I don't know if Professor Mack is just a clutch lecturer or what, but when the "Humanities Hot Shots" of Brigham Young University show up to observe our classes with their fancy Sunday dress and massive vocabularies, he totally turns up the heat a bit and produces epic discussions. Great stuff. Today was one of my favorite classes of the entire semester and was that way because of the feelings that I had. Believe it or not, before I enrolled in this class, I had no idea what the Humanites actually were. If you had asked that I produce a simple definition of this field of study, I would have looked at you with only the blankest of stares. I now think, at least, that I understand a bit more. From what I have heard Professor Mack teach, I feel like the humanities help us better come to understand the quality of being human and identify with what makes us human beings.
As taught today, oftentimes we analyze a work of art, whether it be poetry, a novel, a painting, or something else, and attempt to find concrete answers yet, in other cases, the way that we feel can be the most special of discoveries. Today's class was special for me because of the way that it made me think and feel, not only about Latin America, but about humankind, collectively. What spawned such emotions? Check it out:
( Calle 13, "Latinoamérica" )
This song could not be any more appropriately titled. What I most love about this song is how it encompases all of the various "flavors" of Latin America. The music video portrays beautifully the most popular languages of Latin America - Indigenous dialects, Spanish, and Portuguese. The people, though both humble and simple, are presented beautifully as hard-working individuals who take a great deal of pride in knowing who they are and where they come from.
"Residente," the lead singer of Calle 13, in speaking aobut Latin America stated, "Latin America looks prettier from far away, but to know it, you have to get into it." The reason that we all, at least the majority of us taking Latin American Humanities with Professor Mack, feel such an emotional tie to this song is because of that getting "into it." Scholastically speaking, most students of Latin America study the history of the region, the political background, culture, and people, then confirm their studies through either a study abroad program or an internship. For our unique demographic, it's the complete reverse. LDS missionaries get to know the "heart" of the region. The people, their customs, their trials and difficulties all create that heart that continually beats. During the music video, as the heart is symbolically planted in the ground and begins to grow, one of the female vocalists sings repeatedly, "Vamos caminando! Aquí se respira lucha!" That's what we came to know as missionaries in Latin America and what we fell in love with, not the commercial, tourist cites created for the appeal of cruise-ship travelers, but the people themselves. The reality of their existence.
I'm not from Latin America, but can relate to the unity that this song displays. For me, as a U.S. citizen, I feel inspired to reach out to those that surround me, whatever their background may be, and help them onward in life. Though our backgrounds may be distinct, we are all united as human beings, and in that sense, share one heart.
(K'naan, "Wavin' Flag" - similar theme of UNITY)
