[AGL] Peyote en Catorce
Igor Loving
lovingigor at hotmail.com
Mon Oct 24 10:13:10 EDT 2005
I read the article and thought it was pretty lame.
Charlie Loving
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From: <i>Harry Edwards <laughingwolf at ev1.net></i><br>Reply-To:
<i>survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s
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<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net></i><br>Subject: <i>[AGL] Peyote en
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Sun, 23 Oct 2005 20:28:57 -0500</i><br>> Peyote intrigues many in
Mexico<br>><br>>Desert drug remains a small-town attraction amid
Mexico's raging <br>>drug war.<br>><br><p>><< image_1884724.jpg >>
<p>>Ricardo Sandoval/FOR COX NEWSPAPERS<br>>(enlarge
photo)<br>><br>>Huichol Indian Martina de la Cruz and her
granddaughter sell crafts <br>>sporting symbols of peyote in downtown
Real de Catorce. The <br>>hallucinogenic drug holds great importance to
the Mexican tribe.<br>><br><p>><< image_1884733.jpg >>
<p>>Ricardo Sandocal/FOR COX NEWSPAPERS<br>>(enlarge
photo)<br>><br>>The button-shaped cacti, which are eaten or drunk, can
produce <br>>visions as well as a heightened sense of energy and
perception.<br>><br>>By Susan Ferriss<br>>MEXICO CITY
BUREAU<br>>Sunday, October 23, 2005<br>><br>>REAL DE CATORCE, San
Luis Potos — The fleshy, button-shaped plants <br>>barely peek from the
desert floor, but Enrico Baldella knew how to <br>>scout for them.
Walking gingerly through waist-high cacti and mean <br>>thorns, he
quickly spied a cluster of peyote, a hallucinogenic plant <br>>considered
sacred by some Mexican Indian tribes.<br>><br>>"There's a colony
of them," said Baldella, an Italian expatriate who <br>>has lived in
Mexico for years. He knelt and sliced an inch-high, <br>>palm-size button
carefully from its long subterranean root. It may <br>>have taken a
decade for it to reach this size.<br>><br>>Before leaving, Baldella
built a small fire and coaxed smoke toward <br>>the remaining colony,
bowing his head and murmuring prayers he <br>>learned from Mexican Indian
and American Indian acquaintances.<br>><br>>Peyote (pronounced
pay-O-tay) is an attraction for Mexican, American <br>>and European
tourists in Mexico's San Luis Potosí state, on the <br>>southern edge of
the vast Chihuahua Desert.<br>><br>>Not everyone who visits Real de
Catorce, an old mining and tourist <br>>town, is looking to get high. But
the little mountaintop town has a <br>>reputation for being a place where
one can readily — albeit <br>>illegally — seek peyote to eat fresh, dried
or mixed into a drink. <br>>Under the watch of guides such as Baldella,
tourists can descend to <br>>the desert valley below, harvest and chew
the plant, and contemplate <br>>their surroundings for hours in an
altered state of consciousness.<br>><br>>The tolerance for peyote
experimentation is an odd juxtaposition to <br>>Mexico's violent drug
cartel wars. Peyote, which is also found in <br>>the deserts of Texas,
grows naturally. It isn't of interest to <br>>traffickers because, police
say, there is no big money in it.<br>><br>>In contrast, more than 900
people have been killed this year alone <br>>as organized crime cartels
battle over the lucrative trafficking of <br>>cocaine, heroin,
methamphetamine and marijuana into the United
<br>>States.<br>><br>>Mexico's Huichol (wee-CHOL) Indians have
consumed peyote for <br>>millennia as part of a traditional spiritual
pilgrimage they make <br>>from Mexico's Pacific coast to San Luis Potosí.
Mexican law permits <br>>the use, an exemption that allows the Indians to
collect and consume <br>>the cactus as long as they don't possess
substantial amounts for the <br>>purposes of
trafficking.<br>><br>>In theory, non-Indians are prohibited from
possessing any peyote and <br>>can face stiff sentences if convicted of
trafficking large <br>>quantities. But the law doesn't seem to deter
on-the-spot <br>>experimentation.<br>><br>>Residents of Real de
Catorce complain that local police sometimes <br>>extort money from
tourists if they discover the outsiders have a few <br>>buttons in their
pockets.<br>><br>>Environmentalists, though, seem more concerned that
peyote tourism <br>>is endangering the slow-growing
plant.<br>><br>>"In general, there's always been quite a bit of
tolerance when it <br>>comes to peyote," said Pedro Medellin, a
professor at the University <br>>of San Luis Potosí who in 1994, as a
state ecology coordinator, <br>>helped turn a swath of peyote-laden
desert here into a state <br>>protected area.<br>><br>>Communities
allow outsiders to enter the protected zone as long as <br>>they present
identification and submit to a search when they leave <br>>to make sure
they haven't loaded up their cars with peyote.<br>><br>>On highways
here, soldiers regularly search vehicles at roadblocks <br>>for weapons
and drugs. In the past three months, only one person has <br>>been
detained, for possessing about 30 buttons of peyote, enough to
<br>>trigger an accusation of suspected trafficking, said Enrique
<br>>Buendia, the San Luis Potosí representative of the federal attorney
<br>>general's office.<br>><br>>The accused could face a minimum
sentence of 10 years or up to 25 <br>>years in prison, Buendia
said.<br>><br>>Officials in the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey declined
to respond to <br>>requests for information about American citizens
arrested for peyote <br>>possession.<br>><br>>"It's a small
number of people who do this," Buendia added, denying <br>>that
peyote is the main draw in the area.<br>><br>>"It's a great place
to come to just rest, to get away from the <br>>summer heat," said
Natalie Lake, a midwife from Austin who has close <br>>friends who live
in the town.<br>><br>>Hotel owner Humberto Fernandez, a fountain of
knowledge about Real <br>>de Catorce, said that, on occasion, he's had to
deal with youths who <br>>got high, regretted it and wandered back to his
hotel to request <br>>help.<br>><br>>"Once, a big blond guy
came and said he wanted to search for the <br>>plant by himself. He would
come back every night, sunburned and <br>>disappointed," said
Fernandez, who has been invited to peyote <br>>ceremonies with the
Huichol.<br>><br>>"Some people think they can do it on their
own," the hotel owner <br>>said with a shake of his
head.<br>><br>>Huichol Indian Martina de la Cruz, 51, sells beaded
jewelry and <br>>boxes emblazoned with peyote designs. She smiled at
inquiries about <br>>the plant. She's heard the questions
before.<br>><br>>"Where do you think we get the design ideas for
the things we make?" <br>>she said. "We all consume
it."<br>><br>> <br><p></font></BLOCKQUOTE>
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