A Life Distinct: The Muxe Of Mexico

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A Lifestyle Distinct: The Muxe of Mexico
 Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times
AT THE DEBUT Carmelo López Bernal, 13, at the recent annual town-wide muxe celebration,
the occasion for his first appearance in the identity of a girl.








                                              A LIFE DISTINCT:  THE MUXE OF MEXICO

       



       
By MARC LACEY
Published: December 6, 2008
The New York Times
Mexico City

— Mexico can be intolerant of homosexuality; it can also be quite liberal. Gay-bashing incidents are not uncommon in the countryside, where many Mexicans consider homosexuality a sin. In Mexico City, meanwhile, same-sex domestic partnerships are legally recognized — and often celebrated lavishly in government offices as if they were marriages.

In Mexico, Beyond Gay and Straight But nowhere are attitudes toward sex and gender quite as elastic as in the far reaches of the southern state of Oaxaca. There, in the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into gay and straight. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” (pronounced MOO-shays) — men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned netherworld between the two genders.

“Muxe” is a Zapotec word derived from the Spanish “mujer,” or woman; it is reserved for males who, from boyhood, have felt themselves drawn to living as a woman, anticipating roles set out for them by the community.

Anthropologists trace the acceptance of people of mixed gender to pre-Colombian Mexico, pointing to accounts of cross-dressing Aztec priests and Mayan gods who were male and female at the same time. Spanish colonizers wiped out most of those attitudes in the 1500s by forcing conversion to Catholicism. But mixed-gender identities managed to survive in the area around Juchitán, a place so traditional that many people speak ancient Zapotec instead of Spanish.

Not all muxes express their identities the same way. Some dress as women and take hormones to change their bodies. Others favor male clothes. What they share is that the community accepts them; many in it believe that muxes have special intellectual and artistic gifts.

Every November, muxes inundate the town for a grand ball that attracts local men, women and children as well as outsiders. A queen is selected; the mayor crowns her. “I don’t care what people say,” said Sebastian Sarmienta, the boyfriend of a muxe, Ninel Castillejo García. “There are some people who get uncomfortable. I don’t see a problem. What is so bad about it?”

Muxes are found in all walks of life in Juchitán, but most take on traditional female roles — selling in the market, embroidering traditional garments, cooking at home. Some also become sex workers, selling their services to men. .

Acceptance of a child who feels he is a muxe is not unanimous; some parents force such children to fend for themselves. But the far more common sentiment appears to be that of a woman who takes care of her grandson, Carmelo, 13.

“It is how God sent him,” she said.



Katie Orlinsky
contributed reporting from
Juchitán, Mexico.

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In the largely indigenous communities in and around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into gay and straight.

While Mexico can be intolerant of homosexuality; it can also be quite liberal.

In Mexico City, for instance, same-sex domestic partnerships are legally recognized.

But nowhere are attitudes toward sex and gender quite as elastic as in towns like Juchitán in the far reaches of the southern state of Oaxaca.



Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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In this part of Oaxaca — a narrow strip of land known as the Isthmus — the locals make room for a third category, whom they call “muxes” (pronounced MOO-shays).

Muxes are men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned netherworld between
the two genders.

At a friend’s home in Oaxaca City, Beth-Sua prepares to attend a transvestite beauty pageant held at a local nightclub.

Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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In the Séptima Sección, a working-class neighborhood of Juchitán, muxe friends greet each other.

They are there to attend a street party two blocks away for a 50th birthday.

“Muxe” is a Zapotec word derived from the Spanish “mujer,” or woman; it is reserved for males who,
from boyhood, have felt themselves drawn to living as a woman, anticipating roles set out for them
by the community.


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Alejandro (Alex) Martinez Taledo, 16, is one of six children and the only muxe in her family.

After selling flowers with her mother in the center of Juchitán, she looks for a taxi home.

The flowers she carries will be the family‘s gift for a quinceañera — 15th birthday party —
that evening.


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Alex with her mother, Rosa Taledo Vicente, and her father, Victor Martinez Jimenez.

Mr. Martinez is a construction worker who speaks Zapotec but little Spanish.

He and Alex have a loving relationship, and when asked about having a muxe son he replies:

“It was God who sent him and why would I reject him? He helps his mother very much.
Why would I get mad?
God sent him for both of us.
Why would I get mad?”


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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“Thalía,” who was named princess the night before at a vela,
or community celebration, for the muxes, waits for a parade to begin.


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Beth-Sua enjoys a smoke at a vela in Oaxaca City.

She traveled there from the Isthmus to represent her city’s muxes.

Beth-Sua, born as Octavio, is a local organizer and H.I.V.-AIDS activist.

She makes a living embroidering huipiles, the traditional blouse of the Isthmus region.



Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Carmelo (In title picture, above) with his grandmother at their home in Unión Hidalgo.

When asked about her grandson, she says:

“I feel normal about it, it is how God sent him, and I love him even though he isn’t a woman.
Who knows what kind of person he will be, he is still young.”

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Mistica, 30, from Juchitán, is a well-known and well-liked muxe.

She is recognized as an astute businesswoman, visible throughout the city as she sells
cosmetics and other products door to door.


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Ninel Castillejo Garcia, 23, with her parents.

Ninel was born in Mexico City and moved to the Isthmus with her family when she was 8.

Ninel’s parents accept her, referring to her as their daughter and calling her Ninel, as opposed
to her birth name, Orlando.

She is one the few muxes who has had surgical augmentation.

Ninel used to work as barwoman, but today she is supported by her boyfriend.
She spends her days taking care of her younger siblings and cooking for her family and boyfriend.


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Ninel with her boyfriend, Sebastian Sarmienta, 18 years old, have a laugh outside of Ninel’s home.

The couple met in Mexico City and eventually fell in love and moved in together with Ninel’s family
in the Isthmus.

Sebastian says he did not know Ninel was transgender at first, but adds:

“There’s nothing wrong with it. If I like her there’s nothing wrong with that.
I was never ashamed; I accept things as they are.
I’m not ashamed with my family either. I don’t care what people say. ...
There are some people that get uncomfortable. I don’t see any problem.
What is so bad about it? No one is going to die from this.”


Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Ninel’s mother helps her prepare for a vela, pinning on a sash that reads,

“Transvestite of the Year ’07,”

a title Ninel won at a beauty contest in nearby beach town Huatulco.



Ninel enjoys any possible occasion to show off her good looks, and her parents support her interest by helping her prepare for events and attending the events themselves.



Photo: Katie Orlinsky

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Muxes, men, women and children dance together at a grand celebration for muxes across the Isthmus —

the Vela de las Intrepidas Buscadoras de Peligro.

Each year in November the muxes, along with roughly 1,500 guests, come together in Juchitán.

They choose a “reina,” or princess, and the mayor bestows the crown.

The party costs around $10,000 to put together and requires a full year of preparation by the organizers.



Photo: Katie Orlinsky