I have, on occasion, been asked why I have such a deep and unyielding love for Latin America. In a country like the United States many seem to conciously or unconciously relegate the region to images of margaritas at all-inclusive resorts, blood-thirsty drug runners or dusty peasants headed northbound looking to work/leech off the teat of hardworking Americans. What they dont see is the majestic beauty, both physical as well as spiritual, which encompasses the region like a soft glow seen through the rusted cracks in a tin roof. The spirit of the lands south of the Rio Grande transcend the shallow, vapid selfishness of our society. They have been exploited, abused, tortured, murdered, ignored, conquered and disrespected for half a millenia. In spite of this, their backs are strong, their determination is hardened and their pride is inextinguishable. To those who see Cancun, narcos and illegals (I ask you... how can a human being be illegal?) I tell you that you have not seen the streets of Guadalajara on a Sunday afternoon. You have not seen a Zapatista smiling from behind a balaclava. You have not eaten breakfast in the market of Antigua, Guatemala. You have not shared a ride in a cramped van through the endless banana, palm nut, and pineaple plantations of the Honduran coast. You have not revelled in Carnaval along the malecon in Mazatlan. You have not devoured an entire grilled fish cooked over coals in San Blas. You have not jumped, startled by the nightly firing of the cannon over Havana harbor. So I ask you to stop and think about how these ideas you might have came to be. Why do we feel so distant and removed from an entire culture without which our society would not have developed in such a way? How do we justify such attitudes towards a people who have been subjected to 500 years of European and then American imperialism and still stood in proud defiance at every turn, refusing to capitulate completely? I love Latin America because I know Latin America. You can know it to. It will welcome you with open arms if you let it.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:45:28 +0000
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