aliciavillarreal93-blog

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Cisneros showed us different kid’s stories, then teenager’s struggles, then adults. I thought they got sadder and sadder as we kept reading. 

I noticed that throughout the novel the characters progressively got older and I thought that was a neat way for Cisneros to tie it all together. 

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I don’t have to dress in a sarape and sombrero to be Mexican” Flavio said. “I know who I am

Sandra Cisneros, Bien Pretty 

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A young girl like me. Hadn’t I understood… responsibilities. Besides, he could never marry me. You didn’t think…? Never marry a Mexican.

‘Never Marry a Mexican’, Woman Hollering Creek. Sandra Cisneros. (via emilylmcguire)

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The Marlboro Man!

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This is really interesting. My family is from Puebla and they have some friends from Oaxaca, they practice this. 

Curandera - A short (seven minute) piece that shows a rural curandera treating various village children with plants and other methods including various types of limpias or cleansings. Through interviewing the curandera we learn what is the most important thing that enables healing. With english subtitles.

The subtitles aren’t perfect but are pretty straight forward. This was filmed in Oaxaca, Mexico. Please keep in mind that curandera practices vary throughout regions & families/lineage. 

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I like watching interviews on author’s because it helps me understand a book more. 

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This is how I pictured the mountain loin looking over Tayo, until he helped guide him to the cattle.  

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I think Tayo’s personal trauma plus Historical Trauma have something to do with him trying to find his identity. 

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I never thought about it that way. Antonio did go through some traumatic situations at a very young age, I never thought about Tayo finding a cure through his culture. 

I hope Ceremony goes more into detail about all the different ceremonies they have. I want to know how they go about it! It kind reminds me of Bless Me, Ultima. I really love books like that :)

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Dr. Joe Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief, died at the age of 102 on Sunday, April 3, 2016, family members confirmed.

Medicine Crow was born on October 27, 1913, near Lodge Grass.

The decorated WWII veteran and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom attended the University of Southern California where he earned a degree in anthropology in 1939. He is the first member of the Crow tribe to obtain a master’s degree.

In 2015, Billings school officials named the new middle school in the Heights “Medicine Crow Middle School,” which is currently under construction on the corner of Bench Boulevard and Barret Road. He also appeared for the ground breaking of the school’s construction.

Crow was a frequent guest speaker at Little Big Horn College and Little Big Horn Battlefield Museum, and has appeared in several documentaries about the battle.

He was also a historian and author of several books, and is best known for his writings and lectures concerning the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

School District 2 Superintendent Terry Bouck sent out a statement regarding Medicine Crow’s death:

“Today we learned of the Passing of Joe Medicine Crow. Dr. Medicine Crow was a patriot, scholar and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Billings Public Schools is proud to honor Dr. Medicine Crow by naming the new Heights Middle School after him. Joe Medicine Crow’s “New House of Learning” will open in his honor in August of 2016, and we know that his words and deeds will influence all who walk through its halls.“

The National Park Service has more information about Medicine Crow, including this overview:

Born October 27, 1913 near Lodge Grass, Montana, Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow is the last living person with a direct oral history from a participant of the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.

His grandfather, White Man Runs Him was a scout with General Custer and died in 1925 when Medicine Crow was 11 years old.

Dr. Medicine Crow’s grandparents lived before the United States Government sent Indians to a reservation in 1884. His father was a boyhood friend of Chief Plenty Coups and had advised Plenty Coups to go to the nation’s capital to present the Indians cases for preserving their ancestral land.

Indian Country Today Media Network provides this information about his earning the title of "war chief”:

Prior to WWII, Medicine Crow – who was the first of his tribe to graduate from college – was studying for an advanced degree in anthropology before volunteering for the Army and being sent to Europe.

It was on the European battlefields Medicine Crow completed all of the four tasks needed to become a Crow War Chief. As a scout he led several successful war parties deep behind enemy lines; he stole German horses; he disarmed an enemy; and he touched an enemy (counted coup) without killing him.

The last photo is Joe Medicine Crow’s grandfather, White Man Runs Him, who was a scout for Gen. George Armstrong Custer.

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I’m really enjoying the book. I got confuse at first just for the way it is formatted with poems, and from dreams, and to reality. But it is easier to read well easier than blood meridian.

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The southwest can be beautiful but for Glanton’s gang it proved to be quite deadly.

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Money in Blood Meridian

-the scene where Glanton takes over the river boat and “people who had been waiting to cross at a dollar a head were now told that the fare was now four dollars”, using an inflation calculator $4 in 1850 is $97.61 now.

-the scene describing how Glanton already had a trunk “holding thousands of dollars of gold and silver”, lets say he had $3,000 in his trunk from looting, in 2016 that is equal to $73,207.

-the scene where the judge has lost his hat and the judge says “i’ll give 100 dollars” for toadvine’s hat, in 1850 $100 is equal to $2927.51 in 2016.

I just think it is important to get a scope of what things cost then and now. It really helps give understanding to things. The gang went from charging about 20 bucks for a trip across the river to almost 100. Glanton had emassed almost a million dollars in gold and silver and still had a blood lust for more wealth. The judge bought toadvine’s hat for almost 3000 dollars. I think doing the calculations really makes it more realistic and easier to understand.

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This was a depiction I found of Judge Holden. It creeps me out, but I think that’s how I would feel it I saw him in person. 

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I think these are cool illustrations of the kid and toadvine. The judge was supposed to have a child-like face, I think. I have not found one nor I can draw the way I see it haha. 

This photo is awesome! It really helps put a picture In my Mind about what the kid, the judge and toadvine look like! Makes me wish I could’ve seen them in person!

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Okay I googled the title of the book, clicked on images and found this. 

I wish my book had this cover. It’s somewhat intimidating. I do not quite understand why it says “god is war”. I believe it goes back to somewhere in the book where he is having a conversation with others from the group.

 Maybe I think it’s judge holden and on the bottom its probably the kid with some cowboys from Glanton’s party.  

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I found this interesting book cover online. 

I would say that the person on the bottom is Spanish or Mexican while the native american is about to kill him. The white man is maybe scalping the Native American while holding a gold coin. We can see the way different groups of people struggled to survive. At the end, as the U.S expanded, Native Americans, Mexicans and other non-European cultures somewhat lost. 

I think this explains life in the Southwest during the mi-late 1800s.