La UASD acoge hoy el Seminario Cultura Aborigen de Quisqueya: Hacer memoria viva del olvido
El Consejo de Ancianos/as de la Sociedad Taína Guabancex Viento y Agua, el Departamento de Historia y Antropología de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), y el Honorable Ayuntamiento de San Juan de la Maguana, en ocasión de la rememoración anual mundial del 12 de octubre de 1492, día del llamado Descubrimiento de América, Encuentro o Choque entre Culturas, tienen el honor de invitarle al Seminario Culturas Aborígenes de Kiskeya, que se realizará con el objetivo de continuar los trabajos de revitalización y puesta en valor de nuestras culturas ancestrales.
Estos trabajos se orientan hacia la declaración de nuestras plazas ceremoniales como parte del Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad.
Programa
Viernes 10 de octubre, 2008
9:00-9:30 a.m. Registro.
9:30-10:00 Palabras de bienvenida
Mtra. Fátima Portorreal, Antropóloga, Consejo de Ancianos/as, Guabancex Viento y Agua
Dr. Dioris Antigua, Director Departamento de Historia y Antropología, UASD
Arq. Hanoi Sánchez, Alcaldesa Municipio de San Juan de la Maguana
Conferencias:
10:00-10:45 ¿Qué pasó en el Santo Cerro? Dra. Lynne Guitar (antropóloga e historiadora), Consejo de Ancianos/as, Guabancex Viento y Agua.
10.45-11:30 Un estudio sobre El Areíto de Anacaona. Lic. Julio César Paulino (antropólogo y etnomusicólogo).
11:30-12:15 p.m. Lecciones de los aborígenes de Kiskeya. Mtro. José E. Guerrero (antropólogo).
12:15-1:00: La agricultura en la época de los aborígenes. Lic. Rafael Puello (antropólogo).1:00-2:30 Tiempo libre2:30-3:15 La herbolaria indígena en Kiskeya. Mtro. Brígido Peguero (etnobotánico).
3:15-4:00 Tras una lógica del arte rupestre aborigen. Sr. Domingo Abreu (espeleólogo).
4:00-4:45 La pertinencia de la herencia indígena en el Caribe. Mtro. Carlos Andújar Persinal (antropólogo).
4:45-5:30 La conquista del cacicazgo de Higüey. Mtro. Amadeo Julián.
5:30-6:15 Niti, un nombre olvidado del territorio del Maguana. Ing. José Enrique Méndez.
6:15-6:30 Cierre. Licda. Glenis Tavarez (antropóloga), Consejo de Ancianos/as, Guabancex Viento y Agua.Maestro de Ceremonia: Mtro. Antonio Yaguarix de Moya (psicólogo social), Consejo de Ancianos/as, Guabancex Viento y Agua.
Sábado 11 de octubre, 2008
Excursión a los centros sagrados de la Geografía Mística de San Juan de la Maguana (cupo limitado)
Para más información escríbanos: guabancex@gmail.com
Fecha de Publicación: 09 de Octubre del 2008
14 October 2008
12 October 2008
International Indigenous Peoples Gatherings: 2008
We know from both the blogs of the United Confederation of Taino People and that of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples, that October 14, 2008, will see a gathering of the members of COIP in Arima, Trinidad, timed to coincide with the annual Amerindian Heritage Day that was officially instituted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in 2000. (For more, see "Amerindian Heritage Day to be Celebrated in Trinidad.")
In roughly the same period we are again seeing some large-scale transnational indigenous organization in other nations as well. Of course in the current state of ever more severe financial crisis and heightened air travel costs, one has to wonder how much longer these gatherings can be sustained. In some cases, the state, or international organizations funded by states, or nongovernmental organizations funded by individuals and corporations, have paid for some of these gatherings, and one should expect some "squeeze" to occur. Hopefully, this will mean more organization and communication across the Internet as an alternative.
Here is news of some of the other gatherings to taking place:
WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MEETING IN VENEZUELA
10 October 2008
On October 8 Prensa Latina reported that the Second International Congress of Indigenous People of America (Abya Yala) had begun in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, focusing on imperialism. The multi-national event, to be run until October 12, will also debate topics related to the strengthening of Indian-American peoples sovereignty.
It is expected that 100 international delegations and over 500,000 representatives from Venezuelan ethnic groups will attend the meeting. Nicia Maldonado, Venezuelan minister for the Indigenous Peoples, stated that the Congress will start with a caravan from the Cojoro parish church, to support the Bolivian people and President Evo Morales.
The closing ceremony of the event will coincide with festivities for the Day of Indigenous Resistance (which used to be known as the Day of the Discovery of America, to mark the anniversary of Christopher Colombus “discovering” the Americas.
From Prensa Latina itself:
WORLD INDIGENOUS GATHERING IN VENEZUELA
Caracas, Oct 8 (Prensa Latina) The Second International Congress of Indigenous People of America (Abya Yala) starts Wednesday in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, honing in on imperialism and other issues.
The multi-national event, to be run until October 12, will also debate topics related to the strengthening of Indian-American peoples sovereignty, among other key issues for native communities.
The locality of Cojoro is the venue of the congress and it is expected that one hundred international delegations and over 500,000 representatives from Venezuelan ethnic groups attend the meeting.
Nicia Maldonado, Minister for the Indigenous Peoples, stated that the Congress will start today with a caravan from the Cojoro parish church, to support the Bolivian people and President Evo Morales.
Seminars and work groups will also tackle topics like the US empire's attacks against the progressive people for social justice and sovereignty, like Venezuela and Bolivia, spokespeople from the organizing committee said.
The closing ceremony of the event will coincide with the Indigenous Resistance day of festivities, in other places called Day of the Race, marking 516 years since the controversial discovery of America by the Europeans in 1492.
Missions from United States, Surinam, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela, among others, announced their assistance.
•••••••
2008 World Indigenous Peoples Conference focuses on education
1 October 2008
Indian Country Today
MELBOURNE, Australia – Preparations are under way for the World Indigenous Peoples Conference: Education (WIPC:E), to be held on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation in Melbourne Dec. 7 – 11. The conference is a triennial event attracting people from around the world to celebrate and share cultural diversity, traditions and knowledge with a strong focus on world indigenous education.
This year’s conference is expected to bring more than 3,000 people from countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Bangladesh, Botswana, Vanuatu and many others.
WIPC:E provides delegates a forum to come together, share, learn and promote indigenous education policies, programs and practices. Mark Rose, chairman of the conference’s Knowledge Committee, said, “Delegates represent unique communities with their own cultural traditions and differing stories of colonization. But what always strikes me are the overwhelming similarities. We all strive for indigenous self-determination. We all want our indigenous languages recognized and preserved for generations to come. We all live with competing knowledge systems and want our children and our children’s children to achieve academically while remaining strong in their culture. WIPC:E provides a forum where indigenous issues are at the forefront, where indigenous people can drive the agenda.”
The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association is hosting this year’s event, the theme of which is “Indigenous Education in the 21st Century – Respecting Tradition, Shaping the Future.” According to Rose, this is the first year the conference has been hosted by a community-run indigenous organization.
The first day of the conference will begin with an opening ceremony and a traditional welcome by elders of the Kulin Nation and members of the WIPC:E team on behalf of the indigenous peoples of Australia. After the welcome ceremony, indigenous groups and individual delegates will have an opportunity to respond through speech, dance, song or other form of cultural expression. A number of performances by local indigenous musicians will also be part of the opening and closing ceremonies.
WIPC:E has the potential to positively impact the educational outcomes and lives of indigenous peoples across the globe. “Participants can share their experiences of what has and what hasn’t worked in their own communities,” Rose said. “They can learn from each other and discuss how to adapt differing educational models for their own community needs.
“We hope WIPC:E delegates return home with new ideas, new strength and new inspiration. We hear so often about ‘indigenous disadvantage’; WIPC:E is a chance to celebrate indigenous achievement on a global scale.”
Three sub-themes will be explored during the five-day event: “Respecting Tradition,” “Living with Competing Knowledge Systems” and “Beyond the Horizon.” Respecting Tradition will visit issues such as “growing, connecting, celebrating and maintaining traditions through education,” “building history,” “pathways to knowledge” and “language and identity.”
Living with Knowledge Systems will be the second day’s focus and will look at topics such as “defining education,” “the impact of culture and education,” “understanding the present culture of educational institutions” and “exploring knowledge systems.”
Day four will see delegates focusing Beyond the Horizon – building on the themes of WIPC:E 2005. These will include “shaping our own futures,” “thriving in the education system,” “engaging community” and “resilience.”
The closing ceremony will feature a huge concert at Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian Open Tennis championships. There will be performances by international delegates and some of Australia’s indigenous performing stars. There will also be a handover ceremony, during which One Fire Dance Troupe will hand the honor of hosting WIPC:E to the next nation.
International keynote speakers will include Marie Battiste, a Mi’kmaq educator from Canada. The 2008 recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, she is the director of the Aboriginal Education Research Centre at the University of Saskatchewan and co-director of the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre, a national project of the Canadian Council on Learning. She is also a technical expert to the United Nations, Auditor General of Canada, and an executive member of Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
Professor Octaviana Valenzuela Trujillo, from the United States, is also a keynote speaker. She was elected the first vice chairwoman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. She then became the chairwoman, and during her years on the tribal council established the first Department of Education and played an important role in state and national legislation.
International keynote speaker professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith from New Zealand is a well-known Maori educationalist. He was the first teacher of a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, which has grown to more than 80 publicly funded schools.
Australian indigenous speakers include professor emeritus Colin Bourke, an adjunct professor and council member at Monash University and WIPC:E 2008 patron; Lester Coyne, representing the Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages; Aboriginal Corporation for Languages board member Bruce Pascoe; and Alf Bamblett, an elder and leader within the Victorian Aboriginal community who has been instrumental in shaping many Victorian Aboriginal community organizations.
With the meeting taking place in one of Australia’s largest cities, delegates will have the chance to explore unique bush landscapes during a day of site visits to rural cultural centers, including a volcanic lava flow that houses relics of ancient indigenous farming methods. Delegates will have a chance to network at night with the local aboriginal community and are encouraged to participate in the Parade of Nations during the closing ceremony.
A related seminar being held the day before WIPC:E on Dec. 6 is the Education International Indigenous Educator’s Seminar in South Melbourne, Victoria. This seminar is free of charge and is intended for delegates who are also attending the WIPC:E 2008. For more information on the seminar, visit www.ei-ie.org or contact Rebeca Sevilla at either rebeca.sevilla@ei-ie.org or +32-2-224-0611.
For more information about WIPC:E 2008, or to register, visit www.wipce2008.com.
In roughly the same period we are again seeing some large-scale transnational indigenous organization in other nations as well. Of course in the current state of ever more severe financial crisis and heightened air travel costs, one has to wonder how much longer these gatherings can be sustained. In some cases, the state, or international organizations funded by states, or nongovernmental organizations funded by individuals and corporations, have paid for some of these gatherings, and one should expect some "squeeze" to occur. Hopefully, this will mean more organization and communication across the Internet as an alternative.
Here is news of some of the other gatherings to taking place:
WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MEETING IN VENEZUELA
10 October 2008
On October 8 Prensa Latina reported that the Second International Congress of Indigenous People of America (Abya Yala) had begun in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, focusing on imperialism. The multi-national event, to be run until October 12, will also debate topics related to the strengthening of Indian-American peoples sovereignty.
It is expected that 100 international delegations and over 500,000 representatives from Venezuelan ethnic groups will attend the meeting. Nicia Maldonado, Venezuelan minister for the Indigenous Peoples, stated that the Congress will start with a caravan from the Cojoro parish church, to support the Bolivian people and President Evo Morales.
The closing ceremony of the event will coincide with festivities for the Day of Indigenous Resistance (which used to be known as the Day of the Discovery of America, to mark the anniversary of Christopher Colombus “discovering” the Americas.
From Prensa Latina itself:
WORLD INDIGENOUS GATHERING IN VENEZUELA
Caracas, Oct 8 (Prensa Latina) The Second International Congress of Indigenous People of America (Abya Yala) starts Wednesday in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, honing in on imperialism and other issues.
The multi-national event, to be run until October 12, will also debate topics related to the strengthening of Indian-American peoples sovereignty, among other key issues for native communities.
The locality of Cojoro is the venue of the congress and it is expected that one hundred international delegations and over 500,000 representatives from Venezuelan ethnic groups attend the meeting.
Nicia Maldonado, Minister for the Indigenous Peoples, stated that the Congress will start today with a caravan from the Cojoro parish church, to support the Bolivian people and President Evo Morales.
Seminars and work groups will also tackle topics like the US empire's attacks against the progressive people for social justice and sovereignty, like Venezuela and Bolivia, spokespeople from the organizing committee said.
The closing ceremony of the event will coincide with the Indigenous Resistance day of festivities, in other places called Day of the Race, marking 516 years since the controversial discovery of America by the Europeans in 1492.
Missions from United States, Surinam, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela, among others, announced their assistance.
•••••••
2008 World Indigenous Peoples Conference focuses on education
1 October 2008
Indian Country Today
MELBOURNE, Australia – Preparations are under way for the World Indigenous Peoples Conference: Education (WIPC:E), to be held on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation in Melbourne Dec. 7 – 11. The conference is a triennial event attracting people from around the world to celebrate and share cultural diversity, traditions and knowledge with a strong focus on world indigenous education.
This year’s conference is expected to bring more than 3,000 people from countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Bangladesh, Botswana, Vanuatu and many others.
WIPC:E provides delegates a forum to come together, share, learn and promote indigenous education policies, programs and practices. Mark Rose, chairman of the conference’s Knowledge Committee, said, “Delegates represent unique communities with their own cultural traditions and differing stories of colonization. But what always strikes me are the overwhelming similarities. We all strive for indigenous self-determination. We all want our indigenous languages recognized and preserved for generations to come. We all live with competing knowledge systems and want our children and our children’s children to achieve academically while remaining strong in their culture. WIPC:E provides a forum where indigenous issues are at the forefront, where indigenous people can drive the agenda.”
The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association is hosting this year’s event, the theme of which is “Indigenous Education in the 21st Century – Respecting Tradition, Shaping the Future.” According to Rose, this is the first year the conference has been hosted by a community-run indigenous organization.
The first day of the conference will begin with an opening ceremony and a traditional welcome by elders of the Kulin Nation and members of the WIPC:E team on behalf of the indigenous peoples of Australia. After the welcome ceremony, indigenous groups and individual delegates will have an opportunity to respond through speech, dance, song or other form of cultural expression. A number of performances by local indigenous musicians will also be part of the opening and closing ceremonies.
WIPC:E has the potential to positively impact the educational outcomes and lives of indigenous peoples across the globe. “Participants can share their experiences of what has and what hasn’t worked in their own communities,” Rose said. “They can learn from each other and discuss how to adapt differing educational models for their own community needs.
“We hope WIPC:E delegates return home with new ideas, new strength and new inspiration. We hear so often about ‘indigenous disadvantage’; WIPC:E is a chance to celebrate indigenous achievement on a global scale.”
Three sub-themes will be explored during the five-day event: “Respecting Tradition,” “Living with Competing Knowledge Systems” and “Beyond the Horizon.” Respecting Tradition will visit issues such as “growing, connecting, celebrating and maintaining traditions through education,” “building history,” “pathways to knowledge” and “language and identity.”
Living with Knowledge Systems will be the second day’s focus and will look at topics such as “defining education,” “the impact of culture and education,” “understanding the present culture of educational institutions” and “exploring knowledge systems.”
Day four will see delegates focusing Beyond the Horizon – building on the themes of WIPC:E 2005. These will include “shaping our own futures,” “thriving in the education system,” “engaging community” and “resilience.”
The closing ceremony will feature a huge concert at Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian Open Tennis championships. There will be performances by international delegates and some of Australia’s indigenous performing stars. There will also be a handover ceremony, during which One Fire Dance Troupe will hand the honor of hosting WIPC:E to the next nation.
International keynote speakers will include Marie Battiste, a Mi’kmaq educator from Canada. The 2008 recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, she is the director of the Aboriginal Education Research Centre at the University of Saskatchewan and co-director of the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre, a national project of the Canadian Council on Learning. She is also a technical expert to the United Nations, Auditor General of Canada, and an executive member of Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
Professor Octaviana Valenzuela Trujillo, from the United States, is also a keynote speaker. She was elected the first vice chairwoman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. She then became the chairwoman, and during her years on the tribal council established the first Department of Education and played an important role in state and national legislation.
International keynote speaker professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith from New Zealand is a well-known Maori educationalist. He was the first teacher of a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, which has grown to more than 80 publicly funded schools.
Australian indigenous speakers include professor emeritus Colin Bourke, an adjunct professor and council member at Monash University and WIPC:E 2008 patron; Lester Coyne, representing the Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages; Aboriginal Corporation for Languages board member Bruce Pascoe; and Alf Bamblett, an elder and leader within the Victorian Aboriginal community who has been instrumental in shaping many Victorian Aboriginal community organizations.
With the meeting taking place in one of Australia’s largest cities, delegates will have the chance to explore unique bush landscapes during a day of site visits to rural cultural centers, including a volcanic lava flow that houses relics of ancient indigenous farming methods. Delegates will have a chance to network at night with the local aboriginal community and are encouraged to participate in the Parade of Nations during the closing ceremony.
A related seminar being held the day before WIPC:E on Dec. 6 is the Education International Indigenous Educator’s Seminar in South Melbourne, Victoria. This seminar is free of charge and is intended for delegates who are also attending the WIPC:E 2008. For more information on the seminar, visit www.ei-ie.org or contact Rebeca Sevilla at either rebeca.sevilla@ei-ie.org or +32-2-224-0611.
For more information about WIPC:E 2008, or to register, visit www.wipce2008.com.
07 October 2008
A nation imagined...a Caribbean reality
“Becoming a nation is different from and broader than the process of forming a state: a state is a political structure, whereas a nation is a shared culture, a sense of common destiny” (Martin-Barbero)
Cricket has long been the common factor in the English-speaking Caribbean with regional competition dating over a hundred years, and a West Indies cricket team being created as a symbol of the homogenity of the region and a sign of the hegemonic intent of the Empire to form a West Indian nation, the ill fated West Indian Federation being the other manifestation. Following the failure of the Federation and with the advent of independence, the subject of a West Indian identity was played out on the cricket fields of the world, “Calypso cricket” coming to represent a West Indies imagined.
As the independent nations have forged ahead into the international arena independently, in the absence of a unified West Indian position; the relevance of a West Indian culture forged by cricket, the social institutions which are its legacy and the relevance of a sport that is limited by colonial history to societies subject to the effects of globalisation is being questioned not on the fields of play but beyond the boundary, among the spectators.
The way West Indian cricket is consumed both in the media and at the ground has changed, reflecting the shift away from a West Indian identity in the case of the latter while blaming the death of West Indian cricket on the fictional West Indian nation in the case of the former. Cricket continues to form a significant part of the social fabric of the West Indian nation states, however the game itself is no longer the site of conflict, this has been supplanted by the forms of national expression evident in the way each island consumes its cricket.
West Indies cricket was first posited as an expression of West Indian identity, a celebration of the constituent inputs of this region of immigrants; by CLR James in his seminal work ‘Beyond A Boundary’ (1963).The formal study of cricket’s significance to the development of a West Indian society coincides with the Independence movement in the region. In fact, Grimshaw notes “the imminence of independence and the publication of Beyond a Boundary were intimately connected: they were part of the same historical moment.”
In an effort to imbue the region with a sense of identity, cricket was and continues to be seen as a metaphor for social expression in the region. All the societal upheavals as the region moved from crown colony government to self rule through federation to independence were reflected in both the composition and fortunes of the West Indies team, with arguably the greatest of all West Indies teams coming at the end of the region’s independence movement.
By elevating cricket to an artform and concentrating on the aesthetics of the West Indian game, James makes the point that the game itself as played in the colonial West Indies is itself according to Graves (1995) “social resistance against British colonialism.”
Having provided the newly independent West Indian islands with a historical context for their independence struggles, James’ work continues to influence most scholarship on the topic of West Indies cricket. Whereas James and other cultural critics see colonial cricket as a channel of resistance, others see it as “a white cultural re-inscription of black West Indian culture.”
Burdened by James’ observation of the importance of cricket to West Indian society, most contemporary media reports concentrate on the declining success of the West Indies team and conclude that as goes our society so too goes our cricket. The West Indies cricket team, representing as it does the fiction of a West Indian nation is the only sport team that is held up as a reflection of contemporary society. In this era of globalisation, “the claim that cricket is ‘a means of national expression’ is just untenable, especially in the last two decades or so, when capitalism has moved into a globally integrated phase” (Surin).
Cricket has long been the common factor in the English-speaking Caribbean with regional competition dating over a hundred years, and a West Indies cricket team being created as a symbol of the homogenity of the region and a sign of the hegemonic intent of the Empire to form a West Indian nation, the ill fated West Indian Federation being the other manifestation. Following the failure of the Federation and with the advent of independence, the subject of a West Indian identity was played out on the cricket fields of the world, “Calypso cricket” coming to represent a West Indies imagined.
As the independent nations have forged ahead into the international arena independently, in the absence of a unified West Indian position; the relevance of a West Indian culture forged by cricket, the social institutions which are its legacy and the relevance of a sport that is limited by colonial history to societies subject to the effects of globalisation is being questioned not on the fields of play but beyond the boundary, among the spectators.
The way West Indian cricket is consumed both in the media and at the ground has changed, reflecting the shift away from a West Indian identity in the case of the latter while blaming the death of West Indian cricket on the fictional West Indian nation in the case of the former. Cricket continues to form a significant part of the social fabric of the West Indian nation states, however the game itself is no longer the site of conflict, this has been supplanted by the forms of national expression evident in the way each island consumes its cricket.
West Indies cricket was first posited as an expression of West Indian identity, a celebration of the constituent inputs of this region of immigrants; by CLR James in his seminal work ‘Beyond A Boundary’ (1963).The formal study of cricket’s significance to the development of a West Indian society coincides with the Independence movement in the region. In fact, Grimshaw notes “the imminence of independence and the publication of Beyond a Boundary were intimately connected: they were part of the same historical moment.”
In an effort to imbue the region with a sense of identity, cricket was and continues to be seen as a metaphor for social expression in the region. All the societal upheavals as the region moved from crown colony government to self rule through federation to independence were reflected in both the composition and fortunes of the West Indies team, with arguably the greatest of all West Indies teams coming at the end of the region’s independence movement.
By elevating cricket to an artform and concentrating on the aesthetics of the West Indian game, James makes the point that the game itself as played in the colonial West Indies is itself according to Graves (1995) “social resistance against British colonialism.”
Having provided the newly independent West Indian islands with a historical context for their independence struggles, James’ work continues to influence most scholarship on the topic of West Indies cricket. Whereas James and other cultural critics see colonial cricket as a channel of resistance, others see it as “a white cultural re-inscription of black West Indian culture.”
Burdened by James’ observation of the importance of cricket to West Indian society, most contemporary media reports concentrate on the declining success of the West Indies team and conclude that as goes our society so too goes our cricket. The West Indies cricket team, representing as it does the fiction of a West Indian nation is the only sport team that is held up as a reflection of contemporary society. In this era of globalisation, “the claim that cricket is ‘a means of national expression’ is just untenable, especially in the last two decades or so, when capitalism has moved into a globally integrated phase” (Surin).
06 October 2008
On Leaving the Caribbean
Excerpts From a Culture Jumpers Diary...
I woke to the familiar sound of Spanish being spoken in the apartment stairwell. Parents were walking children to the bus stop. The dust had settled after the initial rough landing in our new American city, so far from our Caribbean home. It was time to settle in regardless of how dizzy or out of place we felt. The new sights and sounds were something we would simply have to get used to, after all, we were no longer in Cibao, and over the years culture jumping had become a matter of practice for us.
Smiling Mayan eyes peered out at the bus stop from a tightly wrapped bundle tucked neatly in a baby stroller. The crisp cold morning breeze stung my badly chapped lips, as I turned to face a sun that refused to warm me. These are the contrasts, adding to confusion, that contributes to my dizziness.
The grocery stores in the United States are larger than I had remembered. The range of products spread over a few acres of warehouse shopping included everything from home improvement and clothing, to a shocking display of twelve different kinds of olives. They did not however, have the regular olives or achiote I needed for the arroz con gondules. These were the cultural comforts that I would have to learn to leave behind.
Entering Starbucks was much like taking a passage through time, leaving the bright cold outdoors and being enveloped in a thick aroma of warm cafe while a jazz piano oozed from the speakers above. A menu boasted dozens of drink varieties swimming with corn sweeteners when all I craved was a simple café con leche with a spoon of real cane sugar. Next door to Starbucks was a little 20 by 20 Mexican grocery which carried the olives and a few spices I had unsuccessfully searched for at the larger grocery. There I discovered I could sadly replace the pasteles of Navidad with tamales. …It was going to be a rough Christmas.
The sound of the coquí singing after an afternoon rain has been replaced with the call of Canadian geese soaring above. It was both comforting and confusing to see a family of otters taking a swim. They never seem to take notice of me as I press the button and wait for the walk signal to grant me permission to cross the busy highway. Wild strawberries are planted at the local mall which has a woman's clothing store sporting ''Cacique'' underwear. I inquired within as to how the store got its name. The manager informed me, “I think it is European.” …Of course, isn’t everything?
At times I feel at home in the familiar surroundings and with the expectations of life in a small (and sometimes small minded) US city; like when the apartment manager asked me for my green card. At other times I feel like I have arrived on a new planet to discover life and document sub species for classification. Some things have not changed a bit, racism and ignorance abound here, while other things have changed too rapidly for me to take in, with highways replacing wetlands and nesting grounds. Then there were those twelve different kinds of olives on display at the mega grocery.
Twelve different kinds.
I woke to the familiar sound of Spanish being spoken in the apartment stairwell. Parents were walking children to the bus stop. The dust had settled after the initial rough landing in our new American city, so far from our Caribbean home. It was time to settle in regardless of how dizzy or out of place we felt. The new sights and sounds were something we would simply have to get used to, after all, we were no longer in Cibao, and over the years culture jumping had become a matter of practice for us.
Smiling Mayan eyes peered out at the bus stop from a tightly wrapped bundle tucked neatly in a baby stroller. The crisp cold morning breeze stung my badly chapped lips, as I turned to face a sun that refused to warm me. These are the contrasts, adding to confusion, that contributes to my dizziness.
The grocery stores in the United States are larger than I had remembered. The range of products spread over a few acres of warehouse shopping included everything from home improvement and clothing, to a shocking display of twelve different kinds of olives. They did not however, have the regular olives or achiote I needed for the arroz con gondules. These were the cultural comforts that I would have to learn to leave behind.
Entering Starbucks was much like taking a passage through time, leaving the bright cold outdoors and being enveloped in a thick aroma of warm cafe while a jazz piano oozed from the speakers above. A menu boasted dozens of drink varieties swimming with corn sweeteners when all I craved was a simple café con leche with a spoon of real cane sugar. Next door to Starbucks was a little 20 by 20 Mexican grocery which carried the olives and a few spices I had unsuccessfully searched for at the larger grocery. There I discovered I could sadly replace the pasteles of Navidad with tamales. …It was going to be a rough Christmas.
The sound of the coquí singing after an afternoon rain has been replaced with the call of Canadian geese soaring above. It was both comforting and confusing to see a family of otters taking a swim. They never seem to take notice of me as I press the button and wait for the walk signal to grant me permission to cross the busy highway. Wild strawberries are planted at the local mall which has a woman's clothing store sporting ''Cacique'' underwear. I inquired within as to how the store got its name. The manager informed me, “I think it is European.” …Of course, isn’t everything?
At times I feel at home in the familiar surroundings and with the expectations of life in a small (and sometimes small minded) US city; like when the apartment manager asked me for my green card. At other times I feel like I have arrived on a new planet to discover life and document sub species for classification. Some things have not changed a bit, racism and ignorance abound here, while other things have changed too rapidly for me to take in, with highways replacing wetlands and nesting grounds. Then there were those twelve different kinds of olives on display at the mega grocery.
Twelve different kinds.
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