The Colonial Experience Comparisons and The T-Shirt Parade

I think that Lovell makes a significant claim about the Mayas and different cultural groups in general when he states that "we can see them instead as social actors, as human agents who respond to invasion and domination in order to shape, at least in part, key elements of their culture" (Lovell 114). This is especially important for groups such as the Mayas who have been forced under colonial rule by the Spaniards, and now because they lack community autonomy, could be in danger of losing their culture and sense of what distinguishes them as Mayan people. Instead, it is not difficult for them to become a lost group of people just floating within the borders of Guatemala. When Lovell makes this claim, he emphasizes the importance of everyone maintaining a certain level of sensitivity for this group of people and the uniqueness that makes them who they are.

When I began reading Lovell's words, my mind traveled to a lot of different places and concepts. In fact, I tried to compare the situation of the Mayas to situations that I have encountered or learned about that seem to have some similarities. For example, when I envision the Maya people in Guatemala who have a different culture but no complete autonomy, I thought about diversity in the United States. Reading the words of Lovell, I got the sense that the Mayas not having their own community autonomy was a negative thing because they didn't choose this situation, but instead, it was forced upon them due to their circumstances under the rule of the Spaniards. Diversity in the United States is often celebrated as a quality of this country being able to have a diverse group of people with diverse contributions. On the other hand, having the Maya people as a part of the Guatemala country doesn't carry with it the same positive connotations because they did not choose their current state of being.

I also thought back to a discussion that I had in one of my Spanish courses about Puerto Rico and the controversy surrounding the United States maintaining Puerto Rico as a United States territory without allowing them to have complete authority as a seperate state. Certainly the territory of Puerto Rico has an upper hand on the Maya situation in Guatemala because they have some sense of the "community autonomy" that the Lovell describes that the Maya people lack.

Furthermore, My mind drifted to the situation in the United States concerning the Native Americans. As I read stories about the Spanish rule and how they conquered the Maya people, I sympathized with the Maya people, and this made me even more excited to be able to work with some of them in the upcoming trip in May. At the same time, I thought about the irony in me going to another country to work with people who have similar situations as people living on reservations in the United States now. This just demonstrates to me that it is interesting how international experiences can be the key that opens our eyes to similar situations that may be occurring in our own back yards.

Finally, "The T-Shirt Parade" that Lovell describes triggers thoughts about the class discussion last week. This is a prime example of how the influence of the United States permeates throughout the world and affects people in other places that we may not even realize. Not only may we fail to realize our impact on people in other areas, but these people don't even fully understand the impact of the American culture that they help promote. For instance, Lovell encounters several people in the streets of Guatemala wearing shirts with US writing; however, when asked, they are unable to explain the meaning of the statements on their shirts.