Transportation: Capital Metro Vs. Mexico City Metro

Gas is definately expensive...So, I was waiting for the 1L or 1M bus, which are 2 of the busses that basically go straight down Guadalupe and back; being late, I began sort of pacing back and forth looking at my watch, wondering why the busses in Austin never run on time (like in Dallas). As I was pacing back and forth I noticed I was actually walker FASTER than the cars on the road...I soon decided to walk to my destination....it beats the bus.

Probably--Austin's traffic makes our rush hour last 2 hours longer than it needs to last. Sounds familiar? In the 60's Mexico City was actually suffering a similar plight. Traffic was so bad in fact, the walking actually had a faster circulation time than taking the car. In an effort to fix the problem, they constructed what is now the Mexico City Metro (in the process they 2 archeological ruins, 1 aztec idol, the bones of a mammoth, and set the record for fastest construction ever a subway at 1km of metro each month). Mexico City is not only the cheapest Subway systems in the world, but it serves the 5th highest amount of people in the world.

Now how about Capital Metro? Well...its not really ranked in anything. But good news is that they are trying to make lanes called "bus lanes" and they are trying to start busses that get "light signal" priority in that at intersections they dont have to wait as long...but I kind of dont see that happening. But, until then...all we can do is stay stuck in traffic ...and wish we were in Mexico City.

Dominican Republic Culture

I was very interested in the culture of the Dominican Republic and wanted to learn more. I spent some time looking up the popular cuisine, music and sports in the Dominican Republic.

The cuisine is a mix of Spanish, Taino and African influences. These influences have occured over the past few centuries. The food is similar to other Latin American countries but there are some differences. Lunch is usually the largest meal of the day with the most popular dish being broiled chicken, white rice and red beans. The meals are mostly meat and starch, although all four food groups are usually covered in a meal.

Merengue music is very popular in the Dominican Republic. Merengue is a fast paced, rhythmic music. Bachata, which is a type of meringue has become popular lately. The music usually consists of stories of sadness or heartbreak.

The most popular sport in the Dominican Republic is baseball. The sport was first introduced to the Caribbean in 1866 to the island of Cuba. There was a ten year war that caused many Cubans to flee their country and migrate to the Dominican Republic. Dominicans quickly picked up the game and organized teams. No matter where you go in the Dominican Republic, you will find a baseball stadium or park. Even the poorest towns have a baseball field! Baseball is the national sport and passion of the Dominican Republic.

D.R. and India

Watching the video of kids from the Dominican Republic kind of reminded me India. The environment, clothing, houses, as well as the games the kids played were similar to the lifestyle in India. My mom grew on an island outside of India and later moved to small village in South India in the state of Kerala. I been to India three times and we always go to my grandparents house. Houses shown on the video are very similar to the houses in that village and throughout India. All the houses are very colorful and built in blocked shape. Houses don’t really have much of a structure, they are very plain. Every where you go in India there are markets left and right selling all sorts of things including meat, rice and clothing. Next to all the markets are roaming cows and chickens. Kids play games similar to vitilla called cricket. There are two teams of eleven players each. There two wickets composed of three stumps. The bowler or pitcher throws a fast fist-sized ball and bounces to the batsman who is in front of one of the wickets. The batsman uses a flat wooden bat to hit the ball. The objective of the game is to run to opposite side and exchange spots with another teammate, the non-striker, who is waiting behind the second set of wicket stumps. The batter can get out by an opposing player by either catching a ball or if the bowler knocks down the wicket behind the batter.

Vitilla and Tuloo

I thought it was really interesting how the kids in the Dominican Republic played vitilla. I don’t think I could hit a bottle cap with a broomstick. I can’t even hit a baseball with a bat. No wonder recruits from the Dominican Republic are such great baseball players. At first glance the game looks quite boring with only a pitcher and a batter, but once you realize that the battle is between them you begin to understand the intensity of the game.

In the Hmong culture there’s a game called Tuloo which involves a thin but sturdy stick with a long string attached and a big plastic top the size of a baseball. The object of the game is to hit another person’s top with your top without your top falling over. The top still needs to be spinning after it has knocked out the other top though. It’s a game of great precision and strength. You have to use enough force to keep your top spinning yet have enough precision to knock the other top over without stopping your top’s spin.

Although the objectives of the game are quite different, there is a similarity: Hmong children played Tuloo in the streets like the children in the Dominican Republic. I also find children’s creativity fascinating because they are able to come up with these games using everyday objects.

Our recent look into the Dominican Republic was very interesting in my opinion. Every single country has its favorite sport. The United States seems to favor football over the other sports while in many countries Soccer is the number one sport to play. Dominican Republic children grow up playing a form of baseball that uses bottle caps and other small objects to hit instead of the traditional baseball. As soon as they are able to until they grow into their late teens, the children play this form of baseball almost every chance they get which is about everyday. They don't run bases or score runs like baseball, instead they just try to hit the tiny objects and see how far they can go. Since the bottle caps are so tiny, this allows them to become very good with hitting. Professional baseball players that are from Dominican Republic, such as David Ortiz, contribute their hitting skills to playing this form of baseball/stickball as a kid in the Dominican Republic with their friends.

Dominican Republic

I found the classes recent cultural study of the Dominican Republic quite interesting. Just as Dominican Spanish is very different from that of the Spanish from the South American continent, baseball to them is different than baseball to Americans. To many Dominicans, baseball is not only a craze but a way out. Learning to hit a whizzing bottlecap zigging and zagging through the air is a farcry from the American kids tradition of stickball. The ability to hone their skills allows Dominicans to be highly sought after in Major League Baseball. David Ortiz is one such success story now hitting the long ball for the Boston Red Sox. As long as the children of the Dominican Republic keep playing their traditional form of baseball, the MLB should see a steady stream of talent flowing in from the Dominican shores.

gel apa no= jalapeno in Utah...

It all started when my family and I moved to Utah. I began sixth grade there, and I began to notice alot of very slight differences in the view of mexican culture that I had as compared to the local residents of Utah. Now, most of the residents of Utah are white Mormons. Most of them are nice people who would like to know more about mexican culture. They usually just don't learn the correct things.
For example, one day I was eating lunch with my friends at school, and one of them offered me a "gelapano", as he pronounced it. I had a 5 minute conversation with him on why he should pronounce it as "Halape(enye)o" or at least "halapeno". The other numerous times came with my name. I had to explain to many people that it is not pronounced "Vase qwez". Finally, probably the most annoying example was the food. There is good food in Utah, but not good mexican food. For example, ordering a "cheeze taco" will get you a brick of cheese melted inside of a taco.
It isn't their fault. I just think it's interesting that the further from the border you get, the crazier the "mexican culture" can seem.

Culture and such

Well I planned on writing about Maria Full of Grace, but it seems that Yuri beat me to it. Tough cookie to top. :D Well here goes.
Maria Full of Grace is a movie about the struggles a young pregnant woman from Columbia endures in order to get to the United States. It has won Sundance and Berlin Film Festival awards, which is why I picked it up to begin with a couple years ago, and it is entirely in Spanish. This movie shows the harsh working conditions and living conditions of someone of little means and the lengths that a person might go to just to get out of such a life. She becomes a drug mule for some people in Columbia knowing that if one of the balloons of drugs she was smuggling burst, not only would her family be tortured for her loss of the drugs, but she would likely die. It is terrible to realize that people are willing to take the chance of death just to escape the life they are in.
Knowing what we do about the conditions of those living in such a harsh environment, it is a wonder that Americans can still be so opposed to welcoming immigrants. Like Yuri said, without immigrants, we wouldn't be were we are today. We are all immigrants in this country with the exception of Native Americans, who didn't get treated right to begin with. Every group of people who comes to America brings something that changes the culture in a way that I believe is for the better.
Whoa. That turned into a tangent. sorry.

Maquiladoras

I was just recently reading a story about the working situations for women and children in certain areas of Mexico. This was something that I had never been aware of and couldn't believe what I was reading. The article was a continuum of a previous article written, in which, celebration was held because for the past nine months no women’s bodies had been found. This was a shock to me because this is absolutely not something we think about celebrating here. The article refers back to that article as a mistake because a local construction worker found another woman’s body about three weeks after this article. This discovery led to five bodies being found in the same relative area. This story was such a shock to me that something like this was not a bigger deal. I read more into the free trade and factories called maquiladoras, that currently stand as the far from ideal workplace in which women and children spend a majority of their day. It amazed me that these women and children are forced to work in such harsh conditions and not to mention their safety is at risk every time they go to or from work. They have found that a number of the suspects of the murders are the very bus drivers that take the women to and from the factories. This is such a scary thought to have to deal with every day. I cannot even imagine having to fear for you life everywhere you go, which is obviously something that is very different from our culture and security in America. These women are waiting for buses on unlit corners and allies where anyone could take them and it would go unnoticed.

How technology and the internet has influenced/reinforced cultural values in the Americas...

In the United States people live very impersonal lives, which is a result of the technology that citizens in this country have available to them. In the United States it is very common to meet someone online and begin a relationship with this person before even meeting them in person. The affect of internet has been both a blessing and a burden for this country. While the internet easily connects people, it also leaves many people looking for something more. This trend has only began to worsen with the introduction of popular text messaging, which allows people to now communicate without even having to speak to the other person. I believe these technologies have played important roles in American culture because they have helped society develope a unique relationship with those people around them. In this country we do not greet others in a very personal way, which is very different from Latin America. Also when saying good bye to others in Latin America is a long, and somewhat personal good-bye, which you do not find in the United States.
In the United States there are over twice as many people who use the Internet as there are in South America. I feel this subtle difference in usage has played an important role in not only helping to uphold traditional social values in South America, but it has also helped to create new values in the United States' society. The lack of internet available has allowed the region to remain an area that upholds traditional, personal greetings. This lack of technology has also allowed the Continent to remain more personal and friendly over-all because while we talk on cell phones or listen to I-pods many places in South America have never heard of these inventions, which makes them have to speak to each other?
So my question to you...... Do you believe the advantages of technology are more important than upholding the more personal relationships of the past??? As the world progresses more toward a technologically advanced world, we will discover what the true answer to this question is. It may mean that South Americans will no longer say hola in the street or kiss each other on the cheeks to say hello.

Salsa

I attended a UT salsa class last night, and it was an amazing experience.

For me, its interesting when you compare salsa to other "traditional" dances. I had no idea how many nuances there were just to do the simple salsa step. You have to move your lets, your hips, your waist...your entire body is involved.

I remember reading something about salsa not being a dance, but more an exclamation of music. And, you know, thats right. Your body and movements keep the beat, and you really move to EVERY thing you hear, which is different from most dances I have partaken in.

Maria Full of Grace

This is a movie that is completely in Spanish and takes place in both Columbia and the U.S. What I learned is that people will go to dire lengths to obtain money when they work in sweat shops. A young girl tired of dethorning roses discovers an easier way to make money quick and what she does is swallow balloons entirely filled with drugs. She smuggles them into the U.S. and decides to stay. I used to see this everyday back in my hometown. I live not even three minutes away from Mexico and everytime I would make the trip down there I see how different the US is from Mexico. It's only divided by a river but believe me the change is drastic. Everytime I go I see a child who is not even wearing the right clothing. There was this one boy who had pink girl shoes on and was selling gum, I know cliche but I'm serious. It is just so unbelievable the struggles that they go through. This is one of the main reasons why people immigrate to the U.S. and the other day I saw a flyer here on campus that would reward an individual who came up with an immigration reform plan. The U.S. would not be what it is today if it weren't for immigrants.

Music is a very important part of culture in several different countries. Spanish and Latin American singers today such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Enrique Inglesias, and Marc Anthony have influenced the world of music in not only the countries that they or their family originate from, but also here in America too. These artists have used a mixture of spanish and english in many of their songs throughout the years, which shows the use of Spanglish in many Spanish and Latin Americans today. Many of these artists and several others were born here in the United States, but still used their family background and culture to influence the lyrics in their music. Also, while listening to these songs, you can see how similiar and different they are at the same time. One spanish speaking country's culture could be very alike or also very different from another one. The music in these countries play a very important role in Spanish culture.

It is clear that as time goes on, the spanish culture and the 'american' one are being integrated more and more. From singers like Shakira incorporating spanish into her songs, to movies like 'Dirty Dancing Havana Nights' becoming hits in the theaters, our culture has come to embrace theirs. Also, the number of Hispanic players in major league baseball, and the number of latin actors and actresses have increased dramatically.I have always been interested in taking salsa lessons, and when researching, I found that the university actually has many chances to not only take informal lessons, but whole day workshops a couple of times a semester! Also, I attended a charity event for Pratham, a non profit organization that promotes literacy in eastern asia, and saw the salsa club perform there. As the Hispanic population in the US, and particularly Texas increases, I feel that our cultures will be blended more and more, and in turn, serve as a comfort for those who have recently come to this country.

weather in the Philippines

My grandparents just got back from a visit to the Philippines (although they live in America now, they still have their house there and they visit at least every other year). They were showing me pictures of the trip and I was shocked to see how sunny everything looked around Christmas time over there. I have never been to the Philippines myself, so I asked my grandparents what the weather was like year-round there. They said that like many other countries along the equator, the Philippines has only 2 seasons-wet and dry. I found this fascinating since I am so used to having 4 seasons. The rainy season is from June-November and the dry season is from December-May. These seasons are much like those in many Central American countries.

FLAMENCO DANCING

Flamenco dance is a Spanish musical genre that is usually accompanied with dance. The most important part of flamenco dance is without a doubt the singing that accompanies the dance, or the “cante”. Originally, flamenco was made up only of the song with an accompanying handclap. Gradually throughout the 19th century the guitar was added to the dance and genre. Flamenco is a large part of the Spanish culture, but actually originates from the region of Andalusia. It took a bit of time for flamenco dancing and song to become popular. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries flamenco began to separate itself from the local folk music and began to become popular outside of Andalusia. Usually the members of the flamenco bands do not have formal training so they rely on their ear and the tune of the other members to play in harmony using many different techniques. One of the ways that guitarists, for example, increase the harmony is by using transition chords as well as chord substitution. The dancer has a singer and often times there is a guitar and other instrumental accompaniments. There are many different styles of flamenco that are used throughout society, but most often each dancer has spent many years specializing in their particular flamenco form.

G]F]]]

From Poetry to Prose

So in my last post, I compared Spanish to Portuguese — a language which I know absolutely nothing about.

This time around, I decided to do the same, only with Japanese — a language which I actually have a pretty solid grasp of.

To give you an idea, I took Japanese for three years in high school and for three more years at UT. So by now, I have a pretty good understanding of the language and how it compares to Spanish.

As I expected when beginning Spanish, both languages are completely dissimilar. What surprises me though are their similarities.

First of all — the concept of "Spanglish", or in Japanese, "katakana". To me, the idea of incorporation of English vocabulary into another language is an interesting concept. I had always (arrogantly) assumed that the Japanese were unique in doing this and had "little brother syndrome" — wanting to be just like us. However, now that I am experiencing another culture doing much of the same, it leads me to wonder — why?

The interesting thing is that many of the words that both cultures choose not to translate do, in fact, have direct translations. However, many non-native English speakers, when given the choice, choose to use the English words. This is particularly common among the younger generations. Perhaps this is because, when in the company of speakers of their native tongues, the use of English words is seen as sign of cultural savvy.

An interesting example of this scenario was recently presented by the professor in class. When describing uses of Spanglish, she mentioned her use of the word "shuttle" when conversing with her Spanish speaking siblings. She claims that because of this, her siblings (sarcastically) state that — due to the influence American culture — she has become a snob.

So as we learn to speak Spanish more fluently, and we too choose to incorporate English into our Spanish conversations, we must first ask ourselves — at what point does savvy become arrogance?

La Llorona

La Llorona is a popular folktale in the southern United States and the rest of the Americas. The general story goes like this: A woman (la llorona) becomes enamored with a newfound man, and they have several children. For some reason (which varies by country), La Llorona decides to kill her children by drowning them in a river. After she kills them, she becomes distraught, and wanders the banks of the river crying. She is said to appear as a white apparition.

It is interesting to note how the story of La Llorona varies by country/region. In Texas, for instance, the La Llorona kills her children because their father leaves, and she can no longer support them. In some parts of Mexico, La Llorona is a prostitute, and drowns her children to destroy the evidence. In Southern California, La Llorona drowns the children that she has out of wedlock to hide the affair.

These differences are easily accounted for. Given the large extremely diverse aspects of Spanish culture and the large area covered by the myth, it would be impossible to keep the story straight. This myth, like all other myth, offers a sense of cultural identity to those who know and share it. For this reason, La Llorona is an example of the America’s rich and diverse Spanish culture.

My first time to use my spanish!

In a few days I am going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for spring break. I have never been to Mexico, nor have I studied Spanish since about the eighth grade. I cannot wait to see if I can actually understand some of the signs, conversations and culture. I am definitely going to try to use my Spanish when I can...should be interesting! I definitely believe that the best way to learn any language is to go to that country and be forced to quickly pick up as much of the language as possible. I think people learn quickest in these situations because conversation seems to be the best way to master a language. I have heard all kinds of stories form people who have studied abroad about how much of the language they learned in such a short amount of time. I would love to be able to do this, and I would especially love to travel somewhere in Mexico or South America and spend a few months there and really try to pick up the language. This trip will be a good beginning experience! I am a little nervous about how fast the fluent speakers will speak though...I probably will not be able to keep up! Even if I only understand a few of the signs and have a pretty logical conversation in Spanish I will be happy! I will know that I have learned a lot already if I am able to ask someone a question or give someone a reply in Spanish.

Lets Talk Sports - seriously!

When I started this I originally wanted to compare the National Soccer (from now on referred to as 'Soccer') Team of Nigeria and Ecuador's National Football Team. For all you football fans, you are probably thinking...no comparison! Nigeria has made 3 appearances in the World Cup, 15 appearances in the African Nations Cup (won twice) and even won the Football Summer Olympics once. Ecuador on the other hand has had 2 appearances in the World Cup and 23 appearances in the Copa America Cup, but at best has gotten fourth place.

But I dont think we should judge all of Latin American from Ecuador. Ecuador is actually surrounded by powerhouse who take football very seriously. Sometimes it feels like Brazil wins every Soccer competition (maybe its because they are ranked top 5 according to FIFA almost every year). Historically Argentina is also takes football seriously; Oh, speaking of seriously--I found this interesting. Apparently once upon a time, when El Salvador and Honduras played each other, a women shot herself over the loss of her country (Honduras) to El Salvador. The game ended 1-0 and the Salvadoreans had apparently kept the Hondureñas players up all night by throwing rocks through the window. Long story short, they ended up rematching with the Honduras National team being escorted into the stadium with military tanks and winning 3-0. Oh, and the matyr that killed herself over previous game was given a state funeral...thats real serious....

Trip to Mexico

Mexico is one of the top tourist countries in the world, drawing millions of tourists a year. When I was four, my family and I took a trip down south to our neighboring country. When we arrived in Mexico City, it was like we had stepped off the plane and into another world. My clearest memory of Mexico City, is the massive crowds we always found ourselves enveloped in. Being the most populous city in the world, this was to be expected. Since none of us could speak a word of Spanish other than ‘gracias’ and ‘hola’ we though the language barrier would present an imposing problem. However, we found the citizens to be very hospitable and seemed to love American tourists (maybe because American tourists contribute the most income to the tourist economy). We spend a few days shopping in the marketplaces. This part of Mexico really reminded me of shopping in India. Everywhere shoppers were bargaining and haggling over prices and every time I turned, another vendor was shoving their products at me, trying to convince me that they had the best deal in all of Mexico. We left with armfuls of souvenirs, many of which I still have today.
The best part of our visit down south however was our trip to Guadalupe. Guadalupe is famous all over the world as being the site where ‘la virgen de Guadalupe’ appeared to a poor farmer boy, Juan Diego. Every year, 6 million pilgrims visit this place. The cathedral we visited was beautiful and ornate and the interior was filled with candles and flowers brought from pilgrims from every corner of the world. Entering the cathedral was like stepping into a sanctuary where suddenly the chaos and confusion of the city seemed miles away. My trip to Mexico was “muy bien.”

Spanglish? Hmonglish?

When we were talking in class about Spanglish, I totally could relate because I speak Hmong, and I use Hmonglish. Hmong is the language of Hmong people which is a tribe from southeastern Asia. I used to be able to speak Hmong really fluently as a child, but when I moved to Texas I stopped speaking it as much because there weren't that many Hmong people in Texas. In California I spoke with my grandparents everyday so I could keep up with it. My parents speak Hmong and English fluently so I didn't have to always speak Hmong at home. When I started trying to speak Hmong more frequently again, it was really hard because I used so many "Hmonglish" words. Speaking pure Hmong is really difficult for me even now. We utilize words like "care" and "need" in place of the corresponding Hmong words. When I talk with my grandparents now, they tease me for not knowing how to speak fluently. They say that I'm too Americanized and white-washed. Right now I can speak Hmong fairly well, but I'm not as fluent as I used to be.

Los Mariachis

The assignment on Monday got me pretty interested in mariachi music and its differences when compared to other types of music. I never took the time to understand the lyrics to mariachi songs before Monday's class; I'm a little sad that it took me so long to open my mind to los mariachis' music and lyrics considering I would say I'm pretty open to most types of music. So I looked up more songs by José Alfredo Jiménez and found that each of them seems pretty similar to the one we heard in class. In class I was surprised that the lyrics we saw in class were somewhat full of despair because the protagonist felt he would be stuck in an unrequited love for life, but that made me realize that a lot of songs in English are more about physical attraction of the moment and not the love so deep it causes pain when not reciprocated or of a deep love and tenderness that only love's touch can provide. From my understanding, most if not all mariachi songs are about some sort of deep love, not lust. Mariachis tend to sing about the real deal sort of long lasting love which is something a lot of people in American culture aren't exactly used to hearing in their music. Not all mariachi music is about love that goes unreturned, and in fact most if not all are meant to touch the heart of the opposite sex. While mariachis are often hired to play at events such as weddings and quinceañeras, in places like Mexico City and Guadalajara they are also hired to serenade women. In my opinion, people in mariachi groups deserve a lot of respect and credit.

History of Cinco de Mayo

The Holiday of Cinco de Mayo is often thought to be the day that Mexico declared independence from the French, but that is incorrect because Mexico declared independence 52 years earlier.  On May 5th, 1862 the Mexican Army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. This fight was the result of debts, which Mexico could not afford to pay back. This led to the French attempting to establish an empire in Mexico, which the Mexicans did not want. The attempt to invade by the French was then defeated on May 5th, 1862, which further established Mexican Independence that had been declared on September 16th, 1810.

This event is still widely celebrated today by many people in Latin America because it was a very symbolic victory. It elevated patriotism in Latin America and made the statement to the world that Latin American countries would not be susceptible to foreign invasion by imperialist nations. The Holiday of Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated and has became very commercialized. While the event is a major part of Mexican History, it is more widely celebrated in the United States. Most celebrations include cultural dances, music, and foods!

Spanglish

When I think of the term Spanglish, I think of the movie. The movie really epitomizes the barrier that arises when two parties cannot understand one another and must resort to other ways of communicating at times. Flor, or the maid who recently came from Mexico, attempts to help in matters other than just those that have to do with cleaning the house. She struggles to come to terms with the fact that she is in a new land, and must learn new ways of living and customs.
Similarly, immigrants from different Spanish speaking countries come to the United States and are forced to learn English in order to be understood. Hence, many residents of the US have resorted to using Spanglish, or mixing English with the little spanish they know so that they can make new residents feel a little more uncomfortable.I think that Spanglish, though incorrect in its content, is helpful not only for the sake of natives, but for those that don't speak spanish as well.

Spanglish

While spanglish does produce some very similar and sometimes comical words, I think it is very important to know WHEN to use spanglish and when to use proper spanish. For instance, my dad told me a story a while ago about one of his friends who worked in the border patrol.

One night, my dad was at the station on duty. He saw his friend stop a car at the check point and ask the man to get out. Now, my dad is fluent in spanish, but his friend, who we'll call Bill, just finished cramming the whole language into his head at a 4 month long academy. Anyway, so my dad turns around, takes care of whatever he was doing, and suddenly hears yelling coming from his friend. He turned around to see his friend angrily yelling while the owner of the car was covering his face and spinning in circles. Then, very swiftly, Bill threw the man into the back of a holding truck and slammed it shut.
My dad went to investigate. "What happened Bill?" my dad asked. "That [blankety blanking] son of a [blank] wouldn't do nothin' but put his hands on his face and spin around!" Bill managed to huff out, drenched with sweat from his blind fury. "Well, what did you tell him to do?" my dad asked curiously. "I told him to turn around and put his hands on the car. You know "Pongo sus manos en la CARA.""

My dad and his friends still laugh about that story. But I'm sure Bill doesn't. That was the day he got fired.

MARIACHI

After listening to the mariachi song in class, I thought I would look up more mariachi music to try and learn more about Spanish culture. Mariachi music is a mix of Mexican and Spanish influences. The band always plays a mix of many different instruments, and they usually perform love songs. I was initially a little shocked at how completely cheesy the lyrics were. The songs are all very poetic with metaphors for love and relationships. I did some research and learned that this is most likely because mariachi bands are notorious for playing at weddings. I was still surprised though at the differences between these Spanish love songs and the classic love songs in my culture. English love songs are also very sweet and touching but not nearly as over-the-top. In my culture, love songs are not hits if they are too sweet or "lovey dovey." If many of the Spanish mariachi songs were translated to English, I believe that they would not be hits. I think maybe that this shows that Spanish people are more open about their feelings for loved ones. One of the songs that I looked at was "El Milagro De Tus Ojos" (The Miracle of Your Eyes). This is the English translation:


WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT YOU
A SWEET And NEW WORLD IS BORN
BECAUSE IT SHINES IN YOUR WATCHING
A CLEAR LIGHT OF DREAM

THAT IT MAKES ME INCLUDE/UNDERSTAND
LUKEWARM NOSTALGIA OF YOUR LOVE
IT IS FIRE THAT WHEN BURNING
IT COVERS To Both

IN A SO BLUE SKY
IT FLIES TOWARDS ANY MORNING
PAJARO MULTICOLOR
UNDER A STRANGE GLANCE

THAT IT MAKES ME INCLUDE/UNDERSTAND
LUKEWARM NOSTALGIA OF YOUR LOVE
IT IS FIRE THAT WHEN BURNING
IT COVERS To Both

A MIRACLE SHINES IN YOUR WATCHING
BRINGING LIGHT To MY TO EXIST
I FEEL THEN THAT IS GOING TO EXPLODE
The SUN And The ENTIRE WORLD IN OUR LOVE.

I feel a little ashamed saying this, but I'm not an artsy person AT ALL. However, today my artsy friend and I decided to go to the Blanton Museum on a whim. The special exhibition features an artist named Jorge Macchi from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is called "The anatomy of melancholy". I really like what he did with ordinary things like matches, glass, maps, paper... There was one piece that was about lifeless bodies, or "El Cuerpo Sin Vida". I don't remember exactly how he did it, but I think he took newspaper clippings about crime and put the parts where it said "el cuerpo sin vida" really close together while the rest of the clipping was a little more spread out. The clippings were all in Spanish, and I could only pick up a few words here and there. But I knew those four words. From far away you could see that those four words are the focus. I don't know if there's anything significant that I missed... it just looked cool to me.

There was also another piece by Cildo Meireles, an artist from Brazil, that stuck with me. It's the one titled "How to Build a Cathedral" and consists of a ceiling of cow bones and a floor made of pennies. In between this floor and ceiling is a column made of communion wafers. The point of this piece is to show how missionaries in colonial times in the Americas exploited agriculture for the purpose of creating wealth. The communion wafer is the link between the two, showing that the missionaries' purpose of spreading religion wasn't completely pure.

This was the first time I've been to an art museum, and although I fully expected to be blown away and terribly confused, these two pieces were a couple of the ones that I really remember. I like the historical aspect of the cathedral one. It speaks for itself quite simply.

I think it is very interesting that when a person becomes bilingual, they begin to mix the two languages together without even meaning to. It begins to become natural for that person to use both languages when they speak. They say that certain words express a certain meaning in one language better than the other language they know so they begin to make a slang language. For example, Spanglish is the combination of Spanish and English. Most bilingual English and Spanish speakers in the United States use this slang when they speak subconsciously.

I think it is also very interesting how people who speak Spanglish combine English and Spanish words to make a new word altogether. For example, instead of saying to eat lunch in English or almorzar in Spanish, the Spanglish word is lonchar, a combination of the two words. Instead of saying solicitor un trabajo, which means to apply for a job, a Spanglish speaker would say aplicar para un trabajo.

False cognates also pose a problem for English speakers trying to learn Spanish. If an English speaker sees the words colegio and facultad, they automatically think of college and faculty which are not the true meaning of the words in Spanish. For example, bien educado/a literally translates into well educated; however, the better translation in English is polite.

La Caja

Today, I got the opportunity to go visit Mexic-Arte Museum. It is a contemporary art museum that is in Austin for a limited time. The main exhibit was called la caja, by Martha Papadimitriou. This work of art was literally a box split into different rooms. It was three "floors" tall and reminded me a lot of a doll house. Inside of this box was miniature pieces of art (the largest piece was only 7 inches tall, and it looked humongous compared to the other pieces!), including very intricate paintings and statues. I was very taken by this piece of art and asked the woman that worked there to tell me more about it. She told me that the artwork came from Mexico City and that the woman who put it together collected small pieces of art from all around Mexico to place inside it. You could spend all day looking at this piece of art, and still find something new to look at if you came back the next day! Along with la caja, there were many other pieces of art. In the front of the museum, there were many paintings. A few of my favorites were Antartic by Teresa Zimbron, Heaven and Earth, II by Jose Fors, and Tetragram by Octavio Moctezuma. Antarctic was one of the first paintings I came across. It is the first painting out of the whole room that captivated me. It looked like there were hundreds of pieces of ice that had all broken up from eachother. In a random spot in the painting, there was a man standing on one of the pieces of ice. It was so far away though, that you could barely see him. I think the reason I was pulled into this painting was because of the isolation of the man, and the fact that he was such a small piece of such a large painting. I caught myself looking at the painting, Tetragram, for many minutes. It was an abstract piece that really played with your mind. The painting was very three dimensional. I actually had to look at it from the side to make sure there wasn't anything else making the painting look so 3-D. The last painting, Heaven and Earth II, was very interesting. I don't know why I liked it so much, but the oddity of it caught my eye. It was a large silver pear. Behind it, there were several pears, of all shapes and sizes, that were neon colors. I really liked my trip to the museum. I have never been to an art museum before, and am very glad I made the time to visit it. I would recommend anyone to go visit the Mexic-Arte museum. It will be well worth your time and effort!

One of my favorite movies that has alot of spanish culture in it is Selena. Selena was a Texan born tejano singer, who learns she must learn spanish to become a fan of the people in spanish speaking countries. After she learns her language, she claimed to be "American enough to appeal to Americans and Spanish enough to appeal to everyone else." She becomes accepted in the Latino world, and is a part of two very different cultures. I think they idea of being a part of multiple cultures is very common in the United States today. So many people move from differnt countries, or have parents with different ethnicities, whichs makes their children a little bit of both. Selena becomes a very famous tejano singer, pleasing so many different types of people throughout multiple countries. This movie is very good about showing two different worlds and how they can all come toghether to enjoy the music of a very talented singer.

murals

I've always found murals to be particularly fascinating. They're probably one of the oldest art forms in our history, and they showcase not only historical information, but artistic expression.
One of my favorite murals is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I went to Rome two summers ago and was able to see the Sistine Chapel in person, and it was absolutely grandious. It was painted by Michaelangelo in the 1500s and it depicts scenes from the Bible. All of the many different scenes on the ceiling tie to the theme of humanity's need for salvation (through God). The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous pieces from the Renaissance, and it was one of my most vivid memories of my trip to Europe! Everyone should go see if if you're ever in Rome.

Mana

I feel guilty that I have not yet posted anything concerning music in Spanish. Am I crazy?? Quite possibly. One of my favorite bands that sing in Spanish is Mana, which is something like soft rock. A song that I absolutely love that they sing is El Reloj Cucu. What I like about this song the most is that it talks about a real life issue that occurs throughout the world. It talks about him as a little kid and remembering when his father left them for good. He was raised by his mom and he talks about the sorrow that they endured as a family. I can relate and that is why I guess I enjoy this song very much. I reccomend that someone listen to Mana, I'm sure you'll like it, it's easy listening. I posted the lyrics. Mana is a Mexican rock group from Guadalajara, Jalisco and was first brought together in the 1980s. Ask me and I'll tell you more...:)




El relojito cucu sonaba
Papá besó mi frente
Me dijo buenas noches hijito
Y me apagó la luz
Oye cucú papá se fué
Prende la luz
Que tengo miedo
Oye cucú papá se fué
Prende la luz
Y apaga el tiempo
Esta canción de amor
Va para mi papáS
e escapó al viento
Nos dejó solitos
Esta canción de amor
Va para mi mamá
Que aguantó todito
Le dolió hasta el hueso
Es por eso que mamá
Lloraba en silencio
Lloraba en las noches
Y como aguantó por las mañanas
Oye cucú papá se fué....

Murals today

Lets get reacquainted with Diego Rivera.

(i have problems with him. Frida is one of the most amazing artists in history...he was married to her, and he cheated on her. A LOT. She cheated on him back, but...it was obvious she loved him so, so much. But, she was SO amazing that she actually has her own RELIGION...to look for something beyond HER, and cheat on her with her own sister, and even PAINT her sister in an orgasmic state in one of his murals...well. Kind of makes me mad.)

But, even though I have personal problems with him, one can't overlook the amazing magnitude of his art. Everything has details, and deep, symbolic meaning within it.

But, he lived in a different time. Of budding communism, of political strife of a different kind, of new ideas and new industries.

So, my blog concerns my musings..how would some of his murals be different if he made them today?

I choose to focus on his mural "La Industria de Detroit". He has an Asian man on top, showing the already present threat from the east. And, the workers are busy, the factories are ornate and convoluted and busy.

I think that if he made this mural again, though, the Asian man would be encompassing the entire thing, maybe even destroying it. The factories would be empty, the workers would be workers no more.

I think if he saw what had become of Detroit now, he'd be amazed. Not saddened, but amazed. Maybe he'd head to Japan and make a new mural.