This paper discusses that Latin America, a hybrid culture of traditions and modernities on a heterogeneous continent, is being changed by the process of globalization.
Abstract This paper discusses that globalization in Latin America uses many methods to build an autonomous modern culture rather than traditional evolution from traditional cultures to modernity. This paper presents the primary role of information and communication technology in generating and promoting hybrid cultures, economic growth and new forms of political participation and community. The author points out that Latin America is among the fastest areas for growth for the internet which brings the rest of the globe to this continent.
From the Paper "Everyone, even skeptics, is amazed by the capabilities of this information access power. A single keyword can bring in many thousand sites on almost any field of concern ? food, travel, business, persons, entertainment, most anything. Web surfers can also choose the language of the material they are looking for. What used to be confidential communications can now be accessed, viewed and even downloaded. What does this magnificent voyage through cyberspace mean to Latin America? Everett begins with Francisco Sagasti's notion of a "global fractured order" in evaluating the implications of the internet on Latin America. Sagasti views the current age as characterized by a global but not integrated order. Through it, most people get in touch with one another, while simultaneously maintaining differences between groups of countries. Through it, a large portion of the world's population is separated and deprived of the benefits gained by scientific advances and technological progress. Everett states that information does not always insure progress, nor integration assure equality."
Tags: city, continent, evolution, growth, community
Abstract This paper briefly reviews the film "Amores Porres", which was made in Mexico in 2000. The movie is divided into three interrelated plots that intersect at key and surprising moments. The first of these three is about Octavio, who enters his pet Cofi in dogfights to earn money, so he can run off with his brother's wife. The second story centers on a supermodel, her pet terrier Ritchie, and her boyfriend, who left his wife to be with her. The third interrelated story is about a homeless man and lover of stray dogs who has been hired as a hit man by a corrupt cop.
From the Paper "The story of Octavio and Cofi depict the seedy underworld of dog fighting. This brutal and cruel sport is practiced all around the world, and the film shows that it can be quite popular in Mexico City. Cofi is a beloved pet, and both Octavio and his brother love the dog. However, Octavio's brother is abusing his wife and Octavio wants to rescue his sister-in-law. The money he makes from fighting Cofi will pay for them to run away. This segment shows the horrors of dog fighting, revealing how lucrative and seductive gambling can be. Octavio is obviously a kind-hearted man who is genuinely in love with his brother's wife."
Abstract This paper looks at how the Aztec people took their religion very seriously and how they were one of the first groups of people to make up their own calendar and how they worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses. It discusses some of their beliefs and rituals and evaluates how the importance of the gods and goddesses as well as the importance and significance of calendars are incorporated into these religious beliefs.
Outline
The Religion of the Aztecs
Introduction
The Aztec Calendar System
Aztec Beliefs
Primary Gods
Rites and Ceremonies
Conclusion
Works Cited
From the Paper "Aztecs worshiped in temples that were either round or shaped like pyramids (Gregoire, 2003). Many of these temples had special areas that were used for games and other forms of offerings. These included special courts for playing ball games, and an area with sacrificial stones. The Aztecs normally followed a ritual of purification, then offering, then sacrifice. They believed that sacrifice was intrinsic to the worship of the gods, and that it was a necessity because there could be no new life without death. Death was part of the great circle of life, and the Aztecs had opinions about what happened to a person when they died. According to the Aztecs, where you went in death depended on what you had done in life (Perkin, 10)."
Abstract According to an article in the Chicago Tribune in August of 2002, at the end of the summer of 2001, one of the Bush administration's major initiatives was amnesty for Mexican illegal immigrants in the United States. This paper examines how the immigration policy has changed since September 11 but the immigration numbers have increased. The paper examines statistics which show how bad Mexican immigrants are faring educationally, socially and financially and that the figures are only getting worse, not improving over time. The paper focuses on Los Angeles as a popular destination for Mexican immigrants and shows how the city has become 'addicted' to this cheap type of labor. The paper also uses as an example, Luis Rodriguez's true account of a poverty stricken life in America as a Mexican immigrant, in his book "Always Running".
From the Paper "As the nation's largest destination for immigrants in general and Mexican nationals in particular, Los Angeles needs to prepare quickly to play the piper for the economic benefits of low-income labor, according to two UCLA sociologists. Is this the answer to the poverty stricken Mexican immigrants? Is Los Angeles able to absorb and employ even the least skilled immigrants at a truly impressive rate? It appears just as incapable of offering them a living wage. New immigrants in Urban America indicate serious trouble unless the United State is able to develop the social infrastructure to ensure that the children of today's unskilled immigrants do considerably better than their parents."
Abstract The author Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses his novel "The Chronicle of a Death Foretold" as a means of addressing social issues in Latin American communities. The two most pressing social issues that Marquez discusses in the novel are those of gender norms and class norms, and how the people of these communities work to promote these differences despite the problems therein.
Abstract The Central American country of Guatemala has benefited from its relationship with the United States through U.S. contributions to the development of its farming communities and transportation facilities, its dependency on U.S. markets for its exports, and U.S. investments and aid. It has also suffered from CIA involvement in a 1954 Guatemalan coup that preceded decades of military rule and human rights atrocities. This paper traces the relationship of the U.S. and Guatemala, specifically, the economic contributions of the United Fruit Company and how its land interests in Guatemala helped trigger U.S. involvement in the overthrow of the government.
Abstract The policies of dictator Fidel Castro have improved some aspects of life in Cuba, yet imposed such hardship some Cubans are willing to risk death to leave. While Castro's regime has improved literacy, health care, and athletic achievement, daily deprivation and loss of personal freedom has driven many individuals, particularly artists and intellectuals, from their native land. This paper traces Cuba's political history and examines in particular influences of Castro's policies in the areas of health, sports, and the arts.
Abstract This paper provides an overview of Eva "Evita" Peron's life. The author discusses how Eva spent her early years in abject poverty and as a misfit in Argentine society. The author also discusses how she, after a school play, decided to become an actress and trekked to Buenos Aires. While Eva struggled as an actress, her numerous lovers provided her with security and would eventually allow her to meet the Juan Peron, the up-and-coming military command who would eventually become president of Argentina. Eva eventually married Peron, and acting as First Lady, held a considerable amount of power, power which she used to benefit the poor and feminist concerns. While often compassionate, she despised (and was despised by) the upper classes and could be harsh toward dissidents. After her death by uterine cancer in 1952 at age 32, the country went into mourning.
Abstract This paper discusses that the book represents an attempt to explore, in the form of a scholarly, anthropological study, the religious system of "Voodoo". The author states that the difficulties of addressing "Voodoo" in a serious, academic fashion lie in the fact that the religion in modern North American culture is "loaded" with racial and cultural stereotypes and misunderstandings.
Abstract This essay discusses the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the context of Miguel Leon-Portilla's "The Broken Spears". The paper argues that the Spanish helped the Aztecs change their lives for the better. More than anything else, The Aztecs benefited from the Spanish conquest in that it had a civilizing influence.
Abstract This paper examines the book, "House and Street: The Domestic World of Servants and Masters in Nineteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro". Written by Sandra Lauderdale-Graham, the book explains the social and environmental differences between masters and servants and related issues.
Abstract This Master's level paper describes the upheavals in the Jamaican economy due to the IMF loan conditions, and its effects on the country's exchange rate and balance of payments.
Tags: WORLD HISTORY AND CULTURE / CARIBBEAN, jamaica economy upheavals
This paper discusses Latino Imaginary and focuses on the book "From Bomba to Hip Hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity" written by Juan Flores.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 2 sources, 2002, $ 35.95
Abstract The paper explains the meaning of Latino Imaginary and the position of the Latinos in the United States. This paper also gives an analysis of how the Latinos are associated with the Hispanics and how greatly they suffer as a result.
An analysis of the economic differences between the tobacco and sugar industries of Cuba through a review of "Cuban Counterpoint Tobacco and Sugar" by Fernando Ortiz.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 35.95
Abstract This paper will discuss the nature of tobacco and sugar in the Cuban economy, and will show how they differ in the greater scope of the Cuban economy. By showing the statistics of how the sale of each of these items plays a part in the survival of Cuba, we can begin to see the ideas of how they interact within the value of their production value. By using the book "Cuban Counterpoint Tobacco and Sugar" by Fernando Ortiz, we can see how these values are created within the Cuban economic structure.
Abstract This paper examines the collapse of the Mexican peso in 1994-95, and the impact of related economic crises before and after this development. The author analyzes the failure of the risk assessment process, identifies economic variables that respectively did and did not accurately indicate the possibility of the peso's collapse and compares the views of a number of economic experts on these issues. The paper then explores what lessons can be learned from the collapse of the peso, and how future currency crises may be averted.
