Month: February 2021

The Cultural Life of Coca

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I greatly appreciated this rather short article. It was purely anthropological and did not criminalize coca and by association the people who harvest it, as I find most Western media does.

In her abstract, Alison Spedding does note the stigma associated with the plants that narcotics derive from in the U.S., especially in context to the war on drugs. However, these plants, and in this case the coca plant in the Yungas region of La Paz, has a greater significance for the social fabric across the different cultures in Latin America. One of my favourite examples from the text is that the life cycle of the coca plants is equated to a woman by the Yungas people. There is the direct correlation of plants literally representing life, and thus the life cycle of a Yungas household, but also being fertile and bearing ‘fruits’ like women are traditionally associated with.

And just like the people, plants also hold a socio-historical significance. The excerpt

“After the coca has been picked, the process of drying converts it into a beneficial ancestor, parallel to the dried corpses of the ancestors whose cult was so important in the Andes until the [Spanish] extirpation campaigns of the seventeenth century.”

as well as the dated Cajatambo idolatry trials of 1656 demonstrate how coca has been used and adapted over time but has also been seen as a cultural threat to colonial sovereignty. The plant was so tied to the Indigenous identity in Bolivia that the Spanish sought to extirpate it in the 17th century. Parallels can be drawn to the same demonization of drugs in the US because of their association with self-medication and a foreign presence. Drugs in and of themselves hold no meaning until we give it a narrative, and so it is interesting how we can go from one extreme where we can value the medicinal properties of coca, to where we weaponize the idea of it as a political tool.

Moreover, South America is not listed as one of the continents associated with drug addiction but North America (excluding Mexico) is (UNODC 2019). So the stigma itself is hurting people where it is most prevalent, making it difficult for people to seek support or access unbiased education around illicit drug use. Popular culture, however grand in scale, is so important when disseminating information because of the numerous forms it can take and how abstract it is. A famous study conducted by SFU professor Bruce K. Alexander also notes the implications of social vs. individual use in his famous experiment ‘rat park’, with his findings suggesting that the mere exposure to drugs will not prompt individuals to get addicted as popular western narratives have suggested.

The concept of drugs is a multi-faceted discussion that can go on for hours but perspective is definitely critical for when we choose to project our own cultural values onto objects or practices.

What are some projections of drug use culture that you have seen in the media? Who was producing that narrative?

 

Castellano’s Cooking Lesson

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Rosario Castellano’s literary piece Cooking Lesson felt familiar and yet so foreign. It reminded me of the pain and invisibility the women in my family have endured, and the praise that follows for taking it in silence.

The narrative follows a housewife candidly thinking to herself about the traditional expectations of women while trying to grill broiled beef. Moreover, the cooking of the beef is the metaphor that runs parallel to her discontent with her husband, married and family life. For a piece that was written in 1961, I was surprised by the explicit descriptions of her sexual relationship with her husband but maybe that was the point. To use that stark contrast of the modesty assumed of a woman (and heavily catholic and conservative Mexico) and the reality that consists of doubt, improvisation, and discomfort at times.

For a more political theme, the theme of ownership between a man and a woman is one that I remember discussing in a history of Mexico class a year ago. The particular passage about the protagonist’s maiden name and new surname not being her own is something that resonated with me because it represents the transfer of custody from one man to another. Although this theme has been discussed repeatedly, this dynamic is still prevalent because 1961 is only a generation away from me, and lived through by generations who are still alive today. It is difficult to believe that we have fully healed from what has been ingrained and taught since time and Immemorial. We can talk about it, but it will never fully go away. At least in our lifetime.

In that sense, Castellano’s dialogue with herself as the protagonist is an echo of what can be considered a cultural memory. The lived and shared experiences of women across Mexico, as well as borders and time, are what make this literary work empowering. In addition, there is comfort in the uncomfortable. Being openly vulnerable about the intimacies and insecurities that come with any relationship is an invitation for any reader to see themselves and emphasize. Thus, the cooking lesson for me, metaphysically, is that you are in control of your own narrative, as Castellano is.

Overall, I really enjoyed this piece and was torn between writing about the Cooking Lesson and the article about the Zapatista corn article.  My question to the class – how did you interpret the beef metaphor?