Hey everyone! So I’m not sure if you are aware, but September 15th marked the start of Hispanic Heritage month. I bring this up because we recently read 100 Years of Solitude, and I remember getting it in the mail and putting off to the side. What I didn’t realize, however, was that this novel was written by a hispanic author, Gabriel Marquez! When I finally noticed this, I was actually super excited because I don’t think we’ve ever read much out of the typical white, middle aged man author genre. Anyways, I felt like the book overall was a good read, and after I finished reading it over the summer, I was interested in finding the “Macondo” of Colombia. Upon research, I came across a song that was actually made based off of the book. Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://youtu.be/RsRZvbC7dnQ. This genre of music is called vallenato, which actually originates from Colombia. Also, if you’re interested in what they’re saying, let me know so that I can try and translate for you!! I was going to translate the whole song, but it sounds super weird.
I am glad that you all were able to read this book, and even though it’s really odd and confusing, I still feel like it gives insight to the Hispanic culture. Marquez emphasized on various themes, such as the “machista” way of living for men (for those of you not familiar with the term, machista literally translates to “male chauvinist” and Hispanics use it in a negative way to describe men that have like high egos and are disrespectful to women). Marquez also brings up love and family, but most importantly, he emphasizes on the repetitive cycle that the Buendía family falls into. I actually found this quite relatable, because in plenty Hispanic households, there is that repetitive cycle that families fall into. And not only that, but also for just Latin American countries in general. You see that there is a lack of education, you hear about the poverty, the corruption, the drugs, everything. This brings me to my point that I think Marquez is trying to make—that it’s time for us Latinxs to unite, to come together, rise up, and break that repetitive cycle.
And finally, that’s what makes me a a proud Latina, and I know Marquez would be proud. He would be proud of not only me, but of my parents, as they broke that continuous cycle for their kids (me and my little brother). They made big sacrifices to give us an education, a healthy family environment, and promised, prosperous future that will make many people proud.
1 comment:
I love this, Adriana! One thing I could relate to in One Hundred Years Of Solitude was the importance of family. As a Latina myself, I can say that Latino families are as tight knit as they are in the novel. My parents also both broke a their family cycles by moving here to the US! They came here with nothing and built the life they have today. While there is some charm in family tradition and cycles, some are worth breaking. Without my parents bravery and courage to move to the US, I wouldn’t be here blessed with the life I have.
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