Ben Kaczmar GVSU

 For this week, I enjoyed studying the poems on the Cuban Revolution. Yes, one of the benefits of studying poetry is that it's short, but it almost always has a significant meaning. I found our discussion of Guillen's poem "I Have" to be interesting. One point that stood out to me and was basically what I said in my discussion question was that Cuba has changed and is living in the present in the setting of the poem. The phrases "I have" and "I can" are present tense phrases that show what Guillen has gained at has at that moment. Everything that has happened with the Cuban Revolution has led to the peace that Guillen feels.  Cuba has changed in Guillen's eyes for the better. In a way, Guillen feels that he and the rest of Cuba deserve the positive changes that have happened to the nation. This is especially reciprocated in the last line where Guillen says, "I have what was coming to me." I know that we mostly talked about the poem fo...

 This week was a very memorable experience for me. It's been quite a long time since I've gone on a school field trip. Going to the Detroit Institute of Arts was a great experience for me because I had never gone there before in my life. After going through the museum, I'm surprised I had never visited before. I feel like my family always visits just about every museum we come across, so it was nice to discover something completely new. I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone from the class. I think being there as a group with Professor Serrata and Professor Stark along with the tour guide for Rivera's mural made the experience more meaningful than an ordinary visit. All the messages, stories, and images of Rivera's murals were astounding to me. What really took me aback was how Rivera painted four absolutely massive walls in less than a year. On top of the sheer size of the paintings, the images included had so many intricate messages and details in quality. R...

 Good evening, Emma! I think the way that you claim how Evita represents Argentine culture as a whole is absolutely correct. Especially in the book, you can see both sides of the spectrum from those who adored her and those who despised her. To add on to your claim, I think the author used the uncomfortable scenes to purposefully draw attention to how high emotions were running in Argentina. Arguments in general will always have people on opposite sides, but they might find a compromise. I think the book portrays an idea that Argentina is not willing to compromise over anything, as seen through Eva Perón.

 Before this week, I had only vaguely heard of Eva Perón. However, after learning about Argentina and Juan Perón, and reading Tomás Eloy Martínez's book Santa Evita , I am surprised I had never heard more about her. I think it's really odd how someone as influential as Eva isn't really talked about in American schools. The way that millions of people showed up after her death to show their support, give flowers, and mourn out of respect isn't really seen in the United States or many other places around the world. I was taken aback by the sheer numbers in some of the pictures of the Argentine crowds after Eva Perón's death. In my opinion, the reason why Eva was so revered in Argentina is because she always kept others in mind. Whether Eva was participating in radio acting, running her own foundation, creating a school of nursing, or serving as an active first lady, she was always ready to get involved and make a difference. This idea can be reflected in the book, San...

 How are you, Linnea? I like the points that you made regarding the colors of Rivera's mural and how it relates to tone. It's intriguing how you interpreted the bright colors over violent scenes as "painting over" the bad parts of Mexican history. I wonder if that's Rivera actually intended, and it leads me to believe that there could be an infinite number of hidden messages in the mural and art in general. Even if Rivera didn't mean to use bright colors over violent scenes in his mural, I wonder if his subconscious thoughts influenced his art. Either way, intentional or not, I think that "painting over" Mexican history is a great way to describe the scene!

A really interesting coincidence happened this week between this class and my Spanish class. In The Making of Latin America, we obviously talked a lot about Diego Rivera's mural A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park. Interestingly enough, this same week in my Spanish class we are starting an interactive class game that is entirely based on Latin American art. The overall purpose of the game is to basically build an art collection that showcases Latin American art at the Prado Museum in Madrid. Everyone in the class has a different role either as an artist, curator, or representative that involves different art movements of Latin America. The crazy part is that one of the movements that are a part of the game is Mexican Muralism! We briefly talked about Mexican muralism as a theme in class, so it's really cool that I am going to be making such a clear connection between the two classes. Learning about Rivera's mural in our groups and as a class was actually a lot of ...