Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I must thank the People of the Land of Rain, the Mixtecs, for their participation in this project. The members of the villages and the transnational communities with whom I worked had a very hard time figuring out what I was doing and I had a hard time figuring out what they were doing, but at the end I think we came to an understanding, or understandings, of each other. Among the many people who contributed to my work, Azucena Hernández Cruz, who worked as interpreter, was absolutely essential to the project. I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Iglesia de Jesucristo de las Américas, who were a focus of my work over several years. In addition to the Mixtecs, Alberto Hernández—my friend, colleague, and collaborator for many years—deserves special thanks. He helped identify Mixtec non-Catholics in Tijuana, San Quintín, and northern San Diego County. He and I have had many discussions about migration and conversion and their relationships during the many years of our collaborations. His contribution has been invaluable.

I would also like to thank the organizations that supported my research over a period of ten years. These include the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship Program as well as several different granting agencies within the University of California: UC MEXUS, the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, and the UCSB Office of Research. The UCSB Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, whose directors have shown tremendous patience with me, must also receive a bow. The University of California, Santa Barbara, in general has supported me over many years, for which I am much indebted. Finally, the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, in Oaxaca, allowed me to affiliate with them during my time in the Mixteca region. I am very grateful for their support.