Las Fiestas Against Displacement

Religious Celebrations as Socio-Territorial Resistance in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico

Abstract

The region of Cholula, comprising the municipalities of San Andrés Cholula and San Pedro Cholula in Puebla, Mexico, has experienced rapid urban expansion and increased real estate development in recent decades. This transformation has led to an intensification of processes of commodification and demographic change. However, indigenous communities in San Andrés Cholula have persisted in their organization and sustenance of religious festivities that are deeply rooted in neighborhood-based structures, such as mayordomías. This _Article explores the function of these celebrations as forms of spatial appropriation and everyday resistance within the context of urban restructuring, emphasizing their role beyond mere expressions of cultural continuity. The study draws on long-term ethnographic research to analyze three key celebrations—Christmas Day, Candlemas, and the Feast of Santiago Xicotenco—in order to explore how ritual practices reinforce social networks, reproduce local authority, and sustain territorial belonging. The _Article’s argument is supported by theories of ritual, the production of space, and urban indigeneity. The institutionalization of social and cultural capital enables Indigenous residents to maintain their material presence and collective visibility in an increasingly commodified urban context. In this manner, they assert their right to remain and to define the social and spatial meaning of their city.