Summary of the class so far...

Upon reading the course description for the class I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into. I was pleasantly surprised on the first day of class when we watched Orfeo Negro one of my favorite movies that I've only seen because my father took me to see a reshowing of it. Ever since I have learned a lot in this course about the people of the culture and why said culture has endured. Moreover I have gained much from the discussions of the readings and videos including different interpretations and symbols that I completely missed the first time around. In the future I would like to have more of these discussions because I feel they have sort of petered out through the weeks. Anyway back to what I enjoyed about the class, among the reading I relished the legends and the pongo's dream the most. It was like brain candy allowing my mind to wander into a long ago land full of whimsy and creativity. In the spectrum of reality I really liked reading Eva Peron's "My Message" even though at the time I found it contradictory and repetitive. Now I see that its more about the ideas she presented and what she meant to the people that made her great whether or not she made conflicting comments. I found some of the readings challenging and anger-inducing but I would rather that over some easy boring piece that elicits no reaction inside me. Its makes writing a blog easier. Lastly I find it much easier to understand the readings and the authors point of view once given context and more information about their lives. Perhaps before asked to the reading we could be given a briefing that would enable us to critique more fully. All in all I enjoy this course.

Theories of Mixture 1: Mestizaje

I found this past weeks reading on the mestizaje by Vasconcelos and Wade to be much different than I expected. I was not prepared to read about Vasconcelos' "solution" to the problems of having a hierarchy of races. His plans were very far out and I was glad to see that Wade took a different stance. When reading the beginning of "The cosmic race" I was interested in the history of the ruins that proved the Latin American cultures were around if not older than what we thought were the most ancient of civilizations. Furthermore the increasing evidence of Atlantis, what I've always thought of as sort of a fairy tale, was intriguing. However soon after this information was presented I began to see this article taking a different direction that I could not get on board with. The author identifies himself at first as being Latin American and then when this is no longer convenient clarifies that he is Spanish. Moreover he feels the need to distance himself from both associations when talking about their mistakes in battle and ideology. Hindsight is twenty twenty and to Vasconcelos if everyone had just listened to everything he said the Spanish would be the dominant race. Moving forward since this is all in the past, the most shocking ideas in this article to me were based around the plan to create one “new race” or “the fifth race”. This new people would not “exclude” the other races but would succeed in dominating them. In order to create this better race “the very ugly will not procreate” therefore it will be a beautiful race. Which in turn will also eliminate “poverty, defective education,...” because those are both problems that stem from ugliness. People will learn to only love one another if they are worthy of breeding superior offspring. After decades of this what “today is normal will come to seem abominable.”, only the best traits from each race will be perpetuated into the new one. Thus giving hope to the “inferior races” by imparting on them the opportunity to present the “better specimens” who would go on to a higher level of importance. This plan is preposturous and cruel and I hope to never see it implemented. On the other hand I found Peter Wades article a more comprehensive look into the mestizaje with less personal agenda. I agree that even in mixed races there is a hierarchy still based on the lightness of skin. A factor that Vasconcelos overlooked. Among other things I found the parts on music and food engrossing and a great relief after reading Vasconcelos stark look at things.

Popular culture as folk culture

In comparison to last weeks chapter of epic length, I found these tales much easier to get through and was captivated by the imagery presented. I'm not very familiar with magical realism and am eager to discuss these stories in class and get a better understanding of the basic plot. I found "The Pongo's Dream" pretty straightforward, but thats not to say it wasn't impressive. I was afraid that it was going to end with the pongo dying tragically and was pleasantly surprised to find a reversal of roles between the master and servant when it counts the most. Furthermore I enjoyed learning about Arguedas efforts to keep the indigenous culture alive. Even though he wasn't brought up a servant, he fought for the "Incan tongue" and helped to inspire movements of people to defend themselves. On the other hand while reading the multiple legends by Asturias, I was bombarded with vibrant illustrations of these mythical characters. I kept imagining an intricate storybook of sorts, flipping the pages in my head as the tale progressed. It was hard for me to keep my mind set to the actual plot or message of the stories, my brain still hung up on the descriptions of the creatures and setting where the action was taking place. I especially liked the "Legend of the Singing Tablets", the idea of a "Moon- Chewer" really appealed to me. Furthermore I really liked the line explaining the full moon as "the swelling moon which suddenly could no longer be contained either in their mouths, or their eyes..". Moreover the notion that everything is made of something else that is natural, "those who wove mats and embroidered with butterfly wings". In addition the tablets themselves only being written on in dew and "blood of warbling birds". In summation I found the task of reading these beliefs written into fables a very pleasurable activity.