Triqui/Trique Indian boys basketball team
Picture credit: Unknown
Orlando was blessed to have many fine young athletes in town this week for a Basketball event, and one of the teams that made the news this morning on our local station, WESH TV was from Mexico.
Nothing new here, or was there?
This team of fairly small boys, as far as basketball players go, played without shoes.
But, this is not unusual for them, as they nearly always do so.
These boys come from one of Mexico’s poorest regions, a tiny place in the mountains of Oaxaca, that range from 4,000 to nearly 10,000 feet and the inhabitants are called the Trique/Triqui people, a blended group of Mixtec, (place of cloud-people), who are known for their beautiful weavings.
This area and these people, are not new to me, as one of my favorite Anthropology Professors at CSUN, had related his summers there, for the past 20 plus years.
Every year, he would travel down to Oaxaca to spend a month with the people, then wrote and brought back what he learned about them to his students.
Years later, when I traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, I felt that there were strong similarities between it and many places in Oaxaca.
They were both poverty stricken areas, that few outsiders came to and even fewer cared much about.
This young team makes news every time they play, mostly for their lack of shoes, but what people don’t understand is that their lack of shoes, are the least of their worries.
So many where they come from, are desperately poor, with food, shelter and personal safety at the top of their daily wants/needs list, and going without shoes, much lower on it.
Native or Indigenous Mexicans, are at a poverty level of about 80%, compared to the National level in the upper 20’s.
Many of these young players must walk two hours or more, on rough mountain roads just to get to their practices, and Basketball is about the only sport that can be played in such a difficult terrain.
For me personally, the hardest part of relaying this story to all of you, is in knowing that the country where these brave young players live, is in constant turmoil from outside political pressures.
A friend from school traveled down there years ago, quite concerned about the way the people were being treated and was never seen again.
“Accidents” can happen, to those who ask too many questions, or get too curious about local politics.
Just playing their games, must seem like great relief after enduring the conditions that surround them.
Whenever the team travels, they basically have become ambassadors for their people, and the state of Oaxaca, and Global generosity to them and their town, have followed them everywhere.
Their Head Coach Sergio Zuniga, was interviewed by WESH and his pride in their achievements was clearly evident as he spoke.
This week in Orlando, not only was the team gifted with shoes, so was their entire town.
Yes, back home things are very difficult, but as their Team jackets say, ” Vivir es Increible, life is incredible.”
Places to learn more:
Mexican youth basketball team plays shoeless in Orange County tournament
Hoop dreams of Mexico’s indigenous youth provide hope in ‘forgotten’ region
It’s Triqui to play around: Shoeless Mexican team plays exhibition match in LA
Youth Mexican Basketball Team Wins Big Playing Barefoot
Mexican Shoeless Basketball Champions Prove It’s About How You Play, Not What You Have
A History of the Triqui People
tahtonka - A Journey Through Global Culture 