Hi! My name is Tom Lambrou and I’m in my fourth year at UBC, having recently transferred from the idea of working a major in Creative Writing to pursuing the (likely) far more applicable degree in English Literature studies. I am taking the LAST 100 course mainly in the spirit of having a more rounded […]
Posted in Blogs, Week 1 | Tagged with LAST100, Latin American Studies, UBC, Uncategorized
Hi! My name is Tom Lambrou and I’m in my fourth year at UBC, having recently transferred from the idea of working a major in Creative Writing to pursuing the (likely) far more applicable degree in English Literature studies. I am taking the LAST 100 course mainly in the spirit of having a more rounded […]
Posted in Blogs, Week 1 | Tagged with Latin American Studies, UBC
It is often said that the worst thing one can experience is the loss of a child. Listening to The Madres of the Plaza de Mayo of Argentina, it becomes clear that the torture of not knowing if your child is passed is at least equal. The mothers and grandmothers in this video clip plea to an unknown person begging for answers, hopeful for the best, but as long as they know where their child is. Where there child’s child is is the bear minimum. Considering this as a part of Latin America’s long history of genocidal acts, both overt and subtle, being both inflicted upon and inflicted by, it’s evident that this fits in here. The tearing of children from family, from identity, from culture fractures everyones’ roots. The children have had their past ripped from them; the family, the mothers have had their future torn away. The desperation goes beyond the transfixed power of the mothers in this short clip and echoes in volumes when they speak of the “anguish” they feel because they don’t know if their children “are cold, if they are hungry”. When the doors that supposedly stay open for everyone, even the most violent, close their doors to childless mothers, where should they go look? When should they stop?
Examining the different interpretations in translating Eva Perón’s speech (August 1951), where her apparently moving words reached over a million people, where “she discovered the power of the crowd” (176). This happens to be the opposite of what is often seen in areas where there is such a strong and vast history of political turmoil and tension, Perón’s speech that evening reached so many ears in a variety of ways that there is no unifying point of it except for the power it arose from it’s audience. As Perón addressed the crowd as the head of the Peronist Women’s Party of Argentina despite her failing health it became evident that the people wanted not only to support her, and have her support her husband, but they wanted her. Their continuous interruptions reportedly made it impossible for anyone to settle the crowd, let alone finish her planned speech, it went from a lecture to a conversation. Maybe this is one of the reasons the crowd loved her so much, they wanted someone to not only talk for them, but to listen to them. The dissenting opinions from journalists covering this story underlines the conflicting views not only held about Latin America from other nations, such as the New York Times anti-American representation of Perón’s speech, but also within Argentina. This being the 1950’s where women’s rights were limited internationally also marks upon an important turning point in women’s involvement in politics both domestically and internationally. The representation of her talking in this conversation further represent the journalist, and by extension their nations, differing views of powerful women in politics, one with many interruptions and missing key paragraphs in the recording might signal her silencing. It alternatively my be paying respect to the nation’s fierce support for such a powerful First Lady.
Reading through Rubén Darío’s To Roosevelt (1867-1916) makes it clear the attitude against President Roosevelt and the United States’ actions during his years as president (1901 – 1909). The emotions and the principles addressed by Darío within this poetic article are themes that, unbeknownst at the time, would remain relevant for years to come. Darío contextualizes the hypocratic irony of America having such a progressive leader, for example animal rights or opposition to Tolstoy (L10), Darío goes on to acknowledge Roosevelt’s “cultured” and “skillful” (L10) state. To an extent, Darío uses Roosevelt as synecdochal for the whole of the United States. The mastery in the fight for equality on subjects that directly concern the people’s immediate interest. Rubén Darío describes the United States’ as a “future invader” (L6) of states not void of Indigenous people, in particular, Central America. He further depicts a historically ironic insult that the United States “lack[s] one thing: God” (L51), even though the United States is rich, and is godly in it’s presence, it lacks the relation to God through their natural surroundings which Darío reminds the audience has an expansive and lively history that Euro-United States hasn’t been long involved in which makes Central America superior in the conduct and affairs of it’s proper business.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with blogpost8, Rubén Darío, UBC, week8
Diana DiPaolo Loren argues in her article in the journal of Historical Archaeology titled “Corporeal Concerns: Casta Paintings and the Use of Images in Archaeological Interpretations” that the main issue of simply analyzing the 18th century’s cas…
The readings ,much like the prior weeks didn’t dwelve into anything too shocking, that within itself is kind of horrifying. Something I did extract as an underlying issue for the independence movements in L/A was a form of ancestral/ethnic (ethnic for a lack of better term) erasure. The role this played in the undermining of citizens from uniting with people of similar ancestral colonial relations and erasing all issues that didn’t effect the ruling classes in a negative way. This similarly parallels the erasure of current issues facing the Black Lives Matter Movement, wherein people erase issues of marginalization and violence by “not seeing colour”, or stating that these people are “all just Americans”, like what was said in this weeks readings where the Peruvian government was recalled saying such things as there’s no such things as “Indians”, that everyone is now just Peruvian. These types of “micro”-violences erase the reality of those in marginalized groups/communities by denying identity to these groups and enforcing horizontal or internalized racism. Internalized and horizontal violences can work their way into these communities/peoples and reinforce already present doubt and/or self hatred. This has never been okay and as the interference of people obtaining their rights has always been (later) deemed as unlawful and unethical, so must be deemed the process of erasure.
These actions have and will always be just an attempt to stop progress of marginalized communities in either establishing or obtaining their literal human rights, fortunately, these actions while generally win battles, do not win wars of equality.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with arts, Independence Narratives Past and Present, UBC, Week6
Comparing the excerpts from Alex Dawson’s Latin America Since Independence from last week to this week’s Esteban Echeverría’s The Slaughterhouse (1838/1871) we move from speeches where the main power comes from rhetoric and recycling authors to a highly religiously powered text. The main purpose of Echeverría’s The Slaughterhouse is to belay a perception of historical events through his lenses which he chooses to present the events as a sort of God influenced cosmic retribution for mans’ sins. The creation of this story, whether true or not, is one of few examples or stories told from a traditionalist perspective during this time period in Latin American history.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with arts, blogpost5, caudillos, UBC, Week5
Much like anything written, spoken, read, watched or otherwise left to interpretation of an audience, specific members of the audience will always interpret the message of the speaker in the way that suits them best. From the Bible to the Qu’ran to Lord of the Rings to any historical document in the world, people will take the action of explaining the meaning of something to what serves their own interests best. Relating to the excerpts from Dawson’s Latin America Since Interdependence (LASI) to different peoples’ interpretations of actual events such as Esteban Echeverría’s Slaughter House (aka El Matadero) or interpretations of other’s author’s works such as Hugo Chávez’s speech at the XII G-15 Summit (2014) invoking Pablo Neruda’s poetry and piggybacking Simon Bolívar’s rhetoric to push his own political agenda. These being good or bad is not really the subject of importance rather the rhetoric and diction deliberately chosen from and the intent of that interpretation. We see that the use of Neruda’s Chant to Bolívar both reinforces and defines Bolívar as the “father” of modern politics in the region as well as preemptively endorses the proposition Chávez is about to announce. These sorts of interpretations create a rich tapestry which intricately weaves the history of such a diverse region together through art, politics and social revolution.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with arts, blogpost4, Independence Narratives Past and Present, UBC
This weeks readings of the beginnings of independence in Latin America were very interesting. I found Simón Bolívar letter to Jamaica very passion. I could feel the rage behind the letter. Bolivar understands the land is vast and too hard for the Europeans to grasp the politics involved with running it. He speaks of the … Continue reading Week 4: Independence Narratives, Past and Present
