Revive

I just wanted to update the blog since it's been dead for a while.
One of my favorite contemporary art blogs (We Make Money Not Art,) is doing a 10 part spot light feature on Latin American artists.
In addition to this they covered two great pieces of interests deeply rooted in much more modern Mexican culture.
The first being Enrique Metinides' work (example to the Right) of photography, it was all work originally shot for the Mexican Newspaper's which are famously a lot more gruesome. I feel this body of work does not really provide a different view of the image's purposes aside from being for shock value. However this could be taken as a way of addressing Mexican disaster media, and it's similarities to the art world.
Although I feel the next work is not as visually stimulating, it has a great cultural connection. The piece Casa Segura by Robert Ransick is a shack placed within Arizona set up with food, water, and other basic supplies however within it there is also a touch screen, allowing the illegal immigrants who frequent the desert to leave a digital note behind, but it also acts as an oasis with the supplies. The artist hopes that with the immigrants ability to leave notes behind (which can be accessed and read from this link) would give them a voice that is not heard in the media surrounding border control issues. I feel that this is a strong piece of art, however it will not get adequate exposure and void the artist's purpose of giving these immigrants a new forum.

KING OF SPAIN TELLS CHAVEZ TO SHUT UP

it was a meeting of everybody and Chavez called the spanish leader a fascist and that a snake is more human than him. the leader of Spain is pro America and therefore Chavez doesnt like him but then again everyone pro America is anti Chavez and Castro and Morales etc. because they are socialist leaders.anyway they were talking and chavez kept saying things but his mic was turned off and the king of spain turned to him and told him "why dont you shut up". chavez didnt respond immediately but later said that he and the venezuelan govt. reserves all right to criticize the other nations and blah blah.

ARGENTINA!

argentina's first lady is elected president! Cristina Fernandez rode into the presidency on her husband's reputation but now must learn to stand on her own. She will take over December 10th. breaking news our latin/ hispanic women were coming up in this world! People are expecting her not to be able to do it, but let it be known that the underdog will shine!

apocolypto

for my modern literature class. we were studying the holocaust and were asked to do different genocides. I chose the GUATEMALEN CIVIL WAR. which basically was a genocide
here is the definition of a genocide;
the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.
the war went on for years and now guatemala is a very poor country, with everything that it has gone through. so with this in mind i watched the movie APOCOLYPTO which to my surprise really described what was going on..

free trade benefits us workers

Full article
President Bush's decision to help the impoverished countries of Panama, Peru and etc.

Aztec Warrior Societies

Commoners who excel in warfare are promoted to the noble class and can enter some of the warrior societies (at least the Eagles and Jaguars). Sons of nobles trained at the Calmecac however were expected to enter into one of the societies as they progressed through the ranks. Warriors could shift from one society and into another when they became proficient, each society has different styles of fashion and equipment as well as styles of body paint and jewelry.

Eagle and Jaguar warriors
The largest warrior society was the Eagles (quauhtin) and the Jaguars (ocelomeh) . They dressed as the animal they took their name from, some wearing pelts of large felines and others dressed in eagle feathers. Many of these warriors are depicted as statues. The Headquarter of the Eagles and Jaguars was the Quauhcalli "the Eagle House" located in the ceremonial precinct in Tenochtitlan.

The Otomies
The Otomies (Otontin)were another warrior society who took their name after the Otomi people who were known for their fierce fighting. In the historical sources it is often difficult to figure out whether the word otomitl "Otomi" refers to members of the Aztec warrior society, or members of an ethnic group who also often joined the Aztec armies as mercenaries or allies.

The Shorn Ones
The "Shorn Ones" (Cuachicqueh) was the warrior society with the biggest reputation - their heads were shaved apart from a long braid over the left ear. Their bald heads and faces were painted one half blue and another half red or yellow. They had sworn not to take a step backwards during a battle on pain of death at the hands of their comrades.

AMERICA MEDIA BEING IGNORANT LIARS AS USUAL

OKAY WELL A FEW DAYS BACK I WAS LOOKING THROUGH SOME FOX MEDIA THINGS THAT HAD TO DO WITH VENEZUELA WHEN CHAVEZ SHUT DOWN THE RADIO STATION. THEY HAD CALLED HIM A MANIACAL DICTATOR AND THAT HE KILLS EVERYONE WHO DOESNT LIKE HIM OR GOES AGAINST WHAT HE SAYS. THEY SAY THAT HE IS OVERREACHING AND VIOLATING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ALL. OKAY WELL WHAT I GOT TO SAY TO THIS AND TO ALL THE DUMB AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE WHAT FOX- A RIGHT WING NETWORK SAYS IS THAT NUMBER ONE CHAVEZ ISNT A DICTATOR. HES BEEN ELECTED INTO OFFICE A WHOLE MESS OF TIMES THE PEOPLE VOTE HIM IN. TWO HES ONLY A DICTATOR TO AMERICANS AND A THREAT BECAUSE HES NOT PRO AMERICAN AND NOT A CAPITALIST.SEEING AS SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM ARE FROWNED UPON THEY MAKE HIM LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY. THINK ABOUT IT, ALL THE COLD WAR STUFF, THE RED SCARES, BAY OF PIGS AND ALL OF THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS MADE ON CASTRO BY THE CIA. SERIOUSLY. HERE LOOK AT HELEN KELLER. ALL EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT HER IS THAT SHE WAS BLIND AND DEAF AND THAT SHE LEARNED HOW 2 SPEAK READ AND WRITE. BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT SHE BECAME A SOCIALIST RADICAL LATER IN LIFE AND SHE WAS CONSTANTLY BASHING THAT RACIST PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON. NOPE, THEY DIDNT TEACH US THAT IN SCHOOL, ONLY TRANSFORMED HER INTO A BROING ICON OF "IF SHE CAN DO IT, YOU CAN TOO".ANYWAY BACK TO VENEZUELA, MY FOURTH POINT BEING THAT THAT RADIO STATION THAT HE SHUT DOWN HELPED IN THE 2002 COUP DE TA. THE RADIO STATION BRAGGED ABOUT HOW THEY HELPED OUT PLANNING THE COUP BUT SINCE CHAVEZ WAS FREE HE SHUT DOW THE RADIO STATION BUT NOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING HES A DICTATOR BECAUSE HE SHUT THEM DOWN AND IT VIOLATES FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND SPEECH. NO, THAT RADIO STATION WAS A BUNCH OF CRIMINAL TRAITORS AND DESERVED WHAT THEY GOT. MAYBE CHAVEZ IS OVERREACHING BY SHUTTING THEM DOWN COMPLETELY, THAT I AGREE BUT THE WAY FOX NEWS BASHED ON HIM CALLING HIM A DICTATOR AND MAKING UP ALL THESE LIES ABOUT HIM IS INCREDIBLE AND THE SAD PART IS PEOPLE BELIEVE IT. MY WHOLE POINT OF THIS BLOG IS DONT WATCH THE NEWS ESPECIALLY FOX NEWS, THEY BLOW THINGS UP OUT OF PROPORTION AND MAKE LIES. YEAH IT COULD BE CNN OR WHATEVER BUT JUST HOW IT IS IN SCHOOL WITH THAT "HE SAY SHE SAY" YOU GOTTA CONSIDER YOUR SOURCE OF INFORMATION.

In Maya mythology, Tepeu and Gukumatz (also known as Kukulkan, and as the Aztec's Quetzalcoatl) are referred to as the Creators, the Makers, and the Forefathers. They were two of the first beings to exist and were said to be as wise as sages. Huracan, or the Heart of Heaven, also existed and is given less personification. He acts more like a storm, of which he is the god.
Tepeu and Gucumatz hold a conference and decide that, in order to preserve their legacy, they must create a race of beings who can worship them. Huracan does the actual creating while Tepeu and Gucumatz guide the process. Earth is created, but the gods make several false starts in setting humanity upon the earth. Animals were created first; however, with all of their howling and squawking they did not worship their creators and were thus banished forever to the forest. Man is created first of mud, but they just dissolved and crumbled away. Other gods are summoned and man is next created of wood but has no soul, and they soon forgot their makers, so the gods turned all of their possessions against them and bring a black resinous rain down on their heads. Finally man is formed of masa or corn dough by even more gods and their work is complete. As such, the Maya believed that maize was not just the cornerstone of their diet, but they were also made out of it.

Political Cartoons that relate to Latin America

I have always thought that political cartoons is a great learning/education tool for people of all ages and backrounds.

It happens that I found many polital cartoons that relate to Latin America on http://www.caglecartoons.com/

When looking at these cartoons, I want you guys to closely observe them and tell me what you think. If you need help, have these following questions in mind: What the message of the cartoon is or how is the artist trying to persuade the reader.

If your having trouble, try identify and explain the captions, labels, titles and/or speech bubbles of the cartoon.


Later on if you guys want, check out the website I cited above and find another Latin American Political cartoon to post or comment on. There are so many that I am sure all of you will enjoy.

-Ms Gikas-

the government! its trying to take over the world and get us all!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs64JnfC8c

everyone watch this.
you mite not think its that serious,
or that its far fetched,
but try to open your eyes.

a new time is upon us!
get with it dudeeee!!


<33!!

http://condor.depaul.edu/~dialogo/back_issues/issue_1/shades_lincoln_park.htm----- This is an article that someone wrote about living in Lincoln Park back in the 60's when it was mainly a puerto rican community. Some of the names mentioned in the first paragraph were actually people that were portrayed in the play I was in. Pancho Lind was beat to death for being a revolutionary and trying to protect his neighborhood from being taken over. Manuel Ramos was shot in front of his friends home by a drunk white police officer while having a party for his friends birthday. The cop later said that Manuel pointed a gun at him, yet no other guns were found at the scene. As messed up as it it, the police officer went free. (Doesnt say that in the article but i just thought yout might want to know about some of the people mentioned)

Stereotyping or being racist?!

On Saturday I was at work taking peoples food orders ...The day was going normal until this old white lady showed up and I took her order but she kept changing what she wanted. So everytime I repeated what she wanted she would get angrier and angrier, I dont know why, b/c all I wanted to do is get her order right. As I was repeating her order she started yelling at me and asked one of my co-workers if I could speak any English or am I just dumb. At first I was speechless, I could not believe what I had just heard. All I could do was yell out "Yes, I do know English", after all I am at work. I dont know if she was impatient or it was because she saw that most of us working were hispanics and she just assumed we were those "wetbacks". I've had many racist comment thrown at me, but this one I'll never forget. Maybe b/c in other occasions I snapped back, but since I was at work I felt and was powerless.

"MEXICAN-AMERICANS"

theres a famous saying that you need to prove to the Mexicans, how mexican you are and to the Americans how American you are.

Im not sure what im getting at but, over the weekend of Mexican Independance Day I was so shocked at what I had seen.

The Mexican flag being disrespected. Dragged on the floor by young teenagers which half of them dont even know what being Mexican is about.

Your flag symbolizes where you come from. And for you to drag the flag on the floor and wear it as an item of clothing isnt helping you make a statement. Its making you look like one of the dumbest people. The flag is a symbol of honor, its more then just a flag. For young teenagers to drag it and to see what I saw with my own eyes. It put me to shame that not enough people know what an independance day. If you go to Mexico you dont see a bunch of mexicans standing a corner waiting for cars to honk to show pride. So in conclusion why do us mexican-americans do it here?

OK so my dad told me about something that happen in Mexico ............ so here is the story hope is interesting ;-)

Well there was a car accident in Coahuila people showed up (even news reporters) at the scene to see what was going on but what nobody knew was that the trailer that had crashed was loaded with 25 tons of ammonium nitrate about 30 minutes after the people were standing there the trailer exploded and 29 people died instantly more than 200 are injured and 50 of them critically. They described the scene as a battle field, smoke everywhere and a huge hole in the ground. They say that the out break caused the destruction of at least 50 vehicles and damaged twenty houses in a radius of 600 meters. This happen September 10th of 2007.

interesting article on peru

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wycc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1150153

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez threatened on Monday to take over any private schools refusing to submit to the oversight of his socialist government, a move some Venezuelans fear will impose leftist ideology in the classroom.

A WAZ GOOD LA HISTORY PPL

HI MS. KOEHLER I GOT A BLOG THING NOW. OH YEAH I WAS SICK THATS WHY I DIDNT SHOW FRIDAY, ILL BRING A NOTE.

Stereotyping Sucks!

Yes, stereotyping as we all know it occurs all the time. People often stereotype without even realizing it or some people do it because they feel it’s normal to judge others. I personally feel that the reason people like to criticize and stereotype is to make others look away from them.

It is obvious that stereotyping can be hurtful to individuals or groups of people. It leads to negative energy, hate and discrimination. The power people get from stereotyping is ignorant and it occurs because people simply want look better than others.