My Humanities Journey

My humanities project was on the environment and how people have changed the environment over time. My favorite parts of the project was the research I got to do. Over the time of doing it, some of the articles I did quote and the ones I read along the way really helped fill the gaps in my mind of the things I didn't find out through the course material. Some of the stories I read along the way were very interesting and I thought they helped me a lot on the project. I spent a total of about 6 hours on the project to help my partner on the project since we only had 2 people.

Aztec Architecture

I honestly didn't know what to expect in my first week of humanities. I had heard good things about the class before and was looking forward to the class. My goals were to pass the class with a good grade and to get a better understanding of the humanities of Latin America. Humanities is the collection of people sharing the same views and beliefs. I think I have learned quite a lot about humanities and what it means and I did get a good grade in the class.

History has always been something that interested me and I think this was a good class to learn a lot about history. Humanities have been seen all throughout history and learning about the different cultures in history is something that really peaked my interest. I learned a lot about the Aztecs and Olmecs and their history as well as changes they've gone through in the modern day. I did not know much about Aztecs and Olmecs before now and with the help of this class I learned a lot about why the Latin American culture is so important to others.

Masks inspired by Latin American culture

Works Cited

Christenson, Allen J. Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya. University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

 - This book is a story about twins who are known as the Hero Twins that have to fight underworld lords in order to save their parents. The whole story gives background to their upbringing and how their dad goes missing. They then have to play games against these lords in order to get their dad to be freed.

Holmes, Seth M. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. Univ. of California Press, 2014.

 - This book is about Seth Holmes's time spent in the fields working with some migrant workers. He is looked at funny for being a white man in fields working but he is there to get an in depth view on what happens in their work. He gets people interviewed and helps raise awareness for the hard workers in the field who need more recognition.

From Cloth to Change

Today I viewed a handmade piece on the online Museum of Latin America Art called For the Right to Live with Dignity by Victoria Diaz. She made a quilted blanket-like piece with three different frames of artwork. The first frame shows a tractor moving land around while showing a water source at the top of a mountain. Next frame shows them filling their buckets with water and trying to get water from a truck that probably is their only clean water source. The final frame shows a factory polluting the air and the police arresting someone outside a store. All of these frames are her way of trying to raise awareness for climate change and pollution as well as her advocacy for clean water in Chile.

For the Right to Live with Dignity by Victoria Diaz

In the JSTOR article titled "As Protests Rage in Chile, These Patchwork Pictures Are More Relevant than Ever" by Liz Ohanesian, she analyzes the artwork made by Victoria Diaz and its message that applies to today. Ohanesian gives the current political status of Chile and how it matches up to what Diaz was advocating for in her artwork. As seen here, "The show includes one contemporary arpillera. For the Right to Live with Dignity by Victoria Diaz, creates three scenes that speak about environmental degradation and the need for clean water in Chile today" (Ohanesian 1). The artwork I talk about is one of the many made by the women of Chile who are trying to raise awareness for the problems they are facing. Many of the works made are all messages to the government trying to help with the environmental problems.

Work, Justice, and Freedom by Anonymous

My theme has been about the environment and how over time it has changed and what can cause these changes that make it so detrimental to the people living there. This artwork by Diaz is a perfect example of the changes that climate change is showing by the lack of clean water and air pollution. In the article, Ohanesian also mentions that Chile's political system is flawed as they are ignoring all of these calls for action to fix the pollution. Even in the artwork above, there is more call to action for the environment and it is a shared opinion by all of the inhabitants of Chile. I think this artwork is a great message and it should give inspiration to others to stand for what they believe in.

Works Cited

Ohanesian, L. (2019, December 9). As protests rage in Chile, these patchwork pictures are more relevant than ever. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/chile-protests-arpilleras/

Finding Your Voice

 Today I listened to the story about Doris Anahi Munoz on Latino USA and her music career that started from watching concerts, to performing in them. I learned about Munoz's love for music and her dedication by going to all the concerts. I also had no idea that she grew up in California and made a great career in music. I really liked her being able to tell her story with it as seen here, "My first dream I remembered as a kid was I wanted a career in music" (Latino 1:30-1:35). She has always wanted to be a part of the music industry and she finally got to pursue it. There wasn't too much I didn't like as it was very well put together.

Doris Anahi Munoz

In the article, "Boundaries and Borders in the Study of Music in Latin America," author Gerard Behague talks about the history of Latin America music and its influence on the people over time. Munoz had gone through multiple changes as an artist in her time to becoming an artist just like the article talks about. As seen here, "Over the last three decades, the musical expressions of the most traditional cultures of South America have gone through drastic changes" (Behague 5). There has been a drastic change in musical styles over time that Munoz has gone through in becoming an artist. The music she listened to as a kid is probably not under the same style as her performing.

Doris Anahi Munoz During her Performance

I really enjoyed the story of Munoz and her journey to becoming a musical star. She has gone through a lot as a kid to finally becoming someone who can perform with some of the greater artists of her generation. As seen here, "My actual debut was in this theater in front of a whole large crowd of people" (Latino 21:54-21:59). She had finally made it as an artist when she saw the big crowd in front of her and she felt like she was moving an audience. In the article it shows here, "Many performers focus more on their 'native' performances to appeal to that crowd" (Behague 11). Munoz is known for her performances to appeal to the native crowd and draws a good audience for it.

Works Cited

BEHAGUE, G. “Boundaries and Borders in the Study of Music in Latin America: A Conceptual Re-Mapping.” Latin American Music Review, vol. 21, no. 1, University of Texas Press, 2000, pp. 16–30, https://doi.org/10.2307/780411.

Doris Anahi Munoz Chooses Herself. (2022). Latino USA. Retrieved from https://www.latinousa.org/2022/04/26/dorismunoz/.

Hard Work is the Backbone

Today I am going to write about my review on the book, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies, by Seth M. Holmes and his accounts from working in the fields. Holmes was interested in how working in the fields took a toll on your body. As shown here, "Nationwide, migrant farmworkers are sicker than other groups" (Holmes 99). A lot of workers fell sick and injured to the constant work. So, he took the action upon himself and chose to go actually work in the fields, where he got weird glares as a white man working in the field. This is as reliable of a source as it can get because he basically lived their lives in the field to a smaller degree but also go first-hand info from all of them. I really liked this book and how intriguing it was. I felt like I was there with Holmes the entire time with his descriptions of the scenario he was in.

Tents at Migrant Camps

The book has a great amount of detail on the daily lives of these migrant workers. Holmes is basically trying to show the different societal issues with the workers working constant hours on end with no real rest time. He is trying to bring to light the struggle they go through on a day-to-day basis with no real healthcare. The book is known as an ethnographic book as it goes into depth about the migrant workers and their jobs in the field. As Holmes was in the field for quite some time, he has real first hand experience with the workers and it makes any observations he made very legit. As shown here, "During the five months I lived in worked in the Central Valley of California, my companions and I were constantly paid less than minimum wage" (Holmes 82). His imagery is extremely impactful as you feel as if you are there beside him as he learns all if these different stories. When Holmes has the doctor analyze the workers and basically diagnoses them with all of these problems, he knows that they would've never been treated with the situation they were in in the first place. He gets a hands on experience of all the things these people go through, which makes his word even stronger.

I think Holmes's time spent with the workers was a really impactful thing because of all of the things on the back end of his studies. Many organizations were shed light on the situation and it led to lots of donations and awareness for the workers. As explained here, "There is strong support of local producers and are especially important in the area of agriculture and food" (Holmes 198). It has given me a new idea of what goes on before my fresh produce reaches grocery stores. I have a new appreciation for the hard work that goes on in the fields and that it isn't as simple as a tractor going and picking up produce. With that being said, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies is a great read and is very intriguing.

Seth Holmes, sitting with children from farm.
Watch his video on youtube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTS9FdddXDY&t=626s

Works Cited

Holmes, Seth M. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. Univ. of California Press, 2014.

Saving the Environment

Today I learned about "Indigenous Science" with Jessica Hernandez. It was posted on February 15, 2022 and I listened to it on 4/5/2022. I learned about the indigenous people being limited with a voice when it comes to the environment. They try and voice their opinions on fixing the environment but are ignored during these meetings. I liked how Hernandez was giving examples of different translations in order for me to understand where the word came from. Like here, "Most of the words in our language hint towards healing, other than conserving only because they can not be directly translated" (Latino 14:09-14:15). I didn't like how they didn't go too much into detail on the environment and indigenous people but was well done anyways.

Banana Tree

I read an article called "Longitudinal changes in the retail food environment in Mexico and their association with diabetes" by Carolina Perez-Ferrer. The article basically talks about the environment and its direct connection to the health of the inhabitants. Both the article and the Latino USA talk mentioned the correlation between the environment allowing for better production of food. As shown here in the article, "However, the food environment in this region is experiencing significant changes concurrent with the increase in obesity and diabetes prevalence" (Perez-Ferrer). Both talked about the significance of the bananas and how important they are to the health of the people.

Dr. Jessica Hernandez, Writer of Fresh Banana Leaves

I found through this article and the "Indigenous Science" episode that the environment was very important to the people there at the time for their health. As shown here, "It has also adapted over time, our environment has adapted for the better over time because of our indigenous science" (Latino 8:52-8:59). Over time the banana has not been as easily grown as in times before due to the change in the environment over time. They are hoping that in the upcoming years they can return it back to it's normal state when the people a couple hundred years ago were using the land. As seen here, "Research in this context is necessary because of the unique characteristics of the food environment (i.e. high density of fresh produce stores) which may be protective against nutrition related chronic diseases, but also because of the fast changes in the environment which may be having a negative effect on health" (Perez-Ferrer). These both show the change in environment over time that has caused these unusual changes.

Works Cited

“Indigenous Science with Jessica Hernandez.” Latino USA, 15 Feb. 2022, https://www.latinousa.org/2022/02/15/jessicahernandez/.

Pérez-Ferrer, Carolina, et al. “Longitudinal Changes in the Retail Food Environment in Mexico and                 Their Association with Diabetes.” Health & Place, vol. 66, Elsevier Ltd, 2020, pp.                                  102461102461,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102461.

Brothers Saving the Day

The Hero Twins

   

 Today I am going to be talking about Popol Vuh, by Allen J. Christenson. The original Maya text was translated by Francisco Ximénez, who was one of the only people who could read the translated text in the original Popol Vuh. Some of the key characters you will learn about are the two brothers, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who join together in order to protect others from the evil. As seen here, "THEN they began again to accomplish their deeds, to manifest themselves before the face of their grandmother and before the face of their mother" (Christenson 148).The brothers knew they that their older brothers were not as good at heart as them, so it was their goal to do everything for their mother and grandmother.

Video on the Hero Twins

The hero twins, also known as Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were given multiple tests by the Xibalban, in an attempt to try and kill the hero twins. The twins beat multiple challenges put on by the Xibalban, but were ultimately killed by being tricked into an oven. As seen here, "Then they turned to face one another, spread out their arms and together they went into the pit oven. Thus both of them died there" (Christenson 179). Although the Xibalban thought they killed the boys, their bones were dropped in a river, only for them to reappear under a new identity and still be the same hero twins. They looked like fish at first, but soon looked like real people as orphans. The Xibalban were so captivated with the boys with their dancing that they asked them to come and dance for them. The hero twins demonstrated how they could destroy things and revive them, all in a trick in order to kill the lords. As seen here, "He was dead then, this One Death. Next they seized Seven Death. But they didn't revive them" (Christenson 185). The twins chose not to revive the lords, and by doing so, they had finally beaten the Xibalban. With their victory, they went to go retrieve their fathers remains and became the hero twins once again. 

The Hero Twins Playing Ball

Some of the actions taken after the hero twins won influenced the Maya people to settle there. One main reason was the maize that was planted and grown by their grandmother. The crop had died and had been revitalized after the oven incident seen here, "They had sprouted, but then they dried up when they were burned in the pit oven. Then the ears of maize had sprouted once again, and the grandmother rejoiced when the maize sprouted a second time" (Christenson 188). The maize was a sign for the Maya to settle as it was in a place where crops could be grown very easily. It was also known as the Center Harvest spot and would be watched over by the hero twins.

Works Cited

Christenson, Allen J. Popol Vuh. O Books, 2004.

“Maya Hero Twins.” History, 25 May 2017, https://www.historyonthenet.com/maya-hero-twins. 

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