i Patrick W. Staib Anthropology This dissertation is approved, and it ...

ecotone, marking a shift from the lower, dry tropical zone to the lush, wet tropical zone,
or highland rainforests. One begins to sense the moisture in the air upon passing La
Virgin. To the right of the road is a precipice, as steep hills rise to the left. The road was
literally cut out of the mountain, most likely in the 1930s when Augusto Sandino’s armed
revolt against U.S. imperialism mobilized the area. From 1927 to 1933, the U.S. Marines
and Nicaraguan National Guard clumsily pursued Sandino’s troops, cutting roadways to
remote towns that characteristically sympathized with Sandino’s movement (Selser 1980;
Macaulay 1967).
The verdant hills are blanketed with coffee bushes. Some quadrants stand out
where corn and beans have been planted, and bare pastureland lies in the distance. Packed
busses careen around curves, often forcing motorists dangerously close to the edge. Other
trucks (few cars make the trip) pass dangerously close around blind curves, causing me to
pray for safety. Along the way, children use shovels to push dirt into depressions in the
roadbed, filling the potholes, and extend their hands for contributions from passers-by.
This is an exhausting drive.
More than an hour and a half after leaving the pavement, we arrived at San Juan
del Río Coco, shaken and dusty. Our first stop was Danilo González’s house in Zona Uno
at the west entrance of the town (Figure 2). Don Danilo, as many referred to him, is a
cooperative leader, Contra War combat veteran, and farmer of 13 manzanas or 22.5 acres
of organic coffee. Don Danilo and his esposa, 8 Doña Marta Medina, a schoolteacher,
8 Esposo or Esposa is literally translated as husband or wife. However, domestic
partnership is very common in this area, and people refer to the person with whom they
live as their esposo or esposa. Kelly and I were considered esposos in the community,
and I did not realize that Danilo and Marta were unwed until they were officially married
in June 2005.
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