The Cruz family discussed in this section is constituted by a group of people related through three sisters. Each sister has her own sleeping and cooking quarters which are shared by other members of their family. Each separate household shares the same plot of land; this forms a residental complex with their houses surrounding a central area. Two of the households are matrifocal and are headed by J uana and Josephina, and one is an extended household made up of Francisca, her husband Arnolfo, their three children, and Arnolfo's brother and his six children. This is an interesting family and illustrates the types of variations in household structures which can occur in an urban environment. While traditional agnatic patterns of residence were common in their natal villages, these families live in a somewhat different style. The sisters were born and raised in a highland Zapotec village. Arnolfo and his brother are from a Masatec village. Of the three examples in this section, these are the only residents from Indian villages.
Some years ago, Senor Cruz, the sisters' father, inherited a small parcel of land in his village through his father. However the land was not large enough to produce a wealthy farm. Although the Cruz family was not among the poorest, they were not wealthy and the land was not enough to sustain them in the village. In Mexico, migration to urban cities is a popular alternative to village life for those within this economic level (Butterworth
1 962), and this family conforms to that trend. Senor Cruz was the first
family member to make his way to Oaxaca to find work, in the market as a labourer carrying heavy goods. He began living in the centre of town with hiscompadres.
Later, his wife Jovita, their three girls and their young son joined Senor Cruz and they all lived in the centre town apartment. Soon after this, Senor Cruz left the family apartment and took up residence in another city unit. He had decided that he no longer wanted to live with Jovita, although he did want to see the children. He has continued to visit his children in the Colonia, and to visit his village where his land is being farmed by a relative.When their father left, the girls were in their teenage years and worked with Jovita in order to support themselves and their brother. All four of the women worked for a well-to-do Oaxacan lawyer's family doing laundry, cleaning, cooking and tending their children. During the period that this research was completed, Jovita and Josephina still worked for the same family. Additionally, Juana's two children were fathered by the young married son of the family. Though absent from their household, he is Juana's sole support.
Francisca met Arnolfo when she was sixteen. He had migrated from his village to Oaxaca where he worked as a street vendor selling ice creams for his compadres who owned an ice cream factory.
Francisca became pregnant and Amolfo moved in to Francesca's family's apartment.
In 1966, Amolfo
and Francesca movedto
the Colonia. This changed the character of both households, one becoming matrifocal and the other nuclear. The couple set up household in the second section, highup
on the side of the hill. They cleared a section of ground and built a one-room, bambooand
mud structure for sleeping, and an outside lean-to for cooking. Later, they replaced the house with adobe bricks which Amolfo made. Next to this house and the cooking area another smaller room was constructed to accommodate relatives. Neither house was equipped with electricity nor water. For light a kerosene lamp was used. Water was drawn from a well close by. Soon after this household was established, Jovita, her daughters and son moved to the Colonia Amolfo built a bamboo, mud andtar
paper house with two rooms to accommodate them along with a cook shack. The house was dug well into the hillside so that one wall of the interior was made-up of the hillside. Later, Amolfo built another house a bit lower on the hillside and to the side of the patio. This was a bamboo, mud and tar paper room for Josephina and her children. From1968
to1973,
Josephina gave birth to three children, each by a different father. She continued to work for the lawyer's family and brings her children to work with her. Her move from the rnatrifocal extended household was made because of the lack of room and because she was no longer getting along with her sister Juana. Josephina setup
her own matrifocal household and is its sole supportDuring the period that the re
searc
h was completed the entire domestic unit consisted of threehouseholds; one vertically extended family, a matrifocal, horiwntally-extended family, and a matrifocal household. The households helped each other with childcare, marketing, cooking and fiesta days, but they did not exchange money.