2009 Conference on Mesoamerica

This weekend, something very exciting is happening in East L.A.  Experts from Canada, Australia, Ukraine, Germany, the United States and Mexico are gathering on the campus of CSULA to discuss this year's research findings and resulting dissertations concerning the history of MesoAmerica.

Events like this one are usually free (or requested donation) and are invaluable ways to gain knowledge of the history, culture and language of civilizations past.  As one introducer aptly put yesterday, "This is your chance to meet the author's of the textbooks, to ask questions and hear the information firsthand so that you can decide what to believe."

The events yesterday were so good that I am returning again today for another dose of ancient, but relevant, history.  Some of the topics analyzed are a Valley Zapotec text from 1614 and the information it tells us, the Mesoamerican Ballgame Ulama, Literature and History, Beliefs, Myths and filmic representation in Chicano literature.  These presentations are either given in English or Spanish.  For a bilingual geek like myself this is a great way to hear elevated, higher-level academic vocabulary in both languages, and did I mention, this is FREE?

So, if you have nothing else going on today - or even if you already have plans, I encourage you to amend them to make a stop in at this amazing conference.  The program ends at 8 pm on Saturday and you can receive the bulk of information you need by checking in at the CSULA information desk in the Student Union.

-B.C.

Sin Nombre

Hola Chicos y Chicas,

     I am writing to tell you of an amazing film called "Sin Nombre."  Written and directed by Cary Fukunaga, at it's heart, it is a love story between two teenagers on a road trip.  The catch is that both of them are immigrants trying to get through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to cross the border, without papers, and they are hitching on top of a train.  To further complicate matters, the main male character is wanted by a hardcore international streetgang, who have taken out a hit on him!  

     Despite the extenuating circumstances being rather extreme, the film does an excellent job of making each character empathetic, and never overwrought.  "Sin Nombre" is one of the most unique portrayals of gang life that I have seen on screen to date, because it does not just abjectly vilify anyone - rather, each member is there for a reason, and each has his own morale code.  

     I am recommending this film to you all because it is a fair and even portrayal of life in poorer nations, and it does a good job of presenting the limited options that these otherwise recognizable teenagers have.  It is also a film that very realistically depicts gang life and the inability to ever truly escape one's barrio - no matter how many miles away.  

     The movie is in slangy, Honduran Spanish, but subtitled in English.  For all you Spanish aficionados, check out the extensive use of  "vos" and the unique street names of each gang member.

      One more thing, the movie does have a bit of on-screen violence, but it is never gratuitous or sensationalized.  Please let me know what you think of this film, and feel free to post other movie reviews with sociological relevance.

      Paz en la calle! (Peace in the streets!)

      -B.C.

     

An introduction

Saludos a todos and thank you for visiting my blog!

     I am using this technology to share my findings as I turn over the cultural rocks of this beautiful, linda city of Los Angeles and more largely, the USA and the world in search of cultural underpinnings.  I seek the seedy, but also the vulnerable.  The lesser-known, the unvoiced, the viewpoints which are rarely uttered out loud.  I want to understand the opinions un-presented by the media and rarely found outside a single neighborhood or an insular worldview.  

     I hope that in sharing my findings I might inspire in you a similar journey, encouraging an adventure you would not normally have dared to undertake, allowing yourselves to revel in a little social discomfort and in doing so foster an empathy for the Other, and facilitate global thinking and universal understanding.  Be a minority, infiltrate and begin to learn about another class, another race, another religion.  Find the wisdom in opinions that are different from your own.  Be a world citizen!  That has long been my mission, and I hope you will enjoy my viewpoints from the road.

Your global hitchhiking amigita,

-BlancaChicana (B.C.)