Monkey Business Theatre

<p>In 1983 a group of citizens in San Cristóbal de las Casas Chiapas formed Sna Jtz'ibajom the Tzotzil-Tzeltal Maya writers' cooperative. In the two decades since this group has evolved from writing and publishing bilingual booklets to writing and performing plays that have earned them national and international renown.</p> <p>Anthropologist Robert M. Laughlin has been a part of the group since its beginnings and he offers a unique perspective on its development as a Mayan cultural force. The Monkey Business Theatre or Teatro Lo'il Maxil as this branch of Sna Jtz'ibajom calls itself has presented plays in virtually every corner of the state of Chiapas as well as in Mexico City Guatemala Honduras Canada and in many museums and universities in the United States. It has presented to the world for the first time in drama a view of the culture of the Mayas of Chiapas.</p> <p>In this work Laughlin presents a translation of twelve of the plays created by Sna Jtz'ibajom along with an introduction for each. Half of the plays are based on myths and half on the social political and economic problems that have confronted-and continue to confront-the Mayas of Chiapas.</p>