In Case You Were Wondering...

 I listened to "Cross-Border Abortion Care" from Latino USA.  The program was hosted by Maria Hinojosa and featured co-host Jamilah King.  This segment also featured Lina-Maria Murillo, an assistant professor in Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies and History at the University of Iowa, and Veronica Martinez, a journalist covering gender and immigration.  This program aired on September 28, 2021 but I am listening to it on October 25, 2021.  While listening to this program I learned about the policies on abortion that were made in Texas as well as how Americans and Mexicans are reacting.  Some things I liked about the program were that the women in this podcast did not really hold back how they felt about the injustices that they face as a result of these laws.  They exercised their right to free speech to speak on a controversial topic.  One thing I did not like about the program was the part where they said that "Anti-abortion laws are increas...

       I read the Popol Vuh , the sacred book of the Maya, translated by Allen J. Christenson.  Originally written in the Maya language, the Popol Vuh  was translated by Allen J. Christenson to be more modern and overall help readers get a better understanding of the story.  The book tells the story of how the Maya were established.  However, the story is focused mainly on the Maya, and pushes aside their contact with the Spanish.  The reason being stated in the book where Christenson says "the authors were traditionalists, in the sense that they recorded the history and theology of the ancient highland Maya people without adding material from European sources"(Christenson 35).  This could serve as proof that the Maya were more concerned with learning about their history. The family tree of the Hero Twins      A few of the main characters that the story focuses on include One Hunahpu, Seven Hunahpu, the Lords of Xibalba, L...

     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 si...

      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 Sout...