So if I am being completely honest, after going through this week’s reading selections, I’m more confused about Latin America than ever…so much so, that I wanted to wait until today’s discussion on the topic, “Independence Narratives, Past and Present” to try and make sense of it all before containing my confusion within my weekly […]
Simon Bolivar, in his 1815 Letter from Jamaica, wrote that “…a people is therefore enslaved when the government, by its nature or its vices, infringes on and usurps the rights of the citizen or subject.” By this definition of enslavement, I find that the notion of independence in Latin America was and always has been complex… Continue reading Exclusive Independence
the narrative of independence is a diverse and complicated subject. Dawson’s three narratives are an interesting way to look at the process of independence. His “stories of freedom” address the uprising led by Tupac Amaro II, and the lasting influence that it had. He mentions that in the eyes of many his rebellion set the […]
One of our last week’s discussions were about Casta paintings (the elite Spaniards’ way of marking other people’s importance in society) and the idea of racial classification. This week, we can now take a look at a few important figures who helped revolutionize and liberate Latin America from the Spanish rule. As someone who didn’t know … Continue reading Week 4
Un pueblo sin piernas pero que camina. The metaphors continue. There is something captivating about Latin American tendencies to mesh art with politics, aestheticism with power. Martí’s eloquence places him firmly in this tradition. Chávez is decidedly not a poet. Yet his 2004 speech pursues the same themes as those of Martí and Bolívar in his demand for independence for Latin American nations (or nations of “the South”). It would be important, here, to characterize “independence” and how it has been conceived of over time. It is hard not being…read more
I found it very interesting this week to learn just how diverse the independence and freedom of Latin America was in the past. Never before had I considered the inextricable influences slavery and independence had on each other. The differing … Continue reading →
It’s not hard to imagine that after several generations following the mythical point of origin of Latin America, 1492, that residents of the Americas would begin to feel the itch for independence. I found it interesting to consider how the … Continue reading →
In reading Simon Bolivar’s “Letter from Jamaica: Kingston” from 1815, I was struck by the line “We are still in a position lower than slavery, and therefore it is more difficult for us to rise to the enjoyment of freedom…” (Dawson 23). For whatever reason, this stood out as being a particularly entitled thing to […]
This week’s lecture video discussed Bolívar and his role as a revolutionary leader, as he set an example for future revolutionaries and activists to follow, as seen by Hugo Chávez’s aspirations for a revolution in the late 20th century. His ideologies continue to inspire revolutionaries today. The video also briefly touched on Jóse Martí’s “Our …
Continue reading “Week 4: Independence Narratives, Past and Present”
As the readings of this week show, there were many different versions of the story of Independence in Latin America. The desire for freedom against Spanish rule was not as widespread as I had expected- many groups opposed the Independence movement, for various reasons. Dawson explained that many indigenous communities were in favor of colonial […]
