"The True History of the Conquest of New Spain" - Bernal Diaz

September 12th, 2012

     Professor Mack often defends his unusual class format involving "tweets" and frequent blogs against the silent naysayers of our classroom. He usually does this in a joking manner with a smile and a slight laugh, but I unfortunately was one of those "negative Nancies." I just want to get the word out right from the beginning of this weeks post that I have converted 100% to both blogging and tweeting as a form of scholastic measurement and consider this very blog as one of the more fun (don't say "funner") weekly assignments that my classes give me on a regular basis.
     After two weeks in a row of deep, confusing insights from Octavio Paz, this week's blog will draw inspiration from Stuart Schwartz's, "Victor's and Vanquished." Now I know that if you are reading this blog post, it's because you are a responsible student and are accustomed to showing up ready to participate with the assigned materials read. If that's the case, then you know very well how DRY these PDF reading assignments can be from this book. At least from my point of view, I feel like the same thing is repeated over and over again. The saving grace of these excerpts are often the ancient Aztec or Mayan drawings that signify a quickened reading time. Now, that being said, through all of the rubble (I say "rubble" lightly. I'm still in the process of trying to learn to appreciate how great all of this is. Trust me, I'm "the work in progress" here) I was able to find something that truly did catch my attention. Take a look.

Sandoval and Holguin soon arrived with Guatemoc, and the two captains between them led him up to Cortes, and when he came in front of him he paid him great respect, and Cortes embraced Guatemoc with delight, and was very affectionate to him and his captains. Then Guatemoc said to Cortes “Senor Malinche, I have surely done my duty in defense of my City, and I can do no more and I come by force and a prisoner into your presence and into your power, take that dagger that you have in your belt and kill me at once with it” and when he said this he wept tears and sobbed and other great Lords whom he had brought with him also wept.

(Stuart Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished, 210)

     

     After having read the words of Bartolome de las Casas and seeing "The Mission," the violence finally came to life for me. It's one thing to hear over and over again about the sheer brutality of the Old/New World collision, but to investigate it more profoundly through primary sources (although often somewhat bias and requiring the reader to read "against the grain") the reader starts to relate to the participants of the conflict. That was truly the case for the touching exchange between two great war heroes from completely different backgrounds. 

     When I first read of this exchange, the most interesting moment occurs when Cortes, who has been overcoming all sorts of obstacles to sack the city of Tenochtitlan, shares a warm embrace with Guatemoc and his captains. If I'm in Guatemoc's place that's the absolute last thing I would want to do. What shocked me was the level of understanding and respect between this group of both advanced and primitive war captains. Both men, motivated by either a Christian Deity and gold or numerous idols, felt that their's was the just cause and was willing to give anything for victory. As is always the case, with every battle there will always be winners and losers. 

     Interesting to note as well is the last request of Guatemoc to the Spanish captain. He pleads that he take his dagger out of his belt and "kill me at once with it." From my perspective this feud between the Spanish and indigenous peoples could not have been more one-sided. The Spanish found in their favor the use of war horses, gun power, technology, a transcontinental empire, and even small pox and various other diseases to take advantage of the "Mexicans" and ultimately satisfy all of their desires. The "never give up" attitude of the people of Tenochtitlan and their unshakable devotion to the cause of their beautiful city, families, and faith was nothing but inspirational. Guatemoc's final plea was nothing more than a final testimony to his absolute devotion to the cause that he believed in. It's nothing but easy to admire that kind of tenacity in one's life and draw strength from such commitment in matters that are important in my own life. 

"The Sons of La Malinche" - Octavio Paz

September 5th, 2012

     Well I'm officially back for my second shot at this whole "blogging" thing. Humanities is definitely not my forte which can make writing about it a bit tricky, but I feel that with time these blog entries are only going to improve which should make the content a bit less of a chore for the reader.
     This week my entry will once again be based out of the book "The Labyrinth of Solitude" by Octavio Paz. I am finding these chapters a bit difficult to fully digest and at times am not fully sure what Paz is even talking about, but our in class discussions are helping me to more fully analyze them. That being said, there is always a part or two that jump out at me and actually catch my attention. This week's highlighted section goes as follows:

"Slaves, servants and submerged races always wear a mask, whether smiling or sullen. Only when they are alone, during the great moments of life, do they dare to show themselves as they really are. All their relationships are poisoned by fear and suspicion: fear of the master and suspicion of their equals. Each keeps watch over the other because every companion could also be a traitor. To escape from himself the servant must leap walls, get drunk, forget his condition. He must live alone, without witnesses. He dares to be himself only in solitude."

(Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 70-71)

     As a Mexican, Octavio Paz references, in this passage, the rich history of Mexico and his own interpretations  thereof. Seeing as how I know so little of Mexico and it's history, I was able to draw on some personal feeling and past observations to also take something valuable out of Paz's words. Paz's claim that men only "dare to show themselves as they really are" during times solitude ties in perfectly with a quote given by President Uchtdorf during his General Conference address in October of 2009 (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/the-love-of-god?lang=eng) when he said, “What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are — and who we will become." Moments of perfect "lownliness" or "downtime" are often the greatest moments for the desires of one's heart to make their  way to the brain. When one finds themselves completely alone, there are zero outside influences and in that moment we can truly identify what kind of person we are and what are deepest and most intimate desires are.
     The aforemetioned paragraph is no call to repentance for all Aaronic priesthood youth by any means. Solitude and isolation can also lead to self-reflection and an analysis of who we are which can often lead to desired change. Marcos Martins, a fellow IHUM260-er, shared that his most profound changes and decisions of greatest immportance have most often been made when he found himself at a high level of solitude stating, "I found a trend in the way I felt as an individual every time I chose to reinvent or change myself and my actions; I felt lonely (http://kahrma.blogspot.com/)."

     Octavio Paz continues to produce amazing points that catch my attention and cause me to update my blog on a weekly basis. We'll just have to wait and see if he can be a "three-time blog topic" champ when next week's post comes out.

**** (music video: Innocence, The Airborne Toxic Event - speaks of losing one's own innocence in personal thoughts)
    

"The Dialectic of Solitude" - Octavio Paz

August 29th, 2012

     Hello blogging world! I never thought that I would ever get dragged into this kind of thing, but alas I find myself blogging and soon to be tweeting as well. Man, the things that BYU will trick you into doing are amazing. Humanities, surprisingly enough, is the main motive for my first entry ever. Try not to pay to much attention to the horrific format. Just know that I'm doing my best and we will all get through this together . . . . and maybe learn some sweet stuff about Latin American Humanities as well.

"When man was exiled from that eternity in which all times were one, he entered chronometric time and became a prisoner of the clock and the calendar. as soon as time was divided up into yesterday, today and tomorrow, into hours, minutes and seconds, man ceased to be one with time, ceased to coincide with the flow of reality. When one says, 'at this moment,' the moment has already passed. These spatial measurements of time separate man from reality - whic his a continuous present - and turn all the presences in which reality manifests itself, as Bergson said, into phantasms."

(Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 209)

 

 

     The quote found above is from Octavio Paz's book The Labyrinth of Solitude. This was my first encounter with this kind of Literature and was honestly not what I was expecting from a Humanities class at all. The chapter entitled, "The Dialectic of Solitude," seemed to have more of a philosophy content than anything else. The chapter was loaded with great one-liners and plenty of captivating insights in regards to the nature of solitude and it's innate importance to humankind.

     Octavio Paz's insights on time really caught my attention because, as the reader, I was able to recall numerous times when I had had the exact same thoughts and feelings yet was completely unable to put my emotions into words. I remember distictively being nine years old and in the second grade. One day I was walking to school and started thinking about the length of eternity. Everyone has had these kinds of feelings, but they were especially strong for me in this moment. I desired immortality, yet at the same time wanted to cease to exhist, only to, once again, realize how crazy it was to want such a thing. Who made time? When did i start to exhist? How long is eternity? Will I move around? Will I get bored without time? These thoughts troubled my young mind and every day on the way to school for the next three years (the elementary school only acommodated grades K through five) when I passed that spot on the sidewalk my mind would begin to race.

     What I most appreciate and admire about this quote is the apparent ability that Paz has in putting the deepest emotions of the human soul into easily understandable writing. Not only does he confirm my thoughts and feelings in his analysis of time, but he opens the door to new ideas as he references the false world that is time and how it manifests itself in "phantasms." The ever fleeting idea of the present is merely a wish as far as Paz is concerned and humanity will forever finds themselves trapped in ever spinning wheel in the chase for real and pure moments.

     Not the easiest thing to make a commentary about, but I expect to only improve as far as this blog is concerned!