The first Native American tribes were believed to have crossed over from several regions in Asia thousands of years before any other country “discovered” America. As the Native Americans spread out amongst both Americas they started to quickly build their empires. These civilizations were well established and far more advanced than any other group of people at that time. The Native Americans lived in harmony with one another in New World, but that all changed when the America started to be…
The Haitian American culture has been a long-surviving and well-adapting culture. Starting with the indigenous people that occupied the island, before Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1492. Columbus, being a conqueror for Spain, claimed the island of Haiti for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and named it Hispaniola meaning “little Spain”. From thenceforth the indigenous people of the island were killed off during gold conquests and the ruling of the Spanish by forced labor and diseases. With…
A Comparative Study of the Irish Potato Famine Migration and the Modern Hispanic Migration There is no doubt that the Irish Potato Famine of the 1800’s and the recent Hispanic Migration movement are the two most influential mass migrations to the United States. People in the millions left their homes voluntarily to cross international borders in search of economic and social opportunity in an industrialized America, where the minorities were gradually becoming represented in politics and…
Puerto Rico is among the few remaining colonies in the world. It can also be considered among the oldest, having at one time or another been under military occupation dating back to 1508. (Schimmer) Puerto Rico spent a lot of its past being under the rule of Spain but was aided by the United States in 1898. Although intimidated by the Americans, the Puerto Rican natives remained hopeful that the United States would help bring about great change in the colony. Hoping that the Americans could help…
As Noble Prize winner, Jose Saramago once said, “Things will be very bad for Latin America. You only have to consider the ambitions and the doctrines of the empire, which regards this region as its backyard”. While powerful nations like the United States were increasing their national income by taking advantage of the recourses their neighboring countries had to offer, it was destroying the economic balance within those countries by making the rich more successful and the poor suffer more.…
“Well my mother did it for my father!” I could hear the tension in his usually seductive voice. Tears began to gather in my eyes as I looked out the window. I had wanted to scream, or cry, or not talk at all. However, in reality I did not know what I had wanted. I knew what he wanted. He made that extremely clear. He was my first real boyfriend and I would have done almost anything to please him, but this was too far. Granted I am stubborn in my ways, but for good reason! I should not have to do…
In the memoir in black and white “Darkroom,” by Lila Quintero Weaver, shows the remarkable truth about Lila’s experience as an immigrant. She and her family emigrated from Argentina to Alabama when she was five years old. The graphic memoir reflects her negative experience as an immigrant in America. As she tries to paddle with her negative experience, she has discovered the idea of how only white is matter, and the huge issue of discrimination/segregation and also the issue with language is…
Padilha and La Zona (2007) by Rodrigo Plá express the politics of fear and the division of urban space in Brazil and Mexico today. As the politics of fear are expressed in a much more complex way referring to the high presence of talk of crime in Latin American culture, to official governmental responses to crime and by analysing the consequences of fear on society and its people, the division of urban space is depicted through specific filming techniques such as genre, shot design and a strong…
Like any other continent, Latin America is a melting pot of many cultures and people: some of them are indigenous, others primarily descended from Spanish Europeans who sought a new way of life and independence in what were once Spanish colonies, some who were born in this new and exciting land, and sadly, those who were forced to migrate to Latin America as slaves. But the fight to separate Latin American colonies from the Spaniards who resisted giving up their control did not occur all at…
Interpreting Africans Contributions through Primary Sources The transatlantic slave trade was a period in history in which many Africans slaves contributed to the economical boost and social changes of the Americas. James Sweet and Judith Carney both showed the impacts that Africans had in the Americas with the help of primary sources such as books, researches, visuals, and documentaries in order to produce an interpretation of the contributions that Africans brought by innovating the…