The Art of Creation

"Iracema would then see the stranger go from the prairies of the Tabajara; then will gladness return to her heart?" (Alencar, Pg. 25) 

Have you ever felt as if you were being tugged in different directions by opposing but equal forces?

Iracema seems to be really conflicted and feels a lot of pressure from her people. Martim is also very conflicted because he has a bride waiting for him at home, but now he is wondering about Iracema because she is so different from anything or anyone he has ever met and now his eyes are opening and wondering about other possibilities, like Iracema.

Isn't it funny how when worlds collide we feel like we are being pulled in different directions? 

This video illustrates what is happening to Martim and Iracema. As Portugal and Tabajara are bridged to create Brasil.

I think we all experience this when we are moving through life and finding what we are comfortable with. But it seems to me that it is difficult to stay comfortable for long. I feel we often find something that is different and intriguing and we desire to understand it because we don't understand it.

I think that men especially are stereo typical for doing this. Martim, for instance, is involved in conquest, and it its the manly conquest in him that leads him to be so intrigued and want to conquer or understand and know Iracema.

This makes me think of totality and infinity. The conquistador in men seems to want to know others entirely. But it is true that once we know them we no longer value them the same, but we begin to treat them as objects. On the other hand, I feel that the way to overcome this almost eternal conquest, pull and intrigue, is to learn to see others with an infinity mindset. as we see others as infinite beings we are able to find someone we want to be with forever as well as live appropriately around others without being intrigued inappropriately by passions we should not feed. It is as we see others infinitely that we are able to combine our world with another person's world and create a new world correctly. I believe God the Creator, our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ, are the masters of this difficult art.

I don't know if this made any sense, I hope so haha 

New world, Old Woman

"Far, very far, from that Serra which purples the horizon, was born Iracema." (Alencar, Pg. 9)

Iracema reminds me of these three pictures from the text book. 

"Iracema left from the bath. Pearl drops of water stood upon her..." (Alencar, Pg. 9)

This picture reminds me of Iracema for obvious reasons. The reason I include this picture is because I feel like the concept of bathing in the woods or jungle is something that was very typical of the "untouched" culture in which Iracema is depicted. I feel it is symbolic of innocence and cleanliness from the pollution of the civilized European world.

 "the bather", Juan Corderro

"the Huntress of the Andes", Felipe Gutierrez

"Rapid as her eye-glance was the reaction of Iracema. An arrow shot from the bow..."
 (Alencar, Pg. 10)

Iracema was obviously a warrior or hunter of some sort. She had qualities that most European women did not possess. To me this picture portrays that art primarily lost from the pristine place in which Iracema lived when the Europeans came to Latin America. I can't tell if this "Huntress" is dead, but if she is I interpret that as being symbolic of the loss of this part of the culture.

"Paraguay: Image of Your Desolate Country", Juan Manuel Blanes.

 Finally, I draw parallels between this picture and Iracema because in the end of many of these pristine cultures we find destruction and desolation. As with the Aztecs, Mayans, and many other indigenous people.















I have had a realization since reading and learning about Iracema. I have realized that this story, a story of a place that is beautiful, natural, pristine, and uncorrupted by the modern world. This story has been illustrated over and over again by woman.

This is a video of Pocahontas meeting John Smith. Pocahontas is like Iracema, she lives in a pristine world uncorrupted by the modern society of Europe. I find this clip very interesting because it is the first time she meets John Smith, it is very much like the meeting of Iracema and Martin, except Pocahontas does not shoot John Smith in the face with an arrow.

 John Smith and Pocahontas meeting is very symbolic of the connection between he culture and his, the collision of their two different worlds. The modernized European world and the "New World".

Another example made by Disney is the movie "Atlantis" in which a young American male is in search of the lost city of Atlantis. He finds the indigenous people of the city and of course connects with a woman in the society who bridges the gap for him into her culture, just like pocahontas, La Malinche, and Iracema.

A similar story again is Avatar, as seen in class.

Tarzan and Jane is the same story, just flip flopped.

Flowers and Songs of Sorrow

"Nothing but flowers and songs of sorrow

Are left in Mexico and Tlatelolco

Where once we saw warriors and wise men...

Have you grown weary of your servants?

Are you angry with your servants?

O Giver of Life?"

I have two things to talk about concerning this passage. The first is a question...why are there flowers in Mexico after the destruction of Tenochtitlan? I have a couple ideas. One idea is simply that graves are often marked and honored with flowers. Similar to the holiday Dia de los Muertos.
                                                    

This is an "ofrenda" or an altar used to celebrate and remember ancestors who have passed away. As you can see it is covered in flowers. I suppose that roots of the Mexican traditions of Dia de los Muertos have some connection to the feelings and thoughts expressed in the authors words above.

Another idea has an undertone of hope.

Life is a cycle, when things are built up they will at some point break down. Often this break down leads to sorrow and despair. But the hope is that flowers will grow out of the ashes. I guess my thought is that the author believes and hopes that flowers will grow out of the carnage and ashes of Tenochtitlan. I believe that today Latin America has become in many ways like a flower rising from the ashes. 

The following video is what comes to my mind when I think of this concept of rising from the ashes. It is from Disney's Fantasia.

I feel like the above account is very similar to Mormon's writings at the destruction of the Nephite people. They are both mourning after the damage is done. However, I find it very interesting how their mourning is different. In the above account there is a very solemn feeling of mourning, however the author is mourning because they feel the people have upset their God, which fault has led to their destruction. On the other hand, the scriptural passage below illustrates a different perspective on a similar situation. Mormon was a leader in his people's military during the destruction of his people. He is one of the sole survivors at the time he pens this passage. He is writing after he witnesses the utter destruction of his people. If you can imagine, extremely similar to the scene of Tenochtitlan, your own people on an enormous battlefield, no one is left standing as far as you can see. You are alone, you have seen your own people dig deeper and deeper into this hole of destruction.  Mormon pours out his soul concerning this:

 "17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

 18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.

 19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!

 20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return."

(Mormon 6, Book of Mormon)

I find it interesting to compare the two passages of mourning in situations extremely similar. This second account shows us Mormon's view on destruction being due to the disintegration of morality among his people. I wonder how similar Aztecs and Nephites were before their destruction. I wonder if there were people like Mormon around Tenochtitlan, who felt the same way he did at the fall of Tenochtitlan.

Fear of Being

"In the struggle which our will-to-be carries on against them, they are supported by a secret and powerful ally, our Fear of Being. Everything that makes up the present-day Mexican, as we have seen, can be reduced to this: the Mexican does not want or Does not Dare to be himself."
 (Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, page 73)

This chapter, the Sons of La Malinche, was really hard for me to understand. I feel like I second guess my interpretation of what Paz is saying. But I am going to put my best foot forward with my own interpretation of what he is saying. Despite my confusion, I do feel that the above quote is kind of profound. Mostly the part about the "fear of being". I also was intrigued by Paz' all inclusive statement "Everything that makes up the present day Mexican". It is not all that often that people can really make a claim that is so all inclusive as that. We tend to shy away from words like "all", "always", "never", "everything", and "everyone". Why is it that Paz takes the liberty to say "Everything"? I also wonder what Paz believes is the "real" Mexican, what would it look like to Paz if a Mexican were being himself?

This has made me think about what our society portrays Mexicans as and how that is fulfilling prophesy of what Paz has said. I served a mission in Ogden, Utah. In the city of Ogden, 30% of the population is Hispanic and I served in the area where about 75% of those people lived. I would estimate that 70% of the people I talked to on the street in those neighborhoods were Hispanic. From my experience, the stereotype is that all Hispanics are considered Mexican by everyone who is not Hispanic. Which is pretty ridiculous, even though (based on my experience) the majority Hispanics in Ogden  are of Mexican descent, I feel like part of what Paz is suggesting is seen in this stereotype, because it lumps all Hispanics into a group that strips them of their identity and heritage. The Mexican can no longer be himself in the world around him because the world around him sees him as exactly the same as people who live hundreds of miles away from him in South America.

Another stereotype I found while serving in Ogden was that Mexicans are prone to be criminals. I feel like this originates with the idea that "all Mexicans" illegally cross the border and from that moment on they are prone to criminal activity.

 This is a quote that came to my mind when I read this chapter. It really rings true to me with Paz' statement about "fear of being".

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
                                                                                                         Marianne Williamson

I really believe that all people are children of God and that all people have a culture and heritage that they need to understand and which is important to who they are at least to some degree.