ABSTRACT
The United States is currently enjoying a resurgence of storytelling. Local libraries offer children's story hours while universities and colleges encourage adults to enroll in courses devoted to writing biographies. Witnessing this resurgence in my own community, I am moved to tell a story of stories and their decline in the community of Morelos, Mexico, where I have conducted research since 1984. When I first visited Morelos, I was moved by the passionate tales elders told during political meetings and by the fact that the respect these tales garnered gave elders a continuing power in the community. But, by 1991, when I returned to Morelos to carry out additional research, these tales were no longer part of the daily public practices of community life. How did this happen, and what changes in Morelos politics accompanied this shift in the position of the storyteller? The answer may be instructive for broadening our understanding of the contemporary resurgence of storytelling.
