Latin American Art

One aspect of Latin American culture that I am more familiar with (besides food) is art. We have a very valuable resource on campus in The Blanton. The art museum houses multiple pieces of art from influential Latin American artists. Studying the art of a group of people often highly reflects social, political and environmental factors that influence them. In connection to the conversation we had in class regarding the colonial expansion of the Spanish and French (and why Latin America is called ‘Latin America’), I’d like to introduce Cildo Meireles’ ‘How To Build Cathedrals.’ The work, located in the back of the America/Americas exhibit, is made of 600,000 coins, 800 communion wafers, 2000 cattle bones and 80 paving stones. The exhibit highlights the relationship between wealth, agricultural exploitation and religion. As a contemporary artist, Meireles draws from old world views to create a modern work of art. Other artists to check out in the Blanton are David Alfred Siqueiros, Gyula Kiocise, Antonio Berni and Joaquin Torres-Garcia.

Oswaldo Guayasamin is considered a popular, socially-concerned artist in Educador. My favorite painting, "The Scream," is a work by Guayasamin that most relate to Picasso. His images capture political oppression, racism, poverty and class division found in South America.

Differences in greetings and basic knowledge.

One of the things I have found most interesting about Spanish culture so far is the importance of greetings. Having to choose between the informal and formal tenses makes me more conscious of whether I am showing proper respect to my elders. This is sometimes lost in my American culture. I also find it interesting how much more open and inviting Spanish greetings are. I have been brought up to always shake someone's hand when I meet them whether they're my age, older, or younger. I like the idea that Spanish people sometimes give a kiss on the cheek, or a hug. To me, this seems much more personal; something I'm not used to.
Something I also found very interesting is the number of continents in Spanish culture. I remember, in third grade, making a globe out of a balloon and paper mache and labeling the seven continents. That was ten years ago. In class the other day when I heard that Spanish students instead learn that there are only five continents; I was definitly surprised. To learn that millions of people across the world could disagree with something I've always been so sure of was a major culture shock. It's weird to think how different Spanish and American cultures are.
So far, I've liked learning Spanish. Not only would I like to speak the language one day, but I'm also excited to become more educated on different cultures around the world and how they differ from my own.

Oops... Shouldn't have done that.

One of the most compelling facts I've learned so far is that most other countries/people think that there are only 5 continents instead of 7. That's why there are only 5 rings on the Olympic flag. When we discussed this in class, I was really intrigued. The US is really different from all the other countries in the world. It uses the standard measuring system whereas the majority of other countries use the metric system. Also I think it's weird that people in the US use football to describe a sport in which the ball hardly ever touches the foot. These differences in supposedly common cultural knowledge in the US varies extremely when you go from place to place.
On the same lines hand gestures mean really different things in different cultures. In the Hmong culture, there's a hand gesture where you tell someone "shame, shame, shame" for doing something they shouldn't have. It's typically used for children when they do something bad. Without thinking about it, I did this hand gesture to my Mexican friend when she did something "bad," and she was in total shock. She was speechless and confused for a moment. After I told her what it meant, she started laughing and told me never to do that hand gesture to a Mexican because it has a totally different meaning. She didn't tell me the meaning though because it was that horrible. Apparently it had some sort of sexual innuendo that I wasn't aware of. I learned my lesson, and I won't do that hand gesture in the presence of Mexicans again. It may cause me more trouble that I want and need.

India

India and Latin countries are different in many ways, but they share several similarities. One good and obvious example is such the importance of proper greeting. When greeting each other or even saying goodbye, both cultures have a tendency to show respect by kissing each other on both cheeks especially the females. Males, on the other hand, just stick to the normal hand shaking and sometimes throw in a hug. Another similarity between the two cultures is the importance of family values such as companionship, close sibling and parental relationships, and education. Families in both cultures have multiple children ranging from five to seven kids thus leading to a closer relationship to each other than American families. I guess both cultures just do not know when to stop producing! India is the second largest country in the world next to China while Mexico City is the largest city in the world. Another similarity in both cultures is the same taste in food. Both cultures love to eat spicy food and rice!

Spanish Rock?

When asked about Spanish or Hispanic music, most of America would think of the classic mariachis, Jennifer Lopez, or the presently popular "reggaeton" type of music. To be fair, this is also what I used to think up until a couple of years ago. Before the internet was made readily available to the whole world, music wasn't really able to leave it's local region until it became extremely popular. But now, artist can post their work on the internet for all to see (or listen to in this case). So now, there is alot of really good rock music coming out of Latin America. There's Voodoo Zombie from Chile who have a really brutal psycho-billy/horror-punk sound. There's also "Dos Minutos" who've pulled of a great cover and translation of "I turned into a Martian" originally by The MISFITS.

There also seems to be a parallel between the rock culture of Latin America and the USA, at least when I compare my family( Hispanics) to my friends' families. (Caucasians). My family never really approved of me listening to "rock". I thought this was just my family being weird, but when I moved to Utah and then San Antonio, Texas, I learned that I was not alone. Most of my friends had families who felt the same way about the listening to "the devil's music". I thought it was very cool that even with all the translations and language barriers, rock was viewed almost exactly the same way in both parts of the world.

Cultural Comparison

After examining the different ways that Spanish people greet each other, I was greatly surprised at the differences between Spanish and English ways of greeting. While English has formal and informal ways of greeting people, Spanish has very defined rules as to how you will greet people. This makes it much easier to distinguish the age, importance, title or position of the person who the greeting is being directed. English can at times be somewhat ambiguous as to what the position, title or age of the person is because we do not have defined rules.
I also find it very interesting that Spanish is so genderized. Where English uses the same words to speak of both men and women, Spanish uses special derivatives of words to make them gender specific.
Also, I found it very interesting that Americans say there are seven continents, and Spanish speaking countries believe there are only five continents. This seems very odd to me after having been accustomed to saying there are seven continents. The fact that the same words can mean very different things in each language is also very unique. Like the Spanish word for neighborhood, it means ghetto in English. I find these things to be muy interesante!

Yukis, Raspas, or Sno-Cones?

Let's see, let me start off by admitting why I took this class even though I know how to speak Spanish with the accent and everything. I took this class mainly because I am ashamed that I am Hispanic and not as fluent as others would think I would be. I understand all spoken Spanish and most of what I read, but when it comes to me actually speaking the language I am a bit slow, with concentration written all over my face. With spelling, it's even worse so I decided to go back to the basics and see where I went wrong. Anyway, enough of that and onward to my blog.
What we learned recently in Spanish was that certain things go by different names in different countries. The examples that were used in the student activities manual was that both beans and drinking straw are completely different words in central and south American countries. This reminded me of what my sister-in-law, Dennice, and I were talking about not too long ago. Dennice has been living in San Antonio for about six years now and at work, when she first moved there, she told some of her co-workers that she was craving a "yuki". She received some pretty interesting stares. A yuki is a sno-cone and that's the way it is called on the border, as well as in Mexico. Now what I find interesting is that in San Antonio, a lot of people know the word yuki as a "raspa", which is the same thing but that is the way it is also called on the border. I just find it odd that the word "raspa" made its way there but "yuki" didn't.
Interesting? Yes? No?.....I tried :)

The whole enchilada

The Romans had the right idea in creating the toga — amazing versatility, comfortable enough to wear around the house and (if done correctly) highly fashionable.

However, let's not allow the greatness of the toga detract from the equally amazing, all-purpose poncho.  Need a last minute outfit for tonight's dinner party?  Why not grab that old blanket, cut a hole in the middle of it, and slide it over your head?  Voila!  Problem solved.  Cold?  Raining?  No problem for the poncho.

Not only is the poncho an excellent piece of apparel, but to me, it perfectly represents the Spanish language.  Spanish is dynamic.  It's a multifaceted language that is increasingly weaving its way into the culture and vocabulary of estadounidenses.  This immediately becomes clear upon entering the state of Tejas, where nearly everyone understands basic Spanish phrases such as: la cucaracha, cuidado piso mojado, yo quiero Taco Bell and living la viva loca.

I absolutely adore the fact that Spanish-speaking countries are more friendly and openly affectionate. Being raised in Texas means a lot to my family, and one of the important things is having that 'southern friendliness'; so for me, it is a welcome adjustment. Each time I meet one of my Spanish-speaking friends' moms, it makes me feel so loved and welcome when I am greeted with a smile and a kiss on the cheek! When I first met my best friend's mom, who is from Chihuahua Mexico, I felt as though she loved me like family from the start and it was because when she met me, she did so with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. I think it is a fantastic way to make the person you are talking to feel welcome in your life, or welcome even just for a moment. I like making people feel comfortable and I wish that there was a way to integrate that part of the culture into my life without the effect of whoever I am talking to not only be uncomfortable but slightly confused. I believe this would be the effect because just walking on campus, if someone looks at you and you happen to look back at them, it is an instant reaction for them to avert their eyes as quickly as possible. I would like to be able to acknowledge the presence of someone I know without making each of us feel more awkward and I think that the Spanish-speaking culture has the idea just right.
I am also a big fan of the fact that Spanish words are spelled how they sound, without the superfluous letters, like in the word superfluous. It is much easier to pronounce and to spell words in Spanish. Things are spelled just how they sound and spell check is not necessary, like it is for me and the word necessary (que triste, yo se).

Blog 1-Culture

Being from Nashville, Tennessee, I was not exposed to many individuals with a spanish speaking background. There were a few spanish speakers, but it was very very rare that they were fluent in the language. Once I came to austin for school, I was thrown into a mix of many different cultures, and many people in Austin are either fluent in spanish or it is their second language and they are able to understand it fairly well. I think the most interesting thing that I learned reguarding the spanish culture is that they are very affectionate. I had an exchange student in highschool from Brazil and he said that even in Brazil the culture is very different. It is normal there for people to be affectionate toward one another. This is similar to what we have learned in class, which was surprising to me at first. I can not imagine having to kiss everyone or hug them before I would be able to leave a party. It is interesting how personal people in this culture can be. Making sure they say hey to those they pass in the street if they are not able to carry on a convorsation. It is interesting to me the different cultures, and I look forward to learning more about the spanish culture.

Hometown

In Corpus Christi, I was exposed to a wide variety of Hispanic culture. Much of the roots lie in a mix of Mexican-Texan traditions or Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex food, tejano music, dancing, etc. are all examples of the mix of cultures. The main thing I learned from living in Corpus Christi is how different people can be who go about working the same jobs in the same cities. My summer job was at a construction company and my coworker is Hispanic. While I'm used to turkey and ham dinners for the holidays with about 2 dozen close family members, he would boast of his tamale, enchilada, and flauta filled holidays with dozens upon dozens of family members including second and third cousins he never knew existed. I am very interested to see how this transformation of culture will become apparent over the next few generations.

I agree with the other entries that it is interesting to learn about how friendly people are in Hispanic cultures. When people say hi to strangers on the street and kiss people when they are greeting them, it immediately sends a positive energy. While these types of friendly jestures are less common here in the United States, they still exist. Texans are known for being very friendly people. While they may not kiss people when they see them, it is not uncommon for someone to wave to you in their car or as they pass you on the street and offer a smile. Some people even say hi in passing. I have always viewed Texas and the South as being very friendly cultures and now that I have learned about Spanish-speaking cultures there is a strong parallel. It is interesting to see the aspects of our culture that is both similar and different from Hispanic culture.

I think it is very interesting how children who live in the United States are taught that there are 7 continents while children who live in many Spanish-speaking countries are taught that there are only 5 continents. They consider America as one continent instead of two. Saying that the United States is the only country that uses the term americano as their nationality is considered incorrect in Spanish-speaking countries. I understand where the Spanish countries are coming from. They are in America just like us. Why should people from the United States be considered americano while people in countries in Central America are not? Technically people from the United States are estadounidense.

I didn’t know that it is considered impolite among Spanish speakers to arrive and leave a party or group of people without giving a kiss or handshake to everyone they know(and even people they don't know). People in the United States usually just say hello and goodbye from a distance or give a hand wave.

Growing up in San Antonio, I have had alot of hispanic friends throughout the years. For me it is very interesting to learn about the difference between people actually from Mexico or other countries, and those of just hispanic decent. A lot of their customs are the same, and some very different. Alot of the time they still have a lot of the same ideas and values. My good friend from home's parents are both hispanic and I have learned alot about their customs from spending a lot of time at her house. I know that family is a very imporant value to them, and they are typically all very close, with large familys. They are all very welcoming, and always kiss me hello and goodbye which isn't always common amoung many people in the United States, but is in most spanish speaking countries. My friend's parents also both speak spanish fluently, but never taught it to their daughter growing up, so now she only knows enough words to understand some spanish. Learning the different cuture facts about spanish speaking countries has shown me how many similarities and differences there are between natives and those of spanish decent.

I didn't know that people of Spanish speaking countries are so warm and generous in their greetings. I used to know a Hispanic woman who would always pull me down to kiss my forehead and cheeks, but I thought it was just her. Now that I know that it's part of the culture, I think it's great because I feel that it establishes good feelings right from the start. In American culture, if someone nods at you walking down the street and gives you direct eye contact, some people may take this as creepy. It's even worse sometimes if someone says "Hi." We're taught to walk fast and purposefully, not minding anyone's business. It would be weird to see people here nodding and saying "Hello" or even looking at each other all over the street. I like that people in Spanish speaking countries are not afraid to cross some people's comfort zone or that they just have bigger comfort zones. It makes them come across as very friendly and people-oriented.

I think what fascinates me most of all about the Spanish language is how different it can be in different countries. To me, the differences represent, in a lingual way, an evolution of sorts. Not only are accents different (for some reason people in Spain are easier for me to understand than people in Mexico), but different words are used.

I think I could liken this to Hindi and Punjabi. These are two languages, from India, that I can speak, and they are both fairly similar. They both started out as Urdu, and changed so much that they both can be classified as distinct tongues.

Spanish and French are Romance languages, so they both started from the same: Latin. And, eventually, both evolved so much that they became two very different languages.

I wonder if some day, the Spanish in Mexico and the Spanish in Spain will be two COMPLETELY different languages!

Maybe if we were back a few hundred years, it would have. I think the internet and information technology make it a little less likely for languages to evolve effectively as they could have, since they are no longer in isolation.

I guess we'll see :). or rather, our great great great great grandchildren will :P

I think that the Indian and Spanish/Latin American cultures are very similar. Both cultures place a huge emphasis on the concept of respect and treating those who you do not know, or who are elder to you, with humility. In Hindi, an Indian language, verbs are conjugated according to whether you know the person, how old they are, and what position they hold in society. Similarly, in Spanish when you do not know somebody, when they are older than you, or when they hold a high position in society, we use the ‘usted’ form of every verb. However, what is different is the way that people interact with one another. Although in the Hispanic culture, it is considered rude to not acknowledge someone on the street, in India you might be looked at weird if you smiled at random people you did not know. This is not to show Indian people as aloof, but instead to point out the difference in the two cultures that is interesting to acknowledge.

I enjoy learning about all of the different customs and greetings in every culture. I am half Filipino, and our customary greeting when I am around my family is to go up to and greet your elders whenever they come over. This is usually done with either a hug, kiss, or the elder putting their hand on your head and "blessing" you. When I'm around my American family, we usually just exchange hugs or handshakes. I think that greetings can say a lot about different cultures and how they choose to interact amongst themselves.

Blog Entry Number 1

Spanish-speaking countries tend to greet people more than we do in the United States. The greetings are usually a handshake or a kiss but, even when in a hurry, they will at the least say "hola" as they pass by. This is very different from the United States. Many people here, especially when in a hurry, will not acknowledge people they know while walking down the street. The greetings in Spanish-speaking countries are usually more intimate than the greetings in the United States. Hugs and kisses are very welcomed in the Spanish culture, as where a lot of the times they are not in the United States. I also thought it was very interesting that, when at a gathering, people will greet every person after they arrive and before they leave. If this is not done at a gathering, it is considered to be rude. In the United States, people don't take the time to do this. People would actually think it was very funny if you did this every time you came to, or left, a gathering.

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