Mexican State Research Articles

Helminths of small rodents (Heteromyidae and Cricetidae) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: an integrative taxonomic approach to their inventory.

In this survey, we inventoried the helminths of heteromyid and cricetid rodents captured in the Yucatan Peninsula from 2017 to 2019. Helminths were identified using morphological techniques (clearing, staining, and scanning electron microscopy). Also, the 28S rRNA gene of individuals from several helminth taxa was successfully amplified and sequenced. To confirm the identification at the generic level, and in some cases at the specific level, and the genealogical relationships of the parasites, phylogenetic analyses were performed with the new 28S sequences. We identified 22 species of helminths including three trematodes (Brachylaimidae, Dicrocoeliidae, and Microphallidae), five cestodes (Davaineidae, Hymenolepididae, and Taeniidae), and 14 nematodes (Trichuridae, Ancylostomatidae, Ornithostrongylidae, Heligmonellidae, and Oxyuridae) from Heteromys gaumeri (Heteromyidae), Ototylomys phyllotis, Oligoryzomys fulvescens, Peromyscus yucatanicus, Sigmodon toltecus, and Reithrodontomys gracilis (Cricetidae). The overall frequency of infection in small rodents was 84.1% (143/170); all specimens of H. gaumeri, S. toltecus and Ol. fulvescens were infected with helminths. In total, we provided 46 new sequences of the 28S gene from 17 species of helminths. Seven species are likely undescribed species, six are reported for the first time in rodents from Mexico, and 12 are new host records in the Americas. Before this study, 87 taxa of helminths had been reported from 35 cricetid and 12 heteromyid species in 21 Mexican states. Our findings increase to 93 the helminth taxa in these rodents, and to 36 the cricetid species parasitized by helminths. This large scale-survey is the first to use an integrative approach to inventory the helminths of wild small rodents in Mexico.

Genomic epidemiology analysis of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis distributed in Mexico.

Genomics has significantly revolutionized pathogen surveillance, particularly in epidemiological studies, the detection of drug-resistant strains, and disease control. Despite its potential, the representation of Latin American countries in the genomic catalogues of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria responsible for Tuberculosis (TB), remains limited. In this study, we present a whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based analysis of 85 Mtb clinical strains from 17 Mexican states, providing insights into local adaptations and drug resistance signatures in the region. Our results reveal that the Euro-American lineage (L4) accounts for 94% of our dataset, showing 4.1.2.1 (Haarlem, n = 32), and 4.1.1.3 (X-type, n = 34) sublineages as the most prevalent. We report the presence of the 4.1.1.3 sublineage, which is endemic to Mexico, in six additional locations beyond previous reports. Phenotypic drug resistance tests showed that 34 out of 85 Mtb samples were resistant, exhibiting a variety of resistance profiles to the first-line antibiotics tested. We observed high levels of discrepancy between phenotype and genotype associated with drug resistance in our dataset, including pyrazinamide-monoresistant Mtb strains lacking canonical variants of drug resistance. Expanding the Latin American Mtb genome databases will enhance our understanding of TB epidemiology and potentially provide new avenues for controlling the disease in the region.

Incorporation of Professionals with Training in Interculturality into Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Feasibility Analysis

This study evaluates the political, legal, organizational, and availability of resources for the onboarding of health professionals trained in interculturality for sexual and reproductive health care of the indigenous population in public health services. A case study was carried out using a qualitative methodology that implemented intercultural care strategies in reproductive health in two Mexican states with the presence of indigenous population. In regards of the political feasibility, the interest of the actors, positioning, and power were explored. In regards of legal feasibility, the presence of legal impediments was analyzed. In the case of organizational feasibility, we explored the organizational structure and functions of the personnel. Finally, for evaluating the availability of resources, we analyzed the budget available for hiring personnel with intercultural training. Political feasibility shows that the actors recognize the importance of including personnel with intercultural training for reproductive health care in indigenous population; despite this, in both states, there is no clear position in favor of it. In legal feasibility, no impediment for hiring these personnel was found. In organizational feasibility, the organizational structure of health services does not include a unit to oversee intercultural health services and practices and does not specify intercultural functions in the professional required profiles. In both states, there is no budget allocation for hiring personnel with an intercultural profile. Therefore, intercultural actions implemented are part of the local initiative of decision-makers to respond to reproductive health problems within indigenous population. The overall feasibility assessment does not show clear results in favor of incorporating health professionals trained in interculturality for sexual and reproductive health care for indigenous population. Therefore, it is still necessary to advocate on this issue so that intercultural hiring policies can be explicitly concretized in the acquisition of public health services.

Some Remarks on Book Critical Constitutionalism: Ideas for Constitutional Transition in the Post-COVID-19 Era by Diego Valadés

The present paper is a review essay focused on the book – scientific monograph Critical Constitutionalism: Ideas for Constitutional Transition in the Post-COVID-19 Era written by Mexican legal scholar Diego Valadés in year 2021. The book is a brief but incisive analysis of how Mexico (mis)managed the global COVID-19 pandemics. The author showed that many actions and measures taken by the Mexican State during the state of emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemics were problematic for various reasons, both constitutional/legal and extraconstitutional/extralegal ones, and resulted from long-term, serious and complex shortcomings of the Mexican political system, primarily based on the Mexican Federal Constitution of 1917 and related federal legislation. However, the author’s criticism of the Mexican constitutional/political system is constructive, as he makes useful suggestions to overcome (or, at least, to reduce) its shortcomings throughout the book.

Caliche From Archaeological Zone of Guanajuato Mexico and Nearby Deposits: Geochemical and Mechanical Characterizations

ABSTRACT Currently, several archaeological sites are being studied in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Among these sites is the Cerro de Los Remedios, located in the municipality of Comonfort, in the state of Guanajuato. The archaeological site shows that among the main materials used for construction was a carbonate-based stone called caliche. Caliche is the result of carbonate sedimentation in sandstone; therefore, its physical and geochemical characteristics are specific to each archaeological zone around the world. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct a study of the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of the material found. Samples were removed from the CZA archaeological site and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, XRD, X-ray fluorescence and SEM. The results showed that more than 93% of the caliche is composed of CaCO3 as a matrix of micrite and calcite granules. In addition, the physical and mechanical properties were determined, including density, porosity, and uniaxial compression stress. With the results obtained from the samples from the archaeological site, it was possible to identify material banks close to the caliche properties that were most like those used at the site, which can be proposed to be used in the conservation work required at the archaeological site.

The art of war and the militarization of mestizaje

AbstractThis photograph was taken in a public military plaza in Mexico City. Here stands an exhibit of decommissioned weapons from Mexico's Drug Wars shaped to represent each Mexican state. I argue that these sculptures illustrate the racial process of mestizaje, but infuses it with a new dimension: militarization.

Water temperature and season length interact to explain a rare non‐linear ecogeographic cline in body size

AbstractAimAdult body size often exhibits patterns across large‐scale environmental gradients, creating ecogeographic clines. However, the form of body size clines varies across taxonomic groups, with linear and non‐linear patterns in body size observed in nature. Non‐linear body size clines have received less study, and questions remain about how environmental gradients interact to produce non‐linear clines. We examined the body size of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), a widely distributed marine arthropod, and evaluated the hypothesis that temperature and active season length can interact multiplicatively to result in a dome‐shaped distribution.LocationFourteen states in the United States of America and three Mexican states, representing the entire geographic range of the species.MethodsWe compiled environmental data and body size measurements from more than 49,000 individual horseshoe crabs. For each location, we extracted from the literature or calculated from raw data the mean male prosoma width and the mean female prosoma width. We applied a general additive modelling (GAM) approach to characterize the body size cline, test a hypothesis regarding temperature and season length, and explore evidence for the influence of additional environmental factors.ResultsModel results indicate temperature and season length could act multiplicatively to produce dome‐shaped clines, and these findings align with and quantify previous anecdotal reports of a strong dome‐shaped body size cline across latitude for horseshoe crabs.Main ConclusionsActive season length appears to become relatively more influential on horseshoe crab body size in the northern part of their range, while temperature effects per se appear to dominate in southern latitudes. For horseshoe crabs, the pattern of size variation is consistent with the predictions of Optimal Resource Allocation models, but more study is needed to elucidate mechanistic underpinnings. Considering climate change projections, results from our study suggest future shifts in horseshoe crab body sizes.

Determination of the discriminant doses to identify resistance to fipronil, flumethrin and coumaphos, in Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) from Mexico.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. is an intra- and peridomiciliary tick of medical and veterinary importance, whose control is carried out through the application of various ixodicides, to which it can develop resistance. The objective of this work was to determine the discriminant doses (d.d.) to identify resistance against three ixodicides - fipronil, flumethrin and coumaphos - in R. sanguineus s.l. larvae originating from Mexico. Engorged ticks were collected from naturally infested dogs residing in rural communities in five Mexican states; the dogs had no history of recent treatment with ixodicides. All ticks were identified as R. sanguineus s.l. They were incubated for 25 days and their progeny was used in the larval package test (LPT) to be exposed to d.d. as determined in Rhipicephalus microplus, and those that were susceptible were analyzed using the LPT with six concentrations, for fipronil from 0.1 to 0.003125%, for flumethrin from 0.02 to 0.000625% and for coumaphos from 0.4 to 0.0125%. Mortality was analyzed with Probit methodology, to calculate the 50 and 99% lethal concentrations (LC50 and LC99). The d.d. was determined as a consensus value by multiplying the LC99 value × 2. Nine double susceptible samples (fipronil + flumethrin) and one triple susceptible sample (fipronil + flumethrin + coumaphos) were found; the d.d. determined were fipronil 0.05%, flumethrin 0.01% and coumaphos 0.43%. These doses can be used to rapidly and inexpensively identify resistant populations in samples collected in the field.

An analysis of the inter-state similarity of the herpetofaunas of Mexican states

Mexico is a megadiverse country with high amphibian and reptile richness. Understanding how Mexico’s herpetofauna is shared among Mexican states can contribute to developing conservation plans by figuring out which states may need to coordinate conservation actions. We generated species lists for the herpetofauna for all Mexican states, and used hierarchical clustering analyses to identify clusters of states on the basis of amphibian and reptile species separately. We also calculated pair-wise Jaccard distances for all Mexican states for amphibians, reptiles, and physiographic provinces and estimated the length of shared borders between states and the geographic (straight-line) distance between the centroids of pairs of states. We used these data to explore potential drivers of the cluster analysis results. Our cluster analysis for amphibians identified five clusters with nine subclusters, and for reptiles, resulted in four clusters with six subclusters. In general, the clusters for Mexican amphibians and reptiles have a similar composition of states. However, for amphibians, the states of Veracruz and Puebla form a cluster separate from a large cluster of northeastern Mexican states, whereas in reptiles Veracruz and Puebla cluster with northeastern Mexican states. Jaccard distances of amphibians and reptiles were highly, positively correlated. Both amphibian and reptile Jaccard distances were positively correlated with the physiographic provinces’ Jaccard distance and shared border length and negatively correlated with the distance between centroids. Taken together, our results suggest that the pattern of the sharing of herpetofaunal species among Mexican states is a consequence of the states’ proximity. Such a pattern is consistent with the underlying driver being the similarity of physiographic provinces (i.e., habitats and ecosystems) of these states (i.e., geographic proximity likely reflects, at least in large part, ecological similarity). Our results suggest clusters of states that should coordinate the conservation and management of their herpetofaunas. For example, clusters of states in southern Mexico share a high number of threatened amphibian species and clusters of states in northern Mexico share a high number of threatened reptile species. Oaxaca is also a state that has a unique herpetofauna and a high number of threatened species of both amphibians and reptiles.

New records of cave-dwelling populations of Rhamdia catfishes (Siluriformes, Heptapteridae) from Chiapas, Mexico

Dedicated ichthyological surveys in four active karstic caves in the Mexican state of Chiapas (Grijalva River drainage basin) resulted in the discovery of the same number of hypogean populations of Rhamdia catfishes assignable to two different species: R. laticauda and R. guatemalensis. The taxonomic identity of these populations was initially determined based on morphological traits and subsequently corroborated with molecular data in a phylogenetic framework. For the most part, these newly discovered populations exhibit partial and variable troglomorphism (vs. fixed), a pattern that has been observed in most other cave-dwelling species/populations of Mexican Rhamdia, and possibly caused by gene flow with and/or incipient speciation from epigean lineages. Since most hypogean forms of Mexican Rhamdia derive from/are part of a larger R. laticauda clade, our discovery of cave-dwelling populations assignable to R. guatemalensis is noteworthy and includes the very first record of a R. guatemalensis population with pronounced and widespread troglomorphism. Our discovery of hitherto unrecorded populations of hypogean Rhamdia highlights the continued importance of exploration in the process of documenting subterranean biodiversity, particularly in regions of the world rich with cave systems. Our findings corroborate the notion that, among Neotropical fishes, the catfish genus Rhamdia is one of the most prone and effective at colonizing subterranean habitats and establishing viable hypogean populations.

Decolonizing internal and external borders: Reflections on therapeutic engagements with asylum seekers

The cycles of disenfranchisement experienced by asylum seekers ordered by the United States of America to remain in the United Mexican States have been well documented by scholars and activists. Along the US/Mexico border zone, supports for asylum seekers are essentially non-existent, leaving them to seek shelter, sustenance, and safety completely on their own once they are returned to Mexican border cities to wait an indeterminate amount of time for their immigration court hearings. This article explores the reflections of expressive art therapies graduate students enrolled in a course which took place in El Paso, Texas USA, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in partnership with various shelters, community leaders/activists, artists, directors of nonprofits, and government officials. Through experiential engagement, the course, called The In-Between Space, interrogated the dynamics and intersectionality of poverty, race, class, and trauma through a historical lens and dissected the systems of colonialism by analyzing and critiquing oppressive practices within students’ personal spheres, educational context, and therapeutic profession.

Pilot Monitoring of Lead in Umbilical Cord Blood of Newborns Associated With the Use of Glazed Ceramics from Guanajuato, Mexico.

The use of lead-glazed pottery for cooking and storing food, a widespread practice in Mexico, represents a risk of exposure to lead from the human intrauterine stage. Therefore, a pilot study was carried out by means of the measurement of lead in umbilical cord blood by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) including 69 newborns from the Mexican state capital of Guanajuato, Guanajuato City, where the use of glazed clay is still widespread. Lifestyle and sociodemographic data were collected by interviewing the participating mothers. Hematological parameters and the anthropometry of the newborns and their mothers were analyzed; likewise, the G177C polymorphism in the ALAD gene was genotyped by PCR-RFLP as a marker of genetic vulnerability to lead. The geometric mean of lead in umbilical cord blood was 0.7µg/dL (< limit of detection = 0.01-28.22). Boys presented higher values than girls (p = 0.03). Only 5.8% of these were above the safety value of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of 3.5µg/dL. Correlations among lead concentrations, maternal age, weeks of gestation, newborn anthropometry, and hematological parameters were not found; however, the participating mothers who reported using glazed ceramics for cooking or storing food had the highest cord-blood lead concentrations (p = 0.04). Regarding genotyping, 97% had ALAD 1, while 3% had ALAD 1, 2; unfortunately, the sample size did not allow analysis of genetic vulnerability to lead. The preparation and conservation of food in handcrafted clay pottery increased the risk of having cord-blood lead values higher than those recommended by the CDC of 3.5µg/dL (OR = 5; 95% CI:1.3-23; p = 0.01). Our preliminary results suggest that there continues to be intrauterine exposure to lead in Guanajuato.

Geospatial mapping of surgical systems for earthquake emergency planning in Guerrero, Mexico: an ecological study

Accessibility to surgical services can impact earthquake preparedness and response. We aimed to estimate the population with timely access to surgical care in Guerrero, a Mexican state with high tectonic activity, and identify populations at risk in the event of an earthquake. We conducted an ecological study using open government data. We extracted data from Guerrero municipalities regarding their earthquake risk, social vulnerability, social inequality, marginalisation, and resilience indices. The latest combines municipalities' resistance to unexpected events and capacity to maintain optimal functionality without immediate federal or international support. Geographical coordinates of active public and private surgical facilities in Guerrero were combined with ancillary spatial data on roads and municipalities' population density to estimate population coverage within 30-min and 1-h driving time to surgical facilities in Redivis. We built an ordered beta regression model for each driving time estimate. We identified 25 public and 16 private facilities capable of providing surgical care in Guerrero. The population with access to facilities with surgical capacity within 30min and 1-h driving times were 48.4% and 69.1%, respectively. We found that municipalities with very high levels of earthquake risk, social vulnerability, social inequality, and marginalisation, and very low levels of resilience had decreased coverage. In the multivariable analysis, the resilience index was statistically significant only for the 30-min model, with an effect size of0.524 (95% CI 0.082, 1.089). Access to surgical care remains unequally distributed in Guerrero municipalities at the highest risk for earthquakes. Municipalities' resilience was the most significant predictor of higher surgical care coverage in 30-min driving time. Our study provides insights on how surgical system strengthening can enhance earthquake emergency disaster planning. No funding.

Food insecurity and levels of marginalization: food accessibility, consumption and concern in Mexico

BackgroundFood insecurity continues to be a problem throughout the world. When estimating food insecurity, few studies analyze the contexts where the phenomenon takes place. By bearing in mind levels of marginalization in four states of Mexico, this paper answers two questions: (I) What problems are experienced with access to food, and how these difficulties affect the amount of food consumed in households? and (II) How do households experience the concern of running out of food?MethodsOur qualitative study draws data from urban and semi-urban areas of four Mexican states: Mexico City, Tamaulipas, the State of Mexico, and Oaxaca. Each state presents different levels of well-being. The study’s participants are selected using the snowball method. Eligibility criteria are based on demographic characteristics such as education, age, and gender. A thematic analytical approach is conducted to analyze collected data from a total of 212 semi-structured interviews.ResultsThe study’s findings indicate that concern of food scarcity is a generalized feeling among participants across different levels of marginalization. Individuals with stable jobs living in contexts of low levels of marginalization experience worriedness when their budgets tightened before the end of the payday, a bi-weekly payment format, named the quincena in México. This psychological state of mind changes through the payday cycle, a period when the direct relationship between food accessibility and consumption weakens. In response, individuals develop strategies to cope with the uncertainty of experiencing food insecurity, such as rationing food portions and/or hoarding food supplies. Even when food accessibility exists, interviewees identify insufficient income as the primary issue in contexts of low and very low levels of marginalization.ConclusionsConclusive remarks drawn from our analysis underline the importance of the context of marginalization in influencing households’ experiences with food insecurity. At the quincena’s end, food insecurity increases, even in contexts of very low marginalization. Our study calls for rethinking the scales employed to measure food insecurity, specifically the questions related to fear of food scarcity. Coping strategies are implemented by surveyed individuals to resolve issues and repercussions that emerge from experiencing food insecurity differ by context of marginalization.

The role of social media groups on illegal wildlife trade in four Mexican states: A year-long assessment

Illegal wildlife trade consists of harvesting wildlife products and undertaking its trade contrary to national and international laws. It has become one of the main threats to wildlife, along with habitat loss and the introduction of exotic species. The Internet modified how illegal trade works as it increases species exposure and market venues. Although it is a critical problem in Latin America, it has received limited attention. A region worth studying is the country of Mexico, as it is a megadiverse country, has multiple commercial treaties, and is considered an active part of the wildlife trade. Thus, our objective was to determine the role of social media in illegal trade in Mexican states with different income levels. We looked for social media groups that serve as virtual marketplaces in the states of Estado de México, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Oaxaca. We comprehensively monitored the groups from January 1, 2019, until December 31, 2019. We browsed all the posts listed for sale and recorded all the available information, including the legal status of the individual. We found 175 posts in nine groups that offered 392 wildlife individuals. We registered 90 different species, of which 39 were mammals (202 individuals), 26 were birds and 23 were reptiles, with a total estimated selling value of US$ 683,967. Furthermore, we detected a significant difference between the number of individuals of mammals, birds, and reptiles sold. Our analysis indicates a large number and diversity of species being sold in social media confirming its importance as a virtual marketplace for biodiversity trade and not only for regional species.

Oil after the revolution: Contextualizing the development of the Soviet oil industry with Mexican nationalization, 1918–1938

From 1920 to 1938, petroleum represented much of the raw potential of both Soviet and Mexican states. Each state, despite ostensive ideological differences, would eventually utilize a comparable mix of foreign cooperation and investment as well as state and private intervention to promote revenue generation from oil across the interwar era. By 1938, Mexico, like the Soviet Union, would seek full state control of its respective industries to address a parallel point of impasse in its industrial development, but this would only come after a combination of both its unique political circumstance and a clear and comparable divergence with the Soviet Union in terms of production outcomes.

Neurocognitive Care to Reverse Solitary Confinement in Prison: Case Report

Inmate populations have been found to have mental health problems and substance abuse much higher than non-incarcerated populations. Caring for incarcerated patients is problematic, given the limitations on access to healthcare services within detention facilities. A case report of a patient with psychomotor agitation and psychoactive substances use, prone to hetero and self-aggression, is presented. The patient was treated for a month in a Mexican state detention center by nursing students, under supervision and pedagogical support. Using the nursing process, focused on psychosocial health needs, six priority diagnoses were identified: anxiety, ineffective health maintenance behaviors, acute confusion, risk of self-directed violence and violence directed at others, as well as discomfort. Based on these diagnoses, care plans using cognitive stimulation was carried out with the goals of decreased anxiety, increased self-care, increased self-responsibility, better anger control, management of hallucination. The cognitive stimulation was a primary intervention that helped with other interventions to achieve holistic goals, such as improving hygiene. Improvements in the patient’s general ability to function led to, among other aspects, the release of solitary confinement and adaptation to social environment of the prison. Patient improvements reflect the importance of professional nursing care in mental health care in correctional healthcare.

Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Vulnerabilities: Communities in Northern Mexico

This article takes a holistic view of vulnerabilities within several communities in northern Mexico. The authors use a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to capture different dimensions of vulnerability. Using the multidimensional vulnerability framework (MVI), they analyze socioeconomic indicators, including poverty rates, income inequality, access to essential services, and economic well-being in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Environmental factors such as water scarcity, pollution levels, and natural resource degradation are also included to understand the ecological challenges those communities face, and political factors, including governance structures and policies, determine their influence on vulnerability and resilience. The result indicates that the community prioritizes ecological indicators over social ones. However, in each community this is heterogeneous. In both cases, the ecological and social indicators selected allow for a multidisciplinary approach to vulnerability. By identifying and understanding these issues, policy makers, researchers, and community leaders can work collaboratively to design strategies to mitigate the impacts of these vulnerabilities. In addition, architects and urban planners can offer specific interventions to benefit these communities. This research contributes to the broader field of vulnerability studies by demonstrating the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and addressing the complex web of vulnerability faced by communities in northern Mexico and territories that share similar characteristics.

New records of Ornithodoros turicata (Ixodida: Argasidae) in rural and urban sites in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas indicate the potential for tick-borne relapsing fever.

Soft ticks from the Ornithodoros genus are vectors of relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes around the world. In Mexico, they were originally described in the 19th century. However, few recent surveillance studies have been conducted in Mexico, and regions where RF spirochetes circulate remain vague. Here, the presence of soft ticks in populated areas was assessed in two sites from the Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. Argasidae ticks were collected, identified by morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene sequencing, and tested for RF borreliae. The specimens in both sites were identified as Ornithodoros turicata but no RF spirochetes were detected. These findings emphasize the need to update the distribution of these ticks in multiple regions of Mexico and to determine the circulation of RF borreliosis in humans and domestic animals.

Defending Ñöñhö identity and survival through festival performances and the affirmation of local cultural sovereignty in Querétaro, Mexico

ABSTRACT The festivals of San Miguel in the municipality of Tolimán, performed by the Ñöñhö (Otomí) indigenous community of the Querétaro Mexican state, include different celebrations. This article focuses on two such celebrations: the Danza de Conquista and the ritual of the chimal. I approach these two celebrations as elements of Ñöñhö identity making and as illustrations of the resilience of the people of Tolimán who rejected the proposal to have the festivals recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In June and July of 2021, I interviewed participants in the festivals and representatives of cultural institutions that promote them. My fieldwork was guided by a series of key questions: (a) What are the meanings of the chimal for Tolimanenses? (b) How do Tolimanenses see emigration to the United States, and in what ways do people who emigrate there maintain links with these festive traditions? (c) what were the steps of the process that led to the proposal to have UNESCO designate the festivals as Intangible Cultural Heritage? My research reveals the festivals as having a transformative power of resilience, belonging, and identity validation.