Racism

Peruvian Punk (Greene)

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Peruvian punk is not something I thought I would come across but I am glad I did. Shane Greene, while publishing his article in an elitist and rather inaccessible form of publication, an academic journal, discusses the Marxist aspects associated with the distribution and production of Peruvian punk.

While reading the article, I noticed that the upper class brought punk to Peru, just like how our Galeano reading mentions how soccer was introduced to Latin America through the English, an elite class. Anyhow, the discussion about the monopolization of musical production with vinyl and its dissipation when cassettes became cheaper alternatives is an interesting aspect. Cassette Culture, as Greene refers to, allowed for the widespread circulation of cassettes, local production, and the de-monopolization of the music industry which, therefore, made musical recordings accessible to most people. Moreover, the pirating and the use or consumption of cassettes also tied in with the socio-political message of rejecting global capitalism and oppressive institutions as there were no limitations on the creative potential of punk ‘underproduction’. It is, however, a bit ironic that in later years following Peruvian punk’s humble beginnings in the early 1980s the iconic band Narcosis chose to release a limited production of vinyl of their music that criticized overproduction.

Another aspect that I drew a connection to were the similarities that Peruvian punk and the general concept of Indigeneity shared. For instance, both have faced criticism/racism as not being valid as their ‘informal’ transmission of culture is not standardized and is much more fluid. There is also the rejection of capitalism found in arguments for Indigenous sovereignty and Peruvian punk, as well as critiquing class conflict that plays on rigid binaries of race, gender, orientation and so forth. Their mere existence challenges colonial institutions because they offer an alternative to the existing social/political systems in place. The fetishization of musical formats such as vinyl and Indigenous artworks, clothing, and more for collecting cultural pieces also fits the ‘Marxist capitalist-produced commodities at large’ (Greene 297).

However, punk is much more provocative to promote a discourse that undercuts social norms by blatantly disrespecting them which does not seem to be the case for those defending their ancestral identity. Just existing in a colonized system is a revolutionary act. Ethnic cultural identity is also something that cannot be as widely related to such as an ideology shared in a music genre. My explanation here is obviously very generalized but worth exploring in greater detail in a more specific context.

Do you know of any other musical genres in Latin America that challenge the mainstream? How are they provocative?

 

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?

 

The Pongo’s Dream

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I thoroughly enjoyed this piece, although the ending was a bit disturbing to visualize haha.

The six-page chapter follows the story of an “hombre Quechua moderno”, or in this case a lowly house servant (Pongo), who was wildly obedient despite the abuses he faced on a regular basis. The pongo never spoke, which was one of the main reasons his landlord picked on him out of all the serfs, until one day when he recited a religious metaphor to his landlord that would reward the quiet serf for his suffering and punish his oppressor in a revolutionary call.

There are many elements in this short story that I would like to address but I will briefly address only two. I think one of the most obvious points is the hierarchy of power built on racism. Throughout Latin America, there was a social system “La Limpieza de Sangre” or the cleanliness of blood (and the legacy of this system is alive and well today) created by the Spanish that relied upon blood quantum to determine everyone’s role in society.

The Silent Bell piece also exemplified this concept a bit with the Indigenous nun being too poor to give jewellery so the clergy wanted to sacrifice her ‘golden’ eyes instead. However, in these two examples, the golden eyes and the golden honey that the Pongo licks off the landlord as angels in his metaphor signify a purity contrast to the traditional form set out in feudal LA. The endless sacrifices made by Indigenous people and their good nature challenges the status quo with a more meritocratic form of justice.

Religion also plays a large role in popular culture in Latin America, so it only makes sense that the Pongo’s Dream (and the Silent Bell) heavily references it in the story. Catholicism was used to assimilate Indigenous and African groups after the conquest in the new colonies and eradicate cultural pluralism to make the administration of the colonies much easier. Political context aside, when the Quechua house servant with no name spoke metaphorically in reference to Catholicism, such as using the name of Saint Francis for the landlord to understand, It was as if he was speaking on behalf of the whole peasantry that the erasure of Incan cultural autonomy had no basis despite what has been conditioned and forced for centuries. The Pongo was a modern man because he was no longer silent to place the feudal system as obsolete.

Question for the class: Do you think that there is any other idea or imagery that serves as a microcosm of what is taking place throughout this piece?