About Chimalapas
The Chimalapas Story
Visiting the Chimalapas
Visiting the Chimalapas
The Chimalapas is a mountain range in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a relatively small mountain range that is a remnant of the Sierra Madres. To the south of the Chimalapas is a flat area known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and to the south of the Isthmus lies the Central American Highlands mountain range. The Chimalapas m
The Chimalapas is a mountain range in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a relatively small mountain range that is a remnant of the Sierra Madres. To the south of the Chimalapas is a flat area known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and to the south of the Isthmus lies the Central American Highlands mountain range. The Chimalapas mountain range is like an island of mountains situated between the Sierra Madres and the Central American Highlands. Because it is isolated from these other mountain ranges it has an unusual mixture of plants and animals some of which can be found nowhere else on earth.
The Chimalapas is at the cross roads of the tropical flora of south america and the temperate flora of North America. You will see exotic tropical species of orchids, cycads, aroids growing with temperate species such as pines, oaks, liquidambars and alders.
The people of the Chimalapas are also unique. The area of the Chimalapas is occupied by speakers of the Zoce language. However, speakers of Tzotzil also exist in the Chimalapas. This is because the Chimalapas is partially situated in the state of Chiapas. Tzotzil is one of the main language groups in Chiapas. To the south and the west of the Chimalapas lies the Isthmus of Tehuantepec where people speak Zapoteca. On the coast near the Chimalapas the language group is Huave. The Huave lifestyle is centered on the Mar Muerto off of the coast of Oaxaca. To the east of the Chimalapas in the Sierra Madre Occidental around the valley of Oaxaca, the people speak Mixe and Mixteca. The valley of Oaxaca is where the capital city of Oaxaca is located. The valley of Oaxaca is probably the best known part of Oaxaca. The Chimalapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is less well-known, but actually more interesting than the other parts of Oaxaca.
One of the reasons the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has attracted interest historically is because it is a flat and narrow landmass where goods can be easily shipped from Salina Cruz to the state of Vera Cruz. Prior to the construction of the Panama Canal, this was a major trade route. Now with limitations on the amount of cargo traveling the Panama Canal, a new rail road and shipping facilities are being brought to this area again. The hope is that this railroad will bring new economic opportunities to this area that relies primarily on farming. The city of Tapanatepec is a center for an early mango harvest n southern Mexico. Mescal, is a product largely of the valley of Oaxaca, but Meguay farming has commenced in earnest in the Isthmus. Mescal is seen as a lucrative local product that is part of the traditional way of life in the Oaxaca valley.
The Isthmus Zapotecs have a society and culture that has attracted artists such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Tina Modotti, Diego Rivera and many others. Frida Kahlo's tradition costume was a Istmena Zapotec costume, even though she was from far-away Mexico City. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is known for it matriarchal society and beautiful women. These women are merchants selling food clothing and other goods in the city of Juchitan. Juchitan is also known for its mujes, men who dress as women, a tradition going back many years.
The Zoce people in the Chimalapas are distinct from the Isthmenas. The Zoces are mountain people who engage in farming. While the Isthmus can be oppressively hot, the Chimalapas are cool and breezy with pine oaks and other temperate trees. The isthmenas tend to be loud and chaotic, while the Zoces and Tzotziles tend to be more quiet and peaceful.
Despite the rural pastoral lifestyle in the Chimalapas there have been violent conflicts in this area. The Chimalapas get their name from the three jicaras, or gourds, of gold the indigenous people paid to a monk to acquire title to the land that he had acquired ironically from the Queen of Spain. despite this a large portion of the Chimalapas was given over to the state of Chiapas. Because the state line ran through these rugged mountains the exact boundaries were difficult to define. Consequently, lumber companies and settlers moved into the Chimalapas contrary to the sovereignty claimed by the two local government centers of San Miguel and Santa Maria. The result was violent conflict between the Chiapanecos and the Oaxacanos. A Mexican Supreme Court has since ruled that the area of some of these Chiapanecan satellite communities is actually in the state of Oaxaca. these settlers are now in the process of either leaving the area or accepting the authority of San Miguel Chimalapa. The form of government in the Chimalapas is the ejido, with a general assembly and a council. individuals have plots of land that are private, but the vast majority of the land is held communally. Thus the large areas of undisturbed ancient forests are subject to the oversite of the local communities. The Chimalapas contain the largest area of undisturbed virgin forest in all of latin america. The future of this land is largely in the hands of the local people. However, invasions from the surrounding areas continue. The Chimalapas are protected in part by their inaccessibility. The area know as Atrevasada is composed of fold of the earth that are nearly vertically stacked against one another.
the communal nature of the ejido form of local government was originally based on endemic social systems and the communal lifestyle continues in the Chimalapas. The people in San Antonio Chimalapas work in communal groups where the share resources and help one another. The family and the community area the only safety nets for the people who understand the value of maintaining family and community ties. In this part of Mexico a person without a family or a community to fall back on is in great peril.
CULTURA Y BOTÁNICA MEXICANA
“Se puede considerar que la historia botánica de México comenzó con los conquistadores, ya que las primeras cartas de Cortés al rey contienen referencias a los curiosos productos vegetales del país. La verdadera historia de las actividades botánicas en México comienza en una fecha mucho más temprana, pues los habitantes nativos, que ya habían alcanzado un alto grado de civilización, pudieron haber dicho que iniciaron investigaciones científicas. "" ... Ninguna de las naciones de Europa era muy superior a los mexicanos en conocimiento botánico. Al menos en un aspecto, estos últimos habían logrado mayores avances en la actividad botánica, ya que habían establecido un jardín botánico, en una escala elaborada, algo que no se intentó en Europa hasta una fecha aún posterior. El pueblo azteca no solo había adquirido un conocimiento íntimo de las cualidades económicas de las plantas con las que entraba en contacto ... sino que había desarrollado una apreciación estética por las plantas solo por su belleza, un hecho que indica un estado de desarrollo moral bastante elevado. Las flores se cultivaban extensivamente en el Valle de México, y se llevaban en grandes cantidades a los mercados, donde se compraban para adorno y decoración de residencias y templos. Este amor por las flores ha persistido hasta el día de hoy entre los mexicanos y las flores cortadas todavía ocupan mucho espacio en los mercados de toda la República ” (Trees and Shrubs of Mexico, Paul C. Standley, 1924, vol. 1, pg.9)
En 1554 se publicó el Codex Barberini 241 con dibujos de plantas mexicanas que describen sus propiedades medicinales basándose en las tradiciones de los Aztecas. Este libro que hoy se guarda muy de cerca en el Vaticano fue elaborado por dos eruditos Aztecas, Martín de La Cruz y Juan Badiano. Las imágenes muestran una apreciación y un conocimiento muy avanzados de las plantas y flores en una época en que el conocimiento de las plantas por parte de los europeos estaba menos desarrollado. Una de las plantas que se muestra con gran detalle es la vainilla (tlil-xotchil) un tipo de orquídea cuyas vainas de semillas fueron utilizadas por los Aztecas para dar sabor al chocolate (cacaua-xotchil) que también es de México. También se observa que el pueblo Azteca portaba Plumeria o Flor del Cementaria (cacalo-xotchil) cuando visitaba a una persona muy estimada. No cabe duda de que el pueblo Mexicano tiene una apreciación y una comprensión muy desarrolladas de las plantas y flores que se remontan a miles de años.
Las plantas y las flores tienen una conexión con la espiritualidad en México. Cempaol-xotchil se usa para honrar a los antepasados en el día de los muertos, al igual que las flores de palma y muchas otras plantas y flores. Los huipiles de la Juchiteca están adornados con flores. Hay muchos otros ejemplos que solo conocen las personas de las comunidades endémicas. Este conocimiento y estas tradiciones deben ser preservados por el pueblo mexicano para su bienestar y compartir con otras personas para su bienestar.
Los científicos y exploradores europeos han estado viajando a México y estudiando sus tesoros botánicos durante cientos de años. Estas exploraciones fueron ordenadas por reyes y reinas. El rey de España permitió que Alejandro Von Humboldt, uno de los naturalistas más famosos de la historia, visitara México en 1803 y 1804. Estudió sus plantas e incluso escribió un libro alabando la cultura endémica Mexicana. Lo que atrajo a los científicos y la nobleza de Europa a México es la belleza única de sus plantas y la cultura de su gente. El pueblo Mexicano vive en medio de un tesoro de inmenso valor. Además de los minerales, el petróleo y las granjas de México, hay árboles, orquídeas, cactus y otras flores de singular belleza que no se pueden ver en ningún otro lugar del mundo.
La gente debe proteger estas maravillas naturales de México, pero al mismo tiempo, estos recursos pueden usarse para ayudar a desarrollar aún más el país de México. Tanto Estados Unidos como Costa Rica han creado parques como museos protegidos por la ley que contienen los lugares naturales más preciados del país. Yosemite, Monte Verde y Yellowstone son nombres que los amantes de la naturaleza de todo el mundo saben que son parques que pueden ser visitados por turistas ecológicos. Los ecoturistas están dispuestos a gastar su dinero para ver estas maravillas naturales. Necesitan comida, alojamiento, guías y otros servicios. Tienen estándares muy altos para el tipo de hoteles y restaurantes que patrocinarán. Esto se debe a que la mayoría de los ecoturistas son personas que viven en grandes ciudades y anhelan ver el mundo natural en el que evolucionaron todos los seres humanos. Es una tendencia humana natural querer disfrutar de la naturaleza. Las Chimalapas no son menos hermosas que estos otros parques nacionales en todo el mundo. Tomará tiempo y esfuerzo hacer de las Chimalapas un destino turístico natural, pero se puede lograr.
Las generaciones más jóvenes de Mexicanos pueden estudiar plantas y animales. Pueden convertirse en guardabosques, botánicos y conservacionistas. Estos son algunos de los trabajos del futuro que permitirán a los jóvenes mantener a sus familias mientras México se desarrolla junto a otros países. Este tipo de desarrollo también da como resultado la protección de los Chimalapas en lugar de explotarlos de la manera en que las corporaciones extranjeras pueden explotar los Chimalapas para madera, ganado o minería. El resultado para la gente de los Chimalapas es mejor y el resultado para otras personas alrededor del mundo es mejor. Los bosques absorben el dióxido de carbono que está provocando el calentamiento global y emiten el oxígeno que necesitamos para vivir. Con reglas adecuadas para prevenir la explotación de plantas naturales, se pueden propagar en viveros y vender en todo el mundo a buenos precios. Dichos viveros deben tener una licencia del gobierno para detener la recolección ilegal de plantas.
La gente de los Chimalapas tiene más para compartir con la gente de otros países que sus maravillas naturales. La gente de los Chimalapas tiene una forma de vida centrada en su familia y sus tradiciones que la gente de otros países ha perdido. Los ecoturistas también pueden ver que las personas de las grandes ciudades deben seguir las tradiciones de las Chimalapas, ya que han olvidado el valor de la familia en favor del valor del dinero. La gente de los Chimalapas vive en armonía con la naturaleza. Su forma de vida no produce cantidades masivas de plástico y otros desechos dañinos. No producen cantidades masivas de gases de efecto invernadero que están arruinando el mundo.
La gente de los Chimalapas tiene la oportunidad de continuar con su estilo de vida mientras crea una vida mejor para sus hijos. Al hacerlo, pueden enseñar a otras personas del mundo valiosas lecciones sobre la humanidad y la vida en armonía con la naturaleza.
MEXICAN CULTURE AND BOTANY
“Botanical history on Mexico may be considered to have begun with the Conquistadores, for the earliest letters from Cortes to the King contain references to the curious vegetable products of the country. The true history of the botanical activities in Mexico begins at a much earlier date, for the native inhabitants, who had already reached a high degree of civilization, may have said to begun scientific researches.” “…None of the nations of Europe were much superior to the Mexicans in botanical knowledge. In one respect at least, the latter had made greater progress in botanical activity, for they had established a botanical garden, on an elaborate scale, something that was not attempted in Europe until a still later date. Not only had the Aztec people acquired an intimate knowledge of the economic qualities of the plants with which they came in contact …but they had developed an aesthetic appreciation for plants for their beauty alone, a fact which indicates a rather high state of moral development. Flowers were cultivated extensively in the Valley of Mexico, and were brought in large quantities to the markets, were they were purchased for adornment and decoration of residences and temples. This love of flowers has persisted to the present day among the Mexican people and cut flowers still occupy much space in the markets everywhere in the Republic” (Trees and Shrubs of Mexico, Paul C. Standley, 1924, Vol. 1, p.9)
In 1554 the Codex Barberini 241 was published with drawings of Mexican plants describing their medicinal properties based on the traditions of the Aztecs. This book which is closely guarded in the Vatican today was prepared by two Aztec scholars, Martin de La Cruz and Juan Badiano. The pictures show a highly advanced appreciation and knowledge for plants and flowers at a time when Europeans knowledge of plants was less developed. One of the plants shown in great detail is Vanilla (tlil-xotchil) a type of orchid whose seed pods were used by the Aztecs to flavor Chocolate (cacaua-xotchil) which is also from Mexico. It is also noted that Plumeria or Flor del Cementario (cacalo-xotchil) was carried by the Aztec people when visiting a person held in high esteem. There can be no doubt that the Mexican people have a highly developed appreciation and understanding of plants and flowers going back thousands of years.
Plants and flowers have a connection with spirituality on Mexico. Cempaol-xotchil are used to honor ancestors on dia de los muertos as are palm flowers and many other plants and flowers. The huipiles of the Juchiteca are adorned with flowers. There are many other examples that are known only to the people in the endemic communities. This knowledge and these traditions must be preserved by the Mexican people for their well-being and to share with other people for their well-being.
European scientists and explorers have been traveling to Mexico and studying its botanical treasures for hundreds of years. These explorations were ordered by Kings and Queens. The King of Spain permitted Alexander Von Humboldt, one of the most famous naturalists in history, to visit Mexico in 1803 and 1804. He studied its plants and he even wrote a book praising endemic Mexican culture. What attracted scientists and nobility from Europe to Mexico is the unique beauty of its plants and the culture of its people. The Mexican people live in the midst of a treasure of immense value. In addition to the minerals and petroleum and farms of Mexico there are the uniquely beautiful trees, orchids, cacti and other flowers that can seen nowhere else in the world.
People must protect these natural wonders of Mexico, but at the same time these resources can be used to help further develop the country of Mexico. The United States and Costa Rica have both created parks like museums that are protected by law which contain the country’s most precious natural places. Yosemite, Monte Verde and Yellowstone are names that nature lovers around the world know to be parks that can be visited by eco tourists. Eco Tourists are willing to spend their money to see these natural wonders. They need food, they need lodging, guides and other services. They have very high standards for the type of hotels and restaurants that they will patronize. This is because most eco tourists are people who live in big cities who yearn to see the natural world that all humans evolved in. It is a natural human tendency to want to enjoy nature. The Chimalapas is no less beautiful than these other national parks across the world. It will take time and effort to make the Chimalapas a natural tourist destination, but it can be accomplished.
Younger generations of Mexicans can and do study plants and animals. They can become rangers, botanists and conservationists. These are some of the jobs of the future that will allow young people to provide for their families while Mexico develops alongside other countries. This type of development also results in the protection of the Chimalapas instead of exploiting it in the way that foreign corporations may exploit the Chimalalpas for timber, cattle or mining. The outcome for people of the Chimalapas is better and the outcome for other others around the world is better. The forests absorb carbon dioxide that is causing global warming and they emit oxygen that we need to live. With proper rules to prevent the exploitation of naturally occurring plants, they can be propagated in nurseries and sold around the world at good prices. Such nurseries must be licensed by the government to stop illegal plant collecting.
The people of the Chimalapas have more to share with the people of other countries than their natural wonders. The people of the Chimalapas have a way of life centered on their family and their traditions that people in other countries have lost. Ecotourists may also see that the traditions in the Chimalapas should be followed by people on big cities as they have forgotten the value of the family in favor of the value of money. The people of the Chimalapas live in harmony with nature. Their way of life does not produce massive amounts of plastic and other harmful waste. They do not produce massive quantities of greenhouse gases that are ruining the world.
The people of the Chimalapas have an opportunity to continue their way of life while creating a better life for their children. In doing so they can teach the other people of the world valuable lessons about humanity and living in harmony with nature.
Visiting the Chimalapas
Visiting the Chimalapas
Visiting the Chimalapas
Visiting the Chimalapas requires some effort. You can fly into Oaxaca, Huatulco or Tuxtla Gutiérrez. From there you will need to go to the small city of Tapanatepec. From Tapanatepec you will have about a two hour trip to San Antonio Chimalalas .
So why would anyone want to travel to the Chimalapas? You will be far away from the conveni
Visiting the Chimalapas requires some effort. You can fly into Oaxaca, Huatulco or Tuxtla Gutiérrez. From there you will need to go to the small city of Tapanatepec. From Tapanatepec you will have about a two hour trip to San Antonio Chimalalas .
So why would anyone want to travel to the Chimalapas? You will be far away from the conveniences that most americans are accustomed to. You will be in an ejido of about 350 people. You will be in a beautiful place in the midst of forests and nature. There will be no internet, telephone or television. You will have no choice but to live in the moment and contemplate your surroundings. You will gain a new perspective on life and you will learn about the people around you and how they live. They are entirely focused on what is taking place around them at that particular moment. About their family, their farms and crops and friends. They are not focused on wealth and status; they live for the moment and to enjoy their family. It is a way f life that most westerners have lost contact with. However, these rea very human qualities that can bring balance to an american.
Our Cabin
Visiting the Chimalapas
Our Cabin
Once there you can stay in the Cabana Quetzal, a hand made wooden cabin. Since temperatures typically range between 60 and 85 degrees all you will need is a light jacket. In the afternoon groups of parrots will fly over the cabin. The local people are friendly and welcoming to visitors. There are many things to do for nature lovers incl
Once there you can stay in the Cabana Quetzal, a hand made wooden cabin. Since temperatures typically range between 60 and 85 degrees all you will need is a light jacket. In the afternoon groups of parrots will fly over the cabin. The local people are friendly and welcoming to visitors. There are many things to do for nature lovers including viewing birds, orchids, insects and other wildlife. An orchidario has been started at the cabin and a number of endemic tree species are in the grounds. That is in addition to the thousands of endemic species in the forests around the cabin. You will find a stream behind the cabin with cool mountain water and fishes. Hiking on the nearby trails will allow you access the nearby cloud forest and rain forest.