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After a couple of weeks into the course, and a lot of good – though sometimes tedious- reading I am starting to formulate my own version of what is popular culture. Over the past week, I was able to spend some time alone with my thoughts, and trying to put the pieces of this huge […]

Tory,I agree with what you are saying here and feel that you have really explained well some of the key themes in the class. While Latin America represents a huge mixing of culture, race, tradition, belief, etc., it would be wrong to assume that this a…

Over the past weeks we’ve spent discussing Latin America in this course, several prevalent themes have arisen in my mind.  Most important of these is the concept of synthesis and its role in the many different ways "culture" is created.  Latin America, in my mind, is predominantly an area of cultural synthesis–a meeting of many different people, classes, practices, traditions, beliefs etc.  Each Latin American country has its own specific history of cultural generation and the interactions of these many different factors, which is why these "Latin American nations" resist such easy categorization; something which seems to have proved very frustrating for many of us taking the course.  However in an attempt to unify all of these enormously different regions, I would suggest the idea of cultural synthesis as a most prominent characteristic–yet this too is a very slippery idea. 
As many students have pointed out in class discussion, we should not submit to the common (mis)construction of this cultural synthesis as an equal, mutually beneficial, two-way exchange elicited by both sides in the pursuit of the common interest of sharing culture…Rather, we should remember that the synthesis of many different peoples ways of life was brought about through conquest, coercion,  and very often the subversion of  ideas, practices and beliefs.  A prime example of this was that which was debated in class–the costumbrista or folk-catholicism practiced by communities of Maya (and non-indigenous) people in Central America. 
So perhaps another important aspect of "Latin America" that characterizes so many diverse regions is the constant struggle for power and the social conflict brought about primarily through conquest and colonialism and perpetuated today by issues of race, class and nationality.

¡Ya estamos a la mitad del curso! ¡wooooow! No lo puedo creer…Es increíble la rapidez con la que pasa el tiempo… Debo decir que ir a esta clase me gusta por la forma en que discutimos las lecturas y que podemos expresar los diferentes puntos de …

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this class. The setup has been remarkably different from what I have been accustomed to throughout the past three and a half years of university, and I appreciate the change!
            I have been in sciences until this year of university, although I have dabbled in some first and second year […]

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 …

Hard to believe that we are already half way done! So far, I have enjoyed many aspects of this class. In discussing many elements of both the meaning of culture and the people, and specific cultural traditions in Latin America, I feel that my knowledge…

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 wa…

Upon reflection of the first half of the semester I am overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge in the classroom. After years of being a student, I have come to realize that in many cases I absorb the most knowledge just simply from listening to my class…

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great brake, my midterms are driving me insane, I’m not used to this amount of study. In my school back in Monterrey, Mexico we have monthly exams so that helps to reduce the amount of information in the exams.The pu…

Green:The Independence MovementHopeWhite:The purity of the Catholic faith.PurityRed:The Spaniards that joined in the quest for Independence.The blood of the National HeroesUnionThe emblem-shield symbolizes the Aztec heritage.According to the legend, t…

I have really enjoyed this class so far!
Throughout the last few weeks we have investigated and analyzed a number of general ideas and terms. Attempting to define them was very difficult as there was always another persons idea or point of view.  We have over the last few weeks come face to face with the slippery slope that accompanies  attempts to define such broad and capacious terms.

The first two readings by Keesing and Williams gave us two different views or ways to look at culture. Keesing  employs a very anthropological way of looking at cultures. He believed anthropologists needed to rethink the way they approached culture. He gave us a very attractive metaphor of the Coral reef. Williams on the other hand believed that culture is ordinary, that all people are a part of culture and make it what it is. He uses the metaphor or a journey to exemplify the idea that culture is moving, growing, unbiased, and all around us. These two views simply gave us some insight into what others have said on the term "Culture".

The second readings were by Eva Peron, and Borges. They both addressed the term "The people" and just who the people are. In My Message by Eva Peron the people are presented as "Pueblo" which in Spanish translates to an inclusive, small town community feel that represents all people except the elite. In Borges article "Celebration of the Monster" we see a different side of the Argentine people, perhaps a more real side. This is a perspective coming from the middle of the crowd, informal and representative of how normal people feel and think in Argentina at the time of Peronism.

In the article by Rowe and Schelling the concept of popular culture in Latin America is contemplated and discussed. This article described Latin America based on times in history, customs, traditions, art, culture, and ways of life that made me really picture everything. This article did a good job of explaining the many different and also similar popcultures present in Latin America. It consists of a medley or mixing of old and new ways of living, ways before colonization mixed with the new ideas brought by the Spanish, and the ideas of recent times. Culture is always evolving.

The next articles we read were by Asturias and Arguedas bringing attention to Folk Culture. In Latin America the notion of Folk has to do with indigenous heritage. Asturias presents a collection of legends, stories having been handed down through the years. It is important to note that when legends that come from an oral culture are written down they can lose some of their magic or be written solely in a way that the author decides they should be. Arguedas tells a story of the Pongo, who gets revenge on his master. This folk tale is written from an indigenous point of view, a great identification with mestizo and the lower side of society. It is about the lower people getting their own back, if only for a moment there is always room for resistance.

The last readings by Vasconcelos and Wade discuss theories of mixture.  Vasconcelos provides us with a very utopian idea about a 5^th race. His idealistic view is that love will bring us together with the creation of something new. A collection of all races best qualities. He still employs a hierarchy within the races with some better than others. His racist undertones as well as unrealistic ideas made me question … well basically his sanity. His arguments are extremely controversial and difficult to begin to break down. Wade on the other hand talks of the concept of mestizaje, and the idea of a mosaic. This is a more realistic way to look at the differences and dualities within the mestisaje. People have the choice to decide how they want to view themselves.

 

 

 

 

At this stage in our course on Popular Culture in Latin America seems fair to give some reflection upon topics we have discussed in class and in the blog – I will leave my post to free thoughts not worrying about referencing the articles.Culture, Popul…

So far in this course, we have talked about many different aspects of Latin American culture. The first thing we discussed was the nature of culture. We found that culture does not fit into a nice little box; nor can it be defined in a straightforward …

So far, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this course. It’s definitely lived up to my expectations. I’ve found the readings for this class interesting, and rather diverse. However, I enjoyed reading the more literary readings, such as the folk tales or the Borge…

I have learned over these past weeks has much to deal with Latin American Culture, but also Culture in general. I now understand culture is something fluid, and that you define for yourself. No individual can define it for you and you can’t define it for another individual. I have learned that throughout history people have influenced ideas of culture to manipulated the populous of countries and regions (specifically Latin America). I also learned the different types of extreme views that culture and assimilation views can reach (Jose to be more precise). I also learned that everyday things around us can be considered cultural items and icons. Culture is something perceived in one’s head and not in  items necessarily as well though. The folk culture with the blending of cultures was quite interesting. It showed how culture can be built like a tapestry over time. It also displayed the assimilation tactics that the Spanish used towards the natives, which we also learned about. It was apparent that they had been change generation by generation to reflect other views. Instead of worshiping just the sun god it became the same god as that of the house of Christ. Other students pointed out how different days in Mexico were also dual ritualistic for both the Catholics and the native religion. I found it funny that in order for us to find out that culture is so complex that it took so many weeks but after showing us that no one can quite get it right that I have come to this conclusion. In order to define culture you must look deep within yourself and only then you will truly get a sense of what your own culture is and then and only then can you go into cultural studies without being ignorant towards certain individuals, despite what their ideas may be.

 

I’m still reeling and really have no idea what exactly can be, should be, will be, was and is classified as Popular Culture, especially in an area so undefinable, diverse, broad, multicultural, and flexible as Latin America. But I suppose it is exactly these things that we are meant to understand better through this semester’s […]

So far our readings have been very diverse, and they have explored different aspects of Latin American culture in depth. We started off with the Williams and Keesing readings, which talked about how to interpret culture and how to define it. Culture is not solidly set in stone, unchanged by time. It is not only appropriated to a certain environment and group of people (for example, culture in the form of a museum or “high” culture as the product of the elite). Culture is present everywhere, even in the most mundane scenarios and it is produced even by the most ordinary people.

We also read about Peronism, by Borges, who was against Peron, and by Evita Peron, who obviously supported her husband, the president of Argentina. Evita believed she was one with the people, and that she could relate to the descamisados of Argentina. Borges, on the other hand, revealed Peronists as ruthless people who acted out violently without reason. We saw the contradictory interpretations of the people in Peronist Argentina through these readings.  Then, William and Schelling discuss various aspects of Latin American culture itself, like samba, Mexican artefacts and telenovelas. Here we saw the way traditional facets of Latin culture have evolved into their modern forms.

We then got into folk culture, as presented in the reading by Asturias, which was a collection of indigenous stories. Asturias interweaves reality with fantasy, and I this is what made these stories a little hard to read for me, although they were interesting. Our next reading by Arguedas depicted the abuse of the Indigenous people by the Spanish, and the Indigenous people’s rebellion.

Then we had Vasconcelos, who argued that a new race should emerge from the mixing of Spanish and Latin American races. This reading was a little creepy, because it seemed like Vasconcelos was predicting and encouraging the creation of a superior race. This race would be calculated, and this superior race would possess the Amazon. Wade’s article discussed mestizaje and its implications on the personal and public levels, and reveals the complexities of being mestizo.

I am hoping the readings for the rest of the term will focus on more modern topics, and that we will discuss current Latin American cultural issues. The readings are interesting, but so far, they have not fully explained today’s Latin culture.

During this past weeks we have learned a lot of Latin American culture. First we study some general concepts of what culture is and how is developed, also which factors affect the most on this development and how culture is formed. We realized that cul…

In the first two articles we discussed the “definition” of culture. In his article Keesing suggests the idea of the different cultures to be like coral reefs, in the sense that there is change in the different cultures and that there is not a spec…

My reflections of the first half of the semester:I feel like whenever I write reflections I never know how to begin. I guess I will start by writing about what my expectations were like before taking this class or how I felt in the beginning… Well I …

I really enjoyed these two articles. I often find when reading articles for this class that i doubt myself or feel like I’m not getting what we’re supposed to be getting out of the readings. However I suppose it’s all up to the readers own interpretation…

Anyways, in the article by Vasconcelos I was initially captivated by his seemingly utopian ideas about the 5^th race, and the processes in which to get humanity to that point. I did wonder if what I was reading was a story or the writers’ actual opinion. It has fairy tale qualities that made me question what exactly the article was trying to do. After a few pages I became aware of racist undertones, comments that made me check to see what year the article was written. The undertones quickly became stronger and I became aware of a ‘bad taste in my mouth’, if you will. His arguments and statements are so controversial and offending that it is difficult to even begin to break them down. He says on page 32 that, “in a few generations, monstrosities will disappear…uglier stocks will give way to the more handsome.” I just don’t really see how this would work out… Everyone in the world has different views about who or even what “handsome” is. Even people within the same “race” are attracted to different ‘types’. There is no universal ‘Handsome’.

 

However I do have to add that his idea for a single ‘race’ is “nice” I suppose. I mean he is arguing that everyone gets together “blends” the races, and we can all become one and live happily ever after.. Very nice. I guess what I mean is that at least he’s not calling for total elimination of any race by using violence.

Its all a very lovely idea I guess… except for all the problems with it. It’s idealistic and ultimately wouldn’t work. He continuously contradicts himself with talk of Atlantis and scientists. It seems like he says a lot but doesn’t really have much to back himself up with.

 

The second reading by Wade was also really interesting explaining the mestizaje as mixture, a mosaic, a patchwork quilt. The word ‘mestizaje’ means mixture. He uses the metaphor of the mosaic throughout. People who are mestizaje are able to identify and express whatever part of their background that they feel they identify with, or that they wish to present. 

 

I really enjoyed both of these articles, and I would like to write more on the second but I must study for my exam tomorrow. I was already late writing this blog because of my exam yesterday! I look forward to discussing these readings further in class on Thursday!

                                                   

 

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I must admit, I enjoyed the first reading by Vasconcelos but struggled through the Wade article. While I feel that Vasconcelos is clearly somewhat of a mad-man, I was engaged in the text and continually wondering what he might say next. In his essay, “…

I loved both of the pieces this week, not only because they were easier to grasp than previous weeks, but also because they both conveyed quite interesting perspectives of the meaning of mestizaje in Latin America.
The first piece ‘A Cosmic Race’ by Jose Vasconcelos, was actually quite a fun read. Written in 1948, it […]

I found the first text quite long and too dense so I had some difficulties to remain concentrated while reading. On contrary, I really enjoyed reading the second one which was very clear and explained very well the different conceptions of « mestisaje ». It’s very interesting to compare these two texts.The first one is very optimistic, enthusiastic about mixture. It celebrates the cultural and spiritual mix generated by mestisaje but doesn’t analyze the different kinds of mestisaje contrary to the second one. According to Vasconcelos, mestisaje is a cultural wealth so he emphasizes the idea of inclusion but doesn’t refer to the reverse side explained by Wade: the exclusion of one of the two parts. A mix doesn’t mean that two parts are equally mixed, one could dominate on one another.

I found Wade’s article very interesting because it really analyzed the different faces of mestisaje so I would like to focus on it. The first idea one could have about mestisaje is a mix but Wade shows this mix is more complex. According to him it’s not rigid, it’s a lived experience and also a matter of perception. He develops three main issues: mestisaje as inclusive, exclusive and as different powers.
It’s inclusive insofar as mixture implies that theoretically no part predominates on the others. They are all mixed together in order to produce something else. Vasconcelos emphasizes this idea of creation of something new through the mix. However, Wade shows that sometimes one part could dominate or tuned attractive in relation to the other one. Mixed people have the choice to express one particular side of what they are. For Wade, blackness or indigenousness tend to be erased by whiteness because it is what is made attractive by the Latin American institutions so one part could be repressed that’s why it is exclusive. Being mestizo is an inside feeling but this feeling could be biased by both the political and societal institutions.

Finally, Wade uses the metaphor of a mosaic. A mosaic is an accumulation of different colors which are not mixed together. Thanks to this image he describes mestisaje as different and separated strengths, powers. Mestisaje doesn’t produce a new race but gives birth to people with multiple cultural backgrounds as assets.

I’m also a mixed-race people because my father is Cambodian and my mother is French so it was interesting to think what I felt about that, to try to find in which category I could be. I can’t say that my feelings correspond exactly to one particular category but I think I view my Cambodian legacy as an asset, a cultural wealth that‘s why I like turning attractive this aspect of me. I’m interested in the culture and the political situation. I can’t say I express my Cambodian part in my daily life or that I know what Cambodian people feel because my habits are totally European and I’ve never been to Cambodia however it’s a part of me, of my physical appearance.

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