Comments on LAST 211 Course

For the most part this course was how I expected it would be.  3 hour sessions are quite long and pretty hard to get through but overall it was manageable.  While taking this course, I was also taking AMAT 413, which is a higher level calculus course, as well as working about 30 hours per week at my job downtown.  By the time I made it to class at 6pm I had been up for a full 12 hours working and I was usually exhausted.  Taking that into account, I enjoyed learning about Latin American, even though I'm sure it may not have looked like it at times.  I was excited to learn about the fundamentals of Latin America such as history, popular culture, geography, art, etc.  I plan to travel through Latin America after I graduate and this course definitely helped me in deciding where I would like to go most.  I am a very avid skier and hiker so Southern Chile and Argentina, in the Patagonia area, are definitely at the top of my list.  Peru is also one destination I would love to hike through.  I am very excited to see some of the cultural differences between Canada and LA that we learned about in class.  I think the only way to really understand how people live in LA is to visit and see it first hand.  This course definitely helped to paint a vivid picture in my mind but I think the next step for me is to take a trip and check it out for myself!

Musical Styles of Latin America

I have always been an great admirer of Latin American music.  Musicians coming out of Latin America have always had a deep understanding of music and are very closely tied with classic music/composers.  In a world filled with superficial, fake pop-musicians you cannot help but respect the true skill and talent of the Latin American musicians.  Classical music is without doubt one of, if not the most, difficult genres of music to play and compose.  Musicians that can play and compose classical music at an elite level are referred to as virtuosos; this term is not used lightly in the music world.  Composers such as Mozart, Bach, Debussy, and Beethoven would be considered a few of the virtuosos the world has seen.

Below are some popular videos from each of some of the popular musical genres in Latin America:

Salsa
Oye Como Va - Tito Puente

Cumbia:
Sentimientos - Alicia Villarreal

Bolero
Tristezas - Pepe Sanchez

Mambo
Gopher - Yma Sumac

Tango
Objection - Shakira

Merengue
El Jardinero - Wilfrido Vargas

Analysis of “Los Hermanos” by Atahualpa Yupanqui

“Los Hermanos”

Written by Atahualpa Yupanqui,

Performed by Deigo El Cigala and Andrés Calamaro

“Los Hermanos” by Atahualpa Yupanqui was written and recorded in the year 1969.  Atahualpa was born on January 31, 1908 as Héctor Roberto Chavero in Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He lived until May 23, 1992.  Yupanqui’s mother was from the Basque Country in Spain while his father was of indigenous descent.  Before Atahualpa became a recording artist he was a very active member of the radical Communist Party of Argentina and even took part in an uprising against the de facto government of José Félix Uriburu.  Due to his close affiliation with the Communist Party, Atahualpa was exiled to Uruguay.  He later returned to Argentina in 1934 but was detained and incarcerated many times by President Juan Perón for his affiliation with the communist party.  Consequently, Atahualpa decided to leave for Europe in 1949 but would continue to be a member of the Communist Party until 1952.  While in Europe, Yupanqui began to focus on music and was eventually signed to the “Chant Du Monde” record label.

Although Atahualpa is the composer of “Los Hermanos”, the song was made famous by artists Deigo El Cigala and Andrés Calamaro.  Deigo was born in Madrid in December of 1968.  His birth name is Deigo Ramón Jiménez Salazar, although his nickname, El Cigala (which means “Norway lobster” in Spanish), was given to him because he is very thin.  Both Deigo’s mother and father were born in Spain.  Andrés Calamaro was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on August 22, 1961 as Andrés Calamaro Masel.

“Los Hermanos” is a poetic folk music song that is often thought of to be a protest song.  Although it was written and recorded in the late 1960s, the influence for the song undoubtedly came from the political-social context of Argentina during the 1930s.  During this era, Atahualpa was very passionate about the Communist Party and the movement away from a military dictatorship and into democracy.  At this time, Britain and Europe were investing heavily in the cattle and wheat industry in Argentina.  Coincidentally, the proletariat, or middle-class, started to become prominent in Argentina.  The proletariat class was manipulated and abused by the military dictatorship at the time and longed for democracy.  The message portrayed in this song is one of protest, but also one of hope.  The song serves to tell the story of the middle class’s struggle against the oppressive government during the 1930s.  The lyrics refer to los hermanos, (or the brothers) as being all of the middle class, as if the middle class were one enormous family all fighting with the same goal in mind.  As the song goes on, we are told about the struggle and that even as the social situation started to look promising, it only became worse.  This is supported by the historic event known as the coup d’état in 1930 that sent Argentina back into a military dictatorship.  During the coup d’état, General José Félix Uriburu led his forces to overthrow the democratic government of Hipólito Yrigoyen.   After the coup Uriburu suspended political parties, elections and the 1853 Constituion, making Argentina a fascist regime.  This angered many of the middle-class citizens as they were treated very poorly.  Throughout the song the lyrics tell that all the brothers carry their dead inside them, so no one is left behind.  This is another way of making sure that no one will forget the struggles that the middle-class went through on their way to achieve democracy in Argentina.  Not only does this lyric serve to preserve the history of Argentina but it also pays respect to those who have died fighting for their basic civil rights.  At the very end of the song the brothers claim that they have a most beautiful fiancée call freedom.  This lyric is an appropriate end to the song because it leaves the listener with a feeling of optimism that the brothers are destined to become free from military rule eventually.  This song is very important to Latin American people, especially indigenous peoples living in Argentina.  The song serves to commemorate the middle-class that fought to win freedom for future generations to come.  It is important to the Latin American people that this fight is not forgotten and respect is paid to the brothers that fought so bravely for democracy.  Being of indigenous descent, Atahualpa adds a very emotional aspect to this song when he sings it.  Not only is he telling the story of the middle-class or the brothers, he is telling the story of his life, and what he stands for.  When people hear this song, they know that they are hearing the story told in first person, not some regurgitated story that lacks the passion and experience of being there in person and suffering the hardships endured during the 1930s.

In comparing the original version by Atahualpa to the duet by Deigo and Andrés, there are some very significant differences.  Both versions are heavily dominated by the rich sound of the classical guitar (an acoustic guitar with nylon strings).  However, there are some very important differences between the two versions.  The original seems to lack the detail and clarity in the guitar playing compared to Deigo and Andrés’ version.  I personally enjoyed listening to the latter much more because the guitar riff is much more pronounced and the chord progression seems to set the right emotions that go along with the lyrical content.  I found the original to be somewhat boring in comparison.  This is mainly because the guitar doesn’t accentuate the different moods in the song like that of Deigo and Andrés’ cover.

The song is composed of two main parts, or chord progressions, that alternate throughout the song.  The first and opening chord progression is that which accompanies the verse.  The guitar intro is very melodic, yet it brings a feeling of tension to the listener.  This emotion is reinforced by Deigo when he starts off the verse with a powerful cry that makes the listener feel like he/she can hear the cries of all the middle-class people that have been suffering under oppressive military rule for so long.  The second part of the song is when the chorus comes in.  This new chord progression relieves the listener from the previous feelings of tension and sorrow to a new uplifting feeling of optimism.  The lyrics of the chorus follow the chord progression closely when they talk about the proletariat people pushing to achieve their freedom.  However, the chorus is fairly short before the first chord progression comes back, adding to the tension built up in the first verse.  The tension felt in the transition from the chorus back to the verse is supported by the lyrics claiming that “For when it seems that it’s closer, It’s when it’s moving further away,” meaning that just as the optimism is built up, it comes crashing down back into the tension of the first chord progression.   The last chorus builds the feelings of optimism again as the singer claims that he has a most beautiful fiancée called freedom.  But then the main riff comes in to add that familiar feeling of tension.  This is because even though the brothers know they are destined to become free, there is a long, tense battle that lies ahead before it can happen.

Overall I quite enjoyed listening to this song.  Even though it is sung in Spanish, it is easy to feel the strong emotions associated with the different parts of the song.  The first sound that caught my attention was the guitar playing.  Being a guitar player myself, I was instantly drawn to the emotions of tension and sorrow that the opening guitar riff portrays.  This song is very simple, yet effective in expressing the feelings of tension and anger that the proletariats feel toward the military dictatorship that governed Argentina for far too long.

Plot Summary of The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, by Gabriel García Márquez

Plot Summary of “The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor”

The plot of The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, by Gabriel García Márquez, published by Random House, Inc., is very interesting because it gives the reader an in-depth view of what it is like to be stranded at sea.  While stranded all alone on his life raft in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, the main character is tested both mentally and physically over the period of 10 days, without food, water or shelter.  The plot is quite compelling because it is very hard for one to imagine what it would be like to be stranded for days on end in the middle of the Caribbean Sea with nothing more than a shirt, shoes, a set of keys and a few business cards.  When at the mercy of the sea, the red hot sun is beating down on you non-stop throughout the day, food and potable water is unavailable, storms are a constant threat, and the most nerve-wracking of all, the risk of being devoured by a shark persists day after day.  This novel provides the reader with a comprehensive perspective of the different physical feelings, from hunger and thirst to intense sun-burn, as well as the mental aspects such as emotions, regrets, last wishes, hallucinations, and the will to survive of the main character.  This nonfiction/literature novel was originally published in Spanish in 1955 as a series of articles published in a local newspaper in order to chronicle the events of Luis Alejandro Valasco during his tragic journey from the middle of the sea, back to land. The novel was later translated to English and published again in 1986, and became popular worldwide.  In this book report, the important events of the story will be outlined and discussed.  Moreover, the success of the novel will be analyzed and evaluated based on the author’s interpretation of the story and how he chose to tell it.

            In February of 1955, Luis Alejandro Valasco, along with 7 of his shipmates, were washed overboard the Colombian Naval ship, the Caldas, in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.  The ship had been docked for repairs in Mobile, Alabama where the sailors had been living for the past 8 months.  Many of them had found American girlfriends, including Luis, who was seeing a girl by the name of Mary Address.  After all the repairs were complete and all the goodbyes had been said, the Caldas set sail for Cartagena, Colombia.  Not long into the voyage, Luis and 7 of his fellow shipmates were unexpectedly caught by a large wave that washed them overboard during the middle of the night.  Luis noticed a life raft and swam toward it before any of his mates had the chance.  Due to the high winds and currents, Luis was the only one to make it on to the raft.  He desperately tried to paddle toward his mates but to no avail.  Consequently Luis ended up watching 4 of his mates drown while trying to reach the raft.  One of the mates, Luis Rengifo, was only 2 meters from grabbing hold of the life raft before the sea pulled him under; he would later come back to visit Valasco during his dreams while Valasco drifted alone through the Caribbean.  Valasco spent the next 10 days floating on a life raft in the middle of the sea with nothing but his shirt, shoes, keys and a few business cards.  Certain that it would only be a matter of hours before rescue crews would find him, Luis patiently waited in the raft.  Hours went by with no luck.  Luis was starting to become confused at why no one was coming to his rescue.  Eventually planes started to appear in the horizon.  However, the planes were flying quite high above the water, and Luis was only in a small life raft, so none of the pilots were able to see him.  Just as Luis was starting to lose hope, one last plane entered his sights from the horizon.  This plane had come from the same direction as all the others and was flying right towards him, and very low to the sea.  Luis was sure that this pilot had seen him in the raft and was going to send help; alas, help did not come.  Luis spent the next 10 days sleeping very little, and wondering where he was.  At times he asked himself why he hadn’t just died like his fellow shipmates.  Other times he was thankful to still be alive.  Every night at 5:00pm sharp, Luis battled with sharks, noting that they are very “punctual” creatures.  In addition to the recurring danger of sharks, the constant high winds and occasional capsizing of his life raft, made the voyage even more dangerous.  As Luis drifted closer to the coast of Colombia, he became extremely dehydrated from lack of thirst and from being in constant exposure to the sun.  This caused him to become very confused and disoriented.  He often hallucinated and started to care less and less about surviving.  At the peak of Luis’ hallucinations, his best friend Jaime Majarrés would appear in the middle of the night on his life raft and converse with him.  When Luis was finally able to see land, he initially thought it was a hallucination.  After convincing himself that it was in fact real, Luis abandoned his life raft and swam an exhausting 2km swim to the shore.  There, some locals near the city of Urabá, Colombia, found him.  The locals helped him find his way to a doctor and eventually home.  The entire town, some six hundred or so people, carried him in a hammock to his home city of Cartegena.  Upon arriving back home he was treated as a local hero.  Fame and money was coming at him from every direction, even though in his mind there was nothing heroic about his survival.  In Luis’ mind, all he did was simply wait and hope he would survive.  Luis was sent to a hospital where he was kept under constant supervision by a guard.  No media was allowed to visit or ask questions about his story by rule of the Colombian government.  One reporter was daring enough to dress up as a doctor in a feeble attempt to interview Luis.  Unfortunately for him all he was able to leave with were a couple lousy drawings he had asked Luis to produce.  The reporter would later make up his own version of Luis’ journey based on the uninformative drawings he had managed to escape the hospital with.  These exaggerated stories would create the rumors of heroism and make Luis famous.

            The main reason why this book is so appealing to the reader is because it tells the story of a very wild adventure.  Although the main character did not choose to embark on this adventure, it was an adventure nonetheless.  Not many people have the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of a potentially fatal experience like that of Luis’, and actually come out alive to tell about it.  Most people could never even claim that they have caught a seagull with their bare hands, like in Chapter 7 when Luis sat completely still with his hand open waiting for a seagull to get cocky enough to even dare to come close to his hand.  Catching a seagull would end up being the least exciting of all the events Luis would come to experience.  In the next Chapter, Chapter 8, Luis tells about how he managed to capture and kill a fish while stranded on his life raft.  Yet after eating only one bite, he accidentally dropped it overboard and had a one-on-one battle with a killer shark in a struggle to win the fish back.  These are the kind of events that, when told by a skilled author, keep the reader thoroughly entertained, not wanting to put their book down.  For a lot of readers the psychological ups and downs throughout the duration of the voyage may be more interesting.  The author does a very good job of detailing the emotions felt by Luis at each point in the story.  The dramatic mood swings felt by Luis that were influenced by the often unpredictable turn of events in the middle of the sea, gives rise to a wide array of emotion and self reflection.  Feelings of regret, remorse and self-pity are not uncommon in this novel.  However, for every minute Luis is feeling down there is always an exciting, exhilarating event that drives his determination to survive back up from his previously depressed mood.  An example of this is told in Chapter 10.  Here, Luis is so discouraged after spending 8 days on the life raft that he simply wants to die.  He even says as he lays face down in the life raft, “I thought I was dying. And that thought filled me with a strange, dim hope.” (pg. 75)  It is clear that Luis has lost all interest in survival.  He feels that he has nothing to live for anymore and that death would be a better alternative than suffering any more time on his dreaded life raft in the blistering sun.  Yet, only moments later, an enormous sea turtle approaches him.  Luis becomes startled knowing that the turtle could easily tip his raft, putting him at mercy to the ferocious sharks that promptly circle his raft every evening.  At that moment Luis tells the reader that, “That terrible vision rekindled my fear.  But fear revived me.” (pg. 76)  At this point in the novel, the author demonstrates the absolute rollercoaster ride that Luis is on in terms of his motivation and will to survive.  It is this aspect that demonstrates the type of events that cause a man to lose hope, but find it all over again in the blink of an eye.  Readers will find these experiences unfamiliar and thus quite interesting.  One other interesting aspect of this novel is the way that society treated Luis after he was found.  It is rather odd that he would be treated as a hero for simply waiting on a raft until he was blown to shore.  One would expect that society acknowledge his remarkable stroke of luck, but by no means make him a hero.  Furthermore, the fact that he accepted this title of heroism is even more interesting.  Luis makes it clear that he thought he was unworthy of such a title, but when the government and mass media were forcing it upon him, it seems like an awfully hard thing to turn down.  These peer pressures become a force that ends up making Luis agree to something he normally wouldn’t agree to.    Because the heroic title was forced upon Luis, it became inevitable that his story would be over exaggerated.    The media was also not allowed to formally interview him, which forced them to predict the events of Luis’ adventure, in which case ended up being completely false.  This is where the author’s purpose comes in.  Gabriel claims in the beginning of the novel, before the story starts, that he interviewed Luis for about 2 weeks prior to starting to write the novel.  In his interview he asks many tricky questions that might lead Luis to contradict himself, thus revealing the truths and fallacies in the story.  This approach to writing the novel intrigues many readers that were interested in hearing the truth and not the exaggerated tails of the untruthful media reporters.  This novel puts to rest any exaggerations or rumors that were circulating in the past.

            Gabriel García Márquez does a wonderful job of finding truth in Luis’ story and writing it in an extremely appealing fashion.  Readers will feel compelled to learn of the exciting tales of Luis’ adventure and fight for his life after being tossed from the naval ship, the Caldas.  Gabriel’s purpose in writing this novel was to sort through all of the over-exaggerations, and down-right falsifications that were fabricated by media reporters after learning of Luis’ survival.  In order to do this Gabriel had to thoroughly investigate the events of the 10 days, including all photo evidence, weather patterns, and historic events during that period in order to compare them to Luis’ story, in hopes that everything would match up.  Taking all of this into consideration, it is safe to say that Gabriel did indeed succeed in achieving his purpose in writing this novel.  He provided the reader with an accurate and compelling story, which is completely fictional.  The writing of the book is very intriguing and helpful in getting the true emotions felt by the characters across to the reader.  Also taking into account that the majority of the novel is written about one single character, it is remarkable that Gabriel has the skills to keep the reader’s attention throughout the entire novel.  The biggest strength of this book is that the events are historical, so the imagination of the author is not really required as much as the discipline to accurately map out all of the events that took place.  This makes Gabriel’s job a little bit easier when approaching how to go about writing the story.  However, the weakness of this story is that there is only one character to focus on for the majority of the novel.  This may cause some readers to become bored because the scene is not changing all that much.  With this in mind, I personally feel that Gabriel did an exceptional job of keeping the reader compelled with the events of the story.  I was able to read the whole book from front to back without becoming bored or uninterested at all.  This was a rather exciting book to read and considering how short it is, and easy to read, I would recommend it to anyone.

            Overall, this novel by Gabriel García Márquez, is a very compelling and exciting read.  Not once did I want to put the book down while reading it.  This is mainly due to the exciting and unimaginable events told in the story.  The different scenarios, whether they be physically or emotionally challenging, evoke a keen sense of interest in the reader.  Exciting events come one after the other in this novel and are told in such descriptive detail that it is simply a treat to read.  The complexities of the human mind are also outlined during Luis Alejandro Valasco’s 10 day voyage across the Caribbean Sea.  Luis’ determination and will to live cannot be described by anything other than remarkable.  All in all, this novel tells a wonderful story in a very descriptive and compelling manner.

Ethnography Theme Analysis

Theme Analysis of “Broccoli & Desire: Global Connections and Maya Struggles in Postwar Guatemala”

In the novel, Broccoli & Desire: Global Connections and Maya Struggles in Postwar Guatemala, written by Edward F. Fischer and Peter Benson, the theme of how broccoli farming influences the desires or Mayan farmers is thoroughly investigated.  In order to truly uncover the correlation between the broccoli agriculture industry and the desires of the farmers, many smaller themes, or sub-themes are discussed in each chapter.  This novel, published by Stanford University Press in 2006, uses data collected in Tecpán, Guatemala during the period from 1993 to 2004, as well as data collected from supermarkets in the Nashville, Tennessee area during years 2002 and 2003, in order to fully come to terms with the connection between broccoli and desire.  The prosperity of each individual farmer, is the limiting factor that influences the desires of the farmers.  Due to these boundary conditions, “limit points” or limiting alternatives to these desires must also be defined.  Limit points arise in the event that the farmer’s export or nontraditional crops are not as successful as he would have hoped.  This theme analysis will be concerned with the introduction as well as the first three chapters of this novel.  The reason being is because each of the chapters deals with their own specific sub-theme that helps to support the main theme of the novel.  As these sub-themes are quite complex themselves, it would be impractical to analyze the entire novel given the constraints of this report.

The first chapter of the novel, which is titled, Something Better, supports the main theme of the novel by first giving the reader a clear explanation of why the Mayan farmers choose to grow broccoli in the first place.  The nontraditional agriculture industry is quite a risky business to partake in around the Highlands of Tecpán, Guatemala.  Some years the farmers may lose money, while others they may gain a slight profit, all in an effort to obtain algo más or “something better.” The risks involved with these crops are ones that North American’s would be unable to imagine, yet they are the factors that keep the Mayan people fighting to survive, year after year, on next to no profit.  One of the main reasons a crop such as broccoli is so risky, is that the farmers can never be sure if there will be enough demand for it, from Western markets.  Without demand, there will be no sales and no income for the farmers.  The Mayan people are very traditional people and refuse to eat export crops, partly because they don’t like the taste, but mainly because it is not a food associated with their history or culture.  When there is no demand for these crops, the produce is simply left to rot in the fields.  This is frustrating and angering to the Mayan’s but there is simply nothing they can do about it.  In light of this, there is little or no demand for traditional milpa crops, such as maize and beans, in the export market.  This is why farmers continue to risk planting export crops.  According to Fischer and Benson, surveys around Tecpán “…found that 98 percent of households maintained subsistence milpa plots, but that 56 percent also devoted at least some land to nontraditional crops.” (pg. 38)  This goes to show that farmers are concerned about staying true to their traditions but are intrigued by the concept of algo más, and having a little extra money in order to give their children an opportunity to do something more with their lives.  However, when discussing the export agriculture industry, many farmers in the Tecpán area, including Kanek López, “…lament its demanding labour requirements, they express frustration with the involved quality control procedures, they worry about the heightened risk of crop failure.” (pg. 40)  Luis Tecum, a Kaqchikel farmer in his late fifties, proclaims it “the wave of the future” for farmers that own small plots and are willing to “work hard and take advantage of the opportunity.” Yet he contradicts himself later when he claims the “…additional economic risks brought about by the export trade outweigh the benefits.” (pg. 42)  It is clear by this statement that the frustration around the industry is overwhelming at times, and can often lead farmers to be indecisive about whether or not the risks are worth it.  These examples from Mayan farmers show that their “…commitment to stick with export agriculture may reveal that their desires are clinging around power, that they actually have little control.  Affluent consumers enjoy a host of benefits, often at the expense of these producers.” (pg.48-49)  When the views of the Mayans are contrasted with those of American consumers in Nashville, the differences are quite shocking.  According to Fischer and Benson, “Supermarket shoppers we interviewed expressed surprise and frustration when certain fruits and vegetables were not available, even if they were out of season.” (pg. 37)  It is clear that the world of the Mayan farmers is completely separated from the Western world, and for the most part ignored as well.  The fact that Mayan farmers risk the well-being of themselves and their families just for that little bit of extra money, all while the consumers of their products are completely ignorant of their struggles, goes to show just how far the Mayans are willing to go to reach their desires.

The second chapter, titled, Discourses of Development: Maquilas, Cooperatives, Government Directives, explores the notion that global capitalism is responsible for the unequal dispersion of prosperity between producers in the export agriculture industry of Guatemala, and consumers in North America.  There are quite a few factors that prevent the Highland farmers from seeing the profits that are being made from this industry.  First and foremost, connections mean everything in this industry for small producers.  Unless the farmers have a reliable and honest produce exporter, they are usually doomed to failure in the industry.  ‘Coyotes’ steal many of the profits, gangs and drug lords manipulate and often steal produce, maquilas provide the poorest working standards imaginable, and imposed US government standards often reject much of the produce from the farmers.  However, “…Tecpanecos we have talked with do not lay blame on the structure of capitalism for the circumstances in which they find themselves, but do place blame with the way the system is manipulated for gain by particular individuals, with apparent disregard for the moral dimensions of life.” (pg. 57)  The Highland farmers accept the inequalities associated with the nontraditional crop industry, but are very frustrated with the lack of morality shown by the powerful dictators of the industry.  What makes this even more frustrating is that the farmers are entirely at the mercy of these immoral exporters.  This point introduces an important “limit point” when Alberto Simón, Mayan farmer, claims, “It is much better to have a job than to get involved in crime or gangs or drugs…” (pg. 58)  This limit point shows that Alberto is managing his expectations from the broccoli industry and thus choosing an alternative desire.  Instead of desiring algo más, he is settling for just being able to keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble.  This“it could be worse” mentality is another component of the complex dynamic of the broccoli industry that encourages farmers to take the risk.  This risk of pursuing nontraditional farming is the farmers’ way making sure that no matter how bad the outcome is, they know it could’ve been worse had they chosen a different crop.  Some of the other risks associated with nontraditional crops were the introduction to government standards, particularly those of the US government.  Before these regulations, Mayan farmers had no rules to follow.  They could use any methods they desired to produce their crops, even if it meant going to the washroom right in the middle of their fields.  With new standards introduced, Mayan farmers were shortchanged even more; along with these standards came increased production cost.  Now they were required to use designated washrooms, meet certain quality standards and upgrade equipment.  “Many of the dangers involved in export agriculture have to do with the fact that farmers in the Highlands have little experience with these codes and the technology needed to comply is expensive.” (pg. 65)  In an effort to minimize the uneven distribution of prosperity in this industry, the state of Guatemala introduced Proyecto de Desarrollo Integral de Comunidades Rurales (Integrated Development of Rural Communities Project of DICOR).  DICOR’s “…purpose is to operationalize a particular model of development, supported by the state and international consensus, that seeks to leverage private investment in bureaucratically identified sectors of the economy and geographic regions.” (pg.67)  Basically what this means is that private funding is used to better educate the farmers in terms of the strict codes and standards they must meet, as well as introduce them to the proper connections with exporters required to profit from their crops, and last but not least, to help promote industrialization of the industry.  This is further supported by Danis Romero and Milhelm Orozco, who are both state employees associated with DICOR.  Romero states:  “What we need to do is modernize our agriculture in order to focus on industrialization, which is what we need to get out of our situation of underdevelopment.” (pg.69)  Projects like DICOR do quite a bit to help out the small scale farmers in Guatemala, but there is still a lot of risk associated with the industry.  Unfortunately for the farmers, the aid provided by DICOR is not able to reach everyone.  With the risk still high in the industry, it is astounding that Mayan farmers still choose to partake in nontraditional agriculture.  Thus, the theme of this chapter further supports the main theme of the novel by proving that even with the unequal dispersion of power and money, farmers are still committed to their broccoli crops in hopes of attaining their desires.

The main idea behind the third chapter, titled, Ultimatums, Moral Models, and the Limit Points of Hegemony, is to show that even though the Highland farmers take on the risk of farming broccoli to reach algo más, they are still comfortable living in constant hegemony to the consumers of the products they work so hard to produce.  Fischer and Benson start this chapter by explaining a game used frequently around the world to assess the cooperation between local people.  The game, called the Ultimatum Game, works by first giving a certain amount of money to person ‘A’, and explaining to person ‘A’ that he or she must offer a portion of his or her initial amount to some person ‘B’.  If person ‘B’ accepts the offer then both players keeps the money, but if denied the money must go back into the pot.  “In fact, in several rounds of the Ultimatum Game played in Tecpán (n=72), we found unusually high offers, suggestive of a high degree of cooperation.  The average offer in Tecpán was 51 percent of the total, among the highest recorded anywhere in the world…” (pg. 76)  What this proves is that the Mayan farmers have an overwhelming sense of cooperation and community.  The majority of the farmers chose to give away half of their money because they feel that their neighbors need it just as badly as they do.  “Hegemony as a social process actualizes a double bind in the context of everyday life, where people are shortchanged, both empowered and constrained, in struggles to define how the world ought to be.” (pg.80)  This concept is trying to explain that the power held by the consumer in places like Nashville out-trumps the power held by the producers in Tecpán.  In a perfect world, the hegemony between these two parties would disappear and the wealth and power of this industry would be shared equally.  However, the chances of that happening are slim to none, and that is why the Mayan farmers have limit points on their desires.  “It is around limit points that hegemonic processes achieve stability and yet also become ambivalent.” (pg. 80)  These limit points make the farmers feel better about their shortcomings and support a society “…where individuals and collectives come to desire in certain ways only.” (pg.82)  The limit points and existence of the hegemonic process associated with the broccoli industry are what legitimize the risks taken by Mayan farmers.  Without these important aspects, the risks would never seem to outweigh the benefits, thus leaving a large hole in the production chain of nontraditional crops.  Fortunately, the export agriculture industry lives on, allowing both producer and consumer to strive to reach their desires.

The authors’ purpose in writing this ethnography was to shed light on the connection between two unlikely business partners, and their struggle to reach their desires.  The broccoli producers of the Guatemalan Highlands, are in an indirect relationship with the broccoli consumers of the Western world.  Whether each parties knows it or not, they are both dependant on one another to fulfill each others desires.  Westerners desire to eat broccoli regardless of whether it is in season or not.  This could be due to healthy eating concerns or just a pure enjoyment of the taste.  Mayan farmers depend on Westerners to keep the demand high in order for them to make a little extra money; this gives them and their families a higher quality of life.  Both producer and consumer are entitled to their desires, and their desires are influenced by the hegemonic situation created between both parties.  The risks involved on the producer side are substantial, but the rewards have the potential to outweigh the negative aspects.  If not, why would any Mayans even bother trying to grow broccoli?  The authors are very successful in providing an extremely deep understanding of the complexities of this connection.  At times the information may be a little overwhelming or hard to grasp, but overall the novel is very interesting and detailed.  The writing is not overly compelling, but it serves the purpose of getting the facts across in a fairly effective, easy to read and comprehendible manor.  I think this book’s biggest weakness is that it really doesn’t appeal to a wide variety of readers.  Many readers may have trouble finding aspects to relate to, and thus they may become bored reading the book.  On the contrary, I found the book rather easy to relate to.  This is mainly because I believe that like the Mayan farmers, I have put a lot of time and effort into trying to reach my desires.  I am currently trying to finish my chemical engineering degree in hopes of become a successful entrepreneur and business man in the future.  While I’m not in school I work at internships, in an attempt to get a leg up on my peers and competition in the workforce.  I can relate to the struggles of the Mayan farmers because I often have to sacrifice the fun things I would rather do in order to do well in my studies or in my job.  I would recommend this book to people eager to learn about Latin American culture and the history and hardships of the small-scale farmers living there.  Overall I found this book a pleasant read with some very interesting perspectives and facts.

Mundo Quino Comic

This comic is drawn by Mundo Quino.  As you can see, the painter reaches the top of a hill and it looks las though he is attempting to paint some sort of scenic or panoramic view.  After messing up numerous times he gives up and just takes a picture with his camera instead.  I can relate to this comic because as much as I would love to be a gifted painter, it just doesn't seem to happen.  Taking a picture is obviously the easy solution.

Murals of Latin America

The above mural was photographed in Santiago, Chile.  Murals are my favourite form or art.  I think that large brightly coloured murals like this really represent the culture behind the geographic regions they are located.  In addition to this, they also help to make the often old, run-down towns in Latin American somewhat less of an eye-sore.

Here is another mural in Santiago, Chile:

This mural is located in La Paz,  Bolivia:

This last picture is not in Latin America but I just wanted to add it because it is my favourite mural.  The size of it alone is remarkable.  It is located in Lodz, Poland:

Latin American Recipe - Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos has to be my favourite Latin American dishes.  As a young boy, I was fortunate enough to have a Mexican nanny, named Angelica, cook and take care of me when both of my parents were off at work.  I am very thankful that I was introduced to the delicious and spicy flavours of Mexican cooking at such a young age.  Chillies have been one of my favourite fruits ever since.... Yes, they are fruits! Enjoy!