Catching up...again

First of all, an apology for my absence since I've been in Mexico. It's hard to believe I've been here almost three weeks and I've only posted...twice. Maybe it's because my time here has been much more productive, and research success is somehow less worthy of note than research frustration. (And undoubtedly less interesting for non-historians!) Or maybe it's just that I've been busy working. Whatever the case, it is clearly time for an update.

A photo that has nothing to do with this post,
 but I included it just because photos are nice. This is a
mural at the cultural museum in Coyoacán.

It's hard to believe that I only have ten days left of my summer research trip. After this, it's off to BC for the month of August, where I plan to swing in my hammock, gorge myself on fresh peaches, laze in the sun...and write a 1,500 word paper abstract and a 10 page research proposal. Sigh. Real vacation time seems always to be a fleeting hope for the academic.

So far, my time in Mexico has been divided between the Archivo General de la Nacion (AGN) and the archive of the Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) - the latter being far more productive than the first. However, this week I will return to the AGN to finally confront the secret police archives, armed with a long list of organizations to look up, as they won't allow you to search by people. Yes, it seems they do everything in their power to make access difficult. That said, I'm hopeful that something will turn up. My last step will be - ojalá - a return trip to UNAM, where I hope to finally gain access to the personal papers of the Guatemalan novelist and political exile, Luís Cardoza y Aragón. The collection appears to be enormous (I've been able to look through a finding guide), but since they won't allow me to photograph any of the documents, I'll only be able to get a vague idea of the collection, at best. That said, the purpose of these last six weeks of research has been to gauge what sources exist for my project. A year from now, I'll return for an extended trip and revisit all of these archives and more. In this sense, the trip has been a success. There seems to be an abundance of material available in Mexico, which makes up for the wild goose chase that took place in Guatemala.

The view from the top of the Monumento de la Revolción,
where Rachel and I enjoyed a cup of coffee last weekend.

On a personal note, I've found my time here and in Guatemala to be incredibly fulfilling. In both cases, I was lucky enough to find fellow historiodoras from the New York area to keep me company: the two Rachels. It's been such a comfort to have another person not only to explore and to share meals with, but also to reflect on our research, to strategize, and to bounce ideas around. It's always been my experience that friendships formed away from home develop and solidify more quickly than those at home, as you rely on each other for the support that you would otherwise seek elsewhere. That has surely been the case here, and I'm so grateful to have made two wonderful friends who will not only be close by when I return to school in the fall, but who will be my peers and my colleagues for many, many years to come.

I suppose that's all for now, but I promise to write at least one more post before I go. Hasta luego.