Blogs

I loved the readings and video for this week! Catalina’s story, which absolutely immersed me, is quite an anomaly. It’s unique firstly in that unlike many historical texts, Catalina is a testament to the reality of queerness in periods long predating us – and yet her experience is unique also in that it can be […] read full post >>

I always assumed, in Latin America, the population consisted of indigenous people and Europeans and the two lived completely segregated from each other. Therefore, I was very surprised to learn more African slaves were brought into South American colonies then into the United States. The fact that interracial marriages were fairly common was even more […] read full post >>

I really enjoyed reading about and analyzing the Casta paintings. Even without reading about them, it is obvious just by looking that one of their main purposes is to show the ways in which different races mix. But, as the reading suggests, these paintings could be seen as telling us more than just about racial […] read full post >>

This week we discussed how the colonization influenced the Latin American identity. During the colonial rule, Latin American demography came to consist of a great diversity of people; Europeans, the Indigenous peoples and Africans. Casta paintings are a visualization of the desire to make sense and control this extensive diversity of population. I had personally never heard about these before, and to be honest, I found their message quite confusing. Each one of them portray a family with the mother and the father being of different races, and their child, which is, naturally, a mixture of the parents. My first impression was surprise. I was mostly surprised that they portrayed mixed raced families, because my initial thought was that the Spaniards wanted to reach homogeneity and avoid the intermingling between the people. However, I came to realize that they didn't portray all families as equals. White people are often painted in fancy clothing and in calm nature in the background. The paintings often include fruits and animals from the New World. On the other hand, black people and the indigenous are often painted in a harsher environment and in less clothing. Sometimes they are even painted in violent scenes. I also noted that the paintings include very few white males. The majority of the men in these paintings are black, indigenous or of some mixture. I think these details matter because they highlight the superiority of the whites. 

The second reading we had was about Catalina de Erauso. First, I was amused of how much it reminded me of the disney movie Mulan. I think seeing Catalina as gender-queer or transgendered is a modern way of interpreting her story. Therefore, if we only read her as a transgendered person we might misinterpret some of her motives. Maybe she fled the monastery because she was abused and disguised as a male because that was probably her only option to avoid getting caught or running into some other problems if she appeared as a woman. Clearly she wasn't fond of her life in the monastery and saw that men had better opportunities in the world. I don't think there is anything that was "ahead of her time", I think she was rather a rebel who in multiple occasions struggled to follow the common norms and rules. I don't see her as politically oriented, trying to enhance women's status or opportunities in the male dominated fields, and thus, I wouldn't call her a "feminist". However, the fact that she decided to remain as a male after revealing herself, illustrates that maybe she (or he) was gender-queer or transgender. Nevertheless, while it is interesting to find these kinds of people in the history, I don't think it adds much to the story if she felt like she was in the wrong body or if she did it for other reasons. I think the story gets a happy ending when her accomplishments are acknowledged and she gets to keep her new identity, as a "he".  

read full post >>

This week we discussed how the colonization influenced the Latin American identity. During the colonial rule, Latin American demography came to consist of a great diversity of people; Europeans, the Indigenous peoples and Africans. Casta paintings are a visualization of the desire to make sense and control this extensive diversity of population. I had personally never heard about these before, and to be honest, I found their message quite confusing. Each one of them portray a family with the mother and the father being of different races, and their child, which is, naturally, a mixture of the parents. My first impression was surprise. I was mostly surprised that they portrayed mixed raced families, because my initial thought was that the Spaniards wanted to reach homogeneity and avoid the intermingling between the people. However, I came to realize that they didn't portray all families as equals. White people are often painted in fancy clothing and in calm nature in the background. The paintings often include fruits and animals from the New World. On the other hand, black people and the indigenous are often painted in a harsher environment and in less clothing. Sometimes they are even painted in violent scenes. I also noted that the paintings include very few white males. The majority of the men in these paintings are black, indigenous or of some mixture. I think these details matter because they highlight the superiority of the whites. 

The second reading we had was about Catalina de Erauso. First, I was amused of how much it reminded me of the disney movie Mulan. I think seeing Catalina as gender-queer or transgendered is a modern way of interpreting her story. Therefore, if we only read her as a transgendered person we might misinterpret some of her motives. Maybe she fled the monastery because she was abused and disguised as a male because that was probably her only option to avoid getting caught or running into some other problems if she appeared as a woman. Clearly she wasn't fond of her life in the monastery and saw that men had better opportunities in the world. I don't think there is anything that was "ahead of her time", I think she was rather a rebel who in multiple occasions struggled to follow the common norms and rules. I don't see her as politically oriented, trying to enhance women's status or opportunities in the male dominated fields, and thus, I wouldn't call her a "feminist". However, the fact that she decided to remain as a male after revealing herself, illustrates that maybe she (or he) was gender-queer or transgender. Nevertheless, while it is interesting to find these kinds of people in the history, I don't think it adds much to the story if she felt like she was in the wrong body or if she did it for other reasons. I think the story gets a happy ending when her accomplishments are acknowledged and she gets to keep her new identity, as a "he".  

read full post >>

After watching the lecture and reading the articles, I was most inclined to write about Latin Americans’ “anxious identity” as well as the Casta paintings. “Latin America is a place where identity seems to come into focus, but also where identity always threatens to dissolve” This particular phrase from the lecture really stood out toContinue reading "week 3: the colonial experience" read full post >>

Question: Both Columbus and Guamán Poma are writing for a specific audience: the Spanish crown. How does this fact shape... read full post >>

Absolutely loved this week’s readings.  The writings of Catalina De Erauso read like a great heroic fantasy full of suspense, combat, and romance. However, I have conflicting feelings of De Erauso. As a lesbian myself, I am almost proud of her. I was excited reading a historical account of a sexual minority group, a narrativeContinue reading "Week Three: The Colonial Experience" read full post >>

Long have I waited to read the diaries of Columbus and Cortes. Though there is much other research that is need to be investigated before I can have legitimate opinion about the transcripts and events, I go into this reading with a state of enmity and conflict. I think a lot of Latinos feel the […] read full post >>

I have watched four videos from the previous class of LATN 100. Here is my commentary. Speaking Truth to Power This video attempts to cover oppressive history which Latin American countries endured in 1970’s. Las Madres de Mayo is an important and still relevant movement in Argentina many of those who disappeared are still unheard […] read full post >>