Abstract
Xaripu, my ancestral pueblo, has changed tremendously over the centuries: from a Purépecha center to a “Mexican” pueblo. My grandfather Elias, during one of our last visits before he passed away in October 1991, told me, Mi abuela era tarasca¹ y no hablaba español (my grandmother was Purépecha and did not speak Spanish). His father, Pomposo Barajas, wore calzon de indio (Indigenous trousers), and his mother, Bartola Muratalla, was from San Antonio Guaracha, which was known to have relied on African slaves during the colonial period. Indigenous and mestiza/o (a mix of Black and White) ancestry are part of Xaripus’