Course Evaluation

I felt that on balance this course delivered very well on its expectations of educating students on the "People, Places, and Culture" of Latin America. I was extremely impressed with the depth of content on a wide range of topics, which went well below the superficial level to give students a true perspective on this dynamic region of the world. I also felt that the many varied assignments within the blog portfolio helped us as students to get our hands dirty, requiring us to deeply engage with the class material. This hands on approach went well beyond simple memorization of facts, allowing the content to come alive and become more engrained with students due to the critical analysis and research required.

My one critique would be the fact that all of the assignments were not chronologically separated throughout the course as far as due dates. Not so much that I felt a traditional structure was needed to help students complete assignments on time. We are all adults and can structure our time accordingly to ensure all assignments were complete by the last class deadline. It was an issue for me because we were not able to get back any marks for our assignments, which meant we had no concrete feedback on how we were doing in the course and if our work was meeting your expectations.

Overall I definitely enjoyed the course and would recommend it to other students.

Ethnography Review - Intimate Enemies

Introduction

Intimate Enemies: Landowners, Power, and Violence in Chiapas is an academic ethnography (272 pages), written by Aaron Bobrow-Strain and published in 2007 by Duke University Press. His work closely examines the conflict between landowning elites and the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN), a rebellious rural movement that led a successful agricultural land reclamation campaign on behalf of the lower class indigenous people in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas (see figure 1.0 below). Bobrow-Strain’s ethnographic research was focused on the real-life accounts and perspectives of the elite landowners in this conflict. This report will provide a brief summary of Bobrow-Strain’s main points and thesis for examination within the ethnography, and an evaluation of how effectively they are born out and aesthetically delivered to the audience within the text.

Background Analysis

Beginning in 1994, The EZLN, along with the aid of other affiliated and unaffiliated rural movements, launched a series of reclamation invasions of agricultural land against ladino landowners. These elite landowners, many of which had owned their large fertile tracts of land for generations, suddenly were embroiled in a sociopolitical uprising that threatened their previously unchallenged land ownership. Bobrow-Strain states, these landowning elites were being painted as a violent and powerful class of modern “latifundistas”, a historical reference to privileged landowners of Spanish dissent which owned extensive estates of land, cultivated on the backs of Latin American indigenous slave labour.

Contrary to this wholly violent representation, many elite landowners met the resistance of these rebel invaders with resignation, rather than violence. Despite the outcry from landowners to the Mexican government, only a small percentage of these invaders were evicted. As public pressure mounted from outraged landowners, the government response was the adoption of the Agrarian Accords in 1996. This historic accord involved the government purchasing massive quantities of the agricultural land and redistributing it to the poor indigenous communities through state-subsidized programs. Ultimately, the indigenous people of the region were relatively victorious in this contentious, and sometimes violent, struggle, ending generations of land monopolization and forcing the migration of many of these elite landowners out of Chiapas, Mexico.

Thesis Analysis

Bobrow-Strain’s ethnography does not follow the romantic struggle of the down-trodden indigenous people of Chiapas as one might expect. Rather, it takes up the unique, and perhaps politically incorrect, position of empathizing with the elite landowners in an attempt to tell the story of this struggle for territory and rights from their perspective. This approach was taken by the author in order to critically explore the overly simplified notion that this conflict was a strict dichotomy of the repressed good (peasants) versus an evil oppressor (landowners).  Bobrow-Strain was not without his own reservations in spotlighting the views of the elite at the expense of the indigenous perspective. He addressed this internal conflict as he writes, “I feared that my work might unintentionally undermine efforts to transform relations of domination and repression in the Chiapan countryside”. His unique perspective does much to further our holistic understanding of the conflict in Chiapas, simply through his willingness to offer a platform to the privileged, and perhaps previously unsympathetic, voice of the elite landowners. Todd Hartch concurred in a 2008 review for the American Historical Review in which he wrote, “This is an important book that explains how landowners responded to the various pressures and tensions of their position as local elites”.

While many may see the struggle for land reclamation by previously subjugated indigenous communities as a wholly righteous enterprise, there are many moral and practical considerations which complicate the issue with ambiguous shades of grey, which are explored within Bobrow-Strain’s ethnographic research. In an Oxfam review in 2008, Debroah Eade summed up the challenge Bobrow-Strain’s ethnographic thesis presents when she observed, “Borrow-Strain sets himself the difficult task of challenging the dualism of ‘good’ indigenous peasants with ‘bad’ ladino landowners”. Bobrow-Strain conducted extensive research by interviewing fifty landowners from four generations of the elite class. His findings through his ethnographic research brought much to light that would challenge this dualism of good and bad, even amongst many proponents of the indigenous perspective.

Perhaps the strongest of these practical considerations is the lack of experience maintaining and developing agricultural lands amongst indigenous populations of Mexico, contrasted against the inherent generational knowledge and experience of now transplanted former elite landowners. Experts in land cultivation for commercial profit, lands that were once rich in agriculture under the old regime of elite landowners, are often now planted only with corn or neglected altogether. Don Roberto, one of the former elite landowners Bobrow-Strain interviewed, reflected on the transformation of his land and that of his friends, post-indigenous land reclamation. Bobrow-Strain writes, “… the conversion of pasture to vast stretches of ‘unproductive’ wild land … symbolize the waste and devastation wrought by the transfer of land to indigenous communities after the 1994 invasions”.

Form a purely moral perspective; while many of these elite landowners had the still fresh blood of subjugation, violence and racism on their hands from their past dealings with the indigenous factions that were now rising up against them, they are still human beings with basic rights. Forcibly invading the land of these ladinos, many of which have owned these plots in their families for generations, by way of a type of Machiavellian means of violence is inherently wrong. While there may be ample justification in the motives of the EZLN, and other like minded rural activists, to regain their land and thereby dignity, achieving these aims by way of such brutal tactics in turn stains their hands with the same blood. Bobrow-Strain eloquently sums up this moral balance between the two sides when he writes, “… to replace landowners’ unmediated tale of innocence lost with a reiterated discourse of sweeping condemnation would substitute caricature for caricature …. I seek to replace the sharp dualisms of evil and good, landowner and peasant, with honest shadows."

Analysis and Evaluation

Unquestionably Bobrow-Strain’s ethnography succeeded in the main point of his thesis, showing that neither the landowners nor the peasants had the right to claim wholly righteous providence in this conflict. While he did not paint the elite landowners as sympathetic figures to be shown undue pity for their plight, Bobrow-Strain aptly demonstrated that the caricature of the evil landowner was just that. This critical view of the landowners as innocent victims of the conflict is illustrated in the passage, “I could never accept landowners’ decline as wholly unfortunate …” Through the ethnographic style of his research and documentation of his experiences with the real people embroiled in this historical conflict, Bobrow-Strain was able to lend personification to his writing detailing the landowners issues and perspective. Ultimately, he succeeded in walking the fine-line between empathy and sympathy, while remaining impartial and academically detached from the subjects of his research.

This academic detachment Aaron Bobrow-Strain was able to maintain, both during and in the eventual written accounts of his ethnographic research, is a product of his outsider’s perspective. While the author was eminently qualified to provide analysis of his subject material, having a PHD in Latin American Studies attained at the University of California, Berkeley and currently working as a professor of Political Studies at Whitman College (Aaron Bobrow-Strain, Whitman College), not being a native of Mexico with any ties or affiliations to either party in the conflict enabled this academic detachment.

From a personal perspective, I felt conflicted with my own internal cerebral and emotional reactions to this real-life conflict of the historically oppressed indigenous people of Chiapas as I read the book. Serving further proof that the author’s intent, to stimulate discourse and critical review of the events from both sides, was served. While one cannot help feeling sympathy and thereby justification for the actions of the rural activists to reclaim their ancestral lands, the accounts of the impacts and consequences of their actions on these very human landowners with families was cause for personal pause and reflection. One such passage that reflects the human reality behind the actions perpetrated against these vilified landowners reads, “The man had opened up his rich memory … his wife recounted in painful detail the violent events surrounding the invasion of their property.”

To say this ethnography was merely a socially and historically enlightening academic experience is to do the book a disservice. It was a riveting read that both engages and entertains while it educates on these important matters. The author’s first person dialogue as he navigates you through his experiences in dealing with both peasants and landowners, transports the reader to their time and place, while allowing you to feel their very real and human struggles and emotions. The author wrote the book with plain and simple language, without hiding behind academic prose, to allow the audience to feel the raw and very real lived experiences that were described within.

Conclusion

The desire to internalize simple binaries when viewing conflicts, such as good versus evil, is inherently human. As is the case with the land reclamation by the repressed poor of Chiapas pitted against the historically oppressive elite landowners of the region. However, as is invariably the case, these simple black and white binaries rarely provide a wholly accurate depiction of the events and contextual issues behind such conflicts. Aaron Bobrow-Strain’s important ethnographic research, which details the conflict from the perspective of the elite or ‘evil’ landowners, does much to restore a balanced perspective to this polarizing conflict. While certainly his documented research and analysis was not biased towards the landowners, it provided them with a voice to better understand the conflict in a more holistic way than had been predominantly presented within the public sphere previously.

 

References

Eade, Deborah (2008). A Review of Intimate Enemies: Landowners, Power, and Violence in Chiapas and Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask. Oxfam GB, 18(3), 453-456.

Hartch, Todd (2008). A Review of Intimate Enemies: Landowners, Power, and Violence in Chiapas. The American Historical Review, 113(3), 882-883.

“Aaron Bobrow-Strain”, Whitman College, accessed June 20, 2012, http://www.whitman.edu/content/politics/faculty/aaron-bobrow-strain

Fictional Book Review - Death in the Andes

Introduction

Death In The Andes is a novel that was written in 1993 by Mario Vargas Llosa. It was translated from its original Spanish text into English (276 pages) in 1996 by Edith Grossman, and published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, Inc. While it is difficult to pigeon-hole this novel into a specific genre, murder mystery would be a functional one strictly for the purposes of classification. The primary aim of this book review will be to provide a brief synopsis on the plot, and perhaps more importantly to explore and analyze the general themes and purposes behind the author’s intended messages. Further, to provide reflections on what was derived from the novel from both a literary and a more visceral personal perspective.

Plot Summary

Death in The Andes is a story which takes place in Naccos, a remote mining town situated in the Andean mountains of Peru, tucked away from the demands of modern urban life. A place inhabited by the Serruchos, indigenous rural mountain people of Peru that speak the indigenous Quechua language. The story is mainly told from the perspective of the main protagonist Lituma, a Corporal in the Civil Guard of Spanish dissent. He is posted there to protect a highway construction crew of 200 workers against the Senderistas, guerrilla terrorists of the Shining Path.

Lituma sums up the central fulcrum from which the axis of the story revolves when he states, “… what’s going on? First the mute, then the albino, now one of the highway foremen.” A series of mysterious disappearances in Naccos that Lituma is determined to resolve a reason for. These mysterious disappearances ominously foreshadow a series of further killings in the region, which in isolation have no inherent meaning, but collectively forge the major thematic devices of the narrative.

The primary suspects of the original disappearances are the ruthless and dispassionate Senderista guerillas; who have taken on the grizzly mission to kill any foreigners that should enter the Andes, without cause or reason other than their alien status. Later, the more disturbing realization manifests that the disappearances are at the hands of the Serrucho mountain people, having reverted to the cannibalistic rituals of the early indigenous cultures of the region. Their tradition dictates they offer up humans for sacrifice before the undertaking of any major construction project, in this case the highway being built in Naccos.

While these are the main features of the plot, as it relates to its overarching theme of cultural conflict, there are a series of minor subplots woven throughout the book that are seemingly divorced from the primary thematic structure. One such subplot is a love story between Carreño, a Civil Guardsman working under Lituma, and a prostitute he encounters. These plot tangents made for an oft fractured and at times disjointed and confusing read. In a past 1996 review of the novel by Madison Bell she concurred remarking, “The foreground of this novel seems confusingly disorganized from start to finish. The individual vignettes are often brilliant, but neither Lituma nor the reader nor perhaps the author himself can put them all coherently together”.

Theme Analysis

While many sub-themes could be interpreted and explored, including a number of allusions to Greek mythology and tragedy which are present within the text, the overarching theme, which is ubiquitous throughout, is that of conflict and intolerance between indigenous cultures and the capitalist ideologies of the Western world. A clash of worlds and the cultural confusion that results are aptly summarized when Lituma states, when commenting on the mountain people, “Because you're mysterious and I don't understand you … I like people to be transparent.” This observation is consistent with the historical context of the Spanish Conquistadores view on the natives they first encountered during the conquests. Such was the vast extent of disconnect between the two groups, Spanish colonizers ethnocentric perspective questioned if the natives were more animal than human. Historically, this disassociation with the native’s humanity provided justification for the European settlers to barbarically slaughter the “others” to achieve their own gains. Specifically within the real historical contextual background of Peru, their once proud Inca Empire was completely extinguished in 1532 by a group of Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, culminating in the defeat and capture of Inca Emperor Atahualpa (Spain, 1841).

In a true reversal of fortune from the historical script, in Death in the Andes it is the indigenous people that are vengefully treating the Europeans as less than human. Killing the “others”, as if they were animals fit for slaughter, in numbers at their own digression and to meet their own ends. Seemingly executed simply for the crime of being an outsider to the region, in one chapter a pair of French tourists are introduced, only to be killed off quickly after by way of stoning. This disassociation with the violence the indigenous people are a party to is encapsulated when the main protagonist Lituma states, “All those deaths just slide right off the mountain people”.

There is much stark symbolism than can be interpreted based on the description of the three key figures, whose disappearance and subsequent ritualistic murders at the hands of the indigenous mountain people are the central basis for the plot. The “albino” can clearly be interpreted as the symbolic incarnation of the European or “white man”. The mute, himself a Siucani native of indigenous dissent, is a more subjective and complex interpretation. Perhaps through the killing of the mute, or man without a voice, the indigenous people are symbolically ending their silence and lack of social and political power as a result of the subjugation from the Europeans. The highway construction foremen or “boss” could be viewed as the symbol of insidious European power over native culture.

I believe the purpose of these thematic devices was not intended by the author to be taken in literal terms. We as the audience should not infer from the narrative that the author is in support of bloody and violent retribution, in the form of a revolt and mass killings of Europeans at the hands of indigenous people. Rather, the intent was to illustrate the absurdity of the inhumane treatment the natives endured through the subjugation of its people historically, simply for being different physically and culturally. The author deftly is able to build empathy from the reader for the past, and current, treatment of indigenous cultures by showing the atrocities of ethnocentricity from a reverse perspective. Therefore, the overriding message is that we must strive for a balance of equality and power, returning the voice and dignity to indigenous cultures. Moreover, we should seek to mitigate cultural confusion by attempting to understand and respect cultural differences between diverse groups.

Llosa’s message involving the historical context of the Spanish conquest, and atrocities that followed as a result of cultural confusion and intolerance, is one that is deeply engrained as part of the Latin American experience. We see it in all forms of Latin American artistic expression, including in the subject matter of many of the globally recognized works of muralist Diego Rivera. Additionally, being such a highly socially aware and political message at its heart, it should be no surprise that the author himself is deeply politically engaged. In fact, In 1990 Mario Vargas Llosa ran for the Presidency of his homeland Peru. He garnered a plurality of 29 percent in the first round of balloting but lost the runoff to an obscure agronomist named Alberto Fujimori, who received 57 percent of the final vote (Kellman, 1996).

Overall Analysis and Evaluation

On balance, I would recommend this book as an interesting read, able to deliver a powerful message though its socially and politically aware themes. It was apparent that the author, of Peruvian dissent himself, was speaking from a place of knowledge and experience which revealed itself through the authenticity and honesty of his writing. Llosa’s knowledge and mastery of his subject matter was illustrated through his intimate understanding of indigenous Peruvian cultural practices and political movements, explored in detail throughout the narrative. For example, the Shining Path is a contemporary Maoist political movement that exists in Peru, and wields its power through violent guerrilla tactics of terrorism (Shining Path, Britannica), as portrayed in the book. Additionally, his real-life involvement with Peruvian politics infuses ethos to the politically loaded messages throughout the construct of the narrative.

This authenticity was enhanced by the casual style of the writing and dialogue, which was gritty and reflective of the everyday people, embroiled in this plot of extraordinary circumstances. One such example was a line in which Lituma states, “Fix us some coffee for this shit weather.”, clearly Llosa’s dialogue was not confined by any pretense or attempts to create poetic prose, rather used as a means by which to reflect the authenticity of everyday life.

While the dialogue and character development was without artistic ambiguity as a result of pretense, the numerous allusions to past cultural texts, and some seemingly disjointed and unimportant sub-plots, made the reading a laborious task at times to form congruency and clarity of plot and message.

Putting aside these shortcomings, from a holistic perspective, the book had an important message that was delivered with a “readable” aesthetic of down to earth real-life appeal. Like any great novel should, it engaged the reader with interesting dialogue and character development, while also providing the reader with important messages of meaning for reflection. The author ultimately succeeded in conveying his message of the importance of cultural understanding and equality, amongst the diverse and often fractured people of Latin America.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite the complexities and many layers of the author’s writing style, in Death in the Andes; Llosa has been able to subversively, yet unmistakably, portray an important social and political message of the negative consequences of cultural intolerance. Through a clever juxtaposition of the historical power balance between indigenous and European culture, the audience cannot help but gain a perspective of empathy for the historical injustices and violence perpetrated against the indigenous cultures of Latin America. The credibility and experiential knowledge the author brings to his subject matter, further serves to validate and underscore this work as an important and distinctive piece of Latin American literature.

 

References

Bell, Madison (1996), Mountains of the Mind, New York Times, accessed June 12, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/28/specials/llosa-andes

Kellman, Steven G. (1996), Vargas Llosa Returns to His Peaks, The Atlantic Monthly Online, accessed June 18, http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/96mar/vargasl

“Shining Path”, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, accessed June 19, 2012,

       http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540794/Shining-Path

Spain (1841), Recopilación de leyes de los Reynos de las Indias, Boix, Oxford University Archives.

Latin American Social Movements

The array of images below represent some of the major historical nationalist, labour and rural movements throughout Latin America. 

Peronismo: Images below depict the leader of the nationalist movement General Juan Perón of Argentina, and a poster from Brazil promoting the movement that spead throughout Latin America.

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Cardenismo: Images below depict the leader of the nationalist movement General Lázaro Cárdenas, and a book cover of "El Cardenismo", a book on the movement by Mexican author Roberto Blanco Moheno

 

Castrismo: Images below depict its charasmatic Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and a poster from his native Cuba promoting the movement.

 

Chavismo: Images below depict Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader of the nationalist movement, along with an emblem for the cause.

Sandinismo: Images below depict Nicaraguan General Sandino for whom this nationalist movement was named, and a propogandic painting of the movement.

 

Paros Cívicos: A Latin American labour movement started in Colombia. Images below depict an official poster adverstising the movement, a protestors banner at a demonstartion in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and demonstartors in Honduras.

Contag: Images below depict the emblem of the movement, started in the 1980's, for the rural poor in Brasil, along with an image of its supporters.

Brazilian MST (Landless Movement): Images below depict the emblem of the rural movement for the redistribution of land, along with a massive demonstartion of its supporters in Brasil.

 

Shining Path: Images below depict a poster promoting the Maoist communist values of this rural movement from Peru, and an image of some of its violent geurilla members.

 

Zapatistas: Images below depict two women holding up the emblem of this Mexican rural movement (ELZN - Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional ), and an image of some of its geurilla fighters.

Mundo Quino Comic Strip

Below is a Quino comic strip I found particularly interesting. It illustrates Quino's cerebral social commentary using only symbolism and imagery to guide the reader. As Quino mentioned in his interview with Lucía Iglesias Kuntz, he prefers to let images speak in his work as a stand-alone product whenever possible.

In the strip he makes an allusion to Rodin's famed sculpture the thinker, this image is juxtaposed against modern technology from our new industrial society, in the form of a "super computer". Further, the strip details the old world human "thinker" being abandoned and carried away, while the piece of modern technology is being worked on by one man and admired by two others, effectively replacing the sculpture with modern technology.

I think the social commentary Quino is making in this comic strip is that old world values of human thought and creativity are being replaced by man's zeal for technology and industrial automation in the capitalist economy. In essence, man is losing the ability to think creatively and critically due to a reliance on modern technology to do the thinking for us.

Muralists and Painters of Latin America

Latin America can be proud of the rich heritage of muralists and artists throughout its history. I am especially stuck by the technical brilliance of Diego Rivera and the bold and brutally honest self reflection of Frida Kahlo.

Diego Rivera: His work is not only aesthetically striking, but it also incorporates historical context and social issues relevant for his day. From a technical perspective the pain-staking detail and grandness of his murals are an astonishing artistic achievement to behold. His frescos remind me of the great Italian renaissance painter Michelangelo in both their technical proficiency and subject matter. Below are two of my favourite examples of his work that display his technical brilliance and social/historical commentary.

Exploitation of Mexico by Spanish Conquistadors - This painting showcases Rivera's technical ability and attention to detail, while displaying his social conscience in his subject matter. A commentary on the brutal subjugation of the indigenous Mexican people by the Spanish.

Exploitation of Mexico by Spanish Conquistadors, Mexico City - Palacio Nacional.

Mural (1929-1945) by Diego Rivera

Detroit Industry - Again note the exquisite attention to detail and impressive laer-than-life scope of his work. A social commentary on the capitalist establishment in the United States by the openly communist artist.

Detroit Industry, Detroit Institute of Arts. Mural (1932-1933) by Diego Rivera

Frida Kahlo: What she may have lacked in technical proficiency relative to the great masters, she more than made up for with her bold, honest and provocative style. Her self-portraits are deeply honest and boldly evoke the pain of the human condition without compromise. Her prolific work as an artist is all the more remarkable given the struggles with her health throughout her life and her complete lack of formal training. Below are two of my favourite examples that illustrate the boldness and pathos her work displays.

The Broken Column - A brutally expressive self portrait examining her personal emotional and physical pain.The broken column representing the physical pain throughout her life as a result of her shattered spine from a bus accident at an early age. The nails representative of her emotional pain. The largest one to her heart depicting her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera.

The Broken Column, Self-Portrait by Frida Kahlo 1944

The Two Fridas - Another stark and honest reflective self portrait. The two Fridas representing her two selves, the European and Latin Frida. Both Fridas shown us having been stripped of their heart and identity.

The Two Fridas, Self-Portrait by Frida Kahlo 1939

Map of Latin American Music Styles

While certainly many of the Latin musical genres are widely enjoyed accross Latin America, the map below charts the major origins of the rich diversity that makes up the mosaic of Latin American musical styles.

As the map illustates much of the delvelopment of Latin musical culture can bet attributed to the nations of Mexico, Cuba and Brazil.

A Passion for the Beautiful Game

Football (or Soccer) is a great passion of Latin American culture. It could be argued that no other region of the world embraces the game with as much passion and reverance as the Latino people. This passion is evidenced by the great success its nations have enjoyed on the grandest global stage of the World Cup.

The World Cup has been contested 19 times since its creation in 1930, and Latin American nations have captured the trophy an amazing 9 times, including a record 5 times by Brazil!

List of Latin American World Cup Winners

2002  Brazil
1994  Brazil
1986  Argentina
1978  Argentina
1970  Brazil
1962  Brazil
1958  Brazil
1950  Uruguay
1930  Uruguay

Latin America also boasts the origins of arguably the two greatest players in the history of the game, Pelé and Diego Maradona. Pelé led his native Brazil to World Cup glory in 1958, 1962 and 1970, while Maradona led his Argentine side to the trophy in 1986.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) - born in Brazil October 21, 1940
Known by his nickname Pelé, widely regarded as the best football player of all time. In 1999, he was voted Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century". In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football (Wikipedia).

Diego Armando Maradona Franco - born in Argentina October 30, 1960
Many people, experts, football critics, former and current players consider Maradona the greatest football player of all time. He won FIFA Player of the Century award which was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury (Wikipedia).

Latin American Musical Styles

Below is a sampling of some of the main genres of Latin music, including Salsa, Samba, Cumbia, Bolero, Mambo, Merengue, Vallenato, Tango, Danzon, Mariachi, Ranchera, Nortena, Tex-Mex, Andean, and Bossa Nova.

Salsa Genre - Valio La Pena, as performed by contemporary Latin popular music artist Marc Anthony.

Samba Genre - Samba Do Brasil - Ey Macalena

Cumbia Genre - Tributo a la Cumbia Colombiana en Vivo - Alberto Barros

Bolero Genre - People singing in the street of Santiago de Cuba in 2001

Mambo Genre - "Mambo" music video by Azucar Moreno

Merengue Genre - "MERENGUE - FERNANDO VILLALONA (By La FBI Band)

Vallenato Genre - Jorge Adel Factor Xs - Vallenato Music - Mi propia Raza

Tango Genre - Tango - Flamenco Spanish Guitar

Danzon Genre - "Cuba: Rhythm in Motion" - Danzon group with Davison and Loman, Santiago de Cuba 2005

Mariachi Genre - Authentic Mariachi band playing on the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico

Ranchera Genre - Authentic Ranchera music in the streets of Coban, Guatemala.

Nortena Genre - Music from the northern part of Mexico in the Latin Festival in Chicago on 29 August 2009.

Tex-Mex Genre - Tex-Mex Munequita - Albert Zamora

Andean Genre -Traditional andean music song title "Kusi-Kusi" as performed by RUMINAHUI from Peru.

Bossa Nova Genre - Dirus: The Best of a Bossa Nova Music.

Latin American Recipe - Arepas

An instructional youtube video on how to make Arepas - a traditional Latin American dish, popular in Colmubia and Venezuela. It seems simple enough to prepare!

Map of Contemporary Latin America Political Geography and Modern Indigenous Languages

Although the current official languages of Latin America are mainly comprised of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English, the map below details all of the indigenous languages currently in use today within the borders of its nations.

Song Analysis - There is no one like you (No hay nadie como tu)

Below is a youtube video of the song, along with a written analysis of the song's lyrics and musical composition.

‘No hay nadie como tu’ (English translation: There is no one like you) is a song written and performed by Latin alternative-rap duo Calle 13. It was the first single released from their third studio album entitled de Atrás Vienen Conmigo, released in 2008. The track also features Mexican alternative rock group Café Tacuba (No Hay Nadie Como Tú, iTunes Preview). It is difficult to pigeon hole or label a specific style of music for the song, as it is a blend of Latin pop, rock and dance music. One of the keys to Calle 13's success is its ability to graft Puerto Rican slang onto an eclectic mix of hip-hop, samba, cumbia and other Latin American styles in a way that appeals to a broad audience (Los Angeles Times). From a lyrical perspective, the song is one that speaks to many sociopolitical issues, under the guise of a love song.

Before one can properly provide an analysis of the lyrical content and musical composition within a song, a proper contextual background of the place and time in which the authors wrote it must be established. An understanding of this contextual background will enable a deconstruction of the concepts within the song, and ultimately uncover the communities it touches and creates.

‘No hay nadie como tu’ was written as a large collaborative effort amongst five Latin American authors. Two of its primary authors were Calle 13’s two front men, step-brothers René Pérez Joglar and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez. The brothers were born in districts of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1978. As aforementioned, an analysis of Puerto Rico’s background and culture surrounding the epoch between 1978, and the release of the song in 2008, are essential to understanding its context. This contextual analysis is primarily concerned with the economic, social, and political backdrop of the time.

While Peurto Rico is amongst the richest of the Caribbean nations, overall its people are economically challenged relative to most of the western world. Peurto Rico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is comparable to lesser European economies such as Latvia and Poland (U.S. Census Bureau). Calle13’s René Pérez Joglar eloquently sums up this dynamic having stated that Puerto Rican’s are, “too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor” (Los Angeles Times). It is noteworthy that the tiny Caribbean island had some of its darkest economic days in 2006, less than 2 years before the release of the song. In 2006, the Puerto Rican government faced significant shortages in cash flows, which forced the closure of the local Department of Education and 42 other government agencies, culminating in the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in the island's history (The Washington Post). These relative economic struggles of Puerto Rico translate to large economic and social class gaps amongst those citizens on either side of the spectrum.

Socially and culturally, Peurto Rico is a diverse melting pot. Its people are comprised of indigenous cultures, such as the Taíno, as well as descendants of Africa, Spain, and a new influx of people from North America. This diversity leads to a large spectrum of cultural perspectives from its people, and challenges for social understanding and unity.

Politically, Puerto Rico is uniquely governed in that it lacks a unique political identity and autonomy. Puerto Rico has a republican form of government, which is subject to United States jurisdiction and sovereignty. While its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress, it lacks full protection under the United States Constitution (U.S. Department of State). As a result, Peurto Rico lacks a clear sovereignty and identity as a nation, and so to by extension its people.

With this understanding of the economic, social, and political contexts under which ‘No hay nadie como tu’ was penned, a greater understanding of the concepts put forth by its lyrics can be derived. At its heart, the songs message is one of human diversity. Throughout its prose, the author points out cultural binary opposites, dichotomies or spectrums amongst people socially, economically and politically. This social binary can be observed in the line, “There are courageous people and people that are fearful”. The economic spectrum is illustrated in the line, “wealthy poor middle class”, and economic hardships in the line “there are many mouths and little food”. Finally, political diversity is portrayed in the line, “There are horizontal mentalities, [as well as] vertical and diagonal [ones]”, and its ambiguity in the line, “there are rulers and presidents”. There are many more similar contrasts, some subtle and some overtly apparent, within this cultural text. The commonality amongst them all is the awareness that humanity has many shades and flavours of a spectrum which at time polarizes society. Additionally, it is interesting to note the diversity within the musical composition of the song mirrors its lyrical content. The music is a unique mixture of rap, rock and dance, a sort of diverse melting point of musical genres which compliment and underscore the message of the song.

Undoubtedly, the life experiences and cultural background in Peurto Rico coloured these observations by the authors. Peurto Rico, with its relative economic hardships that have led to large socioeconomic gaps in class, its inherent melting pot of cultures and people, and its lack of a unified political identity, are the underlying context that spring forth the concepts of human, cultural, and class diversity from the authors.

The song as a piece of poetic literature, and as popular culture in the form of a very successful song, carries with it much importance for the people of Puerto Rico, and by extension Latin America. The song being a celebration of diversity validates the heritage and culture of its people. Embracing diversity in this way gives the Latin American people the identity and esteem they may have lost at times, as a result of European Colonialism and the subjugation of its people that still resonates today. It is in this way that ‘No hay nadie como tu’ serves to establish a community amongst its audience. This developed community is made up of Latin people that view their heritage of cultural diversity with pride.

From a greater perspective, the song conveys a universal message of acceptance and understanding of human diversity. By extension the song establishes a greater global community of those that share these humanistic ideals. This is an important message for not only Latin people, but all citizens of the world. As modern technology continues to shrink the global village that is our world, acceptance, and ideally embracement, of the ideals of unity and understanding are paramount. While these are heavy concepts, the framing of them within a rap/rock song that masquerades as a love song at a superficial level, is a clever juxtaposition that enables a subversive introduction of its message to the masses of popular culture.

From a personal perspective, I appreciate the song for both its acoustic aesthetic appeal, and more importantly the sociopolitical constructs and themes it examines. I feel that any piece of great art, which popular music should aspire to be, should challenge the audience beyond a superficial level, and engage on an intellectual level that leads to personal reflection. Clearly this song goes beyond merely a catchy song with a dance hook; it confronts cultural diversity and constructs that are framed by the unique Latin heritage and perspective of its authors. Additionally, the Latin flavour and diversity of the musical composition, does much to compliment this Latin perspective and underscore the message and context of this uniquely Latin pop song.

References

“Calle 13, in search of the real Latin America”, Los Angeles Times, accessed June 10, 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/02/entertainment/ca-calle2

“No Hay Nadie Como Tú (feat. Café Tacuba)”, I-Tunes Preview, accessed June 10, 2012, http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-hay-nadie-como-tu-feat./id292371770

      

“Puerto Rican Music TV”,  Puerto Rican Music TV, accessed June 11, 2012, http://www.puertoricanmusictv.com/

"Puerto Rico Extends Government Shutdown”, The Washington Post, accessed June 11, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/AR2006000458.html

“Median Household Income”, U.S. Census Bureau. Factfinder.census.gov, accessed June 11, 2012, http://factfinder.census.gov

“Foreign Affairs Manual of U.S. Nationality in U.S. Territories and Possessions” U.S. Department of State, accessed June 11, 2012, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86756.pdf         

Environmental Maps of Latin America

Physical Features Map: This map defines the significant physical features of Latin America. The scope and diversity of the region provides for some of the grandest physical features on the fact of the planet, these include:

Amazon River: The largest river on earth in terms of  discharged water volume, drainage basin and navigable waterways.

Andes Mountains: The highest continuous mountain barrier on earth (7,000 kilometers)

Amazon Rainforest:  Represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and it comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

Natural Resource Distribution Map: This map defines the significant natural resources and their distrbution in Latin America. The physcial and ecological diversity of the region provides for a rich foundation of natural resources. As the map details, Latin America is particularly abundant in minerals throughout the region.

Indigenous Culture Images (Architecture, Art and Artifacts)

Images depicting the architecture, art and artifacts of the major indigenous cultures of Latin America.

Tupi Image 1: Painting entitled 'Tupi woman' from the National Museum of Denmark

Tupi Image 2: A Tupiniquim chief (Cacique) in (Brasília, 2007)

Tupi Image 3: Albert Eckhout: a mixed-race (Mameluco) woman (circa 1641–1644)

Tapuia Image 1: Castelo da Tapuia - Sítio Novo

Tapuia Image 2: Painting entitled 'Dança dos Tapuias', Albert Eckhout

Tapuia Image 3: Painting entitled 'Brazilian Tapui Man', Albert Eckhout

Musica Image 1: Model of ancient Muisca houses in the Archaeology Museum of Sogamoso

Musica Image 2: Ruins of an ancient Muisca temple in the Villa de Leyva near El Infiernito

Musica Image 3: Muisca raft (1200–1500 BC), representation of the initiation of the new Zipa in the lake of Guatavita

Taironas Image 1: Tairona figure pendant in gold

Taironas Image 2: Monument in Santa Marta depicting Taironas

Taironas Image 3: Teyuna, The Lost City of Colombia once inhabited by the Tairona people

Guarani Image 1: Guarani village in Itapua, Paraguay

Guarani Image 2: Guaraní incised ceramics bowls, Museum Farroupilha, in Triunfo

Guarani Image 3: A Guaraní family captured by slave hunters. By Jean Baptiste Debret

Aztec Image 1: Aztec pyramid of Santa Cecilia Acatitlan

Aztec Image 2: The Aztec Sun Stone, also known as the Aztec Calendar Stone

Aztec Image 3: Ancient Aztec cookware and pottery

Maya Image 1: The Pyramid of Kukulkan believed to be built before 800 AD, is easily the most impressive and widely recognized of the structures of Mayan architecture.

Maya Image 2: Maya book written in the Maya script

Maya  Image 3: The Tablet found in the Temple of the Foliated Cross

Inca Image 1: Perhaps the most renowned aspect of Incan architecture is the use of terraces to increase the land available for farming. Inca agricultural terraces in Pisac

Inca Image 2: Inca drinking goblet

Inca Image 3: An example of Inca pottery art

Wayuu Image 1: Wayuu handcrafted mochilas woolen bags

Wayuu Image 2: Wayuu improvised hutch to hang hammocks

Wayuu Image 3: A Wayuu rancheria

Warao Image 1: Warao Baskets - They wrap these fibers around a coil of a palm branch. This technique offers us some of the strongest and tightest weaves available. The Warao baskets are some of the finest in the world today.
Warao Image 2: Thatched roof housing on the banks of the Orinoco river in Venezuela

Warao Image 3: A Warao family using a monoxylon on a small Orinoco Delta caño, located near the Monagas border with Delta Amacuro in Venezuela.

Pemon Image 1: A Pemon village depicting typical housing

Pemon Image 2: Young child wearing a traditional Pemon headdress

Pemon Image 3: Pemon arts and crafts on display

Yanomami Image 1: Yanomami Carrying Basket, woven with the fibers of the mamure plant

Yanomami Image 2: Brazil Amazon rainforest Yanomami Indian girl

Yanomami Image 3: A shabono hut, used by the Yanomami Amerindians of extreme southern Venezuela and extreme northern Brazil. Used as temporary dwellings, they are traditionally constructed mainly of thatched palm leaves and wood.

Carib Image 1: Painting which depicts Caribs as the descendants of West Africans, whose members were captured along the West African seaboard and from the interior and who were exchanged for trade goods, enslaved, and transported across the Atlantic to work on the plantations of the islands.

Carib Image 2: Canoe fashioned from wood and thatched roof dwelling

Carib Image 3: Carib natives holding a woven basket

Arawak Image 1: Drawing depicting an Arawak maiden and waterfall

Arawak Image 2: In all Arawak settlements several families shared one house, which was called a caneye. It was round, and made of wattle with a thatched roof.

Arawak Image 3: Arawak stone carving of a bird

Taino Image 1: Taino stone mask carving

Taino Image 2: Taino Carving found in a cave in Puerto Rico

Taino Image 3: Reconstruction of a Taíno village in Cuba

Miskito Image 1: Miskito Cays Biological Reserve is one of 78 protected areas in Nicaragua

Miskito Image 2: Miskito Indians from Nicaragua wait for food at a Honduran camp

Miskito Image 3: Miskito Tunu Bark Art Piece

Mapuche Image 1: Stone weapons used in Mapuche tribal warfare

Mapuche Image 2: The traditional house, ruka, has a single door, open towards the east, an orientation which expresses the preference of the Mapuche for Puelmapu (Land of the East), where the deities reside.

Mapuche Image 3: Mapuche elder women playing a ceremonial drum

Quechua Image 1: Man playing a traditional Quechua flute

Quechua Image 2: Ruined remains of an ancient settlement built by the Quechua people in the Andes mountains of Peru. 

Quechua Image 3: Quechua carved gourd depicting the 1880 Battle of Arica, by Flores Kananga, Peru

Aymara Image 1: Aymara woman dancing Morenada. Bolivia

Aymara Image 2: Aymara women hawking their wares in a local market

Aymara Image 3: At the shores of Lake Umayo, a small lake not 20km from Lake Titicaca, still stand the ancient funerary towers of Sillustani. Thought to be built by the Aymara

Guaymi Image 1: Guaymi indian painting on wood

Guaymi Image 2: Guaymi mother and daughter outside their humble dwelling made of tin, thatch and wood

Guaymi Image 3: A display of Guaymi necklaces

Cueva Image 1:  Before the Spanish arrived, this was a village inhabited by the Cueva

Cueva Image 2: Cueva wooden indian sculptures

Cueva Image 3: Cueva handmade rug

Paez Image 1: Paez people playing traditional drums and flutes

Paez Image 2: Mother and child in traditional dress

Paez Image 3: Paez coffee framer in Columbia

Mixtec Image 1: Painting of Mixtec warrior

Mixtec Image 2: Mixtec man and woman performing a traditional dance

Mixtec Image 3: Mixtec geometric stone carving on building facade

Zapotec Image 1: A funerary urn in the shape of a "bat god" or a jaguar, from Oaxaca, AD 300–650

Zapotec Image 2: Ancient Zapotec sports arena

Zapotec Image 3: An assortment of Zapotec rugs