The writing of Secret of the Andes is beautifully, descriptively and simply written by Ann Nolan Clark. E. B. White's Charlotte's Web was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal the year Secret of the Andes won the award. According to a 2008 article it was stated that they voted for Secret of the Andes rather than Charlotte's Web "because they hadn't seen any good books about South America." It further commented, "The Secret of the Andes is a good book; Charlotte's Web, the best." Secret of the Andes is a story about a young Inca boy named Cusi who lived with his guardian Chuto in Hidden Valley, high in the Andes Mountains. One day at the beginning of the book Cusi sees a family in the valley below while tending their flock of llamas and is surprised
When it comes to analyzing the “banana massacre” scene in chapter 15, I found three narrative techniques the author used to describe this scene. Therefore, one can notice that this part of the book is the climax. As a result, one infers what the author is trying to say about Latin American history and politics.
Memory is a tool through which Campanella attempts to uncover the dark days in Argentina’s political history; the country was moving away from democracy and into a military regime, despite having democratically confirmed Isabel Perón as president . Through memory, the film becomes a political narrative of the terrible violence, murder rape and other forms of injustices associated with La junta Militar (The military Junta) overtaken of power in the mid-1970s. “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes) is particularly noteworthy as it is among the fewest forms of art, including existing literature that peeks into these chaotic years in Argentina. A time of terror known as the Dirty Warm, seven y...
The Inca Empire Janos Gyarmati’s Paria la Viexa and an expanding empire: Provincial centers in the political economy of the Inca Empire proved that the Inca’s built an empire unlike any other. From 1440 to 1532 A.D., the Inca Empire dominated the Americas. Known as “the fastest growing and largest territorial empire”(Gyarmati 37) of its time, the Inca Empire left a mark with their complex, perpetual and innovative economic, road, and settlement system. The Inca’s were advanced for their time, however, they lacked a system that would guarantee the survival of their kin. In order to strive, for the long-term, the Inca’s created provincial centers that would ensure their growth and economy for the generations to come.
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
Vasco da Gama was born into a family with a very high social status around 1469 in Sines, Portugal; however, very little is known about his early life and family. All that is known about Vasco’s family is the fact that he had four brothers, one sister, and that their father Estevao da Gama was the commander of a major fort in Sines. When Vasco da Gama came of age he joined the navy, where he would be taught how to navigate the navy’s ships. In 1492, King John II of Portugal sent Vasco da Gama at only the age of about 23 to south of Lisbon to seize the French ships as revenge to the French government for interfering with Portuguese shipping. By doing so, this would earn Vasco the reputation of being a fearless navigator and a ruthless sailor.
Since it was first discovered by European explorers, Latin America has supplied raw materials and labor to Europe and other locations around the world. Eduardo Galeano writes about the exploitation of native Latin Americans in his 1973 book Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Galeano takes a historical approach and examines colonial and post-colonial interactions between Europeans and Latin Americans. He asserts that the native Latin Americans were essentially powerless to fight this exploitation because of the dominance of the European powers. In his 2008 book Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug, Paul Gootenberg writes about the discovery of cocaine and its transition from a regional good to a global commodity. Gootenberg combines history and economics in his view of the relationships between the two powers. Unlike Galeano, he shows a side of Latin American history in which the native people of Latin America had power, however limited, to control their positions in the economic system imposed by the Europeans. Gootenberg accepts Galeano’s theory of dominance as a starting point but complicates it by including the agency of the local people of Latin America, especially Peru. Gootenberg shifts the focus of his book from the national and European players to the local Latin American actors involved in the cocaine commodity chain—from growers and harvesters to refiners and distributors. This theory involves more of the disparate components present in the economies of Latin America; therefore, it is a better way to describe historical relationships between Latin America and Europe.
Julia Alvarez was an example of how a Latina writer identified herself in a new culture outside of her comfort zone. She, as a Dominican Diaspora, had to reinvent herself as she migrated into a new scenario. Her assimilation into the United States culture allowed her to understand and relate to the reader’s needs and points of interests. After all the effort, Alvarez kept in mind that she could not comfort to all the reality that she lived in, so she re-reinvented herself all over again to process her thoughts and beliefs into her life. She put her perspective on her writing so that the new wave of readers, even if they did not understand, could relate in some way and appreciate the differences. The sole purpose of her writings was for everyone to change their perspective from “walk to the other side of the street in order to avoid sharing the same sidewalk” to “I do not know them, but I do not avoid them because I do not know them”. She instilled in her reader’s mind how ordinary events were viewed differently through other cultures’ eyes. Her story Snow was a great example of how she portrayed her technique.
Walter Mignolo explored the ways America had emerged as the forth continental division in the European understanding of the world. Mignolo did this through: examining the continental triad of Christian cosmology, explaining how the mercantile economy was transformed into a capitalist because of the “discovery” of America, and explaining the consequences of the West becoming the place from where categories of dominant knowledge and classifications of the rest of the world were created. Those three topics defined how America was invented rather than discovered.
Before the Europeans even thought about finding a way to China and accidentally found the America, a group of Indians lived in South America. These Indians were called the Incans. Incans ruled the West side of South America. The empire ran through parts of many present day countries: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. The Incan Empire was a great civilization that thrived for many years and paved the way for modern civilation.
Food is one of human beings favorite addiction. From the arepas, to arroz con coco (coconut rice) there are many different platters from my cultural background. Being Colombian and eating Colombian almost every day brings me closer to these aspects from my culture. The way I feel connected to my Colombian culture is through its food. Many of the meals that I have eaten in my life come from my Colombian culture. Whether I’m home, at my aunt’s house or a family party something that is being made connects me back to my food roots.
Great civilizations rise and fall throughout the course of history. From the Romans and Greeks to the Aztecs and Maya, every society has its own great achievements and miserable failures. The discovery of the Americas in the late fifteenth century leads to the creation of many great empires and the demise of others. In particular, the Spanish expand their empire into the Americas and conquer any people that stand in their way. The Inca are one of these people. To the Spanish, the Inca are mere barbarians lacking a written language, iron forging abilities, and other European customs and practices. Despite the absence of qualities the Europeans consider to be necessary for an advanced society, the Inca are able to achieve immense accomplishments within their empire. One of the greatest accomplishments can be seen in the ancient city of Machu Picchu. The drainage engineering and hydraulic engineering techniques at this site prove that the Inca are no less primitive in their abilities than the Spanish during the time of the American conquest.
The Story of El Dorado convinced numerous people of a path to riches. The idea of a land full of wealth brought many explorers through an endless journey, some of them ending in tragic situations. To this day, historians scrounge for any info they can find on this myth, pondering whether the fable was ever true. In order to discover the truth behind the myth, researchers will have to turn back long ago, to the 1500’s, where tribes and explorers fought tooth and nail for what they thought was rightfully theirs. Two theories lie behind the question of whether or not El Dorado ever existed, these being the ways of the tribes and what the explorers found.
Pablo Neruda is recognized as an influential poet, still people can’t separate his poetry from his politics; instead, critics analyze him for all he is: the sad, the happy, the political and the personal. Pablo Neruda’s thematic mood changes and progresses in perspective to his poems "Body of a Woman", "Ode to the Yellow Bird", and "The Portrait in the Rock" (in that chronological order). Neruda not only progresses from the first line to the last line in each individual poem but as a poet over time. For Neruda’s readers to feel the shift in tone and the distinctive atmosphere, he uses incredible imagery aided by figurative language and symbolism. Nature is the constant in Pablo Neruda’s poetry, but through the imagery, figurative language,
Global literatures in English have always played a key role in developing international understanding and appreciation for the social realities and cultural developments beyond Western lifestyles and familiarity. For anthropologists seeking to perceive the social realities of 20th century Latin America, the work of popular authors and novelists of this century is invaluable. Popular authors are the modern mouthpieces of the people and societies who read and love them, and thus, novelists can serve as reliable representatives of the social climate from which they draw material and compose their works.
Peruvians represent a minority group in the United States. Two of the main reasons why Peruvians have migrated to different cities of this country are: political and economic changes in Peru. As most of people who abandon their countries, what motivates Peruvians to come is the desire to improve their life here as well as their families’ life (Paerregaard, 2005). However, even when they migrate from Peru to the United States, they tend to keep their views and values with them, which continues to influence their lives. Even though, this group share similar characteristics with other Latino groups that have Hispanic origins, Peruvians have social and cultural distinctiveness. An interview