America Latina.

"Un pueblo escondido en la cima", Latinoamérica, calle trece.

The name of my blog is, “Who says a Mapuche can’t have a blog?” I have proven that a “Mapuche” has much to say, but at the same time has much to learn about himself in order to have a good blog. During repeated occasions while I wrote, I learned and understood more of my own nature as a descendent of the Mapuche people. Even though we learned that we should not respond to the question of the origin of Latin America, I would dare to say that after the many analysis’s that we have done in this class, as well as with all the artistic and literary demonstrations, today I can say with pride that I am a descendent of the Mapuches , I’m Chilean, and Latin is my nationality!

Being Latin does not constitute being a descendent of Malinche, but does constitute being children of robbery, abuse and mistreatment from the Spanish Conquest. Being Latin does not mean growing up among the Rivera Murals, but among popular expressions of art that educate for the lack of a quality education in the schools. It does not mean having poetic genes like Neruda or Mistral, moreover to be inspirations of those who won Nobel Prizes for literature. Being Latin does not mean illegal in the United States, but more, a visionary immigrant in the land of opportunity that does not exist in their own lands. It doesn’t mean being a great salsa or merengue dancer, but the protagonist of its lyrics.

I believe that one of the main conclusions that I have come to of the study of Latin American culture is that no matter what culture you analyze, we cannot generalize, because the truth is relative when speaking of culture.  Latin America has much to offer and all those who would want to know more about it, should reach for the essence of what it is made of, should get to know the people, the customs and traditions because in order to get to know Latin America we must not just be there, but we must find ourselves in it with a desire to know it to live it.

People like us

..."In the meantime they'll just have to move a little farther north from Mango Street, a little farther away every time people like us keep moving in"...The house on Mango Street, 

The last text that we studied was The House of Mango Street where we discovered among others, the topic of immigration. In order to get to know and understand Latin America, it’s not only necessary to analyze different theories the make up its origin and possible causes of its development, but it is also neccessary to examine the topic of immigration of Latin Americans to the United States. 

 The author, Cisneros, being from Mexico, does a good job in this book that helps us see the topic of Latin American immigration and integration into the American culture from the internal perspective and through the eyes of the immigrants. It’s interesting that she being a “chicana” would have written this book while she was in the University.   She is a Latin descendent and found herself in a similar situation as those Latin Americans who come to the United States. She decided to go study and challenge the reality of the Mexican woman and not stay in the house, get married young, or have children; all this in order to get a University Education. The immigrants that come into the United States in a similar way challenge the future and leave behind their lives as they know them in order to chase their dreams.

It points out in this work the diverse situations in which immigrants find themselves in far-away lands.  Cisneros explains between the lines the reality in which the immigrants live in the United States. It is not the same for all of them, but in one way or another something more than just speaking the same language or the same roots from which they come unites them; it’s simply being an immigrant.  Because of immigrants, the distances between countries don’t seem to be so far and the borders seem to be even more marked than ever in the history of the world, where they are even building walls and guarding the illegal passage to other countries.  These are example of the surety that the world is getting smaller, and this is demonstrated by the steady increase in the flow of immigrants to this country. However, it’s quite interesting that today we put forth so much effort as human kind to unite the world, but the distances between Latins and gringos would seem to be too blurry.

Hum 260.

My vision of Latin America before this class was of one united culture that did not have any great difference more than their accents or their food.  I have always been conscious of the differences that exist at the political or economic level between the different countries within Latin American.  However, the truth is that because of this class I have come to understand more of my personal identity and the essence of Latin America.

Sometimes I cannot deny that in class I have found that I have feelings of frustration as I feel like a stranger in my own land.  A lot of the time I have felt that the Latin America  where I was born and grew up and thought I knew, isn’t the one that I was learning about or the one that I was discussed about during class.  But as the more the time and semester went on the more I learned how to know more of Latin America and its extensive diversity, and the more I learned of my own diversity.

I believe that this feeling of discovering myself began in the first day of class when we listened to the song about Latin America by Calle Trece.  I remember watching the video and thinking, “ ok, this is going to be another class at BYU where we analyze a Latin America submerged in poverty and the suffering of the social injustices that it is composed of.”  Now that we are getting so close to the end of the semester and now I listen to the song, I feel that it really makes sense and that It really does represents the reality of my own identity. This is not only because he cites Neruda in the lyrics, but he includes in them the essence of the Latin American culture while he talks about its traditions, beliefs, the people and their customs. Many of these traditions, beliefs, and customs were unfamiliar to me before this class, but as I have learned more them it has helped me to recognize the immense cultural variety that Latin America is made up of.

The past is not even past.

Ultima to Antonio : "You are growing, and growth is change…make it a part of your strength." Bless me Ultima.

Latin America’s past lives in the present.  Our memories are absolutely connected in the daily lives of its people.  Collective memories exist presently in the cultural reality of Latin America. The past of Latin America is what we live because it is what we remember.  In the same way we grow as a culture because we learn from it, and it is from these memories that we can come to understand its people.  The past will never die as long as the memories are alive in the people and culture.

Latin American culture has a specific characteristic and ability to smile and be happy with very little material things.  But, it may be during these times of happiness when suffering emerges in their eyes.  Where does it come from? Personally, I don’t think that these sad memories emanated from the Latin American people come from the idea that the past was better, but moreover the feeling that something is absent in our today; the virgin jungle of the amazon, the smell of fresh bread coming from the Panaderia (Bakery), the brother lost in the military coup, the sacred books gone up in flames, the country free from dictators, that seem so far because of the time that has past but is still so alive in our memories.

In the book Bless me Ultima, while Antonio is growing up he does not wish to return to his childhood because during the maturing process he comes to understand himself, who he is, and the world around him. Antonio grows thanks to Ultima’s help, and he comes to understand that the memories, the ones that decipher who we are, transform us into our strengths as we find our identity. Memories help us to grow and understand who we are.  Last week I suggested that in order to get to know the soul of Latin America, we must look at it through the eyes. I believe that the more we try to hide the past or our memories, the more our eyes betray us.  Through the help of memories, we can then reach the hearts of the people, the heart of Latin America, where they hide their secrets and their history.

If the formula is to come to know the soul of the Latin American Culture through their eyes, this week I propose that it is through the memories of this culture and their history that we can reach their hearts to understand them.

The window to the soul.

 "I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things" (p.15). Bless me, Ultima.

During this semester we have talked about the complexity of trying to decipher the origin of Latin America due to its extensive diversity.  How, in the middle of so much cultural diversity, do you come to the conclusion of the existence of just one Latin American culture? Maybe the answer to this question does not yet exist. However, through the book “Bless me, Ultima” we learn that the true focus understand the soul of a culture is through getting to know the people, their traditions, and customs.

It is interesting that Ultima, being the curer, is the figure that unifies the diverse races from which Tony comes.  It is Ultima who helps him then understand his identity.  The figure that symbolizes the traditions and beliefs of his people is the one who helps Antonio understand this in order to be able to understand himself.

In diverse occasions during the course of this semester, I have found myself meditating and contemplating the questions of my origin or my identity, and they have made me doubt the existence of a Latin America that I once thought was inseparably united in its history and beliefs.  Through this book, however, I have really understood that the analysis that are made of a culture or different postulates that come about to verify its existence or origin shouldn’t focus far-fetched theory or analysis, but better in their traditions and customs, and their people.

This reminds me of a quote that Elder Holland used in the MTC for the missionaries referring to the importance to reach the souls of the people they would teach in order to get to know them and understand them.  In this same talk Elder Holland says that the only way to read the soul of a person is to look them right in the eyes, and that their eyes will tell us what their soul needs.  So to understand a culture, we should reach for the soul of it, of what it is composed of, and go further than analysis or comparisons. We should focus ourselves on the people that actually form such diverse culture through their traditions and customs. If we want to get to know and understand the soul of Latin America, then we must look it right in the eyes.

Magic is reality in Latin America

"As for magical realism, we need only extend hands to achieve it ". Carpentier,  A.  The kingdom of this world.

It is difficult from such extensive lands and varied customs and traditions to make a synthetic analysis of the Latin American essence. Alejo Carpentier knew very well how difficult this task was; to address the issue he decided to face the reality of the people who compose it, discovering the fantastic existence in the majesty of a continent where the wonder and magic could be found at every turn. This is how Latin America becomes the stage on which magic and reality coexist in harmony, because the reality of these people is magic and magic is reality thereof.

There are hundreds and thousands of demonstrations of magic that are part of the Latin American reality: not to marry on a Tuesday, the chupacabras, walking under a ladder, a black cat crossing your way, and many others are examples of superstitions. It is believed that the Latin American religion is a byproduct of the conquest, mixed with indigenous customs and even the influence of the beliefs of slaves brought from Africa; both would be the point where superstition and magic emerge among the peoples of Latin America. To be honest it is not my intention to question if it is all really true or not, but rather to concur with this theory that yes, there is magic in Latin America. And it is that magic which makes Latin America a reality.

 Both Indigenous and Latin American blood run through my veins, and I have always been intrigued about knowing more about my ancestors, the Mapuches. The magic in the Mapuche people is reflected in various ways: using powerful healers who spoke in tongues to effect cures, they also believe that through talking to certain animals one can receive powers to lead or govern, and even to receive answers . The legend teaches could challenge the Spanish army for 4 centuries because of the advice they received from nature. The healers do not talk about what their secret magic is in their daily lives because in reality they do have them, they simply and magically heal in reality. This is a perfect example of where reality and magic come together to form part of the essence of Latin America.

Video dedicated to the mapuches powerful healers

Coisa mas linda.

As I have displayed in my earlier blogs, it is very difficult to speak about just one Latin American culture when so much variety and diversity is in it.  In order to be one culture there should be something that exists that unites them into one.  Without a doubt, I believe that the most powerful characteristic in Latin America which could be considered as the same is the music.

To think of a Latin America on mute, without music, is like thinking in a rainbow in black and white. One explanation of this is that despite the social, historical and cultural differences of the people or the language, the Latin American people have reflected in the best way the words of Friedrich Nietzche who said that life without music would be a mistake.  At the same time Latin American music has been the key in maintaining their roots and customs alive.  

Since when could we speak about musical manifestations that belong to the Latin American identity? Does it come from before the time of the conquest? Or was it born after the period of independence?  As we have discussed in class these are the questions of  the Latin American soul and we may never reach an agreement in their responses but I believe that music can help us answer those questions, because music in Latin America is History. For the most part, the Latin American nations reached independence at the beginning of the 19^th century, and the latest ones in the 20^th century.  In the search for Latin American cultural identity, our people do not focus on the similarities with the dominant European models, but with what identifies us. 

 Without even being able to speak the language of its songs, some of us can find in reproductions of Latin American music the magic that it transmits; the music that allows us to fly to places and memories; the magic that transmits Latin American music is the same magic that these diverse cultures come together as one.

It is its rhythms and its music in Latin America that still inspire some of the greatest musicians from history, like Frank Sinatra, to sing one of the most beautiful songs from Brazil, Garota de Ipanema.