminently Zapotec city. In the pattern typical for Zapotec intellectuals, Gurrion was elected Diputado Propietario for the District of Juchitan in 1912.
