Our journey to Hacienda Sotuta de Peon reminded me of an old Mexican song. El Barzón by Amparo Ochoa, is a historical Mexican song about the endless cycle of work that campesina women faced. El barzon is a field working tool that was put on Mules’ necks to help the worker pull the mule. The song goes through the struggles that this campesina woman faces as her barzon breaks making it harder to get her field work done, inevitably leading to making it harder for her to make her earnings. At the time of this song, campesina women and men were stuck in a cycle of trying to pay back “el patron” while still trying to make their own money. El patron was the owner of the field who the campesinas were left in debt to, el patron profited from every aspect of their field work. Similar to post slavery conditions for Black Americans, Campesinas would have to pay el patron for using their fields, they would go to la Hacienda (owned by the same patron) to buy the seeds or materials needed to farm, then when their goods were harvested they would sell those same items back to el patron only for him to re-sell it at a higher price and exploit their work. The main chorus of the song goes through this cycle in a comedic way of la Campesina explaining how her barzon broke and how she needs to continue to work to pay back el patron, just for him to take all the food she harvested leaving her without anything to eat for herself, and to then present her with an itemized check of how much money she owes him. “Se me reventó el barzón y sigue la yunta andando. Cuando acabé de piscar, vino el rico y lo partió. Todo mi maíz se llevó, ni pa’comer me dejó. Me presentó aquí la cuenta: Aquí debes veinte pesos, de la renta de unos bueyes. Cinco pesos de magueyes, una nega, tres cuartillos. De frijol que te prestamos, una nega tres cuartillos….. Pero todo está en la cuenta. Además de los veinte reales, que sacaste de la tienda. Con todo el maíz que te toca, no le pagas a la hacienda. Pero cuentas con mis tierras, para seguirlas sembrando. Y ahora vete a trabajar, pa’ que sigas abonando.” Owing him money for things such as magueyes and frijoles, el patron knows that la campesina relies on his land to make a profit. He knows that at the end of the day no matter how absurd this cycle is, she will continue to pay him if she wants to survive.