Latin-American Studies

Aztec refers to Nahuatl speaking people from the central region of Mexico. There are other groups who are related to this community they include the Acolhua and the Tepanic. This essay analyses the history of the Aztec people, their culture and how they survived the Spaniard conquest.

The Aztecs were located in the south central region of Mexico. They lived in Mesoamerica highlands in the area of basins which are separated by dissected mountain ranges and eroded volcanic peaks.

The Aztecs originated from the remote north at around the early 13th century. They were moving around the valley of Mexico in their struggle of survival. Their experiences went to the extent of Aztecs being enslaved by another tribe. They stopped their migratory pattern in 1325 when they settled on the south west of Lake Texaco. This was after  they saw an eagle sitting on a pricking pear stem. To the community, this was an omen which announced the location where they should settle and make their city (Msdu.edu, 2010, Par 1-4).

In part of their culture, the Aztecs maintained their activities of fishing, hunting, garden techniques, and gathering. The rivers in the valley were rich in fish, shrimp, insects, tadpoles, and pasta. There were those who settled near the ocean and they ate crabs, fish, turtles, and fish. This means that water was the main source of their livelihoods. They hunted animals such a rabbits, armadillos, snakes, pumas, coyotes, and deer. In addition, they hunted the wild turkey. The community gathered crops such as cocoa, bananas, pumpkins, squash, beans, tobacco, chili, onions, green tomatoes, red tomatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and vanilla. Later, they began warring with other tribes and they conquered them. The Aztecs allowed the tribes that they conquered to maintain their government and religion but the tribes were supposed to provide the Aztecs with textiles, food, pottery, and other items that they required (Native Web, 1995, Par 2-4).
The Aztec people spoke Nahauatl Language but did not have a written language. They however had no written records. Instead, they used varieties of hieroglyphic paintings and the methods of direct representation as ways of keeping their records.

The first contact of the Aztec empire with the Spanish conquest was during the reign of Ahuitzotl from 1486 to1502. The Spaniards and their allies became very dangerous to the people of Aztec. Hostilities developed, leading to the massacre of the Aztec main temple and the death of their leader, Montezuma II. On July 1, the Spaniards fled the town, leading to an episode which they referred to as The Sad Night. The Aztec society was helped by the native allies to fight the Spaniards and in August 13, the battle ended. They conquered but due to the poor leadership that prevailed,  the falling of the empire was witnessed. Despite the empires declination, their culture still remained intact. This led to positive development of the Aztec culture because the Spaniard presence did not affect their way of life.

Today, many traditional groups of Mexican Americans can trace their origin from the time of Aztec tradition. They are well known today for human sacrifices. During the special events, a slave was sacrificed to honor the gods and to regulate the human existence (Anguilar-Moreno 131).

In conclusion, I found out that Nahuatl language which is the traditional language for the Aztec is being spoken by 1.5 million people. In Mexico City, most of the buildings and streets have Nahuatl names. This means that the Aztec old days are still respected up to now.

This paper draws on the view that migration has played an important role in the culture and history of the Haitian society. This has been characteristic of the settlement patterns through slave rebellion, therefore making Haiti the first black republic in the Caribbean. To understand the role of migration in this light, it is significant to note that since 1980, Haiti has seen its population increasing tremendously a factor that has been characterized by urbanization that favored migration of the citizens of Haiti from Ti Rivye and then to Port-au-Prince. The reason behind this migration was pegged on the land fragmentation as well as the economic and social transformation. As a result, the cultural aspect of the Haitian society disintegrated, leading many Haitians to migrate to where they felt they would eke a living. Accordingly, an emergence of the politically significant but unstable middle class that composed of the blacks emerged and continued to shape the Haitian society that we have today (Richman 56-57). The emergence of the black middle class in the Haiti was composite of both the traditional elites and peasantry.

Migration in Haiti
To understand the role and impact of migration on the culture and society of Haiti, it is prudent to understand the factors that contributed to migration. Essentially, migration as well as the intrusion of foreign mission introduced newer forms of relationships in Haiti a factor that marked its multifaceted culture. Arguably, the legacy of slavery and the French colonization in Haiti promoted the phenomenon of migration that finally left a lasting impact on the culture of Haiti. Richman presumes that the marked dual cultural identity of Haiti is typified by peasantry life, Creole language, voodoo, traditional marriages and folk religion (83-85). With the introduction of the middle class as a result of migration, certain factors of Haiti cultural heritage have continually changed.

Haitian Society and its Culture
The population of Haiti has an increasing growth rate in rural areas than urban areas. King articulates that migration is the major reason behind this upsurge in population. Significantly, people in rural areas continually moved in the 1980s there was a reported increasing number of Haitians who migrated from rural areas to cities (243-245). Accordingly, Palmie further observes that the beginning of the 20th century saw the Dominican Republic registering temporary as well as permanent migrants from Haiti. This form of migration largely changed how Haitians behaved because their social and cultural orientation shifted towards poverty as most of them took up menial jobs such as cutting canes in a bid to earn a living (121-123). As a result, the infusion of capital was equally evident in the Haitian society.

The social structure of the Haitian society changed considerably following the impact of immigration. It is plausible to argue that the extermination of the native Haiti population was a concept that was favored by the policies and practices of slavery. Arguably, as the government officials sought to control every part of the Haitian population, the society of Haiti was structured to reflect the intentions of the ruling class and as such, the production of wealth for the rulers and investors paved way for migration to cities an element that provided labor and human capital (Palmie 177-179). For instance, the three-tier social structure typified by the white elites as the upper class, the freedmen as the middle class and the slaves as the lower class was an invention of the colonial master. This element of social class in Haiti propagated fear and discontent among the freedmen both in light of politically and economic potential. The resulting experience involved conflict between the migrants and the natives.

As a result of the social structure, Richman asserts that the ordinary Haitian was subjected to harsh living conditions, work conditions, and death of the slaves, a factor that led to slave rebellion. Essentially, the revolution of Haiti led to the changing of the social structure following the elimination of the ruling class, which was composite of the white population. Accordingly, Mullato leader designed a social structure based on the provision of free labor in the plantation (311-315). King further explains that this system worked for a short time. In other words, migration assembled forces of the people against the oppressive leadership through a continued revolution that saw the newer upper class controlling industrial activities that were urban based. As such, it is evident that more Haitians in the rural areas were attracted to the life in urban cities and moved there in a bid to benefit from the economic power behind industrial activities.

In addition, Palmie contends that the traditional concepts of birth, marriage, voodoo and economic activities declined as a result of migration, giving room for the modernization and concepts of urban thinking. At around the 19th century, it is evident that the ruling class which was composite of both the military as well as the elite groups led to a scenario of inheritance of political powers (278-281). Arguably, the birth of an individual unquestionably determined the social position of the person. The cultural values became a concept of shared values and these fostered the solidarity of class. It is important to note that these urban-based activities led to the emergence of a middle class that, although small, was politically significant. According to Palmie, social mobility in Haiti increased but the peasantry life was not included in national issues. As those who remained in rural areas experienced economic hardships, they were motivated to migrate to urban cities in search of a decent standard of living, a factor that increased the urban lower class (105-107).

As a result of migration, the traditional elites continued to hold key positions in real estate, trade and industry. This was determined by a single parameter of a thorough knowledge of cultural enhancement for one to claim an elite membership. However, immigration continued to affect ones conceptualization as characterized by the introduction of the English, Arabic, German and Danish names to the customary French surnames that characterized the Mullato elites (Palmie 156-158).

It is of essence to claim that migration positioned Haiti to look at people s social class in terms of ethnicity. For example, the ethnic groups became categorical as they were viewed in light of minority and majority. Arabs, who, following the urbanization and trade activities, immigrated to Haiti, engendered Haitian s hostility but their presence, although a minority group, brought in a new face in the social and cultural orientation of the Haitian society.

Migration factored in the adoption of Creole language as a result of the intermarriage between the Haitian elite as well as through the integration in the aspects of culture and socialization. In addition, the mulatto elite continued to thwart the political operations of the Haiti. Although this formed a cultural insecurity, class solidarity, traditions and identity became weak paving way for literacy and upward mobility as symbols of higher status. As such the lifestyles of the upper and middle class was the priority of the rural peasantry and this factor represented the concept of social eminence as well as prejudice. With regard to this, traditional cultural aspects diminished among the middle class Haitian (Palmie, 234-238).

Entirely, migration brought in an element of strata within the peasantry group. Richman explains that those peasants who worked as tenants had some hope of inheriting the plots they worked in and thus, they identified themselves differently from other peasants (54-58). Ideally, wealthier peasants who managed to maintain their economic positions as a result of local politics as well as control of capital. With regard to this, a strong sense of identity was characterized by these peasants because they saw themselves as cultivators of land.

Gender Roles and Family Life in Traditional Haiti
The cultural perspective of gender roles and family life in Haiti changed a great deal as a result of migration. Initially, both men and women engaged in complementary roles where heavy work as well as farming was a preserve of men, while women delved in domestic chores such as harvesting and weeding (King, 172-174). Consequently, the women of Haiti participated in the labor forces as the culture of Haiti valued the contribution of everyone to the economy. In addition, both men and women valued children and worked tirelessly towards upbringing, an element that is not common in many Latin American countries. As a result, it is evident that rearing children was a question of both husband and wife especially of the fact that both parents ensured that all children received inheritance on equal levels.

Family life was characterized by traditional norms of marriage with common religious and civil marriages. However, in the present Haitian society, Christian marriages have set into play with divorce which was once a rare phenomenon, being an acceptable component of marriage (Palmie 34-37). In addition, gender roles consequently changed with women and men being able to do any activity so long as they achieve their economic gain. With regard to this, there are many rights that have been structured to advocate women and issues of equity. Overall, migration due to political and foreign policies have entirely altered the cultural belief in family life, a component of culture in the society of Haiti.

Language in Haiti
Traditionally, the languages that were spoken in Haiti were French and Creole. These two languages had a social interplay as Creole formed the indigenous language while French functions as its official language. According to Palmie, Creole was evident in the monolingual majority while the ruling elite became bilingual (117-119). Significantly, language complicated the relationship between the masses and the elite and as all Haitian took pride in using Creole as their national language, migration led to controversial debate as to whether Creole had any rule to be taken as a national language. Richman points out that attitudes towards Creole began to change following the urban economic activities coupled by the investments of Arabs, Germans and Englishmen (17-19). As a result, English was favored against French as the language of business therefore underscoring the point that migration, which paved way to immigration as well emigration, affects the cultural orientation and the society of Haiti. The interplay between migration and cultural relationship around gender roles and family setups is facilitated through the cultural influence of Africans and French. This paradigm shift in cultural shift leans towards the modernization of African heritage.

Rural Haiti
Migration has extensively facilitated a situation where majority of Haitians live in rural areas. This part of Haiti is under the influence of the heritage of Africa as a result of the experience of slavery. Richman points out these aspects continually shape how the Haitian society defines its familial and marital relationships as well as economic activities. Migration of the Afro-Haitians, who are mainly Mullatoes from the rural areas, has led to the present modification of the traditional cultural practices and extensively, the elimination of others (178-181).

In addition, the migration of Haitians has maintained their religious outlook. King argues that religion through aesthetic and ritual practices had their Haitian myths of voodoo entirely changed. Arguably, Haitians, as a result of migration, have welcomed the modern aspect of morality which anchors their spiritual connection (59-61). For example, modernity has presented a new form of religious connection which includes the use of video tapes to basically enlarge their spiritual domain. This is characteristic of how modern spiritual orientation such as sacred songs are recorded electronically and shared among communities for the sake of worshiping God. In essence, concepts of power, social organizations, rituals and family setups have widely been altered, a factor that is attributed to migration (Richman, 14-18).

The migration in Haiti from TI Rivye, dubbed as dramatic exodus, largely influenced the Haitian peasantry outlook which gradually changed to the modern Haitian proletariat. As most Haitians were so concerned with economic prowess, they left their rural homes to look for economic fortunes. However, as migration extended, the concept of indigenous religion was brought into focus thus influencing the interaction of Haitians with iwa and pwen. These encompassed the anthropomorphic spirits that were inherited as a result of family lineage. On the other hand, pwen borders the precincts of relations and situations which are characteristic in marking the religious performance. As these interactions expanded, the religious perspective changed to suit the demands that life pressed onto Haitians (Richman, 133-136).

Conclusion
From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that migration in Haiti was a significant period of change in the society of Haiti as it played a significant role in changing the cultural orientation of the Haitian people as well as the larger society of Haiti. From the pre-colonial days, the French and Haitian revolution which led to several changes in the culture and society of Haiti has changed its social structure, family, gender roles, education, economics and religion. It is evident that by the 20th century, migration through inevitable forces of nature had brought to fore a high degree of physical mobility inspired by economic and social orientations, which up to date, grounds what and how the republic of Haiti has transformed. Through the inspiration of decent living and in a bid to improve the standards of living, the Haitians in the rural areas who were faced with harsh economic and work conditions opted to migrate to the urban cities where they mingled with French, Arabs, English and Germans. They therefore worked in plantations, a factor that distinctively defined their social status. Market with great political activities, social stratification came into play. These pursued a common goal of social as well as economic advancement, leading to a distinct network of rural and urban groups of Haitians, their attitudes and relationships with their ruling elites.

According to Chasteen (2006), Latin America can be regarded as either having a single history or not. The twenty countries can be said to have a common history due to them being similar in more ways than one. When looked at from a different perspective, they can also be said not to have a single history because these countries history cannot be accurately and fully described in one story. This article will explore Chasteens views with the aim of establishing if his views are accurate.

Jose Maria Caicedo was the first one to refer to this geographical region as Latin America The introduction of this name encompassed both the Spaniards and French speaking people occupying the lands. Latin America is comprised of countries found in the south of the United States of America and maybe sub-divided into regions namely Carribean, Central America, South America and North America. Latin America is the 4th largest Continent on planet Earth. History shows that the entry and exit of regions into and out of
Latin America was a gradual transition that cannot be traced to specific dates.

One common feature of these countries is the European conquest and colonization. Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1942, consequently opening them up to the world. Eventually, the region was taken over by European powers comprised of Portugal and Spain, who introduced diseases such as small pox in order to weaken the indigenous populace. Many died, while the survivors were subjected to forced labor. Eventually independence was attained between 1810 and 1830 through a string of freedom fighters.

The Latin American republics also share a religion because during the period of colonization, the Roman Catholic Church was introduced in order to override the traditions of the natives. It became the major economic  political power and the authorized religion of the land.

Most of the republics of Latin America, spoke the languages of romance, which were French and Spanish, with Spanish being the main dialect. Another language that was spoken is Portuguese. These dialects existed because these countries were colonized by Spain and Portugal. Some countries e.g. Guyane speak English, Suriname speaks Dutch and Brasilia speaks Portuguese. The Latin American nations possess a rich ethnicity in the make-up of the populace. We find the Amerindians who are the Aborigins, then there are the Blacks who were slaves brought in from Africa, the Asians who were traders from Japan and China, Mestizos were as a result of inter-marriage between the Europeans and the Amerindians and the Mulattoes from marriages between Europeans and Africans. The Whites were composed of the Spaniards and French and last but not least were the Zambos who came up as a result of mixed marriages between Africans and Amerindians.
Another common trait was the signing of the International Human Rights Treaties by the 20 Latin American countries and the 28 Post Communist countries. The treaties addressed civil liberties, freedoms of speech, assembly, association, movement, religion and the independence of courts. Civil liberties of Latin American countries had been smothered by the Communist rule, which eventually collapsed between 1989 and 1991.

Human rights and democratic self governance rights significantly improved across the countries after the fall of communism. This improvement was triggered by the increased shining of the spotlight on conduction of open and just elections. Personal integrity privileges remained explosive as they were for the most part affected by the struggle involving government and guerrilla movements. Crowley (1993) says the rights experienced a stunted improvement but nevertheless started showing progress as from 1991.

The Latin American countries went through a state of dependency and neo-colonialism. Grandin (2004) wrote that in order to safeguard its economic interest, USA provided fiscal, military and moral support to the non-independent countries. Liberalization was initiated from 1989, though the Soviet and Yugoslav conflict continuously hindered growth. However, progress could by 1993 because there were more liberal and semi-liberal countries, and an increased show of respect for individuals rights to own property.

In conclusion, it can be said that not only are the Latin American countries unified geographically, but across the cultural, economic, religious and historical background. Their masters without knowing united these countries, creating a wealthy people, empowered to transform their continent into a resourceful and culturally rich continent.

Research Proposal

For my research, Id like to study the Landless Workers Movement (MST) of Brazil and how this group has impacted the land reforms and agriculture policies in the country.  I looked at the website of this organization and found that the group, as of May 27th, 2010, is switching its goal toward sustainable farming and agriculture. Due to this change, my propose thesis is In light of the MSTs future goals and past campaigns, a new struggle for more sustainable agriculture will not meet the same success as they have met in the past.
I would start by providing a brief historical overview of the group why they started, what their original goals were, why this group is significant for study as opposed to other groups in Brazil or cases in other countries. The new goal of sustainable agriculture differs from the previous goals of the MST, meaning that new strategies for activism need to be formed. This group has been very successful in the past with its previous goal of securing farmland for its members. I wonder about the odds of continuing this success and how the group will pursue this new goal.

Also, the group has over 1.5 million members. I would like to investigate what these goal changes would mean for the members who joined to help to achieve the original goals. Theres no guarantee that these new goals will be popular with such a large member base, especially since many of these members already have the land they sought. Will this cause members to leave, the group to break a part, or maybe grow as the new goal could attract a different member base

I would then conclude with a quick summarization of my main points and then offer final thoughts on the issue and the future of MST.

It should be noted that Latin American Literature of the 20th century demonstrates perfect connection between the generations the Ancient and the Modern. The most noticeable literary figures use the rich history, mythology and spiritual bound between the generations in order to demonstrate strong connection of their nation with the events and people who lived in the Ancient times and differed a lot from the present day realities. Many authors want to reveal that the spirit of the Ancient tribes living on the territory of contemporary Latin America is the most valuable heritage of contemporary people, connecting them with the past. It goes without saying that literary creations of the outstanding authors, living in the Latin American region, reflect the intentions to show deep connection of the different nations with their Ancient past, celebrating the unity of Ancient and Modern traditions within the nations of independent Latin American Countries. It is essential that the question of the Ancient heritage in Latin America is among the quite acute. That is why it is not surprising that it has found reflection in the outstanding 20th century novels, which take a significant place in Latin American Literary Heritage. They are The Storyteller by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, written in 1987 and Where the Air is Clear by outstanding Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, released in far 1958. Despite the significant difference in genre and plot structure these novels are united under the one theme. They reveal the close connection of the modern Latin American society with the past. The core idea of this research is to reveal this connection between the ancient and the modern within the pages of these books.

Where the Air is Clear by Carlos Fuentes and close connection of the Modern world to the Ancient heritage.
Where the Air Is Clear is the first novel, written by Carlos Fuentes and from the very beginning the author raised quite burning questions and important themes. One novels heroes, Ixca Cienfuegos, plays quite a significant cultural role in the novel, which is written in the form of character sketches collection in the Mexico City. Ixca Cienfuegos is connecting all separate parts within the pages of a book. Masterful combination of different techniques let the author represent the dynamical development of Mexico after the revolution at the time period of nearly a decade, 1940s and 1950s.

It should be noted that the key figures of the novel is Mexico City itself and the author reveals cultural peculiarities describing the life of the city. The author takes the reader into the fascinating trip around the streets of Mexico City, dealing with some pages of its history. The novel could not be regarded as the typical analysis of the city dwellers the author masterfully notes all the drawbacks incisively describing Mexico City inhabitants. He shows Federico Robles, who is a banker Norma Robles, a  social climber Ovando family, who was rich before the revolution, but lost everything after Rodrigo Polo, Mexican writer, who suffered during the revolution as his father was executed, Amerindian Gladys, who sells her body and certainly Ixca Cienfuegos, who is real critic and observer of the whole system.

Carlos Fuentes, as a representative of Magic realism, could not avoid showing the reader the question of solitude and identity of Mexico, its loss in the labyrinth, understanding that there in no other country in Latin America, which obsessively seeks for it personal identity, returning again to its history and moving ahead. The country feels itself lost between the motherland (with all its cultural traditions and peculiarities) and the adopted land. With the help of different literary elements such as  disjointed writing style,  flashback, the stream of consciousness, non-chronological recount of events and alternation of narration forms, the author masterfully performs the surreal atmosphere of the constant search, which is one f the main themes of the novel. To find the correlation between the present and the past is very difficult for the main heroes of the novel and each of them touches the question of identity. It should be noted that the most surreal element of the novel is Mexico City, which is depicted as one of the core figures of the novel this makes Where the Air is Clear outstanding from the other novels dealing with the question of national identity. The book itself essentially represents the quest for national identity in Mexico in the post  revolutionary times.

Placing Mexico City as a central Figure, Carlos Fuentes shift the role of all the human characters to the background due to the fact that their lives and past experience correlate  with the primary intention of definition the culture and history of the country. The question if perfectly revealed through the confrontation of the present day reality with its past, and the reader understand that this conflict has been lasting for already many years. The following quote perfectly illustrates the confrontation But does such a thing as original blood exist No every pure element grows and is consumed in its own purity, does not develop the original is the impure, the mixed, the mulatto and the mestizo, as I am, as all of Mexico is. Which is to say, originality supposes a mixing, a creation, not a purity previous to our experience. Rather than born original, we come to be original origin is creation. Mexico must find her origin by looking ahead, not behind (Carlos Fuentes, 1958, p. 44). The present day reality of the country could hardly correlate to the past of the Aztec Empire, its beliefs, hopes and cultural peculiarities. But the author makes a stress not on the confrontation and conflict he tries to reveal that the Mexican identity and cultural peculiarity is the mixture of two different, even opposite cultures. The European Tradition and the Indian tradition the history of Mexico, unites people of different origins, race and thought and every hero of the novel proves that, as every character is a certain emblem of different Mexican aspects, and if we integrate the histories of the heroes, we could reveal that it is the actual Mexican identity, in the unique integration of many different cultures. The story that seemed to be a disconnected is a surrealist approach of the Author, who makes a stress on the division of Mexico and its unwillingness to perceive itself as interracial community. Such surrealist technique of writing let Carlos Fuentes to show the reader his personal and vividly portrayal vision of Mexico a confronting country with unclear identity

It goes without saying that sharp division between the social classes in the 1950-s Mexico adds a lot in the constant quest for the national identity. If we look back in the history of Mexico, the Aztecs were on the top of social ranking, under the time of Aztec empire everything was subjected to their will the situation in Where the Air Is Clear is quite opposite the indigenous Indians are on the lowest place in the Mexican society (good illustration is prostitute Gladys). Another conflict is also observed. The new and the past governing classes also involved in the confrontation. The impoverished Ovando family is contrasted to Nora Robles, the contemporary representative of the upper Mexican Classes. One of the most powerful scenes is her meeting with Lorenza de Ovando, bitter aristocratic matriarch. Here we could observe allusion on the Modern Mexico and the Past one. The country, which rejects her Aztec past, its Gods, myths and cultural traditions
The Storyteller  Mario Vargas Llosa, and close connection of the Modern world to the Ancient heritage.
Mario Vargas Llosa tells us a story of two college friends the anonymous narrator (some critics consider that the author introduced himself) and his friend, Saul Zurantas, a Peruvian Jew. They both very interesting time at college, studying ethnography, they had a number of philosophical disputes. As it usually happens the friendship was erased after graduation. The narrator was intended to find a scholarship and continue his studies abroad and his friend was seen at college seldom and finally disappeared. It was told that he either immigrated to Israel or lost somewhere in the jungle in the east of Peru within the Machiguenga people. The narrator graduated and started his career as a member of the field theme from the Institute of linguistics and further he became television documentaries producer.

During this time he did not stop attempts to contact his lost friend Saul, intended to learn more about the cultural peculiarities of Machiguenga tribes, but unfortunately he failed. Only in the very beginning appears a haunting image, which narrator had at a Florentine Art Gallery. He recognized Saul Zurantas as the Machiguengas tribal storyteller on the photographs. The book unites and compares the chapters told by the narrator and the ones telling the reader of the Peruvian Indian Mythology. It makes the reading rich on the contrast. One chapter describes the discussion between Saul Zurantas and the narrator what impact provided the missionaries alongside with the business interest from the west on the unique nature of the Machiguenga tribes and culture. This chapter is prolonged with the national folklore telling about the spirit world, the animals and elements. It would be hard to reveal whether it is the voice of Saul Zurantas or the Machiguenga storyteller tells about mystical connection between the nature and the people. These two viewpoints thought provoking dialogues contrasted to the national tales is revealing the importance of keeping the unique cultures that are under the threat of westernization and loss of their identity. Saul Zurantas, of Jewish origin understands this more than the local Peruvians, that is why he is the storyteller, the one who keeps the connection between the generations, collecting the story of the legendary past.

The book is not an easy to read as it has deep philosophical background. It provided a number of burning questions such as the investigation of the other cultures by the anthropologists and how these people, living outside of the civilized world could fit to the major society. The whole question civilization is raised within the pages of the book, the question of the lost heritage, where social anthropologist Saul Zurantas took the place of the story teller, to preserve unique Machiguenga culture, which is located in the depth of the rainforests of the Amazon River. Who is purer or happier because hes renounced his destiny The storyteller asked when he walked in the jungle with the Machiguengatribes, who should constantly roam to keep their obligation to the gods and keep save the Earth and the Sky and the Stars. Nobody, the storyteller replied. Wed best be what we are. The one who gives up fulfilling his own obligation so as to fulfill that of another will lose his soul (Mario Vargas Llosa, 1987). It is deeply spiritual novel, which deals about strong connection between the people of different times. The author tells us that the old tales could not leave anyone indifferent, as they are the part of the history and the part of the culture.

Conclusion
In the end I would like to make a stress on the fact that both authors reveal strong importance of the past for the present day world. It is important to keep the connection between the generations, to preserve cultural identity and the past could not be neither changes nor forgotten, as national identity of the country strongly deals with the question of the cultural heritage of the previous cultures. The Ancient Maya Tribes and Ancient Aztec have left rich cultural heritage for the Mexicans and the Peruvians and present day people should care and protect this heritage, understanding that the role of the Ancient in our present day Modern is really significant.

In her book, Junia Ferreira Furtado comes up with a fascinating research on the study of the world of a freed woman of color from a small town in Brazil where former slaves, itinerant merchants, concubines and Portuguese administrators interact across cultural and social lines. She represents Chica da Silva who is a child from a mixed marriage between a Brazilian military noblemen and an African slave from Costa da Mina and Chica da Silva won her freedom by using her marital and social strategies. The story of Chica da Silver is neither  merely a personal  story of an individual woman nor the social history of a colonial Brzilian town but it rather provides a particular historic perspective of a womans cultural universe in which she inhabited, her agency, and those myths that were created around her in each given century. Chica da Silver for example came to symbolize an example of both the stereotype of sensuality and licentiousness, and racial democracy which was always attributed to the mullato and black female according to a popular Brazilian imagination.
According to Junia Ferreira Furtados myth of Chica da Silva is that marriage and concubinage between the white male and black female during the colonial Brazilian society was a means that was found by the slaves as the best way of changing their social position in the society and to escape from racial stigma that the slaves were attached to. In Brazil, Chica was used as a symbol for racial democracy. Many scholars have also recorded that she used Miscegenation to achieve the social status she desired as it has been happening with other African Brazilian slaves of the time.

The marriage between Chica da Silva and Joao Fernandes was regarded as a scandal according to the colonial society. This was due to the fact that the black Brazilian women of this time saw sex as the best way to facilitate access to concubinage and freedom while the white men offered advantages to these black women because once they were free, they could reduce the stigma of color and the slavery for both of them and their descendants. This is what Chica da Silva used and this made her a very successful woman of black origin. Chica da Silva was successful in fitting in to the white society and brought up her children and family. It is reported from the book that she also had slaves

Life was very poor for the African slave in eighteenth century Minas Gerais. They worked under very hard conditions and there was no freedom. Slaves were segregated from the white and were not allowed to mix. In the building of Estrada real, many people died as the road construction required a lot of labor. The slaves were regarded as the property of their masters who owned mines from where some of the slaves worked ( Laird, 56). There was color segregation and the black slaves were not allowed to mix with the whites. There were places designated for the whites where black slaves were not allowed.

Later in the century, some black slave women started marrying whites and they started getting some privileges with their children. Those from these mixed marriages started seeing themselves as they were becoming whiter than their counterparts and this led to more segregation among the blacks and those from mixed marriages.

Slaves worked for very little money and in some instances, slaves were not paid at all and were only use the produce from the firms as source of food. Some slave owners lowly valued their slaves while others were relatively well treated by their masters. It is a fact that slaves were roughed up to accomplish their jobs through canning and all sorts of abuses. This highly affected the self esteem of these slaves who were handled like animals.

Providing useful insights about Peru as a country, nation, and society were the main facets of the lecture provided by Ambassador Marcela Lopez Bravo. The presentations showcased new perspectives in allowing viewers to recognize the evolution of Peru from its historical perspective and the different resources that makes it unique from other countries in Latin America. By providing these inputs accordingly, Ambassador Bravo provided increased not only the ideas of participants in the lecture but also helped each one identify the corresponding themes that have shaped the country for what it is today.

The first part of the lecture revolved around the geographical features of the country. In here, the speaker provided four (4) specific and important aspects that shape Perus national borders. At the same time, considerable attention was provided to justify its purpose and relevance towards specific functions and the ability to outline its value within the development of life, culture, and society within the region. Here, the four examples include (1) the coast, (2) Andean Mountains, (3) Amazon Jungle, and (4) the Rio Abiseo.

Given these diversity of geographical features, Ambassador Bravo argued its relevance and value in the formulation and creation of culture and life within Peru. It is in here that she tried to outline various histories related to each of these features and highlighted how man have survived through these specific obstacles and influenced the formulation and development of Perus identity and culture. All these proved to be beneficial in the next aspect of the lecture wherein she discussed the different cultures and groups that existed within Perus geographic borders.

During this part of the lecture, Ambassador Bravo highlighted a chronological elaboration of the different inhabitants of Peru as early as 10,560 BC illustrated not only its rich land and topography but also its capacity to sustain life. In here, she provided specific examples of these early cultures from Chavin, Mochica, Paracas, Wari, and Chimu. Under each groups, she highlighted specific contributions to Perus culture and underlined key principles as it relates to their belief system, religion, way of life, social classifications, etc. All these serve its purpose of redefining and grasping familiar concepts that equally shape identity building and the formulation of artifacts, temples, and sacred sites all distinct with one another.

As the lecture progressed, cultures during the pre-Incan period were also introduced by the speaker. Here she depicted numerous contributions from the field of metallurgy towards the formulation of architectural wonders (e.g. Nazca Lines). All these serve to complement the existence of one of the most celebrated civilizations of Latin America  the Incas. It was through this that Ambassador Bravo took pride in these civilization contributions not only in unifying the different cultures and tribes within Peru but also its ability to establish its own specific order and reality that was depicted in their work. Through their development until the destruction of Francisco Pizarros army, the Incas captivated the new world by offering something unique and distinct towards their counterparts during the period.

The last part of the seminar referred to the todays modern Peru and how it continuously adapts to new trends shaping Latin American and the rest of the world. In particular, Ambassador Bravo outlines specific measures and development from the countrys independence from Spain towards the formation of a Republic. In particular, it outlines specific areas where people engage to trade and commerce. At the same time, it also addresses particular strengths and weaknesses of Perus economy. Despite the relatively modern stance of Peruvian society nowadays, Ambassador Bravo argues that there still remains traces of culture and history embedded within principles and values that equally shape and influence the value of how people respond and make decisions.

The films Cuba Va The Challenge of the Next Generation and Strawberry and Chocolate represent Cuban identity since the two decades of the Soviet Union collapse. This period is important because Cuba, an important ally of erstwhile Soviet Union, experienced transition in its identity, as represented by views of younger generation. Cuba also faced ire of the United States during the Cold War era. In the post Cold War era, Cuba showed changes in its identity. One particular section in the society began to question to previous ideologies. Previously, there were limited relationship between the US and Cuba. But, in the post Soviet era, Cuban families maintained relationship with Cubans in the US. This resulted in exchange of ideas between two countries, which contributed to changes in Cuban identity. (Brenner 2008)

The film Cuba Va shows differences between older and new generation. The views of young people pertaining to political, social, and economic conditions of Cuba are described in the form of dialogue, discussion, dress, and music. The older generation had participated in the revolution and was influenced by Marxist ideology as propounded by Fidel Castro. During the earlier days, Castro obtained support and recognition from Soviet Union, but in the post Soviet days, the younger generation can no longer look for support from the Communist Block. Cuban teenagers have accepted new music, culture, dress, and behavior, which differentiate them from their forefathers.

The film Cuba Va depicts frustration of people as they realize that Castro and his revolution have failed to achieve promised equality and social justice. The new generation represents pragmatic face of Cuba, which needs to come to terms with reality that they need to deal with market economy. The younger generation represents a changed identity as it asserts its independence and autonomy. Older and new generations exhibit rise and fall of new political identity.

The Cuban identity, in the film Cuba Va is not explicitly exhibited rather it is represented in the form of new genre of music, dance, dress, and behavior. The film gives an opportunity to teenagers and people who were born during post revolutionary days to contemplate concerning future of their country and society. The younger generation is forced to speak concerning social and economic crises that were threatening to attack their country. People of Cuba enter into discussion. The older generation believes that their country should be protected from onslaught of capitalism and market economy. The younger generation, on the other hand, complains that there is no freedom of expression in the country. This shows that young people have realized negative implications of socialist ideology.

The film Cuba Va has changed perception of Cuba. This is because general perception is that Cuba is a socialist country influenced by Marxist ideology, but the film depicts new generation, which shows interest in rock and roll music and changed lifestyle.  The older generation continues to defend socialist ideology as described by Fidel Castro. The young people, on the other hand, realize that they paid a price for their education. They argue that they should be given the freedom to decide their future. Unlike in capitalist countries, students are compelled to adhere to official ideology. The younger generation identifies differences between socialism and capitalism. At the same time, students detest intervention by American or any other foreign country.

Another film that depicts new Cuban identity is the Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresa y chocolate), which represents life of gays and intellectuals. It became both controversial and popular, as people showed interest to watch this film, which dealt with a topic, which was ignored by earlier filmmakers. The film showed that gays and intellectuals were suppressed in the Castro regime, which believed in popularizing official ideology. The success of this film showed that younger generation was prepared to accept this theme.

The gay in the film is identified in the film through narration of an incident, wherein Diego asks for strawberry when chocolate was available. This way, people who buy strawberry were considered as gays while those who bought chocolate were considered as normal. The film represents struggle between homosexual beliefs and official ideology, which believed in the use of force to compel people to accept socialism, the ideology of the state.

The film has characters such as Diego, the homosexual, David, and Miguel. David finds that Diego is homosexual and is suspicious of his behavior. Miguel pressures his friend David to spy on Diego and give information to the government. It appears that gradually David is attracted by Diego due to his ideology.
Diego obtains considerable attention due to two reasons first, he is homosexual. Homosexuality was not expected by contemporary society and second, he was considered as counter revolutionary, the person who opposed state ideology. The character of Miguel indicates that state did not tolerate independent intellectual movement that would have resulted in popular revolt against the government.  German is the friend of Diego. German plans to organize an exhibition of his artistic works. He is known for his critical and intellectual abilities. The government bans Germans exhibition as the bureaucracy is suspicious of German and his dealings with foreign subjects. This compels Diego to challenge the attitude of state towards gay and intellectuals who exhibited their autonomy. The film shows that during post Soviet era, younger generation exhibited its opposition to state ideology. This shows emergence of conflict between intellectuals and state ideology.

In the pretext of controlling homosexuality, the state attempted to repress intellectual movement, which represented revolt against the state. The bureaucratic system would not allow artists to create artistic objects that represented their attitude towards Marxism. Diego justifies his idea concerning Cuban Revolution.
The rigid attitude of Diego affects his livelihood as he loses his job. On the other hand, German compromises with authority and for this he is compensated as he is sent to Mexico. Diego is adamant in the sense that he adheres to his ideology. This shows that younger generation comprised of people who compromised with the authority and courageous people who revolted against rigid form of socialism that deprived freedom and autonomy to the younger generation. (Wilkinson 1999)

The two films discussed above show that Cuba, in the post Soviet days, had entered a phase of transition. The younger generation showed courage to argue with older generation and demanded freedom. The films indicate emergence of a new Cuban identity. During this period, Cubans enhanced their relationship with Americans.

The earliest documented history of Haiti features foreign intervention, and such has remained consistent all through the centuries to date. The hand of foreign rule, occupation, and international tension has been heavy in shaping everything in Haiti, from the composition of its population to the social and political structures. Any developing nation has to grow through some measure of self-discovery by itself that features turmoil. However, when the process is perpetually interrupted and forced to start anew, the result is Haiti, a country that has known no scarce peace since Christopher Columbus stepped on the shores of the island in 1492. In this paper, I present the case that foreign intervention is central to Haiti s social, economic and political problems.

Background Colonialism and Slavery
To put into context the extent to which foreign intervention shaped Haiti, it is vital to explore the historical context against which issues play out, as they have a direct link to the events, sentiments, and assumptions that prevailed as history unfolded and shaped society, economy and politics in ways uniquely Haitian.

The Spaniards
The Taino people, when they existed, were a homely group who welcomed Columbus  expedition in 1462 and helped them around the island. However, they also knew about sovereignty and bore an innate sense of justice which led them to resist the despicable oppression that quickly unfolded, being meted out on them by the colonizing Spaniards. The latter, using all manner of crude barbarism, wiped out the Taino, effectively clearing Haiti   renamed Hispaniola   of any natives.

The French
More foreigners arrived after Columbus. The French came in 1625 to fill the gap in the North and West of the island left by the Spaniards in 1606 following the King s orders. Their immediate impact was commercial rather than social, as no natives existed. Introducing crops such as cocoa, tobacco, and coffee, they found themselves in need of labor and so started importing Africans at an alarming rate. By 1789, there were half a million Africans being ruled by just 30,000 whites, making the Africans by far the majority. To suppress them, they used untold brutality such as boiling blacks in molasses, burying them alive, lashing them, etc, in a bid to kill all their fighting spirit. Yet, this only heightened discontent, with slaves escaping to form bands of rebellion that terrorized whites. One famous band was headed by Mackandal, operating between 1751 and 1758. From these we see the seeds of revolution and anti-authoritarianism that would grow monstrous in Haiti through the centuries to follow.

The French also raped African women or forced them to become concubines, giving rise to a new group of mixed race Haitians named  gens de couleur  or simply  mulattoes.  These were given much better rights than Africans, but much lower than whites. While up until this point, distinctions only existed between blacks and whites, the gens de couleurs and the status they were accorded brought in a whole new dimension that would work to undermine unity in the future, as there now existed multiple tiers of class.
The French unintentionally sparked Haiti s independence after the French Revolution inspired Julien Raimond and Vincent Oge to start the Haitian Revolution in 1790. A history of infighting was cemented at this point as the revolutionary leaders   Mulattoes sympathetic to slavery, were debased by slaves led by Dutty Boukman the following year.

Independent Haiti
Blackmail
After declaring independence, Haiti was denied international recognition by Britain France and the US, all countries that practiced slavery andor colonialism. This was among the first significant foreign interventions in free Haiti, and it was devastating because Haiti s economy relied heavily on the export of its farm produce. The French used this in 1825 to blackmail Haiti s Boyer government into committing to repay France for  losses incurred  as a result of their expulsion from the island. This step seriously undermined Haiti s progress economically as they had to take out a loan at a very steep interest rate from the US to pay the French. These shackles would only eventually be cleared in 1947, over a century later. It must be born in mind that economic woes have been central to Haiti s problems to date.

The Vatican
The Vatican s intervention has been small but significant. In 1860, right after Geffrard had taken power in Haiti, he signed a treaty with the Vatican to institute Roman Catholicism as the official state religion. Catholic institutions that included schools and churches were set up under the treaty. This arrangement in itself was a noble one and worked to shape Haitian culture fundamentally as some of the population switched religions while others mixed their traditional voodoo with Catholicism to create something uniquely Haitian.
All the same, this intervention, noble as it was, would be at the center of conflict a century later when  Papa Doc  would wage war against it as un-African, instead imposing voodoo as the official state religion (Richman, 2005).

The US Occupation of Haiti
When any mention of  intervention in Haiti  is made, the first thing that comes to mind is the United States taking advantage and leading others into Haiti under the auspices of the United Nations. This picture is justified. When the Germans  influence in Haiti grew to staggering heights at the dawn of the 20th century, the Americans became uneasy the former controlled 80 of Haiti s foreign trade, owned Port-au-Prince s tramway as well as most of the rail services. They had also shorted the Haitian Constitution s prohibition on foreigners  ownership of land by marrying into elite Mulatto families. They were also influential in politics as they funded political factions fighting each other. The US was wary of all these given the geo-politics at the time, as nations got involved in an arms race in the run up to World War I.

Privatization
In view of the fears bred by Americans concerning Haiti, the National City Bank of New York in 1910 gathered a team of investors who bought a controlling stake in Banque Nationale d Haiti, Haiti s central bank and until then its only commercial bank as well. This meant that whatever profits the bank made was sent back to America, denying Haitians much needed re-investment capital. It also meant that the Haitians were no longer in control of their own country s monetary policy.

This undue influence was furthered dramatically by US President Woodrow Wilson s move in 1915 to occupy Haiti militarily. His administration was largely interested in exploiting Haiti s resources and labor under the guise of introducing foreign investment and democracy. They promptly installed their dummy President, Cartiquenave, whose first act was to sign away Haiti s sovereignty by allowing U.S interests to take control of the country s finance, constabulary, health sector, customs and more   essentially everything important to a country, for a period of 10 years. But the Americans still had not had their way as their major interest was to own Haitian land. In 1917, the dictated a new constitution and shoved it to the democratically elected parliament which summarily rejected it because it allowed foreigners to own land. For this, that Parliament was dissolved. Perhaps, if it had been retained, the ensuing years of perpetual conflict would have been abated.

Enslavement
For 3 years after their arrival, the Americans virtually enslaved Haitians by forcing them to work on building roads under an archaic French law called  corvee.  They put the Haitians to work on building 760 kilometers of road without pay. By 1918, it was clear to Haitians that they had lost their sovereignty, leading to another revolution. To quash the rebellion, US marines killed an estimated 15000 people during clashes, although they gave an official figure of 2250.

The undemocratically elected president was succeeded by another undemocratically-elected dictator, Louis Borno, who continued exploitative measures. It was not lost on Haitians that they were being colonized again, and just like their ancestors who fled, they also took off to seek better opportunities in the tobacco plantations of Cuba and the Dominican Republic. It is estimated that 40,000 emigrants left annually for the plantations. This starved Haiti of much-needed labor for its own economic growth, resulting in further poverty (Renda, 2000).

Legacy of Resentment, Violence and Poverty
The United States only left Haiti when their own conditions at home became too harsh, at the height of the Great Depression. This was in 1934 under the  good neighbor policy  by the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. To prove that this exit was forced, Roosevelt was the officer under President Wilson who drafted the 1917 forced constitution that was rejected, meaning he personally championed the exploitation of Haiti by Americans.

In all the time Americans occupied Haiti in this period, the leaders imposed on the people had been mulattoes. This deepened the division that existed between the social tiers as resentment grew and bred violence immediately, suppressing the Americans left. The civil wars that dogged the country in subsequent years were largely a contest between the black poor and the mixed race mulattoes who owned most of the land and property. The plundering of the economy by US bankers and investors coupled with the exodus of manpower was only compounded by the Great Depression as commodity prices collapsed. The result was all round poverty that quickly got worse as violent conflict prevented any meaningful development (Renda, 2000).

Sponsors of Impunity
1957-71 were years characterized by unimaginable atrocities under the rule of  Papa Doc,  Francois Duvalier. When his son took over in 1971, this did not end but merely reduced. Yet amid  Baby doc  Jean-Claude Duvalier s sheer incompetence at governance and open looting of the country s resources, the US resumed the aid to Haiti that it froze. This influenced other countries to follow suit, effectively sponsoring state terrorism, impunity, and dictatorship. Further, in the guise of aid, USAID pushed through its recommendation to wipe out all creole pigs in the country following the outbreak of swine flu. These pigs were a mainstay for most, and the replacements brought in were weak and quickly got wiped out by disease, leaving the Haitians even poorer than they were before (Renda, 2000).

The United Nations
Their intervention started in 1991 when, following Jean Aristide s corrupt and murderous rule, the military deposed him. This was a good thing yet the UN passed Resolution 841 that imposed sanctions on Haiti and worsened their bad economy. In July of the same year, when the military rulers seemed unlikely to buckle, the UN passed Resolution 940 that required nations to send in troops to depose the military regime and install the  democratically  elected government. This was effectively an official sponsorship of terrorism and impunity in that, while the military tried to restore sanity, the UN essentially made it clear that they preferred bad rule. To the credit of the UN, however, they oversaw the transition between two democratically-elected leaders for the first time in Haiti s history.

Conclusion
Intervention in Haiti is as old as the known history of it. The centuries of slavery and revolution, rebellion, and impoverishment by rich nations have ensured that Haiti has never known sustained peace. This is especially so since peace is slippery when poverty is rife. Unrest is usually brought about by discontent by the poor with the gaping disparity in wealth between them and the elite class, and the resulting conflict is played out on the political arena. In Haiti, subsequent selfish interventions by the French, Americans and the UN have repeatedly interrupted Haiti s process of self-discovery, ensuring that conflict and poverty remains the staple to date.

Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service, and its Centre for Latin American Studies, is undeniably, one of the nations most prestigious institutes for gaining knowledge on foreign relations. I have a keen inclination towards international relations and Latin American Studies, largely attributable to the events and experiences in the course of my life. I believe my knowledge, inquisition and interest on the subject to be the key reason in being awarded a coveted fellowship for graduate studies by the Fellowship board recently.
I am an American citizen by birth with an ancestry that can be traced back to Italy and Mexico. I have been brought up by a single parent with low earning capacity in a border town in Mexico.  After coming of age, I came back to US to pursue my higher education and realize my dream of a career in foreign services. I received my B.S. in Economics in 2009 from the University of Arizona. I also had the opportunity to undertake Grad-Level classes in international relations, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. War and Diplomacy, International Organizations and International Political Economy (3.6 GPA).   Subsequently, I worked with two US embassies  Papua New Guinea and Mexico. Currently, I am holding a position as a Management Analyst with the U.S. Department of Defense. Recently, I have also received a job offer from Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)  Strategy and Policy Section. I wish to undertake part time employment with DTRA while pursuing my studies at Georgetown. Additionally, my fellowship with the US Department
Foreign State Service will provide me the funding to cover up my expenses for the next two years.

My experiences of living in two very different neighboring countries has played a major role in promoting my interest in Latin American Studies and a career in Foreign Services. It has nurtured my desire to live in diverse foreign locations and to learn different cultures. I am extremely adaptive. My early years in Mexico have taught me to live comfortably in varied conditions and circumstances.  I have an aptitude for languages which takes me one step closer to fulfilling my dream. I am well versed with English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, and Melanesian TokPisin.

US has close economic ties with Latin America. Many US multinationals have operations in Mexico and other Latin American countries. I have successfully undertaken several internships with different agencies to deepen my knowledge on federal Government. For instance, I did an economic analysis on the automotive industry for the American Consulate in Monterrey. In the course of my research, I learned the expansive impact of multinational automotive companies.  If American automotive manufacturers suffer economically, tremendous negative effects on employment in Mexico can be observed. This, in turn results in collateral effects on emigration.

During my graduate studies, I would like to focus on matters related to transnational business.  I am sensitive not only to the higher level political aspects but to the lower level human aspects as well.  In my view, International relations not only involve nations with economic and cultural differences, but also human beings. The present financial uncertainty and turbulent global markets make Latin America even a more important target study area now.  The need for experts with analytical insight and ability to explore these matters further has never been greater. With my background and diverse international and professional experiences, I seek to be an active learner and participant in this institute. I am certain that your program will equip me with the necessary information and tools to facilitate my professional goals in this domain.

The 2000 film Thirteen Days, directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Kevin Costner and Bruce Greenwood, depicts the thirteen tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. What made this event significant in world history was the crisis nearly brought the world at the brink of nuclear war, a war that everyone feared no one will win, let alone survive.

The establishment of a communist regime on the island of Cuba approximately 90 miles from the continental United States has made Washington wary of having a communist state right at their doorstep.  The failure of the United States to remove Castro in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion had firmly put Cuba in the Soviet camp, giving the Soviets a foothold in the western hemisphere, a part of the world the United States hoped the Soviets would not be in.  Their fears were confirmed when American surveillance flights over Cuba beginning on October 14, 1962 when a U-2 surveillance plane brought back pictures which later revealed that the Soviets were putting up military bases in Cuba where they could launch short to medium-ranged ballistic missiles aimed at the eastern seaboard of the United States.  Given the proximity of Cuba and the range of the missiles, miltary analysts said that the US would have less than a 5-minute warning should these missiles be launched in the event of war.

The film focuses on how the Kennedy Administration responded to this situation.  They were facing a dilemma.  For one thing, they could not afford to do nothing to do so would be a sign of weakness and  encourage  the Soviets and their allies to be more aggressive in the expansion of their influence around the world and would be a blow to American prestige at the same time.  The other response was military action which called for air strikes on these missile sites, to be followed up by an invasion of US forces, thus fulfilling what they failed to do in the Bay of Pigs and at the same time eliminate communist presence in the western hemisphere.  This was the proposal of the  hawks  in the crisis committee formed in the light of this incident.  What prevented this from happening was the political repercussions emphasized by the  doves.   They were reminded of the presnece of Soviet military personnel in Cuba and any attack would cause Soviet deaths, albeit accidental, which could elicit a similar response by the Soviets in Berlin where western and eastern bloc forces were facing off as well and this would be followed by the use of nuclear weapons which in turn would lead to World War III, a scenario no one would like to see happen.

The  doves  eventually prevailed as they came up with an innovative solution.  Short of attacking Cuba, the United States  quarantined  Cuba to prevent further entry of Soviet ships.  Quarantine was a feasible solution over a blockade for the latter constituted an act of war.  While this was happening, the US waged a 2-front  blitz  with an overt denunciaiton of the Soviet Union at the United Nations Security Council while conducting secret informal back-channel negotiations between the Americans and Soviets through emissaries as both sides could not afford to be seen talking to each other in a conciliatory tone at this point in time.  It was during these negotiations that a compromise was reached.  The Soviets agreed to pull out of Cuba with an assurance from the US that they will pull out their own missiles based in Turkey and not invade Cuba though they will continue to keep their naval base at Guantanamo on Cuban soil much to the consternation of Castro who was hoping to get Guantanamo back to complete his victory in the Cuban Revolution and affirm his stature among his people.

The film revealed an inner conflict in the Kennedy administration, as shown by the  hawks  and  doves.   If one were to follow the film, the  hawks  were clearly upset of being denied a chance to exercise American military might over an enemy and even said that the Kennedys liberal ways would bring the country down.  It can be inferred here that this would be the proverbial tip of the iceberg which would lead to a subsequent chain of events, culminating in Kennedys assassination in 1963 should one subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Kennedy was not assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald alone but that is another story that could be best discussed along with the viewing of Oliver Stones JFK.

In conclusion, Thirteen Days is a very insightful film that would complement printed references about this crisis though the only difference here is that according to survivng members of Kennedys administration, Kennedys political adviser, Kenny ODonnell (played by Kevin Costner) did not really play an active role in the crisis, contrary to what the film depicted.  Nonetheless, it is still factual enough to give life to what history books and other references say about these thirteen tense days of 1962.

The Lost City is a movie which tackles the situation of Cuba during the time of the pre-revolution up to the time of Fidel Castro.  The setting is in Havana in the year 1958, and the story is about Fico Fellove, the main character portrayed by Andy Garcia.  Fico is the owner of the night club called El Tropico, which is known to be one of the classiest clubs in Havana at that time.  This presentation of Havana depicted the economic and social status enjoyed by the Cubans before the outbreak of the revolution.  Cuba then was one of the more advanced countries in Latin America with a low mortality rate, and high literacy rate.  Being a small country with a relatively small population, Cuba was one of the most highly-educated races in the region with a rich gold reserve and abundant natural resources.  Everything looked promising for the country until the rebels slowly gained more and more adherents because of the dictatorship led by Fulgencio Batista, the president of Cuba during the said year.

Ficos club is doing well at the beginning of the movie, and everything seems to be peaceful and harmonious.  At Sunday dinners, Ficos family would all gather at their family house to spend time to bond together and catch up on each others lives.  During this Sunday dinner, however, tension would rise as one of Ficos brothers, Ricardo, would bring up the idea of revolution as a response to the increasing political unrest in Cuba.  Ricardo believed in the revolutionary ideology and becomes part of the rebels who would go against the government forces.  Another brother, Luis, is randomly arrested for publicizing anti-government sentiments.  Meanwhile, Fico still tried to remain as neutral as possible.

The aforementioned situations are reflective of Cubas situation immediately before the revolution.  The arrests were made in an effort to quell civilian unrest or possibly to strike fear on those who are contemplating on following the rebel ideology.  Social and economic conditions declined as a result of these uprisings as the political instability in the country continued to worsen.  Soon, however, Fulgencio Batista realizes that his governments future was bleak so he says goodbye to Cuba and flees to the Dominican Republic leaving the country in turmoil.  On the second week of 1959, Fidel Castro assumes the presidency and another dictatorship ascends to power.  Both events  the fleeing of Batista and the assumption of Castro are shown in the movie.

Luis is killed by pro-Batista forces.  Aurora, the wife of Luis, finds a shoulder-to-cry-on in Fico, and eventually, they fall in love.  On the other hand, Ricardo moves on to become one of the high-ranking leaders of Fidel de Castro.  The new dictatorship under Castro is more eager to assume power and control over the economy so they grab lands, businesses and property in the guise of saying that it was for the government, which actually took place and is manifested in Cubas historical records.  Ficos club is slowly taken control of and the tobacco farm of their uncle is taken by force by no less than Ricardo himself.  His uncle tries to assert his rights over his land and dies as a result of his anger against Ricardo.  Ricardo goes to his uncles funeral rites, gets a reprimand from every member of the family, is labeled a disgrace by his father and
eventually commits suicide.

With the increasing tension in Cuba, Ficos father suggests that he (Fico) should leave immediately before it was too late, since their family had already seen too much loss.  With much hesitation, Fico agrees to his fathers suggestion and he goes to the U.S. to seek refuge.  Fico leaves a ticket for Aurora, but she does not show up at the airport.  At first, Fico gets employed as a dishwasher at a club, then later on as the pianist.  Aurora finally shows up in the US when Fico is already regaining his self-worth and enjoying his freedom.  It is only when he is called upon by Meyer Lansky (Dustin Hoffman) to operate the Ficos El Tropico club in New York that Fico truly recovers the happiness he thought he had already lost.  

The situation in Cuba has not changed much after Castro became the countrys leader and has remained almost the same since then.  Education and healthcare have become government priorities but the curtailment of peoples freedom of expression as well as the harassment of anti-government proponents still persists.  The country is still under a socialist government, or adheres to communism and it continues to maintain anti-U.S. sentiments as a result of Castros predominant leanings.

As a whole, the movie The Lost City captured the overall scenario of the Cuban situation during the period tackled.  It is a movie which is worth watching because it accurately represents the revolution and its possible effects on a specific family, in this case, the Fellove family.  It also tackles the theme of love and how it can succeed despite all odds.          

The ongoing civil war and the ever spreading drug trade in Colombia are factors contributing to the gradual decline of the coffee economy in the country.

Bean production has repositioned between different countries over the past half century, with effects of the phenomena varying from the making of supernormal profits by large multinational companies, to the almost opposite state of affairs amongst the smallholder coffee farmers themselves, not to mention the vast amount of environmental degradation that results from the action of clearing large tracts of indigenous forests with the uncalculated assumption that the land therein is fertile enough to support growth of cash crops (Ezra 2009).

Furthermore, in the Colombian setting, the export industry has been dealt a tough blow by the said multinational companies which ventured into the country in a bid to secure the most inexpensive beans possible (Bergquist 1986). Historical accounts detail a period of time in the 1970s decade when over half of the Colombian legal exports were attributable to coffee, nevertheless, two decades later, this industry witnessed its abrupt demise, what with the coffees stake as a percentage of the exports dropping to a measly seven percent. Consequently, tens of thousands of the smallholder coffee farmers either changed over to other more remunerative crop varieties, including opium and coca, or took flight from the country altogether. Present circumstances detail oil as being the chief legal export from the country, notwithstanding the fact that a pregnant chunk of all those in employment in Colombia are in the coffee sector (Palacios 1982).

The 1960-1970 temporal frames can be singled out as the most lucrative era of coffee production in Colombia, when the Colombia Coffee Federation (FNC) oversaw all transactions regarding the commodity in the country a pound went for a handsome 3. Flash-forwarding to present day, the same pound of the substance only goes for a stingy 0.62

Agriculture served as the go-to industry back in the early half of the 20th century when the organization (FNC) was founded, acting as the voice for the thousands of rural farmers, especially in the political arena, but the situation today is such that the immense demands from the global domain has substantially crippled the Colombian coffee sector, facilitated by the imposition of the neoliberal model, encompassing the infliction of a diverse multiplicity of trade factors and conditionality. These include privatization, imprimatur of the free market system, dismissal of taxation and inadvertence of the governmental role and duty, not forgetting the deregulation of sectors (Brink 2003).

In accession, Colombian external debt amounts to over 35 billion, give or take resultantly, the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have increasingly become more and more vocal as to the initiatives that should be adopted by the country (Colombia) to make good on this huge deficit, for instance (William 1995), through expansion of exports to generate revenue purposely meant to finance the outstanding loans (Frank 2004).

Socio-cultural and political implications of the development of the coffee export economy
Coffee is undoubtedly the catalyst for political and economic development in Colombia the National Coffee Federation even pays subsidies to the aforementioned smallholder farmers in instances where international prices are deflated. The federation also goes the extra mile in providing infrastructural meliorations and related social services in all the coffee growing parts of the nation, initiatives it achieves through the process of proportionately taxing exports whenever international prices hit the ceiling. To this end, EXPOCAFE, the Federations export agency, presides over exportation of 50 of Colombias coffee (Sutti 2000).

The nations estimated 600,000 coffee farms actively contribute to rural development, not to mention cementing the countrys status as the second largest coffee producer worldwide. The road network has benefitted colossally through the building of the road and rail infrastructure, connecting the Pacific coast where ships dock in readiness to export the trade good, to Antioquia, the main coffee belt. Revenue derived from the exportation of coffee has in turn bankrolled the building of schools, hospitals and or rural clinics and dispensaries, and contributed to the exploitation of other exports. Subsequently, stability in the said coffee belt has gradually been fostered over the years (Ezra 2009).

Moreover, the small scale farmers in the country are more prominent in terms of production, juxtaposed against the situation in a variety of the other Latin American nations where plantation farming remains the most dominant livelihood, specializing in bananas, coffee and sugar.

The socio-cultural development has also witnessed the formation of many cooperatives in the country, as the coffee farmers strategically unionize so as to better their social welfare (Bergquist 1986). Notwithstanding this, the current global situation as hinted at earlier is largely undermining the said achievements made courtesy of the coffee sector in the country.

Effects of long-term civil war and drug trade on the Colombian coffee economy
The La Valencia phase, which begun in 1946 and lasted to the mid 1960s, saw the inhumane annihilation of over 300,000 Colombians, after which the drug trade crept into the political platform, facilitating corruption of those in power. About 4,000 Colombian civilians are killed every year cemented by unconfirmed estimates revealing that between 1992 and 2002, some 40,000 Colombians were killed and a million more displaced by the civil war (Skidmore 2009).

As a result, the environment created by these two factors (civil war and drug trade) has largely undermined the sustenance of economic development, not forgetting the difficulty of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) amidst the unrelenting kidnappings, guerrilla terrorist attacks and deteriorated social conditions in general (Brink 2003).

The civil war between the guerilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government, spanning over forty years, has evolved into a tussle by the opposing girded factions for control of the lucrative multi-billion dollar cocaine industry (Frank 2004). Close to five million people have consequently been displaced, transmigrating to urban slum areas, mostly in fear of the drug-related violence prevalent in the fertile rural areas.

In this regard, growth of the coffee economy has been undermined significantly, especially with the scarcity of willing manpower to stay in the said rural areas, where the drug trade flourishes, and thus, the divide between the urban rich and rural poor continues to widen by the day.

Latin America is a vast region in the Americas where the main languages spoken include Portuguese, Spanish and some French. The region covers a geographical area of approximately 21,069,501 square kilometers. Latin Americas total population was estimated at over 586 million people in 2009 and its combined GDP at  4.26 trillion. The expected economic growth rate is more or less 4 for the year 2010.

Latin America includes countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela among so many other countries. At the eve of independence, Latin America had a lot in common including common colonial domination and shared characteristics in terms of controlled access to global trade and concentrated land ownership. The region still shares a lot including history, culture, language and challenges.

The 19th century was characterized by mass migration brought about by the worlds first wave of migration from the Old to the new world. The Latin American population surged as a direct result of these mass migrations thus increasing the unskilled labor supply in the economy. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay received the largest number of immigrants in the 19th century. Case in point is Argentina where by the turn of the 20th century every one in three inhabitants was a foreigner while Uruguay doubled its population. (Arroyo, 2007)
The challenges of race and ethnicity are a direct result of the mass migrations of yore.  Latin American countries have grappled with racial discrimination of their minorities. Ones race or ethnical background is used today as a determinant of who gets opportunities and therefore wealth and health in Latin America. In countries like Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Guatemala indigenous men earn 35-65 less than white men. (Ferranti, Ferreira, Perry  Walton, 2003)

Another momentous phenomenon was the unprecedented trade that was experienced mainly as a result of decreasing costs in transport and technological innovation. During the same period there was an increase in the terms of trade.  This was a major boost to the agricultural sector since Latin America is a key producer of primary products. This trend favored two factors of production namely land and labor.

Land is considered a very valuable commodity in Latin America. This was the case in the 19th century and it is still the held perception today that ownership of land indicates an individuals class. The ruling class is referred to as the landed elite. There were many wars between the Latin American countries as they fought to control more land. These conflicts were also experienced internally as people struggled to accumulate this vital factor of production. Owning land was therefore a matter of life and death since it suggested wealth and uplifted ones social status which guaranteed the rich participation in the political system through voting. (Arroyo, 2007)

It is impossible to separate the issue of inequality even as we discuss the influence of the global system and the history of Latin America. This is because inequality has been a major challenge that has managed to intertwine itself in every milestone event in the making of Latin America.

Ferranti, et al (2003) reported that Latin America was extremely unequal in terms of incomes, access to health, education, water and electricity. The report also established that there were wide disparities in opportunities and wealth. These have only served to undercut efforts aimed at reduction of poverty and the development agenda.

As the global market exerted more and more pressure on Latin Americas production system, the distribution of income and resources became increasingly lopsided leaving a lasting challenge on the ruling elite. Much has been said about the problem of inequality in Latin America but it is safe to state that the injustices are historical in nature.

Successive governments have only served to perpetuate the problem of inequality and its resulting features instead of dealing with the problem. The levels of inequality have continued to rise, several years after independence. For instance, 48 of the total income of Latin America and the Caribbean was earned by the richest one- tenth of the population whereas the poorest one tenth earned a meager 1.6.  It gets worse the levels of inequality in Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay have significantly risen. This fact shows that. (Ferranti et al, 2003)

The favorable terms of trade experienced right after independence resulted in land annexation and in most Latin American countries. The distribution of other vital resources was heavily skewed in favor of the rich landowners who went on to ride roughshod over the masses. This resulted in inequalities within the population as the gap between the haves and the have- nots widened. Inequality is still a major problem in Latin America today since little has been done to address the concerns of those who feel marginalized.

There have been several periods of colonization in Latin America and each of them has resulted to anti- colonial movements. The colonial period came to an end in the mid 19th century with the wars of independence. Another era immediately followed and this was known as neocolonialism. In this case Latin America was still subject to British economic controls. Britain was later replaced by the United States to whom the Latin American economies were overly dependent. This continued foreign interference led to anti- colonial sentiments which escalated into anti imperialistic movements across the region. (Young, 2001)
Anti-imperialist sentiments are still manifested today as can be seen in the kinds of leaders who have assumed power in the recent past. These include Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Jose Mujica of Uruguay, Lula da Silva of Brazil and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua among many others. These leaders have taken every available opportunity to apportion blame instead of facing their countries challenges with the same zeal.

In conclusion, the world economic system and its dynamics have played a major role in shaping the history of the Latin American region. This has been illustrated in the events that have occurred in the area, the challenges that have arisen and the collective response of the respective countries. What is needed is to enact comprehensive institutional reforms that will also serve to address the issues facing this region. Maybe then Latin America will arise from its deep slumber and claim its rightful place in the world.

Political ideology, spirituality, the interconnectedness of life An Analysis of Ana Castillos So Far From God
Ana Castillos So Far From God uses humor, burlesque to challenge the cultural stereotypes, perceptions that are dominantly held by people in Chicana. Through the weakening of her marriage, the death of her daughters and her aspiration for social activism, Castillo creates an image of a Mexican-American woman who defies all the olds against her and comes far stronger than ever before. To achieve her objective she mixes religion, sex, laughter, supernatural encounters and heartbreaking stories in the novel unlike anything else seen in American literature. Her desire is to reveal the joys and realities of the present day Mexican-American on the border of the American culture. (Manriquez)

To achieve her objective she mixes religion, sex, laughter, supernatural encounters and heartbreaking stories in the novel unlike anything else seen in American literature. Her desire is to reveal the joys and realities of the present day Mexican-American on the border of the American culture. (Manriquez)

Everybody attends the funeral except the husband, Domigo. Nobody in her family had accepted their marriage even the priest had refused to preside over their wedding. That marriage had a black ribbon on its door from the beginning. Softs grandfather had refused to give the young lovers his blessing, the father had forbidden Softs querido to step foot in their house during their three-year courtship, and the local parish priest joined the opposition when he refused to marry the couple in church (Castillo 21).

Her husband had left shortly after Locas conception. Each daughters name is a parody of the virtue represented by her name. At the funeral she was said to have set on the coffin and chased the priest away. The lid had pushed all the way open and the little girl inside sat up, just as sweetly as if she had woken from a nap, rubbing her eyes and yawning(Castillo 22) She has since acquired a general fear of people. All the five women experience different personal experiences as a result of their interaction with the environment and gender.

The books theme centers on the womans role in the society. In the traditional Chicana life women were supposed to look after their husband, children and their father. These roles can be very difficult especially for a modern day woman, and Castillo challenges these roles in her book. Esperanza, Caridad and La Loca try as much as possible to be loyal and dutiful daughters and wives yet they are not successful in their roles. Esperanzas boyfriend leaves her for another woman, while Fes husband gives her job that kills her. (Manriquez)

The characters combine with the plot permitting the author to use absurd scenarios in the narrative to address the opposing and conflicting subjects of being an American -Mexican. Castillo identifies the chaos in the American society as well as the chaos and discrimination in the Chicana culture. She uses absurdist riddles to explain the absurdity of life in the American society for a Chicana thus in, So Far From God Castillo provides a series of ridiculous and mockery incidents and characters who are distorted and caricatured.

Castillos imitation turned burlesque makes use of parody. Burlesque becomes a way of rejecting the normal manner of ordering reality in a novel and turns instead to ridiculing history, religion, society and anything else that tries to impose direction upon existence. Castillo ridicules wisdom of mothers, fraternity of sisters, and the sanctity of saints and loyalty of friendship.

In one of her absurd techniques Castillo gives a story of the women by using both burlesque and humor in different scenarios.

When Esperanza comes home with her mother from the hospital where her sister lies dying, they dont find La Loca. They could not find her any where even in the stall where the horses are or in the field. The dogs cannot explain her whereabouts instead they stare at Esperanza blankly when asked about La Loca. She decides to call the police. As she was dialing the police number, they heard a commotion in the wood burning stove in the living room. They all heard the sound and rushed quickly to get her out. Mom, is Caridad dead La Loca asked soot-covered, arms around her mothers shoulders. She was crying. No, jita, your sister is not dead. Gracias a Dios. (Castillo 34)

Esperanza tries to console her mother Sofi with words but she did not put her arms around her mothers shoulders (Castillo 34). Esperanza represents hope but cannot embrace her mother whose name represents wisdom. Once more the figurative implication of their name is challenged. Esperanza (Hope) is not capable of giving any hope to her mother, SophiaWisdom either as a player in the narrative or to wisdom the name she represents. (Manriquez)

Castillos characterization and plot are very unique and her spread throughout the novel. She brings them together to show the ambivalence of Chicana culture and values. Religion and social economic values are mixed with narrative intrusions of advice to women and social political comments to illustrate the absurdity of conservative attitudes towards the material social economic vicissitudes that are present in the Chicanos everyday life.

The characters act out the attributes symbolized by their names up to the time they meet with a natural disaster or a macho male character. For instance Esperanzas college studies do not guarantee any hope. In addition it does not help her escape from the cultural confinement that her family is engrossed in. She desires to run away from Tome by going to college in order to learn new ways of interacting with other people and also lean other practical skills. But the familys needs and interpersonal relationships especially with the opposite sex pull her back to the dysfunctional family cocoon. Since she harbors a big desire for male characters she continues to let her renegade boyfriend to sexually abuse her. Her family also continues to use her, directing her life and dictating her choice of career. In this way she is torn between the traditional family beliefs and the modern life learned in school as shown in the contemporary society. Castillo does not want to reform a world that is far from remedy rather she sees the absurdity of the Chicanos as a big joke. The response she desires is laughter. It is evident that the characters in So Far From God who desire material success and a happy life either through the rejection or acceptance of the Chicana cultural lifestyle do not succeed. (Manriquez)

In the absurd world of So Far From God, Sofis daughters are very unlucky. The harmful forces from the machismo and patriarchy that make Sofi strong kill her daughters and their virtues. (Manriquez)
 Only Sofi survives by accommodating Catholicism, folklore and feminism. Fe is rejected by her boyfriend just before they got married. She screams non stop since she has lost faith in herself the mitotera explains her thus Fe and her bloodcurdling wail became part of the households routine so that the animals didnt even jump or howl no more whenever Fe, after a brief intermission when she dozed off, woke up abruptly and put her good lungs to full use (Castillo, 32).

In her narrative, Castillo confronts both religion and spirituality. She shows that the transformational effort of the human spirit in struggle also finds expression and rest in the religious, spiritual and metaphysical environment of the victim (Manriquez)

By focusing on communities of women, a Chicana feminism fueled by a womans centered spirituality comes out to challenge the suppression of women within the omnipresent notions of religion as an obstacle to women emancipation. (Manriquez)

So Far From God is weird and powerful. Its humor is basket full of a strong political message. The message is quite simple women will always triumph whether in life or in death irrespective of the treatment they receive from men and the society as a whole. Castillo survives because she is able to work with the customs she acquired. By assuming an evasive perspective, she questions the ultimate ethical and aesthetic chaos that results from rebelling against the dominant cultural standards of what should or should not be. Her daughters who attempt to create order in their lives encounter accidents of life that can not go beyond their heritage and customs. They suffer the consequences.