In Case You Were Wondering...

     I recently watched a video titled Lost Kingdoms of Central America  by BBC and read an article titled "La Venta" by Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck.  The article "La Venta" was about Olmec architectural and archaeological sites in La Venta or what is known today as Tabasco, Mexico.  Gonzalez Lauck describes La Venta's archaeological site in southeastern Mexico as "a key feature in the history of ancient Mesoamerica"(Gonzalez Lauck 798).  On the other hand, the video Lost Kingdoms of Central America  also goes over archeological sites as well as sculptings and structures left behind by the Olmecs.  Archaeologist Jacob Cooper from BBC said that around 1200 BC they were "one of the first civilizations of the Americas"( Lost  0:39 - 0:49).  However, they share some similarities and differences which I will discuss in this blog post. Olmec head believed to resemble appearance of ruler's     First and foremost, one thing that was similar between th

      I listened to "The Moving Border: Part Two, The South" on Latino USA.  This episode was first broadcast on May 27, 2020, and I listened to this podcast on September 9, 2021. The host, Maria Hinojosa, tells us about the story of a man, Josue, and his journey of refuge.  She goes in depth about how Josue is stuck between immigration policies at an immigration center in Tapachula, Mexico and ongoing conflict in his home country Honduras.  Not only did the immigration policies impact Josue's experience with the immigration/refugee system, but it turned out that Mexico "suffers from many of the same issues around safety as the places migrants are escaping from"(44:55-45:07).  So ultimately, Josue's choices are to stay with his grandma in Honduras where he is constantly targeted and beat, or to flee to a refugee center in Tapachula, Mexico that is very underfunded, understaffed, and cannot fully promise one's safety. Refugees in line at a camp in South