Mexico's Zapatistas Give Vistors A View Of A Hidden Community
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Dec. 27, 2013 photo, children study at a school in the Zapatista controlled community of La Garrucha, Mexico. In these communities, children attend schools called "Sun Seeds" where they learn to read and write and study about nature conservancy and the environment. They also learn how to be productive members of their communities, and more importantly, how to protect the autonomy of their communities. Members of these communities wear masks to hide their identities when outsiders, interested in learning about how they self-govern and maintain their way of life, gain access to visit them. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Dec. 30, 2013 photo, a red star, the symbol of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN, decorates a basketball backboard in the community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Two decades after their revolt, the Mexican government still doesnt recognize the Zapatista autonomy but they continue to live according to their own rules. Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos said recently that the act of rebellion itself is enough reason to celebrate. "Rebellion, friends and enemies, is something that has to be celebrated, every day and at every hour," he said. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Dec. 30, 2013 photo, images of nature and key icons of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN, decorate a wall inside a classroom at a school in in the Zapatista controlled community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Since their uprising 20 years ago, Zapatistas, known by their initials as the EZLN, have lived in secretive, closed-off enclaves they have formed in the half-dozen communities they hold. But in the last five months the rebels have opened up their communities to more than 7,000 Mexicans and foreigners interested in learning about how they self-govern and maintain their independence and way of life. Those invited stayed for a week at a time and lived with a Zapatista family. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Dec. 27, 2013 photo, two men and a child use a horse-powered sugar mill to squeeze juice from sugarcane at a collective farm in the Zapatista controlled community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Since their uprising 20 years ago, Zapatistas, known by their initials as the EZLN, have lived in secretive, closed-off enclaves they have formed in the half-dozen communities they hold. But in the last five months the rebels have opened up their communities to more than 7,000 Mexicans and foreigners interested in learning about how they self-govern and maintain their independence and way of life. Those invited stayed for a week at a time and lived with a Zapatista family. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Jan. 1, 2014 photo, members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN, prepare to release a hot-air balloon during a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their uprising against the Mexican government in the community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Two decades after their revolt, the Mexican government still doesnt recognize the Zapatista autonomy but they continue to live according to their own rules. The communities' material conditions haven't improved much since the Zapatista rebellion stunned Mexico and drew widespread support from leftists across the world, in part because the Zapatistas refuse all government aid programs. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Jan. 1, 2014 photo, members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN, prepare to raise the Mexican flag during a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their uprising against the Mexican government in the community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Two decades after their revolt, the Mexican government still doesnt recognize the Zapatista autonomy but they continue to live according to their own rules. The communities' material conditions haven't improved much since the Zapatista rebellion stunned Mexico and drew widespread support from leftists across the world, in part because the Zapatistas refuse all government aid programs. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Jan. 1, 2014 photo, a masked woman watches as members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN, prepare to release a hot-air balloon during a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their uprising against the Mexican government in the community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Two decades after their revolt, the Mexican government still doesnt recognize the Zapatista autonomy but they continue to live according to their own rules. The communities' material conditions haven't improved much since the Zapatista rebellion stunned Mexico and drew widespread support from leftists across the world, in part because the Zapatistas refuse all government aid programs. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Dec. 27, 2013 photo, a woman feeds chickens at a collective farm in the Zapatista controlled community of La Garrucha, Mexico. Since their uprising 20 years ago, Zapatistas, known by their initials as the EZLN, have lived in secretive, closed-off enclaves they have formed in the half-dozen communities they hold. But in the last five months the rebels have opened up their communities to more than 7,000 Mexicans and foreigners interested in learning about how they self-govern and maintain their independence and way of life. Those invited stayed for a week at a time and lived with a Zapatista family. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
In this Dec. 27, 2013 photo, an "educational promoter" teaches children games prior to entering class in the Zapatista controlled community of La Garrucha, Mexico. In these communities, children attend schools called "Sun Seeds" where they learn to read and write and study about nature conservancy and the environment. They also learn how to be productive members of their communities, and more importantly, how to protect the autonomy of their communities. Members of these communities wear masks to hide their identities when outsiders, interested in learning about how they self-govern and maintain their way of life, gain access to visit them. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)