for more context, she’s rarámuri–an ethnic group commonly known in mexico as the tarahumaras, who have gained a reputation as “supernatural runners.” the word rarámuri itself (which is what they call themselves) is frequently translated as “running feet” or “those who run.”
credit must be given where credit is due, and I in no way want to demerit lorena ramírez, who should absolutely be celebrated. HOWEVER, you soon start to realize that the only times anyone ever talks about the rarámuri is when they want to talk about their “superathlete abilities” and how incredible it is that they do what they do “without any formal training” (a couple of google searches will lead you to some even more dehumanizing articles that talk at length about how “the tarahumaras don’t have technology! they live in the wilderness! how exotic!”).
it becomes pretty clear really quickly that this is just another example of the romantic idealization of native people, which is a huge contributor to racism in mexico, where the mixed mestizos ignore the existence of indigenous communitites until an opportunity arises for them to tokenize them.
For instance, True translates “Rarámuri” as “people who run,” but this is an oversimplification, frequently used in promotional materials. … Perhaps “people who run” is an easy translation for people who like to run themselves and want to romanticize this indigenous group’s practices.
…
One scene shows Tarahumara in the 2012 race running alongside people from all over the world. True’s girlfriend says one indigenous man was running to get beans for his family. After the race, Tarahumara line up to receive a bag of beans from Caballo himself. We hear that todos son ganadores, (we are all winners) and that every participant gets some corn.
So people are rushing to “the middle of nowhere” to run “in peace and harmony” with the Rarámuri — most of whom are on the trail not for joy, but to earn a bag of beans. How can such economic disparity be celebrated? Why do we cheer the fact that people pay thousands of dollars to run with indigenous people who are running simply for food?
You don’t “help” a culture by romanticizing them or glorifying one aspect of their lives. You don’t help a culture by making them run 50 miles for a bag of beans and some GMO corn. You don’t help a culture by giving them handouts of jackets and food and congratulating yourselves.
the idea that they’re born with “supernatural running abilities” also feeds into the idea that different races are genetically different, which in eugenics discourse turned into “Black and brown people are physically superior; white people are mentally superior,” and was used as a justification for enslavement and colonization. in this case, romanticizing the idea that the rarámuri are “born runners” and glorifying their lack of access to resources (which is what forces many of them to run so much from a young age) just gives the government and surrounding mestizo communities an excuse to continue neglecting them.
not to mention that I just had to read with my own eyes that:
there’s really no need to explain why painting an indigenous and marginalized ethnic group as people who cannot be affected by health problems is a horrible, irresponsible, and deathly thing to do.
so let’s celebrate lorena ramírez while also learning more about the problems affecting her people! I can’t find much that isn’t in spanish or behind a paywall, but this article at the very least covers a couple of different topics: The Rarámuri Crisis: Extreme Poverty (Briefly) to the Fore in Mexico
