Like earlier mother activism in Latin America, the annual Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas (Caravan of Central American Mothers) through Mexico strategically activates the traditional archetype of mothers as passive, pious, suffering victims whose self-abnegation forces them, almost against their will, out of their supposedly natural domestic sphere. Three elements, however, distinguish the caravana from earlier protests staged by mothers. First, this protest crosses national borders, functioning as a transnational pilgrimage to the memory of the disappeared relative. This stage-in-motion temporarily spotlights and claims the spaces traversed by undocumented Central American migrants in Mexico, attempting to recast those migrants as victims of violence rather than as criminals. Second, through performances of both devotional motherhood and saintly motherhood, the caravana's mother-based activism de-normalizes violence related to drugs and migration. Third, performances of family reunification staged by the caravana organizers take place in the few cases in which they manage to locate family members who have not fallen prey to violence but have simply resettled in Mexico and abandoned or lost touch with families left behind in Central America. These performances of family reunification serve important functions: they shift the performance of motherhood from devotion to saintly tolerance, patience and forgiveness – even toward prodigal offspring who were ‘lost’ for years; they provide a chance for other mothers to vicariously feel joy and hope that their children are still alive; they exemplify world citizens challenging incompetent or indifferent nation state authorities; and they enact a symbolic unification of Central America and Mexico in defiance of contemporary nation state borders.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥中美洲母亲的大篷车：跨国舞台上的虔诚和圣洁母性表演

与拉丁美洲早期的母亲激进主义一样，一年一度的 Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas（中美洲母亲大篷车）通过墨西哥战略性地激活了母亲作为被动、虔诚、受苦受难的受害者的传统原型，她们的自我克制迫使她们几乎违背自己的意愿，离开他们所谓的自然家庭领域。然而，三个要素可以区分商队来自母亲们较早的抗议活动。首先，这场抗议跨越国界，是一场缅怀失踪亲人的跨国朝圣。这个动态舞台暂时聚焦并声称墨西哥无证中美洲移民所穿越的空间，试图将这些移民重新塑造为暴力受害者而不是罪犯。其次，通过虔诚的母性和圣洁的母性的表现，商队的以母亲为基础的激进主义使与毒品和移民有关的暴力行为非正常化。三、家庭团聚演出商队组织者在少数情况下设法找到没有成为暴力牺牲品但只是在墨西哥重新定居并放弃或与中美洲留下的家庭失去联系的家庭成员。这些家庭团聚的表现具有重要作用：它们将母性的表现从奉献转变为圣洁的宽容、耐心和宽恕——甚至是多年来“迷失”的浪子；他们为其他母亲提供了一个机会，让他们感受到快乐并希望他们的孩子还活着；它们体现了世界公民挑战无能或冷漠的民族国家当局；他们无视当代民族国家边界，实现了中美洲和墨西哥的象征性统一。