In "Zapatista Spring", Irish activist Ramor Ryan tells the exhilirating story of eight international volunteers working with indigenous campesinos to build a community water system in a Zapatista hamlet called Roberto Arenas in Chiapas, Mexico. A fantastic storyteller, Ryan vividly brings to life the interpersonal dramas of the international brigade, the challenges of doing Zapatista solidarity work amidst a dangerous climate of right-wing military repression, and day-to-day life in a remote Tzeltal community of subsistence family farmers. Ryan's writing is especially rich and you really feel like you're in the Lacandon Rainforest, knee-deep in mud, experiencing first-hand the mountains, rivers, snakes, alligators, and mosquitos that comprise this tropical bioregion. The eight volunteers are themselves fascinating characters that you will enjoy meeting, from Josef, a straight-edge vegan from Poland, and Nebula, an anarchist sex worker from Barcelona, to Omar, a gay Arab filmmaker, and Tlaxlocaztla, a Chicana student looking for her roots. I won't spoil the ending, but I will tell you that it is sad and tragic and all too typical of the Mexican government's campaign to crush the Zapatista movement. (To find out what happens you will have to read the book!) In summary, I will just say that I was really moved by this book and look forward to rereading it. Not only is it highly important and informative, it is also really good literature. Moreover, it is also visually very beautiful, containg many powerful black-and-white photos of Chiapas and an awesome cover.
