Don Claudio Pinto occupies the most important post in the local Guaraní political structure: he is mburuvicha guasu for the Cañón del Ingre. He lives in Imi (or at least his family does: Claudio seems to spend most of his time on the road), and he's a good friend. He and I are almost exactly the same age.

Like most of the people in the community, Claudio was born in Ñaurenda, Don Roberto Chávez' hacienda, about 20km north of Imi. Starting when he was six, Claudio was allowed to attend the little school that Don Roberto had established for two of his sons and several of his grandchildren. One day, when he'd been in school for a year and a half, Don Roberto went up to him with a little scrap of paper and said, "Claudio, I want you to write this down for me." He recited a few sentences, Claudio wrote them as well as he could, and then Don Roberto looked over his work. "This is really good," he told Claudio, "there's really no reason for you to continue in school. I want you to start working in the fields tomorrow."

Don Claudio is the most important person in the local political structure. He's sharp, articulate, and full of ideas. But it wasn't, and isn't, in the interest of the patrónes to have educated peons, and Claudio's lack of formal education shows. It is one of his great frustrations.

Who would I be if my education had ended when I was seven?