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Mexico's Dying Occupation

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Manasi Sharma
Santo Domingo Plaza in Mexico City is home to scribes losing business to modern gadgetry Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbrands/2435001057/">Robert Brands (flickr)</a>
Santo Domingo Plaza in Mexico City is home to scribes losing business to modern gadgetry Photo: Robert Brands (flickr)

Can you remember a world before email or mobile phones? Well, the scribes in Mexico City can, because that was the world they were able to make a living in.

Scribes in Mexico were approached by plumbers, construction workers and the lovelorn to write receipts, fill out tax forms and even transcribe love letters.

Mexico’s literacy rate has improved over the years and is now 91 percent. Even the illiterate have cell phones, so according to the scribes in Mexico City, the era of writing endearments is no more.

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