ABSTRACT
The village is located in one of the greenest valleys of Mexico, fertilized by underground springs and mountain streams which become rivers crisscrossing the valley. For centuries the main crops grown in the area have been sugarcane and rice, and they are also the two major crops of the village, where most of the people are occupied in agriculture. Nearby are villages where people still speak Nahuatl and maintain some of the old customs. Most villagers do not identify themselves with the past, but see themselves as underprivileged, inferior members of modern society. They would like to escape from peasant poverty and participate in the many good things that have been invented to make life more comfortable and enjoyable. Almost all of the villagers were dependent on the hacienda. A small community, no more than 40 to 50 families, lived in thatched huts outside the hacienda walls. The hacienda made its own law.
