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What I’ve Read This Year (2020)

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This has been a difficult year, however, I have had the opportunity to read great texts thanks to my classes at school. This is the list of them: Christenson, Allen. Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of The Maya . O Books, 2003 If you are interested in Latin American culture, this is definitely a book you should read. It contains passages of the stories told through generations of the Mayas regarding the creation, in addition to other stories that were recorded on paper and pieces of art that support the texts. It has some funny sections, however, the main purpose is to learn about such a valuable and beautiful culture. Christenson does an exceptional job translating the text. Holmes, Seth. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies . The Regents of the University of California, 2013. The dedication and effort to carry out his job as a medical anthropologist are reflected in the quality of information contained in this book. The details with which Holmes describes each of his experiences help to recreate it ...
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Feldsott's Expression

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Fig. 1. Wheels of Democracy, Yisrael Feldsott, 2006,  Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 80x144 in.           This time I had the opportunity to experience a virtual visit to The Mexican Museum at Fort Mason Center. I am not a person who has visited many museums, however, this new activity seemed to me as an enriching experience and an alternative so that there are more people appreciating art, not just the population where the work is located at that time. The painting that struck me is entitled Wheels of Democracy , belonging to the artist Yisrael Feldsott in his collection Chants and Prayers. This was painted in 2006 and is Mixed Media on Wood Panel, relatively large (80 x 144 in). The scene presents at least five naked individuals, being executed by two armed people whose faces cannot be seen. It is a very strong scene as they show faces of terror in addition to already having gunshot wounds on their bodies. It is stated that “Wheels of Democracy suggests Wes...
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The Environment You Grow Up in Can Affect Your Mental Health

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Fig.1. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio and her book "The  Undocumented Americans", Harvard University, Immigration Initiative at Harvard.           Today's blog is based on one of the broadcasts of the LatinoUSA radio station, which was on air on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. I listened to the program a couple days later, on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. The transmission is entitled "The American Dream Daughter: A Conversation With Author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio" and the host who directed it was Maria Hinojosa. The program addressed issues of the life of Karla Cornejo and their presence in her book entitled "The Undocumented Americans." It is a very interesting interview that I really enjoyed listening to.           What I learned from their conversation is that there is a mental condition called survivor guilt, which refers to the fact that a person can feel guilty for having overcome certain adversities in their life, comparing themse...
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Risking Their Lives for Berries

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FRESH FRUIT, BROKEN BODIES by Seth Holmes, 2013 Fig. 1. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies Book Cover,   Seth Holmes, 2013.           Today's post is a Book Review of the text entitled Fresh Fruits, Broken Bodies by Seth Holmes published in April 2013. The author's objective is to give a perspective of the way an important sector of the country lives, which are farmworkers. They come from other countries, mainly Mexico and Latin America. According to the author, “they are forced to migrate for themselves and their families to survive” (Holmes 17). In the same way, it expresses the inequalities, injustices, and difficulties that these workers must go through. The audience for which this book is directed can be considered young people and adults, who may have more awareness and empathy with the stories told. It is a book that is very well constructed, properly divided into chapters, and that is also written by a physician and anthropologist, making him the idea...
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The Worst And The Best of the Pandemic

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Fig. 1. Parents are adjusting to working from home while  also developing a homeschool program for their children, Getty, 19 Mar. 2020, Insider.com            Today’s blog is going to be about an interesting program called Latino USA, which runs on 90.9 FM Sundays nights from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. The segment entitled “The Parents Are Not Alright” was live on October 6, 2020, however, I listened to it on October 21, 2020. The hosts of the program were Maria Hinojosa along with Jeanne Montalvo. Jeanne was the one in charge of an interview with three guest speakers. The purpose and topic of the program were to virtually gather with parents from different locations in the U.S. and talk about their experiences during this hard time of the Covid-19.           I learned that each of us is experiencing different hardships depending on our occupations, if we have children, and even vary according to the school year in which they a...
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Key Passages From 'Popol Vuh'

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Photo: Popol Vuh (Book, By Allen J. Christenson, 2003.                                                                                     Today's post is about a very important book for the Maya culture and all of us who are interested in knowing as much as possible about them. The book is entitled Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of The Maya , which was translated by Allen J. Christenson. Some of the main characters in this story are: One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu, two brothers whose name represents their main activity, in this case using their blowguns. They play an important role because they are involved in a problem since they disturbed the lords of the underworld with their ball game, then they are asked to summon and die in that...
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Two Contributions From the Same Ancient Culture

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Photo: Replica of an Olmec Colossal head from San Lorenzo, Carol Highsmith, University of  Texas at Austin.                  In this post, we are going to compare two amazing pieces of information about the Olmec culture.One is a  video entitled Lost Kingdoms of Central America presented by Jacob Cooper, an archeologist specialized in the American cultures. The other is an article, La Venta , by Rebecca Gonzalez. Copper's main concepts addressed in the video are an extensive explanation of important facts, discoveries, ideas, rituals, activities, but mainly arts that the Olmecs used to do during their presence in Mesoamerica. As Cooper declares, "to understand how the Olmecs arose, how they ruled 3,000 years ago and why they created that astonishing art is to understand the rise of civilization itself" (Lost 2:28-2:40). It's fascinating how he works hard in order to find the right place for whatever he wants to show his ...
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