Topic

 

My project is about basketball in the state of Oaxaca. I have found that basketball is very popular in the state (especially the areas outside the city). I am interested in the relationship of the people who play basketball in Oaxaca to the sport-- how they see it as part of their life and their identity. I am interested because I have been a player and fan of basketball during my life; I have found that basketball is often part of the identity of those who play it, and my brief experiences with the sport in Oaxaca have suggested that this is certainly the case here. 

 

A basketball court (cancha) that is part of a playground in Ocotlán de Morelos.

 

I am also interested in the style of play and how it might compare/contrast with what I am used to in the United States. Basically I am trying to somehow find how basketball fits into personal identity, and on a parallel path how basketball is philosophized. My research question is: How does basketball fit into the personal identity and way of life of those who play it in the state of Oaxaca? By "way of life" I am interested in tangible qualities like how the sport is part of the daily schedule, and also less tangible qualities such as how the sport reflects personal/societal values, ideas of history, and ideas of teamwork.

 

 

Background Information

 

Much of this information is detailed in a longer form in the essay "Basketball Among Oaxacans" below.

 

This section includes various parts:

 

Initial Basketball Experiences

 

Fairly random circumstances led to me playing in a pick-up basketball game at a Mormon church in Oaxaca. The players were generally middle-aged church-goers (with a few younger, 20-ish year old players in the mix as well). I was intrigued by the up-tempo, pass-first style that characterized the games. I would continue to play at the Mormon Church a handful of times.

 

A couple weeks later I played in a pick-up game in Santa Ana del Valle, a weaving village situated in the Valley (the Valley constituting the area between the Sierra Juárez to the north and the Sierra del Sur to the South-- the Valley includes Oaxaca City itself), east of Oaxaca. I was again impressed by the gameplay-- the players were extremely fast and many of them were talented shooters. The style of play was aggressive and very fast-paced. Because of the high quality of play, I became more interested in pursuing the subject of basketball in Oaxaca. 

 

Initial Expectations, Observations, and Hypotheses

 

My initial expectation coming to Mexico was that the popular sports would be soccer and baseball. I did not expect basketball to have a great following here. I was therefore surprised to see basketball courts situated prominently in the center of every pueblo, and to experience such a high caliber of play. The high caliber suggested that basketball is more than a means of fitness, but a culturally important part of life here.

 

I also observed that basketball seemed to be far more popular in pueblos than in the city. My Spanish teacher Javier confirmed that it is difficult to find a basketball court in the city, and that the sport with prevailing popularity in the city is soccer. There are three hypotheses that I came across multiple times is to why popularity in pueblos exceeds that of the city:

 

(1) More people migrate to the United States from pueblos than from the city; the importance of basketball to North American urban life leaves an impact on immigrants, who see the prominence of public courts and experience the sport; they then bring the sport with them to their pueblos-- immigration would therefore be the cause of the popularity of basketball in pueblos. 

 

(2) The other hypothesis is geographical-- because of the steep mountainous terrain of the great majority of Oaxaca, there is rarely a flat expanse large enough for a soccer or baseball field. Basketball, with its much smaller courts, is a more logical fit for such terrain. Furthermore, a basketball court fits very well in the "Zocalo" part of pueblos, in front of the municipal building and/or church. It is possible that pueblos will have had these building before having a court, and it turned out that the open space left over could be easily converted into a basketball court. 

 

(3) It is also important to note the history of basketball itself. The game was invented in its most primitive form by James Naismith, in Massachusetts, in the late 19th Century. The game is a distinct invention of the United States. There are, however, records of sports that were played in pre-Hispanic Mexico that had some similarities to basketball. It is possible that through this history, there is some identification with basketball from the descendants of pre-Hispanic Mexicans. Perhaps there is some affinity which has its basis in this pre-colonial history.

 

My attempt is to respond to these hypotheses by gaining an understanding of the history of how the popularity of basketball developed in these areas.

 

The municipal building/ town meeting center in San Vicente Lachixio in the Sierra del Sur.

 

The Story of Zeus García and Oaxacan Basketball as told by Sam Quinones in his book True Tales from Another Mexico (1999).

 

Scouring the internet, I came upon two articles that provide answers to many of these questions. The first came from the blog of a Los Angeles-based writer named Sam Quinones, who seems, from what I've seen on his blog, to focus on issues of Mexican migrants in the United States, and specifically on personal stories of non-mainstream Mexican-Americans. The article is a blog entry titled "Zeus García, the Michael Jordan of Oaxacan Indian basketball," from the author's personal website. The short piece, published 1/29/2012, discusses Zeus García, whom the author had previously written about in 1999 in his book True Tales from Another Mexico. He briefly describes García's past: in the 1970s he and his brothers from "a village outside the City of Oaxaca" formed the best basketball team in that region; in the 80s the brothers moved to Los Angeles where they continued to play basketball. He asserts: "Oaxacan Indians are basketball-obsessed folks and the sport plays an enormous role in their lives here in Southern California." He briefly mentions the Copa Benito Juarez, an enormous basketball tournament in Guelatao. He also references the "large Zapotec Indian migration to the [LA] area," of which García and his brothers were part. Indeed, Jeffrey Cohen's article about migration attests to the size of this migration, stating (when his article was written in 2005) that "the Los Angeles-Santa Monica area is home to 94 percent of the central valley's migrants."

 

 

Zeus García in 2012 (left) and in 1999 while coaching Raza Unida (right).

 

I then found the excerpt from Quinones's book that concerns Zeus García. At the time of its writing, Zeus was coaching a team of Oaxacans in Koreatown of Los Angeles, a team called Raza Unida that was defeating all competition in tournaments of Oaxacan teams. The article reveals that Zeus actually comes from Santa Ana del Valle, the same pueblo where I was so impressed by the level of basketball competition. In the 1970s, when García and his brothers were dominating basketball regions in the Oaxacan Valley, they were representing the town of Santa Ana del Valle (SAV). 

 

The article provides extensive history of Oaxacan basketball from the perspectives of García and other Oaxacans. The article attributes the sports popularity in the Sierra Juarez region partly to the topography of the area (confirming that hypothesis), where there is not enough extensive flat ground to build soccer or baseball fields. One of the Oaxacans mentioned in the essay, Fernando Ramos, attributes basketball's popularity in the region to its likeness to pelota, the pre-Hispanic sport that also involved putting a ball through a hoop and was part of religious festivals. According to the articles, he believes that "no sport was played with such ferveny [as pelota] until the arrival of basketball (118). Ramos believes that basketball filled a "sports vacuum" among the people of the Sierra. He also likens the sport to the "circular thinking in Indian culture." He says: "There is no beginning and no end. Ball games were based on the solar calendar, the sun and the moon. There's the cycle of day, night, life, and death. We think this might explain the fascination for games that involve agility, speed, physical training, and round balls" (119). The essay gives some history: in the 1930s the first basketball courts were built in the Oaxaca Valley and the sport quickly moved into the Sierra Juarez. Though some richer pueblos were able to buy balls in Oaxaca City, others made balls from deer skin, sewed with maguey fibers and filled with rags, that did not bounce. This timeline is interesting because it precedes the Bracero Program and the great migration of Oaxacans to the United States. By the 1950s the sport's rules were more commonly understood, and basketball tournaments had become part of pueblos' fiestas. By the 1970s, when García was playing for Santa Ana del Valle, there were many tournaments throughout the region; by this time, it was common for livestock, such as bulls and horses, to be awarded to tournament champions (118-19). In the late 1970s, there were already many basketball games among Zapoteco Oaxacans in the Los Angeles area (121).

 

Another main focus of the article is García's insistence on preserving the "dignity" of basketball. It is not totally clear to what extent this way of thinking is representative of other Oaxacans; the article certainly does paint García as a (if not the) central figure in Oaxacan basketball in Los Angeles. By "preserving the dignity of the game," I mean that he sees the NBA not as an influence, but as a corruption of the sport. As he sees it, the league calls infractions too inconsistently and places too much influence on the individual play of superstars; García places great importance in disciplined refereeing and in team play. 

 

Also, the article discusses the importance that basketball has attained among (specifically Zapoteco) Oaxacans both in Oaxaca and in the Los Angeles area. In pueblos basketball tournaments are part of each village's fiesta-- in this sense, it has become a ritualized part of village life. In Zapoteco communities in the United States, where fiesta's have often lost much of their character, basketball has taken on an even stronger role, as players from different communities hold tournaments as central parts of their fiestas.

 

The article discusses the separateness of Oaxacans from the rest of Mexico, which helps to explain why basketball's importance is relegated to pueblos. The article attributes this difference, wherein Oaxacans "occasionally refer to Mexicans as "they"" and "other Mexicans often view Oaxacan Indians as ignorant and unassimilated" (121), to the geographic isolation of the area. If Oaxaca City is more a part of mainstream Mexico, as opposed to pueblos that have more successfully continued in traditional ways, it makes sense that the city would give preeminent importance to futbol, while the the pueblos would hold on to basketball as part of their traditions (albeit a new tradition). 

 

All of this works toward answering the initial question of whether basketball is a "remittance from the United States" or whether its cultural importance among Zapotecos in Oaxaca goes deeper than that. And the answer is resoundingly in favor of the latter, at least as far as this one source indicates. The Oaxacan connection to basketball seems to remarkably avoid American tradition. According to these findings, basketball-playing Oaxacans view the sport as part of their own heritage. Their influence does not come from the American game, but from the game as they have incorporated it into their own culture. 

 

Research Plan

 

My research plan includes three parts:

 

First is outside research and reading, most importantly the stories mentioned above about Zeus García and basketball among Oaxaqueños. That story provides an overarching history of basketball in the pueblos of Oaxaca, as well as among Oaxacans in Los Angeles. Though there is a seeming scarcity of literature on the subject of basketball in Oaxaca, I would like to find at least another source to help me establish more concretely the history of basketball here. Still, what I have so far provides a very solid base of information on various topics as diverse as that interest me, including both the history of the sport here and the importance of the sport for its players.

 

The second and third parts of my research go hand-in-hand, and they involve (2) playing basketball in the area and (3) conversing with the players. As the program schedule includes a great deal of travel, my plan from the beginning has been to take advantage of the many locations we see to talk about basketball with people from diverse places. This has been fairly successful so far, as I have had basketball experiences in Santa Ana del Valle, Teotitlan del Valle, Capulálpam, San Vicente Lachixio, and Oaxaca City. It is possible that the upcoming trip to Tehuantepec will allow one more basketball experience. 

 

My hope in playing basketball is that I will get a sense of the style of play that is prevalent here, as well as a sense of how the players on the court relate to each other. My hope in speaking with players is fairly open-- I have questions to ask them about their concept of the history of the game, about the organization of leagues, etc., but I am more interested in having fluid conversations which will allow me to hear about basketball from their particular perspectives. 

 

Discovery

 

My research has led to discovery in a number of different subtopics, pertaining to history, style of play, social circumstances of basketball, and others. Thus, I will present the information organized by these subtopics. I have also learned about basketball in a number of different venues-- within each subtopic will be all relevant information from the various pertinent venues. For example, a section on style of play will include what I've witnessed in Santa Ana del Valle, San Vicente Lachixio, as well as other pueblos, discussions with a basketball player named Charlie who lived most of his life in the Los Angeles area but has for two years resided in Teotítlan del Valle, and outside research. 

 

History of Basketball in Oaxaca

 

The following history comes from Sam Quinones's True Tales from Another Mexico (1999).

 

Quinones notes the irony that basketball, "that most hip-hop, twenty-first century of sports," has been so adopted by the people of the Sierra Juárez. He finds this ironic because, 1), the people of the Sierra are "among Mexico's shortest people," and 2), because  the isolation of the Sierra, which has permitted the continuity of ancient customs, is something that in theory would seem to oppose the flourishing of a "modern" sport like basketball. He describes it as "as much a part of their ancient culture as their language, food, and handicrafts." I find this a very telling statement about the question of the relationship between basketball and Oaxacan identity: for many basketball is more than a hobby; it is a part of identity whose roots are strong and deep. 

 

The first courts were built in the Oaxaca Valley in the early 1930s.  Shortly thereafter the sport was brought into the Sierra, apparently by teachers from Oaxaca City. This is notable because it is a decade before the Bracero Program that initiated the large-scale migration from Oaxaca to the United States. Thus, the idea of basketball's importance in the pueblos as merely a "remittance" does not chronologically line up-- basketball caught on before there were a great deal of Oaxacans in the USA. 

 

Initially, some villages had real hoops while others used make-shift arrangements of baskets nailed to posts. Similarly, more affluent pueblos were able to buy real basketballs in the city, while others would make "balls from deer skin that the women sewed with strands of fiber from the maguey cactus" and were "filled with rags and didn't bounce." Official rules and court measurements were often unknown, so that these aspects varied from place to place, game to game.

 

Fernando Ramos, a Mexico City-educated, Sierra-born intellectual who has looked into basketball history, believes that "there must have been a sports vacuum that basketball filled." He partially attributes its popularity to pelota, a pre-Spanish Conquest sport that has not been played for centuries, but, like basketball, involved using body parts to put a round ball through a hoop. He believes that "no sport was played with such fervency [as pelota] until the arrival of basketball."

 

In the 1950s rules and court dimensions had been more consistently established and every village in the Sierra had a court. At this point basketball tournaments became incorporated in each town's annual fiesta to honor its patron saint. Other teams would travel to play in these tournaments, and the winners would receive some combination of trophies, livestock, and local renown. By this point migration to the United States had begun, and Oaxacan expatriates carried with them a passion for basketball.

 

Organization of Basketball in Oaxaca

 

I have witnessed basketball being played in Santa Ana del Valle, Capulálpam, San Vicente Lachixio of the Sierra del Sur, and Teotítlan del Valle. From these different experiences I can patch together a picture of how basketball is organized among the people who live in these places.

 

Tournaments

 

As mentioned in the history section, pueblo-specific fiestas often host tournaments to which teams from neighboring pueblos travel. Quinones says that "hundreds of these fiesta tournaments take place every year across the mountains of Oaxaca." He gives an account of a tournament in the 1970s which was won by the Zeus García-led Santa Ana del Valle squad. The prize was a large bull, which the spent two days walking back to their pueblo. This Santa Ana del Valle team won "more than 250 village tournaments in its day," attesting to the frequency of such events. The presence of such tournaments today was attested to in my conversation with Charlie from Teotítlan, who says there is a team of men that represents his pueblo. 

 

In San Vicente Lachixio, interviewees informed me that basketball tournaments are part of their primary fiesta which takes place every April. There are tournaments for different age groups, among men and women, though the tournament of most importance is that which involves the best team of male players from the pueblo. 

 

Also, tournaments take place in addition to those that accompany a pueblo's annual fiesta. One such tournament was taking place when we were in San Vicente Lachixio. In a neighboring pueblo there were athletic competitions including basketball and running, among other activities, that took place for a few days. School was cancelled for most students in the pueblo to accommodate these athletic competitions. One evening I was walking in the town center when a bus carrying a basketball team of high-school-age players arrived from its game. I asked them where they had been and they informed me that they had been playing in a basketball tournament against a team from a different town. They had won the game and would play again the next day.

 

Leagues

 

Addition to these ritual-accompanying tournaments, basketball is organized in various ways. There are leagues involving only players from one pueblo. There are also leagues in which teams play teams from other pueblos. I witnessed one such league in Capulálpam. When we arrived in Capulálpam a game was taking place among 10-year-old girls. One team represented Capulálpam while the other represented a different pueblo. I learned that this game was part of a league, and that similar inter-pueblo leagues exist for different ages and both sexes.

 

Talking to Charlie, I also learned about a town league in Teotítlan that comprises only male players from that pueblo. His team, the Laguneros, was among the better teams in the league, though they had stiff competition from a few others. The games for his league would take place every Sunday evening on the central court in the town.

 

Informal Play

 

Though there are various levels of organization, pueblo basketball is most commonly played informally. This is the venue that I have seen most often and which seems to be exceedingly prevalent in every pueblo, any day of the week. Games usually take place in the evening, when the heat has lessened and the people have finished their day's work. In both San Vicente Lachixio and Santa Ana del Valle games began in earnest around six o'clock. The teams were arranged informally, and score was usually tracked only half-heartedly. In San Vicente Lachixio men and women played at the same time, men outside and women inside. 

 

Likewise, in Teotítlan, informal games were taking place throughout Sunday afternoon. It is very common, in every pueblo I've seen, if no game is taking place for a few people to be on the court, shooting around. The courts are usually occupied by some kind of play, whether formal or informal.

 

Material Conditions of Basketball-- the Court, the Dress

 

It was mentioned that when basketball was originally played in Oaxaca, balls were often homemade from deer skins, filled with rags, sewed shut with maguey sinews. Court and hoop sizes were not regulated. Though material conditions have moved in the direction of conventionality, there is still a great variety.

 

Courts

 

From what I have seen, there are enough basketballs to go around, and every game is played with a fairly decent regulation-size ball. The courts vary. Many are cement, which is similar to most outdoor courts in the United States. Many have irregular lines on the courts: 3-point lines which are not the correct dimensions. This also is common in the United States.

 

Many of the courts are centrally-located in the centers of pueblos. In the case of Santa Ana del Valle, San Vicente Lachixio, and many other pueblos that we've passed through, courts are located in front of the town municipal building. This placement is also usually in front of or close to the church. This gives the basketball court an absolutely central place in each pueblo. In some places such as San Vicente Lachixio, an additional court will be indoors. The bottom floor of that town's municipal building, where town meetings take place, is also a fully functioning basketball court. 

 

Outdoor basketball court in the town center of San Vicente Lachixio (left) and indoor court which is housed in the blue municipal building behind the outdoor court (right). Nearby are the church, municipal market, Zocalo-type plaza centered around a gazebo, and a school, demonstrating that the basketball courts occupy the center of the town's activites. 

 

The logo at the center of the indoor court in San Vicente Lachixio.

 

This central location allows for spectatorship, and especially in the games in Santa Ana del Valle and San Vicente Lachixio a number of people from the town would sit courtside in the evenings and watch the games taking place. This spectatorship often involves active cheering (as well as jeering when the players commit blunders). 

 

Clothes

 

Oftentimes in pickup games players do not wear the typical American basketball attire that includes athletic shorts, basketball shoes (or at least some kind of athletic sneaker), and sleeveless or short-sleeved shirt. It was more common to see players wearing jeans and a collared short-sleeved shirt, many still wearing hair gel and earrings. Sneakers are common in these games, but so are boots and other less functional closed-toed shoes. Still, there were usually at least a couple players wearing athletic shorts and basketball shoes, as would be the norm in the United States. Often during pickup games there is no way to distinguish between the two teams by look; one must remember ones teammates. 

 

In the more formal basketball settings, attire is often more standardized. In both Teotítlan and San Vicente Lachixio, a number of players were wearing the jerseys for their official teams. In these cases, teams have regular jerseys complete with stylish fonts and numbers on the front and back, as is common in the United States. 

 

The general point is that clothing is not as specific to basketball in Oaxacan pueblos as it is in the United States. Many people play in games wearing what they wear the rest of the time, something that would be much less common in most games in the USA. 

 

Relationship of Player to the Game (Emotional, Spiritual), Relationship of the Game to Player Identity

 

At the heart of the question of the importance of basketball in Oaxaca is the way the player identifies with the game. Some of the most interesting material I have found has to do with players expressing deep relationships with the game as part of their emotional and spiritual lives. The two main sources I have pertaining to this question are Quinones's book about Zeus García and others, and my interview with Charlie. 

 

For Zeus García, the Santa Ana del Valle native living in Los Angeles, basketball is central to life. Quinones's story goes into great detail about how important the game is to him, how he has played and coached, organized tournaments, and generally brought more prestige and organization to basketball both in Oaxaca in the 1970s and in the Los Angeles area since the 80s. He is quoted as saying, "Basketball is my life. In my mind basketball is never." The second part of the quote refers to his inability to continue to play due to knee injuries that ended his playing career. For him the sport is about much more than playing. 

 

Charlie speaks about basketball with a reverence that is beyond the spiritual plane. For him basketball is a "feeling" that some has and others don't. He also describes it like a spirit that inhabits the player. This is contained in more than simply playing the game: it is about basketball becoming philosophy, about feeling or recognizing consonances between basketball and life on a grander level. 

 

Charlie demonstrates a lot of pride in his basketball abilities. He is comfortable making offhand remarks about his abilities on the court, and they come across less as vain than as knowing. I have found that pride in the sport is very present in the pueblos. Especially in Santa Ana del Valle, there was a streak in the players of wanting to demonstrate how good they are. The people I played with in Santa Ana del Valle were smaller and younger than me, and I think they wanted to show me and the other Americans how capable they are. They demonstrated this by playing with real intensity, playing physically and confidently. Basketball is part of how they see themselves, so they take pride in their abilities.

 

 

Relationship of the Game to Oaxacan Identity

 

As has been mentioned, the prevalence of basketball in Oaxaca is a unique phenomenon in Mexico. From what I've read, it seems that nowhere else in the country is basketball as fundamental to local identity as in Oaxacan pueblos.

 

History and Geography

 

As was touched on previously in the History section, one hypothesis as to how the sport gained such importance in pueblos is its resemblance to the last game that was so widely played, pelota, and its ability to fill a "sports vacuum" in which no sport had taken on preeminent importance for centuries.

 

Another hypothesis, which is mentioned by Quinones and has been mentioned repeatedly by people I've spoken to, has to do with the landscape of Oaxaca. The many mountains that comprise Oaxaca do not leave much flat space for other fields, for soccer or baseball for example. Basketball, with its significantly smaller court, is perfectly suited to such a landscape. Also, the isolation imparted by this landscape allows a certain insularity to the sport's development. When it became popular in Oaxaca, that did not necessarily mean it would become popular in other places. I don't know put an abundance of faith in the theory about topography. From what I have seen, there are plenty of soccer fields in the pueblos. There is a field in San Vicente Lachixio and another in Capulálpam, two pueblos in exceedingly mountainous areas. Furthermore, the Oaxacan Valley, where I have seen perhaps the most passionate attachment to basketball (in Santa Ana del Valle and Teotítlan del Valle) is very flat and could certainly support soccer fields. But there does seem to be credence to the idea of the insularity of the region. This is a region where people hold onto and value many unique cultural traditions. It appears that basketball has been woven into this web of identity, and it is through this initial incorporation that it has flourished. 

 

Racial Identity

 

Another theory attested to by a number of Oaxacans in Quinones's book has affinities with the theory about Oaxaca's insularity leading to a unique love of basketball. This theory is about race and racial identity. As is commonly known, Oaxaca is fairly unique in Mexico for its abundance of native communities. Natives have historically been "Othered" in Mexico, racially separated from the mainstream and treated with condescension. To speak generally, "Other" groups may have a greater need to identify collectively, because it is group identity that binds them. The incorporation of elements into this identity strengthens that group identity. The idea is not that Oaxacans would adopt basketball just to have something. Rather, something that has already gained popularity might have its status bolstered when it becomes part of the identity of that Other group. The popularity is self-sustaining, because it is incorporated into this web of identity that is uniquely strong. 

 

Quinones writes, "Mexicans, the saying goes, prefer dead Indians to live ones." This may be exaggeration, but it points to the fact that the "Indian" in Mexico is not the norm but the Other. He continues: "That Oaxacan mountain Indians have been playing basketball for more than half a century-- not soccer or baseball-- is a metaphor for their separation from Mexico." Thus, it is a parallel process. One Other, Oaxacan Indians, has a mutually supportive relationship with another Other, basketball, and thus there is a system in which basketball, by being the property of the Oaxacan, gives the Oaxacan dignity, and the Oaxacan therefore raises basketball to a higher level of importance for its ability to provide dignity and support. 

 

This point is very interesting for its parallels with the function of basketball for racial Others in the United States. Though invented and first played by white North Americans, basketball has become in a sense the cultural property of African Americans, by a process very similar to the process just described. The African American has raised the importance of basketball: the sport's popularity has gradually risen since black stars, such as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, first emerged in the 50s and 60s, and the sport has been bolstered by black icons such as Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and most importantly Michael Jordan, as well as a slew of post-Jordan superstars such as Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant; as the sport has become more "black" it has also become more popular. Meanwhile basketball has provided dignity, in a sense, to African American individuals, communities, and collective identity. Now, basketball is central to Black American identity. It appears that a similar process has taken place in Oaxacan pueblos, though on a more local level. Here, passion for basketball does not support a massive business or create global celebrities, but it does provide dignity through identity. It is a wholesome activity that brings joy to those who play it, and for that the dignity it provides is all the greater.

 

Theology

 

One more idea is proposed by anthropologist Fernando Ramos, having to do with affinities between basketball and Oaxacan theology. As quoted by Quinones, he says: "Basketball's appeal may have to do with the circular way of thinking in Indian culture. There is no beginning and no end. Ball games were based on the solar calendar, the sun and the moon. There's the cycle of day, night, life, and death. We thing this might explain the fascination for games that involve agility, speed, physical training, and round balls." When he says "ball games" he is referring to ancient games of pelota. 

 

His point is too vague for me to totally endorse it; nothing he says is unique to basketball, as an affinity for soccer could hypothetically be argued with this exact same argument. But there is something about the idea of "no beginning and no end" that I will mention again in the section about style of play. The pickup games I've taken part in have been marathons. Playing basketball in Oaxaca invariably means playing for multiple hours, and players have an ability to continue indefinitely without greatly fatiguing. This seems to agree with Ramos's theory about Oaxacan basketball coordinating with a circular theology.

  

Basketball Philosophy, Emphasis on Teamwork, and Style of Play

 

Reading about Zeus García and speaking with Charlie are two instances in which basketball philosophy has been emphasized. 

 

García stresses the idea of retaining the integrity of the game of basketball, in the face of the NBA which he sees as corrupting the sport by its corporate nature and subsequent emphasis on individual stars rather than sound fundamentals and teamwork. García is adamant in this opinion, stressing that basketball is a sport in which the team is foremost. As he sees it, Oaxacan basketball (and Oaxacan basketball in the United States) is truer to the nature of the game than the version played in the NBA. The NBA and the American sports media, by emphasizing "highlights" such as visually impressive dunks and  individual statistics which attribute team success to single players rather than the unit, and by helping elevate individual players to the status of celebrities, have undermined the team nature of basketball. For García, despite the emphasis placed on individual stars in the NBA, success always comes down to team dynamics. This is something that he stressed as a player and has continued to stress as a coach.

 

Charlie has similar ideas about the preeminence of teamwork in basketball. When I asked him what position he typically plays, his answer was that he plays every position, and that he fulfills whichever role will be most beneficial to team success given his specific teammates. He said that it is extremely important to be deeply aware of your teammates. If teammates know each others' tendencies then the team dynamic is much more successful. 

 

This emphasis on teamwork seems to strike a chord with the "customs and traditions" governing technique of pueblos. Oaxacan pueblo cultures ideologically emphasize the need for group interdependence, and this certainly bleeds into the basketball philosophy. 

 

This philosophy certainly bleeds into the style of play, which I have described in detail in the "Background Information" section. To summarize, the style is fast-paced, with much of the scoring happens in fast breaks. There is little outside shooting, as usually it is preferred to get a shot by making astute passes and finding open teammates close to the hoop. 

 

Another facet of the style of play is that there is never any urgency for the game to end, and score is usually on vaguely tracked. For this reason games go on indefinitely. In my experience there are never breaks for water, rest, or anything else. It is taxing for people not used to this marathon-basketball, and it is a testament to the physical endurance of many of the basketball players in Oaxaca. 

 

Social Aspects of Gameplay

 

As an outsider, I felt very welcomed to participate in games in pueblos. I found it interesting that people for whom the afternoon pickup game is a daily ritual would be so willing to accommodate unknown newcomers. It is certainly in line though with the general sense of hospitality that exists in pueblos.

 

On the court, there is often a mix of intensity and good humor. Players are willing to laugh when teammates make mistakes, but everyone is playing hard and trying to be the better team. The willingness to laugh coordinates with the long games that have no set endpoint; the purpose of many games, at least pickup games, seems more to be simply to play than to win. 

 

Relationship to Basketball Culture in the USA

 

Basketball holds a central role in Charlie's life. For this reason I was surprised when I mentioned during our discussion that March Madness was taking place, and he did not know what I was talking about. March Madness is the annual 3-week-long postseason tournament that determines the champion in college basketball in the USA; it is a monumental event for many basketball fans in the country. Similarly, Charlie says that he knows very little about the NBA and doesn't particularly care about it. That Charlie has lived almost his whole life in the United States as a devout basketball player and has no familiarity with basketball media is a surprise. In the USA college and professional basketball breed extensive fan cultures. Charlie's freedom from such concerns seems to coordinate with his personal connection with and philosophy of basketball. For him basketball is intensely about personal experience, and spectatorship of "celebrities" does not coordinate with that mindset.

 

Similarly, I have already described Zeus García's disdain for NBA basketball. It appears that fandom does not have a similar place in Oaxacan basketball culture to what exists in the United States. 

 

Organization of Basketball among Oaxacans in the USA

 

Organization of basketball among Oaxacans in the USA, at least in the Los Angeles area where most Oaxacan migrants are concentrated, is not so different from its organization in Oaxaca. There are leagues of Oaxacan migrants, often comprised of teams from single pueblos. Often these teams organize tournaments at the time of their pueblo's primary fiesta. In this sense, the traditions of Oaxaca translate directly to the USA. Oftentimes profit from these tournaments will be sent back to Oaxaca as remittances.

 

Charlie described how when he lived in Los Angeles he played basketball every day and the great majority of it was informal pickup games. Where he lived (first in Santa Ana CA, and then Orange CA) he did not know anyone else from Teotítlan. His basketball acquaintances were whoever was playing in that area: other Mexican migrants, African-Americans, whoever else. 

 

This shows that just as Zeus García presents a picture of a Los Angeles basketball scene that recreates the formal aspects of basketball life in Oaxaca, Charlie describes a scene that is similar to the pickup-game culture so prevalent throughout the state. 

 

 

Reflection

 

As my "Discovery" section contains a fair amount of reflection on individual topics, I will keep this part brief.

 

First, in answer to the question of how basketball gained popularity in Oaxacan pueblos and whether or not it is a remittance resulting from migration to the United States, the evidence points clearly to the idea that Oaxacan basketball has its own established cultural identity that is separate from questions of migration. In fact, it seems that basketball has often travelled from Oaxaca to the USA, with local traditions of basketball from here being transplanted to there, as opposed to the other way around. 

 

There are a number of factors pointing to this idea that it is not a cultural remittance. One is the history: basketball began gaining popularity before the Bracero Program, meaning before the beginning of widespread migration to the USA. Also, the abundance of basketball in pueblos and its incorporation into both daily and ritual life illustrates that it is a part of culture with unique roots here. The sport is integrated into the fabric of identity and culture here. Courts occupy the centers of town and games provide entertainment for the townspeople each night. Furthermore, players demonstrate deep identification with the sport.

 

As far as my experience with the project, there were various difficulties and setbacks but also huge successes. I found it difficult to procure any scholarly writing about the state of basketball in Oaxaca. A better proficiency in Spanish might have made this easier, as I belive there is more Spanish writing on the subject that I did not find. I was fortunate to find Sam Quinones's writing, as it provides an excellent large-scale history, as well as individual opinions on the game, unique profiles of players, and various philosophical insights into the importance of the game. His writing catalyzed much of my thinking on this subject. I was also lucky to be able to chat with Charlie in Teotítlan, with whom I not only learned a lot about perspectives on basketball but also participated in a pickup game and had a fun afternoon.

 

Other than the lack of scholarly sources, my other difficulties came with the fact that the primary subject of research was located outside Oaxaca City. Oftentimes when I was in other pueblos I simply did not have the time to try to learn about the basketball scene in the area. Still, I had a number of experiences which provided me with a general sense of how it is to play in a basketball game in a pueblo. 

 

One potential problem with my research is that my three main sources on philosophical and larger-scale questions related to basketball were 1) Zeus García and other people interviews for his story, 2) Sam Quinones's opinions injected into his story about García, and 3) Charlie. Much of the basketball experiences from García and Charlie took place in the Los Angeles area. With García, it appears that his philosophy and attachment to basketball took form in Oaxaca, and travelled with him to the USA. With Charlie, who grew up in Los Angeles, this does not seem to be the case. He was born in a pueblo and raised by a migrant from a pueblo, which likely informs much of his outlook, but it is hard to say if his feelings are more informed by pueblo life or by life in urban Los Angeles. Therefore, there are questions as to how appropriate of a source he is. It would have been a more successful project if I had talked with more people whose basketball experiences were relegated to pueblos.

 

Still what I did find, from reading, talking with players, and my own playing experiences, fueled a lot of speculation as to how basketball became so popular here. The ideas about cultural identification which are central to my final conclusions are, as I see it, a healthy mix of thinking about information from sources and finding my own conclusions from this information. In the end I enjoyed the project immensely. Each instance of playing basketball was a highlight of my time here, and the time I spent thinking about these questions of identity, even if my conclusions are not bulletproof, were quite rewarding. Basketball provided a venue for me to think more deeply about questions of how identity exists and is formed in Oaxaca, and therefore it has become tied to reflections of everything I have seen, done, and experienced during this semester. 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Cohen, Jeffrey H. "The Oaxaca-US Connection and Remittances." (2005). Print.

 

Quinones, Sam. "MIGRANTS: Zeus Garcia, the Michael Jordan of Oaxacan Indian Basketball." A 

Reporter's Blog. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. <http://samquinones.com/reporters-blog/ 2012/01/29/migrants-zeus-garcia-the-michael-jordan-of-oaxacan-indian-basketball/>.

 

Quinones, Sam. True Tales from Another Mexico. University of New Mexico, 1999. Print.

 

Also, an extended conversation with Charlie in Teotítlan and many basketball-playing experiences throughout the state.