"1st half"

During this past weeks we have learned a lot of Latin American culture. First we study some general concepts of what culture is and how is developed, also which factors affect the most on this development and how culture is formed. We realized that culture is basically ordinary and everything that surrounds us and that there is not a real definition of what it is, but we all have the idea of culture in our heads. Then we start getting a little more involved with latinos with both articles about the people, how they were spoken to and the different perspectives, while Borges was a more "on the surface" article, Peron's one was more from "above", even if she always said that she was like the people. But they give a clear idea of who are the people, el pueblo. Then we got a little more into Latin culture and folklore, how they were "created" when the Spanish arrived, and how they have been devoleping in all these years. How we were created from a mixture of different cultures. Also we saw how natives were treated back then and they are sometimes in some places still treated like slaves. We saw also how important are legends and how we create them and inherit them from our ancesters, but they are not written, they are passed by narration from generation to generation. We have seen some of the more general aspects of our culture and in the biggest countries, with the exception of Guatemala, but that is just a scoop of what we latinos really are.

Theories of mixture I: MESTIZAJE

Mixture of cultures has been present since the earliest civilizations, and it seems that the mixture between similar races gives a better and more beneficial effect than the mixture of different races., for example the United States and Argentina are a mix of similar cultures and are two of the most developed nations in our continent, but most of Central America and some South American countries have had side effects due to the shock between the Spanish and the natives and are not fully develop. Spanish people and anthropologist give a lot of credit to the invaders that they have help and bring all Latin America to where they are, maybe it is true, but we can't prove it, and we don't know what could have happen if they have never reach American soil. They think that natives didn't have other choice than to be abused and exploited by them, but as I say before, we will never know what would've happen if the Europeans will stay in Europe. There are four main races that are combining to produce every culture in the world, especially in America, these are: Black, Mongol, Indian and White. The author believes that after all these races are fully mixed they will develop a new race, which he calls the fifth race... The cosmic race. He thinks that this race is going to be guided by Christianity and that all cultures will be rooted in European culture and then mold from there.

POPULAR CULTURE AS FOLK CULTURE

I think the first reading can be a little tricky for people who haven't experienced reading Latin American legends, but besides that it's a very good way for people to familiarize with it because it has a lot of elements that represent very well native Latin American culture, for example quetzal plumes, rolls of drums, war songs, faces painted with fruit, etc. (pg. 82, 2nd P). It is also a clear example of our legends, because it incorporates a lot of natural elements, it uses metaphors, and it gives mystical characteristics to normal things. You can also see that in religion they believed in many different gods and it was until the Spanish arrived that Latin America became monotheist. One of the legends also talks a lot about the conquest and how Spanish people ask for "prizes" to the indians to "give" them as presents to their Spanish saints. On the pongo kid story you can see how the indians were always abused and treated like objects. In the eyes of the conquerors they were just possesions that they can do whatever they want with them. But this story has a valuable lesson and is to treat everybody with respect, disregarding their race or background. You can also notice in the story how the catholisism is being impossed and that people prayed to "God" and his saints instead of their old believed gods.