I found chapter two particularly intriguing due to all of the relevant facts that were presented. I thought it was interesting to note at the beginning of the chapter that many ladinos do not refer to themselves as ladinos. This is important for us to realize in our time spent in Guatemala, so that we are aware of the use of certain terms that may be culturally offensive to a certain group of people. We use this "ladino" term so often in our discussions when referring to the non-indigenous group of people in Guatemala that it simply seemed normal to me to refer to them as ladinos before reading this chapter. So this is helpful and useful information to all of us interms of maintaining cultural sensitivity when visiting another country and integrating ourselves into the culture.
I thought it was also interesting that many of the ladinos in social elite circles prefer to refer to themselves "as Spaniards or European to stress "blood purity" and the closeness of their ties to Europe and all that that means in terms of culture (or perhaps "Culture") (25). This reveals their natural tendency to look down upon the indigenous people of Guatemala while holding any ties with the Western life in a higher regard. Why can it not be the other way around in which the indigenous people are held in a higher regard for actually being native to the land and thus having a closer tie and connection with their country? This just shows the impact of colonialism on Guatemala as they used certain methods to portray their way of life as the superior way of life, which was illustrated in our readings two weeks ago in George Lovell's A Beauty that Hurts: Life and Death in Guatemala". I think it is ironic that the ladinos refer to themselves as Spaniards and Europeans to show "blood purity", when they are the ones of mixed decent due to colonialism. Why don't they think of the indigenous people of Guatemala as having "blood purity" since they are not mixed with European decent? I think that the capitalization of the "c" in "Culture" when referring to the ladinos may be an expression of ethnocentrism; their culture is superior because it has hints of western culture. Again, to me this is one of the effects of colonialism that still remains in Guatemala.
Furthermore, the topic of passing also reminded me of the talk with Manuel as Emily makes the similar connection in her blog. With the generalizations of the supposedly superior ladino culture and the supposedly inferior indigenous culture, this is not surprising . What is sad is that it is being instilled in the indigenous people that there culture is not important enough for them to succeed with that culture alone. Instead, in order for them to get ahead, they feel that they must pass up their culture and the things that make them unique in order to make progress. As Manuel noted, this has sadly become the reality, but I also realize the danger in this. The danger in losing special cultures that have been a part of Guatemala for many years and in my opinion, the different cultures that give Guatemala its cultural attractiveness. Although it may be necessary to assimilate to a certain degree and learn the "modernized" way of life in order to make progress, the term "passing" implies to me that these people are forgetting their cultures in order to learn the way of life that is going to get them ahead. While this may be necessary, as Manuel stated last week, one must be aware of where he or she came from in order to truly move ahead.
Finally, I thought Emily made an interesting inference when she suggested that perhaps the country side of Guatemala, which is home to the indigenous people, may feel the need to modernize in due time. Due to personal experiences I would have initially disagreed. This is because my mother described a similar situation when I was interviewing her for a Women and Gender Studies class last semester. She is from Nigeria, and when she was a younger child, she lived with her immediate family in Lagos City; however, her family's roots were in a less modern village in Imo State where her grandparents resided. My mom's immediate family lived in Lagos because it was more modernized and thus her father was employed in this city. Although Lagos seemed to present more economic opportunity as does Guatemala city (or areas farther from the country side as described in our reading), my mom and her family still enjoyed the change in pace of their lives in the village whenever they visited. Besides, the village is home to their culture, so despite what the city life provides, they could still appreciate their village enough to avoid changing it too much. On the other hand, I didn't get the impression from Manuel that there were enough people like him who understood the importance of perserving their culture and life on the country side. As a result, I hesitate to refute Emily's inference about the future of the country side that is home to indigenous people in Guatemala.
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