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I still do not fully understand what Popular Culture is. I could probably explain it to another university student, but I cannot imagine trying to explain it to myself as if I were 8. My economics teacher said that “if you can explain the stuff we are learning to your little sister then that means you understand it.” That makes sense because then you would have to be concise, clear and accurate. For an economics theory that is important, but for defining what popular culture is, it is a bit more complicated. Popular Culture, as we have now examined in our class, is very complex as it is continuously evolving through different changes and influences like economic, political and social ones (.i.e. modernity, capitalism, the Spanish Conquest…) therefore it’s hard to define what such a broad concept is when it encompasses so much history and has gone through so many changes. I find it interesting to track the changes of popular culture, for instances the popular expressions or styles among teenagers. Even more interesting and pertinent is learning how these popular expressions and other forms of popular culture came about.
Learning the roots of popular culture is perhaps why we started this weeks readings by examining Popular Culture as Folk Culture. Taking a deeper look at how popular culture was in the past. The word “Folk” as I remember learning in class, comes from the German word “Volk” which means “people” and what does this have to do with anything? Well when I think of Folk I imagine a people of the past, the people who are like the pioneers, the locals, the traditional people, the common people, the ones who emphasize the transmission of cultural heritage through oral transmission. The folk are the carriers of customs, beliefs, arts and thus culture. Therefore where else to begin to understand of popular culture than by reading the legends of the folk, the people, the carriers of culture?

After reading the Pongo’s Dream by Jose Maria Arguedas I can imagine myself having the same laugh even if I had read it when it was first written as I did this weekend. It is a timeless fable. What I mean when I say timeless is that it touches on the very human emotions and behaviours that have existed ever since humans existed and so it does not matter when you read this story in time, you can relate to it in some way. Personally I like the way it was written. After all the cruelty that the serf went through the best part was when the Saint said “Now, lick each other’s bodies slowly, for all eternity.” YES i thought, justice has been served. Other than my own enjoyment of the fable, it does have a moral message to it that I think is a commonality of most legends. I could say that, even in the other legends that we read this week, that their main purpose was to pass on a moral message in order to preserve culture or at least some of its core values. Overall I think it did a good job at that. We can see even today with folk music and other folk stories how popular they still are. We are still able read and listen to them as they are still part of popular culture today.

A ser sincera, a pesar de que me gustaron las lecturas de esta semana, tengo que decir que la lectura de las leyendas fue un tanto difícil; sin embargo el leer una leyenda siempre será una forma de conocer un poco del reflejo de cierta cultura, como en este caso de la cultura maya a través de la narración que hace Miguel Ángel Asturias, durante las cuales hace referencia a los diversos astros naturales que antiguamente eran adorados como es el caso de la luna o el sol. Al igual que las leyendas que narra Austrias, existen un sin número de leyendas de las diversas culturas indígenas que ha existido a través de la historia, pues hay que recordar que éstas se usaban para explicar los fenómenos o hechos que no se entendían, por ejemplo en México existe un leyenda de la formación de montañas, o el mismo Popolbu que fue traducido por Asturias. En general me gustan porque a través de la magia, la creatividad y la imaginación cuentan una historia que parecería increíble…

En la otra lectura The Pongo´s Dream creo que vemos reflejado un poco el sentimiento de la sociedad de la época que estaba cansada del maltrato que les daban los colonizadores, pero que sabían al final de la vida todo mundo tendría lo que merecía y que lo que se puede llamar “justicia divina” se encargaría de que cada uno pagara por las acciones que había realizado en vida, como el caso del patrón que toda la vida se había encargado de humillar a pongo y ya tras su muerte el patrón había pagado …

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.

The stories in “The Mirror of Lida Sal” by Migel Angel Asturias were difficult to follow yet enjoyable to read. The subtext of the title was “Tales based on Mayan Myths and Guatemalan Legends.” My unfamiliarity with Guatemalan folk culture showed as I attempted to pick apart his meanings in these short stories. While I read, I also looked up information on the author to gain a better perspective of the literature. I was surprised to find Asturias to be a well traveled Nobel Prize winner, who had endured corrupt regimes and lived in exile (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1967/asturias-bio.html). Being aware of this brought to light some of Asturias’s political undertones tied up in fantastical legends.

Asturias has the amazing ability to combine elements of Guatemalan culture, politics, with ancient Mayan legends. I did feel, however, that at times there was almost too much going on in his writing. He took reality, such as the fusion of the people in the Legend of the Silent Bell, and legend and tumbled them together in a complex, surreal manner that can produce confusion in the reader. At times I felt overwhelmed by the density of elaborate word choice and alternate meanings. For me, this deducted from my ability to follow the plotline and truly absorb his message. There is the possibility that some of this was influenced by the translation.

The second reading, “The Pongo’s Dream” was rather entertaining. The story they told here was one that I feel almost every culture has their own version of. It is the classic, ‘God will be my judge’ tale. What I found to be interesting is the extent to which the Pongo accepted his life. There is no ‘overcoming’ the evil ruler, rather even as he is calmly confronting ‘his lord,’ he was referring to him still as ‘my owner,’ or ‘my father, my lord, my heart.’ The Pongo had accepted his role given to him by man fully knowing that through his obedience in said role he would be rewarded in the afterlife. For instance, there is the saying “At the end of the game, Kings and Pawns all go back in the same box.” However, it appears that in Peru, at the end of the game the King licks human excrement off the Pawn at the end of the game. I am pretty sure there was more oppression witnessed by Jose Maria Arguedas than the author of this quote.

It was interesting to read these stories after the long reading from last week. These were both great examples of some of the background that we were provided with and discussed. Overall, great readings this week.

I enjoyed reading these legends. I’ve already read this kind of mythology last term more precisely the Popol Vuh which is the Mayan book telling us about the creation of the world. Moreover I had the same difficulties reading these stories than reading the Popol Vuh. I’m not an native english-speaker so I was not used to some magic and fantastic words.

I think folk culture is definitely a part of popular culture. Folk culture has different function to fulfill: a function of education, of protection of the ancient culture but also a function of « demand ».

Myths and legends always have a message. They teach how human beings act and how they should react in front of the events they have to face in life. It’s a kind of philosophy of life. They analyze the men’s qualities and flaws.

To perpetuate folk culture is also a way to protect the roots of Latin American culture, the particularities of its history. Indigenous culture has been threatened by colonization so folk culture is a way to perpetuate the indigenous identity the colonizers tried to destroy. As we saw in class popular culture in Latin America is also mass culture so folk culture could appear like a more authentic legacy because it doesn‘t depend on the art market. Even if culture evolves through the years, each culture has it own roots. Folk culture means that Latin American people have their own history, their own past so folk culture is an important marker of itheir dentity.

Finally, what I mean by function of « demand » it’s that through the lecture of those myths and legends one’s could feel the indigenous’ resistance. For instance in the Pongo’s dream the frst character represent one particular group and is oppressed and humiliated. This oppression refers to the white men’s one. Those ideas of oppression, domination, stratification could describe the colonization. However, despite this cruel environment, the story shows that people could stand up for defend their rights. They can do something even if they are not supported by a large number of people, indeed, the other servants never help the first character to struggle. I enjoyed reading this text because it was quite optimistic: nothing is rigid and fixed but everything could change. Through this reading one’s could see the indigenous’ will to overthrow their oppressors.

At first I didn’t really understand the point of these articles, but then I began to think about them in terms of my own country, and figured out that a big part of folk culture is important to popular culture.  Although the legends in these articles aren’t necessarily believed 100% by those who tell them, they form their identity… past, present and future.  For example:  In Costa Rica, we have many legends, especially in the country side.  Many people tell these legends (I’m sure not all believe them), however, they tell them as a way to come together, to teach lessons that otherwise would be ignored.  The legend of “La Llorona” is a good example.  This woman lost her baby at the edge of a river and ever since then, she walks near rivers at night crying and and asking for her baby… any child that comes near her, she mistakes for hers and takes them.  I think this is a good example of popular culture as folk culture, because these legends are there… many people know them, and tell them to their children in order to make sure they don’t run off at night.

I enjoyed some of the folklore readings. In the legend of the singing tablet Utuquel is the chewer of the moon a creative muse of sorts. The singing tablets story seemed to represent the idea of collective consciousness for me. It was striking how the wedding rings and family jewels of the natives were taken by the Spanish for a bell in the Legend of the Silent Bell. The Pongo’s Dream is a fairly disturbing story about the value of human life. It centers around two characters, the dominating rich lord and the submissive poor slave. The serf is described as meek and feeble. The lord is cruel not only because he keeps slaves but his humiliation of the weakest serf who serves him. The story shadows the feudal domination which took place in the Andes. The serfs description of his dream can definitely be seen as an uprising of the the working class. I thought it was imaginative how the dream was twisted into a joke with a punch line which seems to allude to the idea that we all must pay for our actions. How popular are these legends in Latin America? Are they really an important aspect of the culture?

I really liked the readings this week, especially the first one regarding Mayan myths. I find that many myths and legends (not only restricted to Latin America) always have a message which is transmitted in the story, moral messages to be more precise, what in Spanish are referred to as “moraleja”. I came across many of these type of stories in a book called The Darien Gap: Travels in the Rainforest of Panama by Martin Mitchinson (it’s a great book if you’re interested in culture and folklore of indigenous people, it’s an easy read perfect for the long hours in the airport, just be careful not to miss your plane like I did). What I inferred from these stories is that the primary end is to teach some in that culture (most likely kids) how to deal with problems that you face in life. At the same time it’s a process of acculturation which bounds the person with the cultural traditions in his group.

The second reading was great. Honestly I will never cease to be amazed with the creativity of those whom come up with these stories. I’ve heard this type of folk tales many times and from different cultures (or ethnic groups) in the region. And again I believe that this story ties in with a particular aspect of Latin American culture: resistance. The many stories I’ve heard that resemble Argueda’s “The Poncho’s Dream” have always the same characteristics. First they have a character that is associated with a particular group, usually belonging to the same which is telling the story. Second, this character is oppressed and humiliated day and night by a more powerful figure, usually the “white men”. And finally, the character at the end always outsmarts his oppressor in some way, leaving him with some sense of pride. And there the story ends.

While reading Mitchinson’s book I came across a similar scenario. In his book Mitchinson and some Embera (indigenous group in Panama) were telling stories to each other. It was Mitchinson turn to tell a story so he decided to go for a joke (if you want to read the joke click here, Mitchinson replaced the word “Pakistani” with “white men” and “Indian” with “indian”).After finishing the joke every Embera in the room laughed and said “That is one smart indian” . This tells me that the audience feels compelled by listening to these stories that involve an oppressed character always outwitting their oppressor.

I found this weeks readings interesting and thought provoking, but still challenging, though in an entirely different way that the readings prior. The Asturias readings represented a resignification of indigenous ideas and were loaded with symbolism about cultures in contact, hybridization of culture, and resilience in the face of domination. I feel that these are the types of readings that need to be read several times to fully understand the complex messages embedded in the sureal writing style. The style of writing was very poetic and beautiful, but in its non-linear style, it was hard for me to fully grasp the message upon first read. Though I’m not entirly sure how, I feel that these readings exemplify the concepts that we discussed in class about cultural flows moving in many directions, and a certain resiliance in the way that indigenous culture was practiced in the face of Spanish domination. In “The Legend of the Crystal Mask,” Asturias refers to “the men with the worm white skin,” which I assume alludes to the Spanish. In the same story, the priest concludes with the thought, “The one who adds creatures of artifice to creation must know that these creatures are rebellious. See, they have buried him, yet they remain!” I think that this quote refers to the idea that even if a group is ‘dominated,’ the nature of humans and of culture is that they will find ways to reinvent themselves in a rebellious way to fight back: culture and the human spirit are too strong to be broken.

As many of my classmates have mentioned, the second reading was a lot of straightforward with a simple plot and punch line. This story to me symbolized again the rebelious nature that people maintain even in the face of outward domination. While it may have seemed that Pongo was sucumbing to the outward domination of his Master, the end of this story shows that subtley, his spirit will not be broken.

I think that it is interesting to attempt to understand culture via understanding it through the interpretation of myth and story and I look forward to further discussing this in class.

I enjoyed this week’s reading. I liked the Indigenous ‘legend of the singin tablets’ ,‘legend of the crystal mask’, ‘legend of the silent bell’ and ‘legends of the dancing butchers’ by Asturias. I was truly inspired by Arguedas (for what he had done) and his story is very touching especially after reading last week’s chapter which I found quite depressing. The change was very nice and well received.

 It was fun reading a story or tale that was passed down from generation to generation by Amerindians. This story however was somewhat hard to envision, but after a while I started to understand. I am not too much into indigenous legends but I would like to as I enjoy other mythology (greek). I find these stories somewhat poetic and softening like a lullaby or nursery rhyme. I also did like how detailed it was. I found it interesting that the story was based around the new year of the indigenous people. Many of these tales have more than one meaning as they are made from a mixing of cultures from Latin American past. There were only two particular stories which I found especially relevant to last weeks topic, but that is not to say the other two were not enjoyed or could be relevant. The first tale which pointed out through metaphor and medium that culture has to have been ‘created’ by large range of things to become beutifle aka rainbow is made by a mixture of all the tablets. This tries to show that mixing folk culture is a good thing. The other story that stuck out for me was the ‘legend of the silent  bell’ which actually features Jesus as an actual person in a folk culture story about Amerindian legend. This is particularly interesting because it shows what the previous story was using through metaphor but in this case much more direct.

‘The Pongo’s dream’ is inspiring because it shows uprising that one can have against oppressors. It is also good because it is a symbol for how Arguedas was a helping force in helping get the oppressed in Peru a voice. It is also good because Pongo rises up against his oppressors in a very humorous and clever way. He did this while feeding the ego of his master. This was a nice change from the tales just before this one in the reader as it displayed a lighter side to these concepts.

The readings assigned for this week consisted of several Mayan legends, as well as a parable. I noticed that there are two themes that reoccur throughout all of the stories: violence and religion. The Mayan legends especially contain quite a lot of violence- from a man being sacrificed (Legend of the Singing Tablets) to a young nun gouging her eyes out (Legend of the Silent Bell).This violence is depicted not only graphically (with images of severed limbs and clawed out eyes), but also through the prose used by the author, Miguel Angel Asturias. While reading his work, one feels the manic energy of pounding feet; the pure terror that is felt by a man whose idols turn against him; and the resignation of one who knows that a painful death is imminent.
Religion also plays a great role in these legends; in each story, a deity is the reason for the actions that take place. From the stone idols in Legend of the Crystal Mask to the mystical Moon-Chewers in the Legend of the Singing Tablets, in some way a deity is responsible for the horrors that befall the participants.
These deities are nothing like the modern Christian god, who is a loving and forgiving figure; blood and violence are necessary to satisfy them.
The last reading, a parable, differ from the others in many ways; the two differences I noticed right away were that the violence was replaced by cruelty, and the bloodthirsty deities of the Mayan legends were replaced by one who was concerned with rewarding goodness and providing strength. The author’s choice of words conveys the humiliation and degradation of the pongo; however, unlike in the previous legends, in the end the abused man’s spirit is bolstered by the knowledge that he is the better man.

This week’s readings were the mythical stories of Miguel Angel Asturias, and “The Pongo’s Dream” by Jose Maria Arguedas. I had a bit of trouble understanding Asturias’ stories, mostly the first one, “Legend of the Singing Tablets”, because it was so wordy, and I was a little confused about what was going on. After I re-read a little bit, I started to really like it, because these stories are so different than the ones that we have been reading so far. The stories were really fanciful and full of unusual imagery, which made them very rich. I think Asturias represents Indigenous culture really well; the stories didn’t seem to show the culture as inferior or as an extreme oddity. Indigenous culture is shown in a sort of isolated, uninfluenced form in the “Legend of the Singing Tablets” as there is no Spanish influence. The next story, “Legend of the Crystal Mask” shows a little Spanish influence, as Ambiastro has fled into the mountains to escape the Spanish (at least that’s what I gathered…). Of course, “Legend of the Silent Bell” is set in the context of Spanish rule, so the changes in Indigenous culture in relation to Spanish conquest is evident. I especially liked “Legend of the Crystal Mask”, and Ambiastro’s obsession with creating little idols and things. My favourite thing is his smoking tube with the monkeys that play with the smoke…it’s so imaginative. The twist at the end when his creations are the cause of his demise is really clever. The idea that man’s creations and technology are taking over our lives (in a severe way, in this case) echoes a lot of today’s science fiction themes, a parallel that is very interesting. I really like how the writings of Asturias, although pieces of folkloric culture, still remain captivating today when the world has left little place for such ancient civilizations and mystical traditions.

I especially liked the second story by Arguedas. The treatment of the lord to the Pongo is appalling, and I found it interesting that the author, who is not fully Quechuan, but half, would show the Indian population as so gentle in comparison to the evil Spanish lord. It often seems that people of mixed race identify more with the race that is more oppressed, maybe due to the dominant race’s judgement of mixed-bred individuals as inferior. I’m sure this isn’t true for everyone, but I thought it is true of Arguedas, who I guess could have chosen to identify more with his European heritage instead. I liked how when the “little man” is telling the lord his dream, it kind of seems like the dream is going to show the lord as the better man. The twist at the end makes the entire dream make sense, and even a little comical. I like how in the midst of such unabashed exploitation and abuse of the Indian servants, one stands up against the lord. The way he does it is very clever, and he proves that even a “little man” can upset and disturb the arrogant lord’s pride.  

I think the first reading can be a little tricky for people who haven’t experienced reading Latin American legends, but besides that it’s a very good way for people to familiarize with it because it has a lot of elements that represent very well native Latin American culture, for example quetzal plumes, rolls of drums, war songs, faces painted with fruit, etc. (pg. 82, 2nd P). It is also a clear example of our legends, because it incorporates a lot of natural elements, it uses metaphors, and it gives mystical characteristics to normal things. You can also see that in religion they believed in many different gods and it was until the Spanish arrived that Latin America became monotheist. One of the legends also talks a lot about the conquest and how Spanish people ask for “prizes” to the indians to “give” them as presents to their Spanish saints. On the pongo kid story you can see how the indians were always abused and treated like objects. In the eyes of the conquerors they were just possesions that they can do whatever they want with them. But this story has a valuable lesson and is to treat everybody with respect, disregarding their race or background. You can also notice in the story how the catholisism is being impossed and that people prayed to “God” and his saints instead of their old believed gods.

When I was struggling to understand the writing of Asturias I found myself captivated by the words themselves. I often found myself re-reading paragraphs in an attempt to pick up the general direction of the “Legend of the Singing Tablets”, the “Legend of the Crystal Mask”, the Legend of the Silent Bell”, and the “Legend of the Dancing Butchers”, but also revelling in the beauty of the words that were being used. I especially enjoyed the story of Ambiastro from the Legend of the Crystal Mask, who displayed a strong theme of resistance to the men with “worm-white skin” (Spanish Colonialists I would guess?) and fled into some sort of cave and created symbolic art pieces out of granite and wood and other materials. All these creations were methods of telling stories or struggle and redemption, or at least I think!! All the other legends had similar stories about legendary figures that have been infiltrated by some new group of people or religion and they resist or fight in some way. I think that in all the Legends the characters that represent the Indians end up dying or succumbing to these new external pressures…at least that’s how I interpreted it, I suppose I will find out in class this week! Even though I did not completely understand what was happening at all times i did however enjoy the writing, there is no question it was eloquent and unique.

The readings for this week were very interesting. Even though they were fictional short stories, they all incorporated and demonstrated a lot of the concepts we have been discussing in class.

The Asturias stories were by favorite, but it took me through about half of the first one to get a grip on his writing style and surrealism. All of the “Legend of” stories we read deal directly with indigenous culture but in a very odd, fantasy-like way. They somehow reminded me of cave painting in that they were highly descriptive yet ambiguous and open to interpretation. In all their haze, though, each story seemed to come with a definite moral or message that relate directly to culture–such as “the one who adds creatures of artifice to creation must know that these creatures are rebellious…”

As much as I though the Asturias stories were interesting, though, I think I have a lot of understanding to do, which I expect we’ll attempt in class.

The other story, “The Pongo’s Dream,” was much more clear-cut but otherwise very similar. In the intro it says that the author, Arguedas, had a “desire for a cultural pluralism for Peru that would go beyond a retreat into a narrow tradition. I kept this in mind, and it really helped me understand the story, I think. The story seems to draw on the concept of cultural hybridity for its punchline. As far as a gather, it is attempting to explain how cultural exchanges are natural and not optional; so the master can belittle his pongo servant all he wants, he can cover himself in honey and his servant in feces, but sooner or later they’ll be licking each others honey or feces, so enjoy it while it lasts.

 This week’s topic of popular culture as folk culture provided to very powerful and thought provoking essays. Although I am sure many will disagree with me, I personally do not enjoy  the style of Miguel Angel Asturias writing. I am not a big fan of mythical or surreal stories. However with this considered I was able to take away numerous underlying messages and symbols from the several stories provided. I found all the stories to represent greater or larger qualities and aspects of life. Dressing up  these underlying messages and symbols into a mythical setting, I believe was solely Austurias way of getting across important things but doing so creatively  in a different or “fun” manner. As much as I enjoyed Asturias essay to me it failed in comparison to that of Jose Maria Arguedas. I found Arguedas to be very powerful and enjoyed reading it. The “karma” or irony of which the essay evolves is dramatic and defiantly made me think deeply about situations of this sort in not only my life but also the lives of those around me. That over clichéd saying of “its what you are on the inside that matter” has great relevance to this story. That in the end we are not judged( *judged being a controversial term not intended to directly imply that of Christianity) by our wealth or power but rather our soul and the people that we are. I liked the stories twisted ending in which the reader is able to be ‘joyous’ in the events that occurred. Quite literally in the story the pongo treated the master like gold and in turn the master treated the pongo like “shit”. In turn the Karma of the situation evolves in the pongos dream where he licks honey off the master and the master shot off the pongo. Both of these stories and folk culture as a whole play a large role in the creation and idealizations and standards of popular culture. Folk culture has a huge influence on this popular culture.  It is evident that even from Asturias paper of which myths and stories were believed thousands of years ago to more recently Arguedas paper that these mythical and outstanding stories have an undeniably large influence of culture to this day. Though as I said, I did not enjoy the writing style of Austurias but felt in the end that the messages and symbols that came from each story made up for my dislike in his style. As for Aguedas paper I completely immerged myself in it and extensively enjoyed it. Over I felt both were beneficial to me and feel as though I learned a lot through analyzing and reflecting upon these two essays. 

I really enjoyed these two readings. They were both easy to get into and kept my attention. The first article by Miguel Angel Asturias is comprised of a collection of legends. A legend is a story or body of stories that are handed down through the years and often popularly accepted as historical. Often legends explain why certain things come to be, or intend to teach a lesson of some sort. I liked the Legend of the Silent Bell and how it created a picture of so many different people coming together. The description in Claras dream, (although disturbing) was memorable to me when she describes the joining of “her brown, warm-blooded race, with all its sacrifices, and the Spanish race, brave and also tarnished.” Most of the people in the Legend were donating material objects (things they could be happy without) pieces of gold like the wedding rings of passed away relatives while this Indigenous but Christian girl had only her golden eyes to give. To give your eyes for something is firstly insane, and secondly shows a great passion or devotion to whatever it is or whoever it is you are giving them to. I was shocked in the end when Clara is yelling out about what she had done, begging Don Sancho (representing the church) to recognize her sacrifice. She calls out to everyone telling of her sacrifice for her race to mix with Christ.  She is ignored, her voice extinguished by the bell… Having just read the ending paragraph again, it seems as though the bell extinguishes the voice of the nun, and in turn grows hoarser and hoarser until it itself stops ringing… I will be really interested to hear what people have drawn out of these Legends!

The second article was also very enjoyable. It’s always nice to hear stories where a bully, in this case the Master is in the end made to look like the fool. The story created a picture of a community or environment that was highly stratified and cruel. Stories like this would definitely have an empowering effect on anyone who felt like they were in a similar situation as the pongo. It encourages people to stand up for themselves even when the situation seems impossible. It also portrays the idea that you can do something without a huge support from other people. The other servants never stood up for the pongo, but probably because they were too afraid. It only takes one person to take a stand against something for others to join and feel as though they can actually accomplish something.

I really enjoyed the readings this week.  I thought they differed so much from last weeks readings and I love the drastic change.  The first set of readings was difficult for me to conceptualize at first.  I had a hard time grasping what the author was trying to say but I think I was just thinking too much.  I found that simply enjoying it instead of dissecting it was the best way to read it.  I especially enjoyed actually reading a story that had been passed down and seeing the way people lived in a time and space that is so different from my own.    I really enjoy mythology and love how Latin American popular culture is encompassed in these complex mythical stories.  I’m really looking forward to our discussion on these readings as I would like to know more background and then read them again.
The second reading was more my style though.  Of course I like it all but I really love underdog stories.  I truly enjoy the idea of rising from one’s upbringing or "place" in life and challenging the social norm, or any norm really.  I really like the character of the ‘little man’ and also the masters character as well.  They were both good reminders of how difficult but necessary change is.  All throughout his anecdote, or dream, the Master still held his same arrogant air.  He was so confident about his position in life that he couldn’t even fathom the idea of someone else surpassing him in any way.  This is true within most societies, there is always someone at the top who is difficult to get through to, on many issues.
Another theme throughout this story was the religious one.  It seemed as though religion was what the master held so high, to what he himself answered to, so that the serf building it up so much was already ahead.  The serf knew that by using religion as a focal point, he would have the master in a stronghold, there is nothing even he could say. 
There are really so many underlying ‘good’ things about this story.

Last week we spent quite a bit of time in class discussing how popular culture is an expression of the resistance of those people dominated by people in higher powers. I kept this in mind while reading this week’s articles, and in doing so, I found many examples of expressions of resistance in the assigned readings. I also want to mention that I really enjoyed the readings this week, and found that time seemed to pass quickly while reading them!

In the legends told by Miguel Angel Asturias, I feel that they in themselves are expressions of resistance. In the first legend, the Legend of the Singing Tablets, the story is based on the lunar cycle, which was followed by the indigenous people. By including the lunar year in this legend, the indigenous people are able to keep their calendar alive, even with the Spanish introduction and imposition of their calendar. In the Legend of the Silent Bell, there are many references to Christianity, for example Jesus Christ is mentioned, as well as his crucifixion and resurrection. However, these Christian references are made in the context of an indigenous legend, and are therefore adapted to indigenous customs, as we discussed in class last week. I also felt like there was a moral to each legend, a lesson to be learned in the end. I believe that the lessons learned from reading these legends perpetuate the values that are considered most important to the indigenous people, thus also representing a form of resistance to the imposition of a more modern, urban, or European value system.

The story “The Pongo’s Dream”, told by Jose Maria Arguedas, portrays resistance but also the uprising of the oppressed against their oppressors, which in this story is the serf against his master. The story again portrays the imposition of Christianity on the indigenous people, as the indigenous serfs are made to recite “Hail Mary” and “Our Father”. However, in the end, the pongo is able to stand up for himself and rise up against his master, the oppressor, in the telling of his dream. I really enjoyed the fact that, while this story also showed resistance of the oppressed people, similar to the legends of Asturias, it showed this resistance in a clever, witty way, all the while feeding the ego of the oppressor!

Popular Culture as Folk Culture
I liked the readings for this week. I think that the first readings by Miguel Angel Asturias had kind of a moral advice. In the first one the “legend of the signing tablets” Utuquel says that to create is to steal. I kind of got a sense that he was saying that rather than to invent things people sometimes just recreate based on existent ideas. I king of agree with this idea in that culture at first was like a “creation” but then people reinvent culture and therefore cultures become a mix of many different aspects. At the end when the rainbow is formed from all the tablets, in my opinion could mean that at the end in this case in folk culture the mixture of different aspects result as something positive , in the story, it was the rainbow.
I also enjoyed reading the second story “legend of the Crystal Mask.” In this story how the author writes that “the one who adds creatures of artifice to creation must know that these creatures are rebellious. See, they have buried him, yet they remain.” After reading this part the word that came to my mind was technology. Human beings have created many things to make our life easier, and I am not saying is bad but at the same times we are so dependent on technology that sometimes instead of benefiting us, it affects us. It is like the story he created all of those figures and at the end they killed him.
In the “legend of the silent bell” I like the part where all the nouns are giving their jewels that are material goods and then how the Indigenous noun gives her eyes. I got the impression that the author was kind of showing that personal sacrifice or like “emotional sacrifice” is different to “material sacrifice.” It is here hard here for me to stay since for some people it is really a sacrifice to give away things such as money and for others is more important to donate time or feelings that are not “material things.”
The really liked the last reading. It made me thing of the saying that says that the one that laughs at the end gets to laugh harder. I think that those kinds of stories are part of the resistance of all the marginalized groups in different societies. It gives people hope that at the end things will change and that things can get better.

As a lot of you already said in your blogs, this text was amazingly long and dense! I am sorry to be late posting my comment but I have to say I really had a hard time this week trying to find time between my mid-terms and my medical appointments, in order to read this 100 pages article! However, although I think there was too much details in their analysis, William and Schelling really dealt with some interesting points and issues.

I would say that the authors tend to present the common perspective about popular culture as the idea that it is an entity in perpetual danger as well as in constant opposition to hegemonic forces. The danger for popular culture has to do with modernity and everything that disrupts and undermines traditions and authenticity. Once again, as it was the case in Eva Peron’s text, we have this idea of the people (synonym of popular) systematically in opposition to dominant forces. However, this is not the point of view which is displayed by William and Schelling. Their idea is a far more optimistic analysis of popular culture. According to them, because popular culture always believes itself to be threatened, they have invented each times really efficient ways of resisting, adapting and asserting their identity in new environments in front of new competitors.

Actually, the similarities between this article and what I learned in another class called “Ethnic Relations” really striked me. According to Ericksen “Ethnicity is not a property of a group, but an aspect of a relationship”. Relationships, encounters or confrontations of a group with other s is what creates cultural activity and a reinforcement of identity. Indeed, I think that this article really deals with the processes that trigger culture and ethnic vitality and identity politics. People usually hang on to traditionnal identities and to the past in order to overcome the new challenges of the present. Identities assert themselves in opposition to other identities, cultures, ethnicities, civilizations. They often know a revival of energy when they feel threaten and put in competition with others. Thus there is always a great issue of power in regards to ethnic and cultural phenomenons. Culture and identities arouse when they have to compete for controlling the production of cultural symbolism, especially when they have a subordinated position. in the society. I think that what William and Schelling tried to show is that popular culture has actually been stimulated by these processes, fighting for its continuity and adaptation. This natural action of resistance coupled with inevitable exchanges between cultures is actually what brings dynamism into cultural production. The authors seem to favour mobility and interactions rather than fixity and traditionalism regarding to popular culture.

I think we could finally try to separate these different ‘faces of popular culture’ described in the article which also corresponds to different historical phases. To start, native culture in Latin America has been confronted to European Imperialism and threatened by the assimilation that was expected from native people. While obviously being dominated, native culture would have also found ways of resisting to acculturation, ways of adapting European cultural features to indigenous culture. The authors seem to think that ‘culture offers a symbolic universe that helps to transcend subordinate position’. Concerning these societies in Latin America that succeeded in maintaining their native cultures in parallel to the dominant ones, one could extend our reflexion and speak about the current resurgence of ethnicity and ethnic politics in the region. Popular culture has always been really tied to the idea of counter-hegemony. We actually can observe the political strategies of certain Latin American leftist leaders who capitalize on the indigenous oppressed culture and identity in order to symbolize a change.

The article also deals with rural/peasant culture facing modernity, industrialisation and urbanisation. The first reaction would be to predict the disappearance and degradation of popular culture. However the authors seem to think that modernity and new technologies have also played a positive role for the continuation of popular culture. At the beginning of industrialisation, new technologies of communication would have permitted to popularize and standardize both aspects of popular culture and other cultures and created a single common national culture. This process was actually really tied to a deliberate state initiative to ‘construct’ more or less artificially a nation-state sharing memories, historical myths and culture. Here, popular culture has been appropriated by the national culture in an enterprise of folklorisation, a concept that we kind of find in every national construction. Peasant culture has been used in Mexico as a national folklore, a fact that definitely questions the authenticity of popular culture and others kind of culture in every single nation. Again I would argue that culture is more an issue of social construction than anything else. I do not really agree with the positive side of this process because I really think the new national culture was framed by the social elite of the countries without any considerations about traditions people wanted to keep. At least, in a country as France, people speaking local dialects had been forced to abandon them and this was made in a very coercive way!

Finally I would say that the third aspect of popular culture in a context of resistance would be popular culture or even national culture (seen as popular) against globalisation and transnationalism. Rather than the spread idea of a destructive homogenisation of world’s cultures around commercial culture, the authors argue for a more positive interpretation and again emphasize the resistance of popular culture. They do recognize that this new stage is particularly traumatic given that it reopens in Latin American popular memories the shock of the first invasion. Nevertheless, these memories and traditions are precisely what allow the public to resist in the sense that they still have the freedom of interpreting messages diffused by global mass Media. This is what they call the process of resignification which gives the people a margin of control and constitutes their main mean of resistance. They also explain than although industry culture has tried to eradicate popular culture, the latter have learned to use the same tools than its enemy, which means technologies and mass media. This allowed popular rural culture to remain significant and known, and to create alternative Media in order to counter the hegemonic force of mass communication. Thus from pre-capitalist period to late- twentieth century internationalism, native/rural popular culture have always found effective ways to resist. However, as we said in class, this point of view tends to hide the reality of power relationships.

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