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/.