Week #2

In the Movie Love in the time of Cholera a tremendous love story unfolds based in the Caribbean. Class and traditions play a huge role in this movie particularly within the realms of marriage and those worthy of marring at that time. Florentino Ariza is a love stricken lower class man who falls desperately in love with Fermina, his love never withers for over fifty years. Due to class structure her father forbids her to marry this man and physically moves her far away in hopes to marry her off to a wealthy doctor. Her father’s dreams come true and she becomes the wife of a doctor. Her marriage is one of stability and convenience rather than love and passion. Symbolically the spread of Cholera, a bacterial disease, takes over the nation while Florentino suffers from his love sickness to the point of physical sickness as well.
The religious dominant society doesn’t allow Fermina to stray away from her deep obsession for love. Oppression is so prevalent both to Fermina by her father and to Florentino due to his status in society. Shunned by Fermina, Florentino engulfs himself in the promiscuous life of women to distract his heart from the pain of missing her. Traditionally he follows her, loves her unconditionally, writes to her and plays music for her. She never responds until the end when finally they are together. Both Fermina and Florentino are willing to die for their love for one another, and although they lived over fifty years apart, once reunited they are able to finally live the life that society didn’t allow them to, together even only if for a short time.

Colonial Latin America:
A time period that shaped the way Latin America is today. Largely populated with not only Latin cultures but also African, Indian, Iberian and Metizo. War and disease dropped populations by millions. During this time of 300 years from around 1492-1810 Spanish rule changed Latin America forever. Spanish and Portuguese rule became very oppressive to native cultures, and colonial settlers exploited native people causing problems that exist even today.

Contemporary Latin America:
Regions rich in exports, and resources. Very rich in literature and art, especially since 1959. Still many problems of corruption and political struggles, but a much more democratically presence then ever before in Latin America. A place of deep culture but still very poor in many regions.

MOLAA: is a museum of Latin American art that educates people about Latin American art and culture. They are located in Long Beach, and offer educational tours, summer camps, art exhibitions, docent tours, and festivals are only a few named in the events they host.

They combine art from the past and present by having the MOLAA permanent collection that dates back as far as 1874, it appears that they also do educational tours that speak to the history.

When I am viewing a piece of art I try to read deep into it and try to see the emotion. It also helps to know the history of the artist, sometimes there is emotional things you can learn from them and then see that in their art. I typically look for colors and iconic symbols that might have meaning directly linked to them or the time we are in, and around our lives.

Step #4 MOLLA item and critique

Art by Josa Gurvich

1. What stands out the most for me were the colors, kind of grey and sad to me
2. Why I noticed this in the first place was it reminds me of what I picture in my head as a farm in Mexico or South America. I saw working farmers, but everything seemed grey, dull and sad.
3. The necessity to keep the grounds growing and the people moving seem important, but also the fact that everyone seems to be working toward the same goal and all together.
4. Because to me Latino Cultures are always so unified, always working to help each other and reach one ultimate goal to, to prosper for each other, this picture reminds me of that. But it also reminds me of all the hard work I feel that some Latino people endure while struggling with little rest.
5. Grey contrasted with bits of primary colors is what I noticed
6. The scenery, it all blends and works together.
7. Older culture is what I see from the artist, going back to the roots of the culture and country.
8. Laughter, and Happiness and enjoyment seem to be missing in this composition
9. What I think may have been partially hidden is the pride that comes from having this lifestyle and completing this for their family, not everyone may be able to feel that.
10. Family, life, and prosperity is what I imagine holds meaning in this piece of art.
11. Working together, waiting for the seasons
12. The lack of faces and the seemingly night time, that was weird but interesting to me.


Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where is the MOOLAA located?
San Diego
San Francisco
Oceanside
Long Beach ***
Los Angeles

2. What occupation did Florentino first have?

Peddler
Telegraph Operator **
Mule handler
Doctor
Peasant

3. About how long did the Colonial Latin American period last?

100 years
30 years
60 years
500 years
300 years ***

4. In addition to others what cultures what culture was present in Colonial Latin America?

German
Australian
African**
American
Irish

What was Cholera?

a bacterial infection that was an epidemic***
an edible flower
a ship that carried passengers
Hotel with women
Name of Fermina’s aunt

5. Who is Gabriel García Márquez?

A. Fermina’s father
B. A prize winning author***
C. Florentino Ariza’s mother
D. The young student that is with Florentino
E. The Dr. Fermina marries

6. How many years did Florentino pursue Fermina

51 years***
50 years
15 years
55 years
25 years

7. In order to properly critique a piece of art you must?

Buy it and own it
Be able to look into what contrasts within the painting
Understand the piece
Feel the piece personally
Show it to other

8. With in the MOLAA what can you not view?

Art
Live exhibitions, and readings***
Mission and History statement
Info on Educational tours
Programs and Events

9. Spanish Colonial Settlers directed the future of Latin America by?

exploiting the people***
helping indigenous people
working with natives
Allowing them to continue native religious cultures
Helping to alleviate disease and famine

10. How was the sick epidemic symbolic to the movie?
It demonstrated how to help the sick
The physical sickness was compared to the mental love sickness **
The sickness brought Fermina to her husband the dr.
Even high society got sick
It helped to keep population control


Week 1 work from classmates:

3. After marrying, Freire a. Practiced law b. Fed the hungry c. Worked as a militant d. Became an adult educator* e. Taught economics

5. One of the key elements of critical consciousness is:
· to study Greek philosophers
· to learn multiple languages
· to take action against the oppressors*
· to accept the world as it is
· to work and support the family
In addition to law, what else did Paulo Friere study at the University of Recife in 1943?
a. Philosophy*
b. Latin Culture
c. Humanities
d. Foreign Language
e. Speech

2. What language was Pedogogy of the Opressed originally published in? A. Portuguese * B. Spanish C. English D. Italian E. Latin

Freire’s wife Elza died in what year?
A. 1988
B. 1989
C. 1986*
D. 1985


Freire worked in __________ for five years for the Christian Democratic Agrarian reform movement and the food and agricultural organization of the UN.a) Mexicob) Dominican Republicc) Africad) Tahitie) Chile*

. One of the key elements of critical consciousness is:a. To study Greek philosophersb. To learn multiple languagesc. To take action against the oppressors*d. To accept the world as it ise. To work and support the family

5. Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed is primarily focused on oppression existing ina. Latin Americab. education*c. the Catholic Churchd. blue collar jobse. impoverished citites worldwide

10. Pedagogy of the Oppressed was not published in Freire's native Brazil untila. 1973b. 1969c. 1988d. 1974*e. 1997
8. What was not one of Freire's main concepts?
a. Praxis
b. Poisonous Pedagogy
C. Totalitarianism*
d. Hidden curriculum
e. Consciousness raising



Dialogue Structure for Practice:When I researched The MOLAA I found that much of the art and literature was very contemporary.I noticed many students observed the same information about the MOLAA, and that there was’t much information about older art or information, I wonder if other people noticed this as well? It leads me to believe that much of the art may be more contemporary or that the art became more prevalent after the colonial periods? I wonder if the topic we researched would have came up with other results in the native country themselves, such as visiting museums closer to Latin America or in the countries themselves

Week 1

1. Name:

Kelly

2. Why are you taking this class and what do you hope to learn:

I am taking this class for a couple reasons, first because of the requirements I needed this class sounded interesting to me. And second because I have always been interested in latin culture, I attempted to learn Spanish in high school for 3 years, during those classes I had a wonderful teacher that taught us so much about the culture, since then I have been very interested in it. Also I love visiting Mexico and plan to stretch my travels to South America some day, so I would love to learn as much as I can. I want these locations to be more than just a vacationing place for me, I would like to know what it is like to live and breathe the culture. I hope to be bilingual in the future in spanish so I feel that understanding the culture and people is very important in doing so.

3. Briefly, what do you think of when you think:
Santa Rosa? I think it is a small, nice city that is good to raise a family in, but lacks diversity at times.
California? A perfect place to live as far as weather, landscape, and people, but to expensive.
Latin America? Rich in culture, wonderful weather, interesting people, many resources, lots of history.

The Caribbean? Warm climates, beautiful scenery, lots of tourist areas, and a good vacationing destination. Other than that I do not know much about it.

4. Have you created a blog or webpage in the past?

Yes I did for my online English 1A class I took a year ago.

5. Regarding computers, are you on a mac or a pc?

I am using a PC.

6. Do you/can you text on your phone?

Yes absolutely.

Paulo Freire Notes
Where is Paulo Freire from (where was he born?)
Brazil, born 9/19/1921, died 1997 of heart failureWhat was his family, upbringing like?
Grew up in the middle class until his father died in 1934, then moved to a lower class, poor neighborhood, where he was most influenced and began to believe that things weren’t so great in the world, he was 10 at this realizationWhat professions did Paulo Freire have?
Author, professor, Director of Brazil literacy program, Director of cultural ext. of the Recife University, Christian Democratically Ag, special education advisor in Geneva, Minister of Education in Sao Paulo, Supervisor of Workers Party, What political challenges did he face?
Being imprisoned for fighting for literacy amongst the poor field workers, and being thrown into exile.What is his experience with literacy?
He made it his life mission to extend literacy to the poor and underprivileged, felt that Education was lacking and worked to fix it.
Definition of literacy:
Being able to read, write, understand, interpret, communicate, create and computeWhat areas of Latin America did he live in?
Brazil, and Chile
What is the definition of Latin America?
Territories of Mexico, Central and South America, Caribbean, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Puerto What languages did he speak?
Spanish, Portuguese, EnglishWhat is his greatest written work? Pedagogy of the OppressedWhat is dialogue:
Informal education, conversations of the teacher and student including mutual respect and understanding
Conscientization:
Popular education and a social concept developed by Paulo Freire, an in depth understanding of the world.
Praxis:
The power and know how to take action against oppression, which leads to social transformation.How does he define privilege and oppression? It seems that he defined privilege as being able to attain education and further be able to fight against oppression.
Does this have anything to do with finances?
It does only because in the beginning without finances you had no privilege but it seems that Freire’s whole life was to change this very a truth and make education a possibility for everyone, hence extending privilege to any person who desire’s a better life through learning.


10 Multiple Questions about Paulo Freire
1. In addition to law what else did Paulo Freire study at the University of Recife in 1943?
Philosophy ***
Latin Culture
Humanities
Foreign Language
Speech


2. When appointed to Director of Dept of Ed. & Culture for the Social Service in 1946 whom did Freire primarily work with?
A. Women
B. Children
C. The poor/illiterate ****
D. Brazilians
E. The Chilean Government

3. Where was Freire offered a visiting professorship?
A. Harvard ***
B. University of Recife
C. Geneva
D. Germany
E. Chile

4. While in exile what three locations did Freire reside?
Chile, Honduras, Germany
Chile, Massachusetts, Geneva ***
Brazil, Massachusetts, Bolivia
Australia, Brazil, Chile
Mexico, Africa, Germany

5. What year was Pedagogy of the Oppressed finally published in Freire’s home Country of Brazil?
A. 1980
B. 1964
C. 1976
D. 1979
E. 1974 ****

6. What country did Freire work as an advisor of education reform, in former Portuguese colonies?
A. Geneva
B. Chile
C. Africa ****
D. Portugal
E. Hungary

7. Which Prize was Freire the first recipient of?
A. Prize for outstanding Christian Educators
B. Noble Peace Prize
C. UNESCO
D. King Baudouin International Development ****
E. Honorary Doctorate, University of Omaha

8. How many years were Freire in Exile?
A. 8
B. 11
C. 15
D. 16 ****
E. 12

9. Freire became a teacher of what subject while still attending high school?
A. Philosophy
B. Portuguese
C. Grammar ***
D. Humanities
E. Sociology

10. What act is Freire most known for?
A. Challenging Brazilian Government
B. Writing several books
C. Teaching at Harvard
D. Teaching 300 farm workers to read in 45 days ****
E. Traveling to Africa














In the movie, My Family, a Latino family faces many struggles through several generations. The Sanchez family dates back to the Great Depression, and fights through oppression and racism throughout the entire movie. Jose Sanchez, the father, desperately tries to instill in his children the importance of family values, and appreciation to the previous struggles. His stories of struggle, heartache, and political oppression on his people ring strong in the film. Although he isn’t able to reach all his children before tragedy take over, in the end he is able to instill that very love and family value he tried so hard from the beginning to make a real truth.

The real truth was simple, after working so hard to bring his family to California for a better life; life was one struggle after another. Jose told stories of his father walking for one year strait to simply reach the place that held all his dreams, a place he thought to be the other side of the world. After making a home there he is faced with the reality that Mexican people are viewed as nothing but hard workers worthy of only labor jobs.

The racial tensions were very high in this movie, it was apparent that Latino people were viewed as filth, and of the lower class, mainly by white America. These views didn’t stop some of the Sanchez family from obtaining the American Dream, the family does yield a lawyer, political movement daughter, a son in the Navy, and a writer. Throughout all this tragedy the Sanchez parents hold this family together, always showing support and love for them all. In many ways the family reacts to oppression and racism, sometimes refusing to fall into the oppression, other times falling victim to it.

In the end, Jimmy the youngest is able to break through and find love in his heart despite all the pain he had seen in the murder of his older brother. He too, is able to learn the importance of family and how sticking together is the only way to concur the oppression of the land they lived.