Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (1864 - 1922), fue una periodista estadounidense, escritora, industrial, inventora y trabajadora de caridad que fue ampliamente conocida por su viaje récord alrededor del mundo en 72 días, en emulación del personaje de ficción de Jules Verne.
Fue una pionera en su campo, y lanzó un nuevo tipo de periodismo de investigación. Su obra Seis meses en México (Six Months in Mexico) es un libro que escribió después de viajar por México en el año de 1885. Tomó la iniciativa de trabajar como corresponsal extranjera a la edad de 21 años. En ese momento había estado escribiendo para el periódico The Dispatch , pero se había vuelto insatisfecha con tener que escribir para las páginas de las mujeres.
En este libro describe las vidas y costumbres de los pueblos de México y la pobreza de la gente, en el cual menciona a Amatlán de los Reyes escribiendo lo siguiente.
[...] Por Córdoba encontré una tribu de indígenas, que no son conocidos por muchos mexicanos, exceptuando a los que están cerca; Se llaman los Amatecos, y su pueblo, que se encuentra a tres millas de Córdoba, se llama Amatlán; sus casas, aunque pequeñas, son más finas y más bonitas que ninguna en la república.
Las flores, las frutas y las verduras son cultivadas por ellos, y todas las piñas, de las que es famosa Córdoba, provienen de sus plantaciones; tejen toda su ropa, y tienen su propio sacerdote, iglesia y escuela.
Todo es un modelo de limpieza, y en todo el pueblo no se puede encontrar nada fuera de lugar; las mujeres son de la estatura mediana, con cuerpos delgados pero bien formados; Sus manos y pies son muy pequeños, y sus caras de una hermosa forma griega; sus ojos magníficos, y sus cabellos largos y sedosos; visten de falda larga, con un atuendo hecho como el que vemos en cuadros de mujeres chinas, o como vestidos usados por los sacerdotes de la Iglesia Católica.
Está construido de algodón en el estilo y patrón de encaje. Alrededor del cuello y los extremos está muy bien
bordados en seda de colores, vestidos siempre blancos.
Por el día llevan zapatillas tejidas de color rosa, y sobre sus cabezas un paño rosa cuadrado lo suficientemente largo en la espalda para cubrir el cuello, como los usados por las chicas campesinas en óperas cómicas.
Sus brazos están desnudos, cubiertos solamente con las vendas y los ornamentos; el cuello está rodeado de cuentas de todas las descripciones, y también penden de estos, adornos de plata y oro; los aretes son aros muy grandes, como los introducidos en los Estados Unidos el otoño pasado; nunca llevan a un bebé consigo como otras tribus, pues todos los niños se dejan religiosamente en casa.
Los hombres son grandes y fuertemente constituidos, no de mala apariencia, y usan una blusa muy blanca, de cuello bajo y pantalones, que bajan un tercio de la distancia entre la cintura y la rodilla. También llevan collares, adornos, pulseras y aretes.
Siempre están impecablemente limpios, y si tienen un rasguño en su cuerpo -del cual reciben muchos cuando viajan por los caminos espinosos- no salen de su aldea hasta que estén completamente curados. Son industriosos y ricos, y nunca salen de sus hogares sino una vez a la semana, donde traen su comercialización y venta a los indios en Córdoba, ya que nunca son vendedores ellos mismos, venden siempre al mayoreo.
Su idioma es diferente de todos los demás, pero también hablan español. Las mujeres son dulces e inocentes. Ellos miran a uno con una sonrisa tan franca como un bebé de buen humor, y son, sin duda, la gente más guapa y más limpia de la república. No los habría perdido por nada, y ahora puedo creer que hay algunos indios como los escritores de antaño los pintaron.
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ENGLISH
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Down by Cordoba I found a tribe of Indians who are
not known to many Mexicans excepting those in their
vicinity; they are called the Amatecos, and their village,
which lies three miles from Cordoba, is called Amatlan;
their houses, although small, are finer and handsomer
than any in the republic. Flowers, fruit, and vegetables
are cultivated by them, and all the pineapples, for which
Cordoba is famous, come from their plantations; they
weave all their own clothing, and have their own priest,
church, and school.
Everything is a model of cleanliness, and throughout the entire village not one thing can be found out of place; the women are about the medium height, with slim but shapely bodies; their hands and feet are very small, and their faces of a beautiful Grecian shape; their eyes are magnificent, and their hair long and silky; they dress in full skirt, with an overdress made like that we see in pictures of Chinese women, or like vestments worn by priests of the Catholic Church. It is constructed of cotton in the style and pattern of lace. Around the neck and ends it is beautifully embroidered in colored silk, the dresses always being white.
On the feet they wear woven slippers of a pink color, and on their heads a square pink cloth long enough in the back to cover the neck, like those worn by peasant girls in comic operas; the arms are bare, covered alone with bands and ornaments; the neck is encircled with beads of all descriptions, and is also hung with silver and gold ornaments; the ear-rings are very large hoops, like those introduced into the States last fall; they never carry a baby like other tribes, but all the children are left religiously at home.
The men are large and strongly built, not bad-featured, and wear a very white, low-necked blouse and pantaloons, which come down one-third the distance between waist and knee. They also wear many chains, ornaments, bracelets, and earrings.
They are always spotlessly clean, and if they have a scratch on their body – of which they get many traveling the thorny roads – they do not go outside their village until entirely healed. They are industrious and rich, and never leave their homes but once a week, where they bring their marketing and sell to the Indians in Cordoba, as they are never venders themselves, selling always by the wholesale.
Their language is different from all the others, but they also speak Spanish. The women are sweet and innocent. They look at one with a smile as frank as a good-humored baby's, and are undoubtedly the handsomest and cleanest people in the republic. I would not have missed them for anything, and can now believe there are some Indiana like the writers of old painted them.
Everything is a model of cleanliness, and throughout the entire village not one thing can be found out of place; the women are about the medium height, with slim but shapely bodies; their hands and feet are very small, and their faces of a beautiful Grecian shape; their eyes are magnificent, and their hair long and silky; they dress in full skirt, with an overdress made like that we see in pictures of Chinese women, or like vestments worn by priests of the Catholic Church. It is constructed of cotton in the style and pattern of lace. Around the neck and ends it is beautifully embroidered in colored silk, the dresses always being white.
On the feet they wear woven slippers of a pink color, and on their heads a square pink cloth long enough in the back to cover the neck, like those worn by peasant girls in comic operas; the arms are bare, covered alone with bands and ornaments; the neck is encircled with beads of all descriptions, and is also hung with silver and gold ornaments; the ear-rings are very large hoops, like those introduced into the States last fall; they never carry a baby like other tribes, but all the children are left religiously at home.
The men are large and strongly built, not bad-featured, and wear a very white, low-necked blouse and pantaloons, which come down one-third the distance between waist and knee. They also wear many chains, ornaments, bracelets, and earrings.
They are always spotlessly clean, and if they have a scratch on their body – of which they get many traveling the thorny roads – they do not go outside their village until entirely healed. They are industrious and rich, and never leave their homes but once a week, where they bring their marketing and sell to the Indians in Cordoba, as they are never venders themselves, selling always by the wholesale.
Their language is different from all the others, but they also speak Spanish. The women are sweet and innocent. They look at one with a smile as frank as a good-humored baby's, and are undoubtedly the handsomest and cleanest people in the republic. I would not have missed them for anything, and can now believe there are some Indiana like the writers of old painted them.
