Dialectical materialism classes in Guerrero

Reyes Martinez Torrijos

La Jornada NewspaperMonday, February 24, 2025, p. 2

Historian and activist Enrique Semo said that he joined the Mexican left in the 1960s because of the impression made on him by the teachers' movement.

He told La Jornada that in 1962 he visited one of the leaders of the teachers' union, Othón Salazar, not so much out of a thought, but because of his desire to help the mobilized teachers.

The author of The Left in its Labyrinth (1974-2024) recalled his dialogue with the normalista:

“What’s up, Enrique?”

“–Well, I want to help this movement –I was already a professor at the university–, how do I do it? I don’t know the details of the position.

“–I don’t want you to know that. Go to the teachers and give them lectures on Marxism.”

At one of those conferences, Semo continued, in a teachers' house in a small, poor town in Guerrero, he spoke to eight participants about dialectical materialism, historical materialism, and the three revolutions in the history of Mexico.

There was a downpour like the southern floods. We were in a house on a slope. The water started to come in. I was talking and the teachers grabbed the chairs, put them on the table, we sat down on them and continued the conversation , the intellectual recalled and burst out laughing.

He said that in the magazine he directed later, Historia y Sociedad, there were many quite theoretical and complex articles , and that it was impressive to go to Baja California, talk to workers and have them tell me that they had read a theoretical article on the most complex aspects of the Conquest .

Such anecdotes show the interest in Marxism and its progress at that time.

▲ Attendees at the 46th edition of the FILPM last weekend. Photo by Yazmín Ortega Cortés

Reyes Martinez Torrijos

La Jornada NewspaperMonday, February 24, 2025, p. 3

The text The Mayan Nation: Gestation, Becoming, and Resistance deals with the historical evolution of this culture over the centuries and up to the present; that is, both the greatness of the dead Mayans and the greatness of the living Mayans , said sociologist and philosopher Armando Bartra.

Yesterday, during the presentation of the volume at the Palacio de Minería International Book Fair (FILPM), the specialist said that it is an indispensable text that the Mayan people needed, in addition to being a beautiful document, a book-object.

Bartra stressed that this is a rigorous material written by specialists and, at the same time, not only for academics; only by being written by a group of more than 20 people was it possible to undertake such a broad task.

He recalled that it was very important that more than half a century ago, in 1974, thousands of people met at the Indigenous Congress of Chiapas, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, where they spoke in four major languages ​​and in Spanish.

During the course, the delegates from the peoples first discovered that they were Tseltal, Tsotsil, etc. Then, that they shared their status as Mayas from Chiapas; furthermore, that this status was not limited to the entity, but that they were Mayas from all over the territory and, finally, indigenous people of the world , added the philosopher.

He emphasized the milestone that occurred in the early hours of January 1, 1994: the first indigenous uprising of the new millennium.

On the other hand, he said that the book needed to mention the feat of the Mayan people who 100 years ago launched an assault on heaven, on utopia, which they first dreamed of, then imagined, and then began to build Mayan socialism .

This is due to the absence of the Socialist Party of the Southeast and of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, who, although not Maya, governed in Maya with the Maya and for the Maya. Fortunately, Elvia Carrillo Puerto, a formidable social activist, is mentioned .

Armando Bartra recalled the importance of the political organization that carried out several revolutions in one with comparatively little bloodshed: the political and the agrarian one, which, taking up the motto of Land and Liberation, carried out the second agrarian distribution , as well as agricultural, pedagogical, cultural and feminist revolutions.

“They knew that the revolution was not complete without feminism. They recognized women's political rights 100 years ago, but they also made progress on sexual and reproductive rights. 'Who does a woman's body belong to, if not to a woman?', said the Yucatecan Mayans.”

He thanked Diego Prieto Hernández, head of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, for coordinating this book, which is overwhelmingly full of other important topics, such as the development, transformation and resistance of indigenous peoples to the Conquest.

Based on the text coordinated by Diego Prieto and José Luis Perea González, researcher Carlos San Juan Victoria took a tour through the history of the migrations that led to the formation of the great Mayan civilizations, which date back several millennia and are part of the select group of cradles of civilization.

He referred to the process of migration, then to the change from nomadic to sedentary groups with the domestication of flora and fauna, and the creation of permanent population centers, and to the emergence of social hierarchy.

With the outbreak of the Spanish Conquest, Saint John Victoria added: “a story occurred that is only half told, because there was great domination and the fracturing of relations between peoples and territories (…) We need to better tell how this ancient civilization of millennia managed to sneak into the monarchy.”

After the Conquest, the Mayans produced a very peculiar thing: the white elites speak some Mayan. There is a very strong cultural influence from the bottom up .

The economist concluded: “It is possible to imagine a future for our country, where the association of peoples is linked to strategic problems, self-sufficient food systems and the environmental crisis and how to solve it.

In short, a series of problems that give rise to the belief that this ancient Mayan past has a future with us.

▲ Actor, singer and writer Mario Iván Martínez during the reading of his work aloud. Photo by Yazmín Ortega Cortés

Daniel Lopez Aguilar

La Jornada NewspaperMonday, February 24, 2025, p. 3

The 46th edition of the Palacio de Minería International Book Fair had a magical moment with the presentation of the book De niños, pianos y un grillito: El pequeño Gabilondo (Alfaguara), by actor, producer, writer and singer Mario Iván Martínez.

The event brought together a hundred attendees last Saturday in the Hall of the Academy of Engineering, where literature and music were intertwined in a heartfelt tribute to the Mexican composer Francisco Gabilondo Soler, Cri-Cri.

The auditorium was packed. The audience was dominated by children and young people who were carried away by the voice of Mario Iván Martínez, who read fragments of the fictional story of Pancho, a mischievous boy with an overflowing passion for music and imagination.

The story, which portrays the childhood dreams of the creator of Cri-Cri, the Singing Cricket, struck a chord. Each word was greeted with murmurs of wonder, laughter and, at the end of each passage, prolonged applause.

With his unmistakable narrative style, Martínez transported viewers back to Gabilondo Soler's childhood, revealing how his love for compositions and books was encouraged by his father and grandmother.

The figure of the little cricket, who in the story becomes a faithful companion on adventures, generated smiles and evoked memories in adults, who undoubtedly grew up listening to the unforgettable songs of the Singing Cricket.

One of the most emotional moments occurred when the writer and actor shared his meeting with Tiburcio Gabilondo, son of the legendary composer. He recounted how he had access to original scores and that, in an almost mystical moment, he sat in the same chair occupied by Francisco Gabilondo Soler, next to his ashes.

Among the attendees, a woman and her blind son experienced the event with particular intensity. While the young man laughed and applauded excitedly, she listened to the story with emotion.

The book, illustrated by Juan Gedovius, is part of a collection that explores the childhood of historical figures such as Van Gogh, Mozart and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. On this occasion, the tribute to Cri-Cri comes in the context of the 90th anniversary of its creation and reaffirms its place in the collective memory of Mexico.

During his speech, Gedovius joked about his role in the project, and said that, more than an illustrator, he considered himself an ingredient in Mario Iván Martínez's work. With funny anecdotes, he shared his creative process and highlighted how art arises from curiosity, friendship and the passion for telling stories.

With his peculiar sense of humor, he recalled experiences in the publishing world, and stressed the importance of preserving the characters that have marked the childhood of generations.

This book does not exist until it reaches your eyes , said Gedovius, inviting people to take ownership of the story and share it. He also reflected on the need to recognize that great creators, such as Francisco Gabilondo Soler (1907-1990), were once dreaming children who found in music and literature a refuge and a driving force for their creativity.

Mario Iván Martínez recalled that since he was a child he also shared aspirations similar to those of Gabilondo Soler, and how these are reflected in his children's autobiographical book Güerito de rancho.