July 12, 2001

Subject: Re: [AztlanNet: ARTS|LETTERS] FWD: Give us your opinion on this matter
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 04:50:19
From: "Marco Loera" <m_loera@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com
To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com

This is more or less like "assimilation" vs. "acculturation," right?

Assimilation assumes you forget your culture and you become integrated into the dominant culture. And acculturation is taking attributes from both cultures and creating an hybrid form of culture, like Chicanismo......Another topic that has been on my mind is the duality of the reverance and malevolence towards women in the Mexican culture. I think a typical example of this is exemplified in the popular slang terms "a toda madre," "pura desmadre," and the use of "la chingada" as a term. There was a performance piece in a Guillermo Gomez-Pena performance where a character, "La Superchicana" came out onto a stage in a lounge-type set up in a white Quinceanera dress, complete with her sparkling crown. The performance arist appeared to be anywhere from 17-25 years old. She would then slowly move through a series of slow gestures suggesting innocence and purity (always smiling innocently), then proceed to sit down and remove her crown, her garter (with the help of a performance assistant), and them her dress.

Underneath, she wore a bra and g-string which she would then proceed to do a strip-tease show, taunting Latino and non-Latino audience members in the audience to tip her, and she then invited male audience members to eat Jalapenos while the sat on her lap. I thought it was a brilliant piece. It clearly exemplified the imposed role of the Mexican woman as innocent/pure/virgin and at the same time a slut/whore. I see this behavior in many of my male Mexican friends and relatives. I guess I bring this up to start a dialogue about sexism in the Mexican/Chican@ culture since some of the discussion on this list these past months has bordered on blatant sexism against women, in the name of "La Virgen."

Marco
-------------------------

FWD: by New Americas @ZoneZero

Perhaps what we are seeing is, in the context of the history of the Americas, merely the ongoing process of mestizaje, which originally described the mingling of European and Indian blood and culture that created the mixed people (mestizos) that are the majority in Latin America today.

Mestizaje, unlike the U.S. assimilationist term"melting pot," allows for the Indian influence to serve not as a historical footnote but as an enduring, ever-evolving legacy.
              
Likewise, it allows for new influences to be adopted continuously without really jeapordizing the historical root. Mestizaje is a journey that has no end; it is the cultural version of perpetual motion not in theory but in practice.

Give us your opinion on this matter:

 

Subject: Re: [AztlanNet: ARTS|LETTERS] FWD: Give us your opinion on this matter
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 12:18:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: Pedro Romero <romesedeno@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com
To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com

Evil is a time-conditioned reality, and unreal from an eternal viewpoint. "The mistakes you fail to forget in time will be forgotten in eternity."

"God only knows two kinds of people: those that want to do his will and those that don't want to." -the Urantia Book. You can find a very interesting view on "The Unreality of Sin" and "Sin vs. Error" in A course in Miracles. Its view is that darkness is but the absence of light, and sin is a lack of love.

In regards to sexism in the debate about "La Virgen", both Alma Lopez and Judy Chicago have made sexist assessments of the Santa Fe community which is opposed to the poster. They do a disservice to women by characterizing women dissenting from their view as unthinking "followers of men". Such is not the case as can be seen in postings I was asked to forward from Gloria Mendoza of Santa Fe and Adriana Sandoval from Tampico, Mexico.

--- Marco Loera <m_loera@hotmail.com> wrote:
What is "EVIL," Octavio? Is it individualism? Is not individualism the root of evil? Is not individualism and competition "wo(man) vs. wo(man)" the core of capitalism? Are people not bound to commit evil when accepting to participate in such a system? Is it acceptable to commit less evil than more? Is a female more evil than an evil male in the same position in this system? Is a question of gender not relevant in this matter? Should not "evil" be addressed and not "gender" in this matter?

I guess my conclusion is drawn.

Marco
aka "Scott Evil"