Espiritualismo at the U.S.-Mexican Border Region: A Case Study of Possession Globalization
and the Maintenance of Tradition is a sensitive empathetic and beautifully detailed account
of the Mexican religious movement Espiritualismo Trinitario Mariano as practiced in the
U.S.-Mexican border region culminating 16 months of fieldwork. This study offers a salient
portrait of a changing religion and society in Mexico and is critically relevant to the
understanding of religious change in the developing world. Espiritualista symbolism at the
U.S.-Mexican border mainly manifested through spirit possession performances is an effective
system of knowledge and empowerment accessible to individuals from all levels in society. This
symbolism reflects an awareness of attempts at discrediting tradition through the imposition of
a rational modernist hegemonic perspective. According to espiritualistas at the border the
social arrangements engendered by capitalism and the strong presence of Protestantism in the
area are the forces that present a direct attack on Mexican tradition. In an uneasy alliance
with Catholicism espiritualismo stands as a bastion of tradition and at the same time it
establishes a path to modernity. This book is a major contribution to the anthropology of
religion Latin American anthropology gender studies medical anthropology and studies of
migration. It is an excellent supplemental reading for undergraduate and graduate courses on
the anthropology of religion.
