The Faces of Popular of Culture begins by laying a foundation for the understanding Latin America within both rural and urban contexts, setting a precedent for a history within in the parameters of “the world capitalist system.” The author highlights the stratification and dichotomization left in the wake of “the Conquest,” that has led extremely varied intersections of social life by way of religion, tradition, etc. This chapter moves through the geographical regions of the Andes, as well as the ways in which popular culture is constructed. I appreciate the approach the author has taken, acknowledging the entanglement and dependencies (for better or worse) that arise from colonization. The text moves first through the historical and geographical contexts of the (rural) looking at topics like poetry and storytelling in Brazil and then through the “urban” looking at topics like media, alternative media, “spectacles”, and popular events, while simulteneously reconciling that anyone of these cultural entities were not necessarily mutually exclusive. 

I’ve been unwell and in pain all weekend so I couldn’t get this done in time but having finally finished the readings, I feel I learnt a lot. The second half (urban culture) was much easier to get through than the first half. Maybe that was just because I associate culture with contemporary times, and that holds my interest more. 

In the beginning of the chapter, the authors recognize that the (Spanish) ‘Conquest had catastrophic consequences for the Andean and Mesoamerican civilizations’. They used their superior military, disease and religion/Christianity to destroy the indigenous cultures and their existence as autonomous states, but their efforts failed to ‘expunge the memory of an Andean, Aztec and Mayan civilization’. These cultures continue to thrive, albeit still altered in some form of another. I feel this sort of resistance to colonial powers by the indigenous cultures can be seen throughout the world and reveals characteristics of humans as a whole. In other countries too, such as India and parts of Africa, we can see the same sort of resistance to colonial powers and influences not just politically, but also socially and culturally. There are interesting parallels between India’s freedom struggle under British colonial rule and Indigenous Latin American people’s struggle to maintain self-identity under Spanish Colonialism. 

One can infer that although the Andeans and others incorporated certain elements of Catholicism into the culture, but these were forced down on them. It’s admirable to note how these civilizations fought back and perpetuated their own traditions and customs down the generations through dances, handicrafts, theater, etc. It’s also interesting to note how indigenous populations and mestizos in Latin America portray the Spanish Conquest and its aftermath differently. The former presents a native interpretation which resists the European version (56) whereas the latter celebrate the Spanish victory and reaffirm the Spaniards’ legitimacy and cultural dominance in Peru (57). It shows that history is never an accurate account of events. In the words of Dan Brown, ““History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?” 

While reading the second part of the chapter on urban culture, it was interesting to note that capitalism CANNOT exist without nationalism/a unified national identity. Capitalism destroys local traditions and their peculiarities. The power wielded by capitalism can be clearly seen in the following sentence: “[Even for the unemployed and marginalized], ownership of a television set is among the first priorities after basic shelter and food.” Rowe and Schelling also talk about culture as not being fixed but constantly changing and adapting itself to the society changes. Popular culture is made by the people and evolves with them. This is exemplified through the case of the Otomi women in US, whom people called ‘Marias’. They started giving their daughters the most unfamiliar names like Jeanette and Deborah, so they can be looked upon as individuals and not a homogenous group. Football too, plays a huge role in the urban culture, which comprises 3/4th of the population. 

Although long, I definitely enjoyed the second half a lot.

I’ve been unwell and in pain all weekend so I couldn’t get this done in time but having finally finished the readings, I feel I learnt a lot. The second half (urban culture) was much easier to get through than the first half. Maybe that was just because I associate culture with contemporary times, and that holds my interest more. 

In the beginning of the chapter, the authors recognize that the (Spanish) ‘Conquest had catastrophic consequences for the Andean and Mesoamerican civilizations’. They used their superior military, disease and religion/Christianity to destroy the indigenous cultures and their existence as autonomous states, but their efforts failed to ‘expunge the memory of an Andean, Aztec and Mayan civilization’. These cultures continue to thrive, albeit still altered in some form of another. I feel this sort of resistance to colonial powers by the indigenous cultures can be seen throughout the world and reveals characteristics of humans as a whole. In other countries too, such as India and parts of Africa, we can see the same sort of resistance to colonial powers and influences not just politically, but also socially and culturally. There are interesting parallels between India’s freedom struggle under British colonial rule and Indigenous Latin American people’s struggle to maintain self-identity under Spanish Colonialism. 

One can infer that although the Andeans and others incorporated certain elements of Catholicism into the culture, but these were forced down on them. It’s admirable to note how these civilizations fought back and perpetuated their own traditions and customs down the generations through dances, handicrafts, theater, etc. It’s also interesting to note how indigenous populations and mestizos in Latin America portray the Spanish Conquest and its aftermath differently. The former presents a native interpretation which resists the European version (56) whereas the latter celebrate the Spanish victory and reaffirm the Spaniards’ legitimacy and cultural dominance in Peru (57). It shows that history is never an accurate account of events. In the words of Dan Brown, ““History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?” 

While reading the second part of the chapter on urban culture, it was interesting to note that capitalism CANNOT exist without nationalism/a unified national identity. Capitalism destroys local traditions and their peculiarities. The power wielded by capitalism can be clearly seen in the following sentence: “[Even for the unemployed and marginalized], ownership of a television set is among the first priorities after basic shelter and food.” Rowe and Schelling also talk about culture as not being fixed but constantly changing and adapting itself to the society changes. Popular culture is made by the people and evolves with them. This is exemplified through the case of the Otomi women in US, whom people called ‘Marias’. They started giving their daughters the most unfamiliar names like Jeanette and Deborah, so they can be looked upon as individuals and not a homogenous group. Football too, plays a huge role in the urban culture, which comprises 3/4th of the population. 

Although long, I definitely enjoyed the second half a lot.

While I haven’t finished the reading, I found what I did read incredibly compelling. Especially in light of the very subjective, propagandistic readings from the previous week, the objectivity this one provided was welcome. I got more context and content from this reading than either of last week’s. I’ve listed some things below that I found interesting, thoughts and random ideas and such. I’m gonna try and read more by Thursday. Despite being very long, this reading is helping me contextualize some of the conversations we’ve been having, and I appreciate that.

-Latin America’s past as a provider of silver and gold to the old world makes it unique in terms of locations that have since adopted Capitalism. Latin American Capitalism has a radically different foundation than other instances Capitalism around the world.

– Urbanization of Latin America occurred before Industrialization, driven by expansion of commerce and colonial enterprise. Latin American Capitalism, again, has a radically different foundation than (as far as I know) European and North American Industrialization.

– Andean culture as a sort of alternative civilization. Rowe and Schelling propose this idea, I’d like to explore it more

– Concepts of Andean space-time is fascinating to me. The future is utopian, the Joaquinite ‘age of the Holy Spirit’ (a unifying component of Andean political thought) and ritual formalizes every day life, reasserting cosmology and history. The lower world is fertile, and will eventually push up and replace the upper, corrupt, colonial world (Inkarri Myth, pacha kati).

– Quechua poetry of Jose Maria Arguedas describes ‘cosmic solitude.’ Looking at art is one of the best ways to understand the ideas of the people, seeing what people identify with and reject.

– The idea that a good translation of a text will impact the receiving language and culture is a fascinating one that I hadn’t considered before but completely agree with.

– Nestor Garcia Canclini’s comparison of pre vs. Captalist Mexico (& Guatemala?) brings in a lot of interesting context. Clear duality of rural folklore and urban industrial goods begins to blend together as a mutual reliance develops.

Interesting stuff, interesting stuff. Want to read more, if not all this week, slowly throughout the course for some additional context. Also would like to research Rowe and Schelling themselves more, see from what angle they are approaching Latin America.

I’m still working through the reading; as other people noted, it’s pretty long.  However, I think this reading is a really important one since it traces the roots of “popular culture” in Latin America back to the cultural practices of native tribes prior to colonization.  This is a cool concept since the term “pop culture” is associated in my mind with much more contemporary times.  However, this reading reminds me that 1492 was once considered “contemporary” and there were popular aspects of culture then just as there are today.

Right near the beginning on page 52, Rowe and Schelling write “…it is important, when considering the ways in which the past is used as a resource for imagining an alternative future, to bear in mind that the peasant population of the Andes… do not hold standard Western notions of time and history.  Their ideas are imbedded in everyday life, and it is on this level that we need to look if we are to appreciate how Andean conceptions of the world are experienced and passed on.”  This reminds me of the Ben Highmore reading we looked at, which emphasized that culture is normal; phenomenon we consider foreign about other people’s cultures to them may simply be aspects of their everyday lives they don’t think twice about.  Another example of this is in the lack of translations for certain Spanish words, such as art pieces that are neither “popular art” nor “folk art” but posses more cultural significance than “handicrafts” (page 68).

It also seems like the antagonism that we discussed last class in relation to populism has existed in Latin America dating back to the arrival of the colonists in 1492.  I feel like this reading has given me a sense that there has always been an ongoing struggle by some group of oppressed people for adequate representation.  For Evita Peron, the struggle was between the corrupt in power and the populists.  In this reading, the oppressed people started out as the groups of Incan, Mayan, Andean, and Aztec people struggling against the white colonists.  The reading also describes how, over time, the people became more assimilated to European culture and industrialization progressed.  Conflict emerged between those pushing capitalism in the cities cities and the poor rural laborers and those left unemployed in the midst of urbanization.

I really like this reading so far. It is intimidatingly long but haaaay, this is University after all!
I like how sensitive the author seems to be, for the most part, about respecting indigenous populations all over LA throughout the article. I also like the indepth look and detail about dance, spiritual and religious rituals in the beginning half of the chapter. I took Intro to Latin American Studies last semester and loved the course, but didn’t love how general every section was. So I’m happy to be able to see more clearly some detail.
It’s a cool article though, definitely relevant to the beginning of this course. It kind of shows the history of exactly how the entire notion of “popular culture” began in Latin America. It’s hard to imagine a world where “popular culture” exists with the absence of social media. Like “popular culture” in the 1800s without Instagram to confirm everything. Strange.
The first half of the chapter brought me back to last semester in school where we learned about “sycretism” – basically the mixing of two cultures, and in the case of Peru specifically, the mix of pre and post colonial traditions. And I guess in this context – out of that mix, comes new notions of pop culture.
Also something I have been thinking about, not only during this reading, but in all of them so far, I’m thinking back to our first class in LAST201 where Jon made us think real critically about what culture is and what it is not and how you can appropriately define it… And honestly it’s kind of difficult to read anything super neutrally now because all I can think is like… IS THE AUTHOR EVEN CONSIDERING HOW MANY DIFFERENT THINGS CULTURE CAN BE?
For example, in this chapter, page 64, the author is outlining what he is going to examine next, and he states: “Our frame of reference excludes Southern Mexico and Guatemala because they have the highest presence of native culture, instead we’ll focus where cultural boundaries are more fluid.”
Like that still leaves the rest of Mexico, which is HUGE. Stating that the cultural boundaries are more fluid for the rest of the region is pretty bold statement to make I think? And also there is definitely “native culture” that exists in the remaining part of Mexico, why is it’s presence more or less fluid??

Just wild! I’ll never be able to hear the word “culture” again without my head spinning.

I sadly could not finish the whole reading since it is very long but will continue reading until tomorrow for class. However what I have read until now really impressed me: The way native populations of Latin America live in sync with the once imposed traditions of the Hispanic colonizers, and the way ancient customs cannot be divided from the European customs brought to them, because of the strong merging that happened in the past. It is interesting to read about the co-existance of those very different cultures and ways of living.

I wanted to update my comment about the reading:
While reading further on, I noticed how the term ‘Indian’ is being used almost all of the time to describe native people. It made me think… Isn’t this word so unappropriate to describe native populations? Like, should the author not use another word? I don’t know if I got the right meaning but if I did, I am a little confused. Maybe someone can clarify?

Also, this reading made me overall understand the complexity of the whole ‘Latin America’ (if we can call it like this anymore after our discussion about what this term really means and where it comes from). I never thought about this place of the Earth as such a diverse and complex place, never questioned the origins of its name, never recognized the huge mixture of traditions that it is still today when it comes to native and european ones.

I’m glad we are doing this reading because it is making my understanding of the whole Central and South American population, ways, traditions, everyday life, beliefs SO much clearer.