Mam women, migration and domestic work in Mexico and Guatemala

Abstract

In this article we identify the impacts of cross-border migration on the identities and ethnicity of indigenous Mam women from San Marcos, Guatemala, who migrate temporarily to do domestic work in Tapachula, Chiapas. From the perspective of incarnated anthropology, the analysis focuses on the ways these young women represent and embody their ethnic and gender identities, making readjustments during their migratory cycle. This strategic management places them halfway between vulnerability and agency and reveals the importance of performativity in resilience and the resignification of identity to improve individual possibilities of recruitment and integration in the destination community.