Having spent a month in the Yucatan; quite familar with this terrain,
and imagery. Even the blood gets due attention if you visit Quinta
Roo today. Reminder: this film is not for children; not sure adults
will stomach the violence, but true to the historic themes it is.
What's sad is how muted the Mayan are today; mostly farmers or
craftspeople living in a bad dream [tourist trap] run by the
colonialists. See Chiapas, or now Oaxaca for an example of how it can
go wrong. Con paz.
frank
1 comment:
My question - why must we always look elsewhere for examples of how wrong it can go? Why not look to our own country as a prime example of how colonialism and genocide can lead to mayhem. I know, I know, leave it me to always be the naysayer - the one with the often offensive ideas and distorted philosophies and idealogies. So be it. I recognize that our highly assimilated and acculturated folk can only rarely see what I am talking about and even more rarely want to. That does not change the fact that our country is isolated in many ways and disrespectful of all that does not follow in line with the common and expected tract that majority culture believes in and expects. Where is our sense of community, for respect of cultures other than our own that actually have some positive aspects to them?
In that sense, lets narrow it down even further and ask, where is our own family's sense of community? Sure, there are segments that are close to one another and who actually recognized the loss of the family homestead in Sunnyside as a loss of connection and roots. However, I argue that our collective history and struggle is no longer recognized as an important reminder of the fact that our elders experienced much hardship and loss to bring about the opportunities for our younger generations. That includes this antagonistic, loud mouthed cousin who demonstrated at Red Square at the University of Washington and who acted in improvisational theatre all around the country to point out the inequities of our culture that ensured that only a certain group could be allowed to succeed. Who spoke out for and fought for our Raza's right to advanced educational opportunities so that the only life that we had to strive for was not as a permanent agricultural worker for a corporate farmer. I
s there anything wrong with that? Not if that is what you choose and what makes you happy. It's about having a choice and not about the choice being made for you. That is what begets the muted realities of people. I argue that, to some degree or other, we all live a muted reality.
Always challenging but still with love and hope in my heart,
Evonne
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