Suchergebnisse

In Nicaragua in July 1979, the Sandinista popular revolutionary movement finally succeeded in overthrowing the dictatorship of the Somoza family, which had been placed in power and then supported for many years by the U.S. government. Analysis of the revolution, even in conservative U.S. government sources (LeoGrande, 1979; Montgomery, 1980), has noted the greed and corruption of the Somoza dynasty and the poverty, illiteracy, and poor health of Nicaragua's masses. More liberal sources (Koeppel and Harvey, 1980; Burbach and Draimin, 1980) comment favorably on the democratic and social justice orientation of the new revolutionary government. Coverage of the revolution, however, has barely mentioned the east coast, an isolated, ethnically complex, and fascinating part of the country.

Drunks are accorded great social license in Oaxacan villages. They may shout insults, intrude uninvited into social gatherings, and behave in other normally unacceptable ways. This paper analyzes the drunk's role in terms suggested by Goffman's "dramaturgical analogy," as a highly functional and sometimes entertaining part in the ongoing drama of community life. Village conceptions of drunken behavior are seen to create that behavior, apart from the alcohol intake which is its ostensible cause.