LAST 211 Reflection

Over the course of this term I have exceeded my expectations on what I had hoped to learn. In previous classes I had leart a lot about the history of Latin America, but nothing about the current culture as well as social movements. In addition to this, I had never read books that had been written in Latin America. Many of the muralists and painters I had already leart about, however, it was interesting to go through it all once again. I enjoyed the rich imagery that this course provided and the depth of the information that was provided to us.

Thanks Alejandra!

Some of the Most Popular Social Movements in Latin America Exemplified

Peronismo

Castrismo

CHAVISMO

MST

SANDINISMO

ZAPATISMO

CONTAG

FARC

MUJERES DE PLAZA DE MAYO

WIRIKUTA

Guatemalans in the Aftermath of Violence Analysis

This book report is of the ethnography of Guatemalans in the Aftermath of Violence by Kristi Anne Stolen, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2007 and there are 236 pages. The story takes place over a range of time depending at what part of the story you are at. Some parts are reminiscing in the past before even the times of the Guatemalan war, but the majority of the time it is set in the present, and what the people are facing currently on a daily basis to be able to survive on their “new” homeland. The story takes place in Guatemala, but specifically in Petén and Ixcán but even more specifically the village of La Quetzal and some surrounding villages there. In this ethnography, there are many eyewitness accounts within the book, but there are no concrete characters that follow through the whole story to be able to describe.

            In this ethnography the author Kristi Anne Stolen just processes many eyewitness accounts of the Guatemalan war and cross-examines them with the theory set out by many other various authors of the time, about the war. It is crucial for all of the viewpoints and eyewitness accounts to have been added into this ethnography because they give the reader a good sense of their home lives before the war, during the war and as well as now, after the war. It is important for the reader to have a good sense of their home lives and how they may have been raised in certain situations because it really places the reader within the context of the book and allows the reader to develop a well described image in their mind with little or no problems. In the book, Stolen uncovers many problems faced by the returnees in Guatemala in all the different locations that the refugees had returned to. Some of these problems include a matter of retaining their land again, building after their homes and central buildings had been destroyed in the war and readjusting to life back in Guatemala. Obviously these eyewitness accounts are catalysts in the story and are what move the story forward through a progression of events.

            In this ethnography there are many recurring themes such as racism, power imbalance, and sexual inequality. All of the themes are equally important to the book and it is hard to narrow just one specific theme to describe. With this being said, racism and sexual inequality cause a power imbalance. This means that two recurring themes actually join together in order to form the third and another prevalent theme throughout the book. The racism in Guatemala was prevalent from the very beginning eye witness accounts in this book from even the times before the war occurred and follow through the whole book, right into the racism experienced in Mexico when they were received as refugees and again as they returned to Guatemala. Many other Guatemalans that had remained in Guatemala during the time of the war think that the Guatemalans who had returned should have stayed in Mexico because now they are receiving financial help because they are refugees, but the others are not. They do not think that is fair. This is one current example of racism detected in the novel. This current example of racism shows that although they are in fact the same race, the Guatemalans who remained there the entire time of the war, no longer consider the refugees as Guatemalans but rather as more Mexicans.  Sexual inequality was another large theme throughout the whole book, but was more prevalent in the beginning than the end. At the beginning of the book it was clear that men and women were defined by their traditional roles and no one should ever dare step outside of those boundaries. However, after the returnees came back to Guatemala, the women had been very enlightened and learned that it was okay for them to speak up for their rights as well as to exercise their rights when necessary. It was made possible for these women to stick up for their rights because they were backed by different international organizations that helped to show them, what rights they had and how to use them. What this means is that the Guatemalan women before would have never dared to speak out because it would have gone against the men’s wishes, and in most cases they would have been beaten for speaking out. With international organizations backing the women, it provided them a source of comfort to stand up for what was right. These two problems were most important at the beginning of the story when it starts out with the eye witness accounts of a time before the war, the power imbalance continues throughout the whole story. Just as the racial problems and sexual inequality problems seem to diminish near the end of the book this is a similar case with the power imbalance struggle. At the beginning of the book there is a large gap in the power imbalance and this is a large catalyst for the civil war in the first place.

            All three of themes being carried throughout the book made the book much more exciting to read because every time you put the book down, you were almost left wondering if the situations would ever get better for the people, and at the end it describes to you how their lives have improved. Obviously their lives are not perfect, and one cannot expect that, however, it is nice to feel an emotional attachment to the dialogue because of the eye witness accounts that are placed within the text. The eye witness accounts are for me, the most important part of the book, because not only are they the most interesting, but they are the most thought provoking and insightful. Stolen’s research and incorporation of other author’s works is interesting, but not nearly as much as the actual eye witness accounts themselves. For me, the eye witness accounts provided more information and insight into the lives of the Guatemalans than her analysis did.

            Stolen’s main argument throughout the book is that the Guatemalan guerilla movement did not receive as much support from the indigenous population as was supposed originally. In fact, after she had done much investigating and interviewing it was clear that most indigenous groups strongly opposed the guerrilla movements in Guatemala. I feel that Stolen did achieve her purpose because she made clear the lack of support for the guerilla movements by the indigenous, as well as the hardships faced by the groups, as discussed above. The racism, sexual inequalities, and power imbalances were portrayed and explored well in her book to show the reader the full impact on the people of the civil war. The guerilla movements were just as bad as the actual military movements, and this was the reason that the majority of the indigenous population did not in fact want to support the guerilla movements. The indigenous chose not to support the guerilla movements because they did not want to lose everything that they had gained not long ago, but they ended up losing it all in the end anyways.

            The writing in this book is very effective; again I think personally it is most effective and touching when reading the individual accounts of the situations by actual returnees. That is the most authentic account that you can receive, and for this reason it is very powerful. To think about all the hardships that these Guatemalans have gone through and that many of their spirits are not broken is incredible. After all of the injustices that many of these people have been through, they are making a conscious, active effort to re-build their lives on the land that before the war had belonged to them. The fact that many Guatemalans had gone to extraordinary lengths to acquire those land parcels and build on them in the first place, is incredible in of itself, let alone the fact that they are fully prepared to re-acquire the land and start all over again. This book is truly inspiring because of everything that the Guatemalans have and still currently are going through just to get their lives back to “normal”. I also think that the eyewitness accounts are what make the book beautiful and unique. Of course there are many other books that one can read that will entail eyewitness accounts, but the fact that these indigenous people just keep struggling, and persevering to continue developing their lives makes this story different from all the rest.

            The strengths of the book clearly are the eyewitness accounts and the number of them, however, the weaknesses of the text are the amount of contextual information that is provided via third-party sources and the analysis that accompanies them. I think that without these two parts, or with these two parts in a much more limited form it would have been a much more enjoyable read.  With this being said, I did enjoy the book, and for the number of first-hand experiences that were recorded in the book, I would have liked to see even more. I know though that it was mentioned in the book that Stolen was only able to get so many indigenous returnees to participate in her study, and this was more than likely a limiting factor, but I feel this would have greatly increased the reader’s enjoyment of the book.

            I am not entirely clear on Stolen’s qualifications to writing on the topic other than she did a 3 year field study there, which in my opinion constitutes a large qualification to write about the area. It is also clear in her writing that she has done a large amount of research in order to make comparisons and analyses between what the indigenous people had said and how to connect with other author’s previous works about the region. I do agree with Stolen’s conclusions and arguments. At first I was skeptical of what she was trying to convey to me, but the more I read, the more convinced I became. Stolen proved to me that she knew the topic that she was analyzing and because she knew this topic well the reader should put a certain amount of “trust” in her knowledge of the region. I think this is particularly important in the case of Guatemala because out of all the Latin American countries, Guatemala is one of the least studied and talked about countries in the region. For whatever reason, many of the countries in the whole of Central America are usually largely disregarded, but Stolen definitely conveyed to me that the indigenous people did not in fact want to support the guerilla movements at all.

            My overall response to the book is that it was a very well-written book, even though I would have enjoyed to read more individual accounts from the indigenous people there, and maybe even of other perspectives. This would make the book an even better read than what I already consider it to be. I found this book extremely interesting because I was not very familiar with the war in Guatemala before reading this book, so for me, the whole book was an entirely new experience, so to speak. The book I think was interesting most of all because of the individual accounts of every individual perspective that she tried to capture, to assemble somewhat of a puzzle montage storyline. This book was very moving for me in the sense that I am going to make sure that when I am learning about Latin America in the future, I will make sure to take a closer look at the other countries not necessarily discussed in as much extent as the larger nations. Specifically, I am going to pay more attention to Guatemala and the people there. It seems odd to me that so much common knowledge about Mexico is possessed in the minds of so many, yet, the country that shares borders with Mexico seems non-existent to the rest of the area.

            I would recommend this book to others because it was an interesting read, and because I know that not a lot of people go out of their way to learn about Guatemala. Another reason that I would recommend this book is because I think to know about the civil wars in different countries in Latin America is very important so that in your mind you can form the framework of being able to link all of the movements and wars together in one way or another. This book for me was very interesting even though I had skeptical thoughts about it to begin with. Stolen is a great author that conveys her message and opinions through her thesis well.

            In conclusion, the ethnography written by Kristi Anne Stolen portrayed many different aspects of the Guatemalan culture and hardships incurred by many of them due to the war torn areas. Most of the refugees that went back to Guatemala after having lived in Mexico were making the best of what they were given. It will take a long time and a lot of work to restore the Guatemalans to what they had before the war however, with the support of international groups it is possible.

Bibliography

Adams, Abigail E. “Journal of Latin American Studies.” 42.2 (2010): 436-438. Online. http://journals.cambridge.org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/action/displayFulltext?type=1&pdftype=1&fid=7837614&jid=LAS&volumeId=42&issueId=02&aid=7837612. Accessed June 19, 2012.



Motorcycle Diaries Analysis

The novel The Motorcycle Diaries is written by Ernesto Guevara was published by Verso in 1995 and is 155 pages in length. The genre of this book is that of an adventure novel, but it blends the notion of fiction with the notion of non-fiction. The book is written as a fiction type story, but with a non-fiction perspective. This provides the reader with a unique reading experience that is not often found in many books anymore.

In the novel The Motorcycle Diaries written by Ernesto Guevara, it records the journey of the young man and his friend Alberto Granado across the continent of South America. The theme of the story is that in the novel Ernesto dreams of having a united borderless Latin America free of prejudice and injustice. The journey starts out in Argentina and works its way west into Chile where it then works its way north up the Pacific Coast of South America and into Colombia and ultimately Venezuela. The point of view is from the view of Ernesto Guevara who was not yet at the time nick-named “Che.” His best friend and trusty companion on his journey shares many experiences and interacts with many characters along the way as well. The story starts out discussing the troubles and other problems incurred by the two men at the start of the trip, but it quickly shifts into a discovery of people, civilizations and corruption throughout the region. Along Guevara’s trip on “La Poderosa” the motorcycle, it ends up breaking down in southern Chile which is a large turning point for the men in the story where they then end up taking any other mode of transportation possible to complete their journey. Along the way, the two men were faced with many different situations and were introduced to different people as well as their individual situations. For example, Guevara and his expedition partner were introduced to many injustices of the average people in Latin America such as the mining operations in Chile and knowing how many Chileans had died as a result of the American mining companies. In addition to this the corruption that faced these people on a regular basis was nothing short of outright stripping them of their rights. People were not allowed to be communist in many regions and Guevara resented this. I feel like this plot is so compelling because it provides a direct insight of the trip that was taken by the two men and allows the reader to transplant themselves to the time and place at which this story is taking place. For me I am able to create direct imagery with the surroundings that are described by the two men, but primarily Guevara. Another aspect of the plot that makes it so interesting is the way in which the story is told and that it is a true story. For me true stories mean more than just a fictional series made up or defined by different events, but not actually as an eyewitness account.  A firsthand experience such as the one this novel provides is a much better way of conveying to the reader specific feelings that are emotionally elicited rather than fictional ties to characters. What I mean by this is that it is extremely easy for the reader to make emotional connections with the characters and their feelings because they are real people who really did this journey and in fact makes the clear distinction between fiction and reality.

In the book, one major turning point is when the motorcycle breaks down and for this reason the two men are forced to work odd jobs here and there to earn enough money to travel. This is important because they were relying on the civilians in the regions that they travelled, for food and shelter in some cases. This worked well because they were doctors that were willing to help many sick people in most instances and therefore the communities respected them for this and it was their way of “paying” the men. Although this was not the case in all places that the two men visited, it was a way that the men received food. Near the end of the book Granado decided to stay in Venezuela rather than going with Guevara to Miami and then back to Argentina. This is important because to me this signifies wholly Guevara’s total independence that he had gained on this trip because now he was taking a sort of “mini-trip” within his original trip to Miami, all on his own.

Guevara’s discovery of the conditions in which many people in South America were forced to live, gave him an entirely new appreciation for everything that he had had, and that he was able to practice medicine. This gift of studying medicine was a great gift, and one that his parents so eagerly wanted him to complete upon his return from his eight month voyage, he did in fact end up completing his studies. I did not personally notice any foreshadowing in this novel and many other literary devices that were employed were solely to increase the visuals within the reader’s mind as they read along. All of the above mentioned ideas are crucial to Guevara’s notion of a borderless unified Latin America, and more importantly the theme of the entire book. In this respect I feel as though Ernesto Guevara did achieve his purpose and in fact opened up the eyes to many not only in the areas that he visited, but as well as around the world. I say this with all confidence because this has been an extremely popular novel particularly in Latin America as well as even here in Canada. I have heard lots about it since I was a young child, and I have no familial ties to Latin America that I am aware of. The writing in this book, as mentioned above allow the reader to have a great description of the places and things that Guevara and Granado are seeing in the flesh. For example, a quote from the book says; “He had a scar just above the shoulder blade, from a bullet show at almost point-blank range out of ‘vinganza’ he said in a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese,” (130). This quote shows just how detailed the book was in providing a description to the audience about the conditions the two men were surrounded by. This makes the writing not only effective but extremely powerful. For a novel to be able to illicit specific emotional reactions such as the one of cringing at such a thought of a bullet piercing through skin at point-blank range, shows the powerfulness of the text itself and how it is demonstrated. In addition to the text being effective and powerful it is also extremely easy to read. This book is one that provides no difficulties for readers with fairly limited reading abilities. By in large the majority of the vocabulary and language used throughout writing in the novel are simple and plain. The text gets right to the point with enough detail and accuracy that there is no need for confusing language and a varied vocabulary. At the time when this book was produced, it was important to write it in such a way that was easily comprehensible as well as easily depicted in the minds of the readers. In summary, the whole narrative of the book itself is very beautiful in its construction, its layout and its writing style. The fact that the reader is given enough detail to create images in their mind on their own is enough alone to be able to consider it beautiful, however, the fact that the book works all of these details out in a straightforward narrative that serves as a catalyst for the rest of Guevara’s life, is even more beautiful.

A strength of the book is that it provides another view of the world from a Communist minded eye. This is extremely important particularly living in Canada or the United States because Guevara provides a totally different outlook on the same situation just solely based upon his ideological perspective. In Canada and America, it is hard to imagine anything but a capitalist viewpoint as a way of viewing the world, but in Latin America, communism was very much a viewpoint as well. Although it was largely controlled by the capitalists living and controlling the economics of the areas, it shows that capitalism, however strong and mighty is not the sole perspective taken on the world, and when looking at the world from another perspective, it sheds light on matters that before seemed to be obsolete. The first and earliest example I can think of is just the Spanish themselves conquering the Americas and in specific the Incan empire. Although the ideologies of capitalism and communism were not yet present during this time, it seems as though this invasion was foreshadowing what was to come in their not too distant future. For the Incan empire, their religious ceremonies were stripped from them, and their religious temples torn down. The materials from these torn down temples, as noted by Guevara, were used to construct the new Churches of the Spanish rulers. Not only did this serve to desecrate the culture, but humiliate the Incans over the next thousand or so years. The fact that the Spanish exploited what the Incans had already built to be able to create their own establishments is much the same as what many capitalist American mining companies do in Chile. This was the case when Guevara was on his expedition through the Southern part of the Americas, as well as today. This perspective of seeing life through the eyes of the poor, sick, indigenous and otherwise politically inept people reserved the communist viewpoint as the main ideology of looking at any situation. In my opinion there is no weakness to the book except that maybe Guevara’s voyage did not last nearly as long as I would have liked to continue reading about.

 My overall response to this book is that it was extremely moving for the fact that it was able to provide me with an entirely new perspective on Latin America, different from all the perspectives with the knowledge that I currently have about Latin America. This book was interesting enough to keep my attention which is not always the case, and in addition to this, it was able to teach me something new about my own perspectives. I knew that growing up in Canada I was not always getting the “full truth” about certain aspects of the world, but I did not realize that this truth was as skewed as it was. I know that many people think of Canada as a free country of thought, but until you really start to learn about other nations, that is when you learn the most about your own. I think what I am really trying to say is that not only did this book teach me about Latin America and the hardships faced during the time from a much more communist viewpoint, but it also taught me a lot about my own country. This in return means that I do consider the book very moving, because if a book is able to teach me anything it is successful, but if it is able to teach me about the topic, as well as my own country and perspectives then it is extremely moving. I learned from this book that there is always more than one way to view the world, and this was exactly the way that Guevara looked at any situation because he thought about things from the perspective of the people living in that situation. This is what made him so popular in Latin America after his journey.

Generally speaking this novel in Latin had more than a large impact on the society. It was not only the novel itself, but the ideas developed by Guevara during his travels that created many movements in Latin America towards a more distinguished society of what the people actually wanted. Of course, Guevara was eventually killed by the Bolivian military for his radical movements, and the fact that he was “implanting” many of these ideas into the heads of other Latin Americans. Guevara challenged many of the governments in Latin America, and in doing so he inspired the people to follow in his direction, so that they would be able to fight for this more unified and borderless set of nation-states. With the help of Guevara and his radical communist ideologies, many people were inspired to follow in exactly the same steps that he had taken in order to force the government in their region into a more democratic state, rather than a dictatorship.

My overall response to the book is that it was a very interesting book and was extremely insightful. Just the account alone of the novel is extremely insightful and the fact that these two men decided to take a journey throughout Latin America. Their accounts of everything along the way make the book moving and a book that I would definitely recommend to others. I would recommend this book to others because of all of the insightful material discussed above and the fact that it could potentially change one person’s view about the whole world. Obviously it is a powerful book if it can so easily change one’s whole outlook on the world, as it did to mine.

In conclusion, this book written by Guevara about his adventures and travels in South America is very inspiring by in large because of his descriptions of all the places that he travelled to, as well as the people he met along his travels. No matter where he was in South America he was almost always able to find someone to help him out even if they themselves had not much to offer in return for his services, or just out of their own kindness. This demonstration of good will from all of the poor, indigenous and sick in South America was a direct inspiration for what I do in my own country and inspires me to think twice about decisions that I make as a person and consumer here in Canada. It is important that people in the first world countries whom are rich and enjoy many luxuries reflect on those who go through living their daily lives without even the most basic needs to survive. The difference in perspectives and worlds between North America and the Southern Hemisphere is a great difference and one that needs to be discussed further in order to provide the people of these regions with the assistance that is necessary for them.

Bibliography

Guevara, Ernesto. The Motorcycle Diaries. Verso, 1995. Book.

Spartacus Educational. Che Guevara. n.d. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDguevara.htm. 11 June 2012.

  

Prohibido Olvidar - Song Analysis

SONG ANALYSIS:

Rubén Blades: Prohibido Olvidar

Prohibieron ir a la escuela e ir a la universidad


Prohibieron las garantías y el fin constitucional


Prohibieron todas las ciencias, excepto la militar.


Prohibiendo el derecho a queja, prohibieron el preguntar.


Hoy te sugiero, mi hermano, pa' que no vuelva a pasar,


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!
Prohibido esperar respuestas.

Prohibida la voluntad.


Prohibidas las discusiones.

Prohibida la realidad


Prohibida la libre prensa y prohibido el opinar.


Prohibieron la inteligencia con un decreto especial.


Si tú no usas la cabeza, otro por tí la va a usar.


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Prohibido el derecho a huelga y el aumento salarial.


Prohibieron ir a la calle y al estado criticar.


Prohibieron reírse del chiste de su triste gobernar.


Prohibieron el desarrollo del futuro nacional.


Yo creo que la única forma de darle a esto un final es:


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Prohibieron los comentarios sin "visto bueno" oficial,


Prohibieron el rebelarse contra la mediocridad.


Prohibieron las elecciones y la esperanza popular.


Y prohibieron la conciencia, al prohibirnos el pensar.


Si tú crees en tu bandera y crees en la libertad:


¡Prohibido olvidar!

¡Prohibido olvidar!


Pobre del país donde lo malo controla,


donde el civil se enamora de la corrupción.


Pobre del país alienado por la droga,


porque una mente que afloja, pierde la razón.


Pobre del país que, con la violencia crea
que puede matar la idea de su liberación.


Pobre del país que ve la justicia hecha añicos
por la voluntad del rico o por orden militar.


Cada nación depende del corazón de su gente.

Y a un país que no se vende, nadie lo podrá comprar!

¡No te olvides!

¡No te olvides!

The song that I am going to analyze is called Prohibido Olvidar and is written and performed by Rubén Blades.  Blades is from Panama City, Panama and the song was written in 1991. The style of this song is salsa, presumably because the majority of Rubén Blades’ works were of the same style and therefore this would have been his common style to use.  During the time when the song appeared it was right after the Americans had invaded Panama and all throughout Latin America there was a recession. Unemployment in the region was a serious problem because of the invasion and the abolishment of the military in the region. Panama in 1991 was in a state of re-building after the American invasion.

            The underlying message of the song is that the government is not allowing its citizens to be able to do anything and it’s not fair to the people. The government in Panama at the time was run by a man by the name of Manuel Noriega and he was very intertwined with illegal drug and weapon smuggling. Although the Americans invaded for many reasons, this was the largest reason that they would invade Panama and ultimately, it would result in many losses to the Panamanians at the time. The people were not allowed to do anything and Rubén keeps repeating the words “Prohibido Olvidar”. With all of this being said I think that the overall underlying message of the song is that these people should not give up or forget about what they have been through and they should continue pressing on with their lives. What this means is that although they had been through some hard times with civilian casualties, and pressures by the Panamanian as well as American government, these people should never forget these problems so as to combat them in the future. In addition to this, the song tells the story of major oppression by the Panamanian government and even possibly by the American government at the time that they invaded Panama.

            By having Rubén Blades sing the song, it adds a little bit of meaning because his parents and himself were originally exiled by the government, and when Blades decided to return to Panama, he ended up running for President and finishing third place. What this symbolizes is that Blades clearly had at least some influence in Panama, and so hopefully people would have taken the lyrics of his song a little more seriously and important. With this being said, the song did come out after the American government invaded Panama, and before Blades ran in government for the President. Rubén Blades was also the son of two talented parents in Panama which gave him the background that was necessary for people to understand his thoughts and also to understand him as a person a little better. His parents were very established in Panama at the time, and well known to the general population for their works, therefore, Blades had a certain amount of popularity among the people prior to this song being released. This popularity was of the ‘infectious’ sort and for the general population of Panama, Blades would have been much like a person that was held in high regard for his political opinions and ideas, which his songs conveyed meaningfully to the general population. The lyrics of this song would have been enough to be able to spark the minds of the Panamanian people that what was going on was wrong, and that it was within their power to prevent it from happening in the future.  

            This song is important for Latin American people because it represents everything that they had gone through in terms of oppression by both the Panamanian forces under the command of Manuel Noriega as well as the American government. This song would be a very influential song to show the people not to give up even though they have had a lot of their rights stripped from them and there was dying and despair all around them. This song may be more important to Panamanian citizens, however I think its universality applies to the larger portion of Latin America as a whole. This is because, Panama was not the only country to suffer under oppression of government forces and therefore this seems like it could have potentially been anywhere. Many countries in Latin America faced problems with dictatorships and the rulers oppressing the general population, therefore this song conveys this sort of universality. The undertone of the song is what makes it universal to the people in Latin America as a whole rather than solely the Panamanians. Perhaps the specific examples do not pertain to every nation all of the time, however the underlying message and overlying tone can be felt and conveyed throughout Latin America as a whole.

            To me the song conveyed emotions of sadness and disparity, but it also conveyed emotions of strength and courage. I feel like in this song Blades is telling his audience not to give up and that as long as they keep remembering and fighting then maybe one day then will be able to have all of the things that he mentions they cannot have and cannot do. What this means is that with their strength against the government regime in Panama, it will becomes easier for them to fight for what they believe in and that should they not forget, then they will be able to conquer these powers at work. The fact that this song is able to show the disparity of the Panamanian people as well as the driving forces for courageousness and self-determination, establishes just how important this song was and is. It is important to note that this song conveys such polar opposite feelings, because it is in fact only one song so it seems unreal that it would be able to convey so much in such a little time frame. This song conveys multiple emotions to allow people of all different atmospheres and backgrounds to be able to relate to this song.

            My personal opinion of the song is that I think it would have been a very important aspect of culture at the time in 1991. However I cannot be sure because I was not born at this time. I feel like if I were in a situation such as the people in Panama were in 1991 then this song would have appealed to me on a large scale. This song would have given me a drive to fight for what I believe in and I would hope that it did for others at the time. It is unfortunate that so many people have had to put up with oppression of all sorts in Latin America on such a large scale, however, songs like this one are what allow people to be able to cope with certain situations and get through hard times. I did in fact like this song because of its meaning as well as its beat. The song itself without the lyrics is very relaxing, but when the lyrics are added in, the song has a much deeper meaning. I did understand what the song’s underlying meaning was, and I feel like to have had a better understanding I would have to put myself back in the situation of the people that were living in Panama at the time that this song was released.

            In conclusion, the song Prohibido Olvidar by Rubén Blades was and still is a very influential song in Panama as well as the rest of Latin America. This song speaks to the emotions of the past and present governments in the region and how the people feel under such pressures. Songs like this one have a great influence on the people in Latin American countries and give them a ‘voice’ to the rest of the world, that may not always have a clear understanding on what is going on in the region. Ruben Blades is an amazing performer from Latin America with a superior voice and writing talent that allows everyone to feel emotionally connected with the song.

Works Cited

Keen, Benjamin & Haynes, Keith. A History of Latin America. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009.

McGraw Hill. "Vox Compact Spanish and English Dictionary." Larousse Editorial, 2008. Book.

Blades, Ruben. “Prohibido Olvidar”. 1991.



Pre/Post Conquest Indigenous Images

MAPUCHE

House - Architecture

Painting

 

Sculptures - Artifacts

GUARANÍ

Architecture

Painting

 

Sculpture - Artifact

QUECHUA

Architecture

Art

Shepherd's Horn - Artifact

CHIBCHI

Observatory - Architecture

Gold Character - Art

Artifact

PIPIL

Ruins - Architecture

Oral Bat Tradition Painting - Art

Artifact

RAPANUI

Architecture

Art

Easter Island Statues - Artifacts

GARIFUNA

Architecture

Painting - Art

Artifact

MISKITOS

Houses - Architecture

Wooden Sculpture - Art

Artifact

NAHUA

Architecture

 Art

Sculpture - Architecture

In Latin America there is so much diversity within all of the indigenous groups but very little is known about the majority of these groups. For example, many of the pre-conquest cultures are extinct now due to the diseases brought over by the Europeans as well as hands on combat with the Europeans, but even though there are many that are extinct, there are still many that have survived. Not only have these cultures survived the conquest, but they have also survived modernity in an ever changing world. With the indigenous cultures that still survive, they have many similarities and differences so it is important to try to continue preserving what is left of all of these remaining cultures.