Different and Similar How?

        Today, as I was trying to reconnect with my interest in Anthropology, I came across an article by Bell Hooks called "Voices and Visions." Within the first few paragraphs I was reminded of a conversation I had with my father in Cartagena, and the resulting observation I made about differences and divisions. I often wonder about difference, layers of separation, and unity.  How do sociocultural and gender differences shape a persons recognition of difference on a more metaphysical, emotional, spiritual or psychological level? Does the recognition of sociocultural differences becomes a catalyst for our inner capacity to believe that humans can be categorized by difference on a metaphysical, intrinsic level as well?
        The more idealistic side of myself likes to believe that despite any outer categorization (culture, race, ethnicity, gender, religion), people truly are equals in their most basic capacity to feel and think. In fact, the simple act of believing in this philosophy of inherent equality has made it easy for me to live with the same compassion and empathy that I believe every human is capable of.  However, my quest to live by this philosophy of 'indifference toward difference' has also made it incredibly easy for me to immediately notice a sense of differences in almost all of my interactions.
        Whenever I sense a disconnect I usually ask myself "why is there difference" instead of "what is the difference." Asking "why" enables me to look beyond sociocultural categories and brings me closer to discovering the true perpetrator of 'difference' that we've all sensed in our encounters. Essentially, I am trying to find a way to personally overcome the obstacle of difference by examining where and how we mentally draw lines of difference. After sensing the difference and asking myself why, I can wonder: is it language or ineffective translation? Is it an experience or a memory that captured the other persons attention and rendered them bias towards the topic at hand? Is is a memory or experience that reminds them to categorize me as a white, American, woman instead of the person that I am despite these attributes? I don't know... depends on the circumstance I suppose.


Let me draw you a mental roadmap to how I arrived at these thoughts.

(A Personal Memory)
        After a day of walking in the heat, the afternoon was settling into the old city in the form of cool, crisp, coastal breezes. My parents and I stopped in a popular plaza to drink Sangria and relax some more after a long leisurely walk through the city. As is a custom in the holt family (namely me and dad's dinner/drinks custom) we began a conversation about our thoughts reflections- this time on the Naval museum and the city in general. I started explaining to my dad what I thought about the rich history of the city and how the cramped European layout mixed with the afro-caribbean tropical setting mustered up a uniquely mysterious and poetic, yet humble and distinctly latin american vibe. I said to him that I could imagine why Gabriel Garcia Marquez was "inspired" by Cartagena and its history. He disagreed- and thus began our conversation about where writers gather their inspiration and stories.
        Although my dad initially disagreed with the notion that places can be a source of inspiration or act as a muse to a writer, as we continued our discussion I figured out that it wasn't the IDEA that he disagreed with... it was literally the word "inspire." When I initially used the word "inspire" to express the idea, dad disagreed. BUT, whenever I rephrased it, he decided that he did agree. He and I both grew up traveling, we're both writers, we both like to reflect on our experiences, all the short stories he's ever written were heavily place-based... I saw all the similarities and expected him to immediately agree with me. When he felt a difference between us it was only because of his adversity to the fluffy, idealistic approach to art that he associates with the word "inspire." Our characters are judged and differences are drawn by the words we use, even by the people who know us better than anyone else.

(Bell Hooks Excerpt from Voices and Visions)
"Writers are reluctant to speak about this subject because literary elitism engenders a fear that if we describe 'unseen forces' shaping our vision and the structure of our writing we will not be taken seriously. Women writers have been more willing than their male counterparts to speak of visions that serve as a catalyst for the imaginative process. When describing the process of writing The Color Purple, Alice Walker spoke of images appearing in her dreams, of voices, of spirits calling to her."
- Bell Hooks
     
        The other difference we may have experienced according to Bell Hooks' assumption is one between men and women writers. Could it be that my dad was less likely to respond to the word 'inspire' for the same reasons Bell Hooks believes men are less likely to use visions, dreams and surrealism as a source of artistic inspiration? I don't know... is there a biological difference between men and women that really does effect how a man or woman is moved or inspired by something? Or... is this difference we detect simply a result of a generation of men and women taught to believe and act according to socially derived gender roles? See what I'm saying here?
       In my dad's case... I don't believe it's biological. I believe his adversity to this writers "fluff" (lets call it) is a result of his experiences in life. Period.

        I know this entry has dragged on with my intricate ramblings but one more thought for the road: (also inspired by Voices and Visions)
If we think about writers in the past and where they drew their inspiration and the subject or nature of their stories/poems... I keep drawing a comparison... What really is the between the Romantic writers, the Beat poets, and the New Age writers (besides the obvious time period)? In a sense, they are all 'romantic' writers. The rise of the Romantic period in literature with poets like Shelley, Keats, and Byron was literally a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of rationality and science. These writers turned to nature as inspiration and wrote epic poems about the spiritual, emotional experience of pure, untamed nature.  The beat movement was also a type of renaissance regarding liberty, spontaneous creativity and non-conformity. It was about creating a new vision or counterculture in response to the structured, over rationalized culture that "beat" them down.

        Now... Bell Hooks is claiming: "new age writing describes circumstances where writers receive ideas mysteriously, rarely does anyone talk about the sustained link between spiritual practice and writing."

        I just find it interesting is all. The evolution of literature... writing... writers. The differences, the similarities....

More thoughts later.

Adios,
-Anika
     
       

Mas de Cartagena

Cartagena Por la Noche

At night Cartagena is lit up by old fashioned lanterns along the narrow cobblestone streets in the old city (walled city, historic district). The horsed carriages are only allowed to do business after 4 p.m., and they take up as much space as the cars and taxis filtering through the small crowded streets. Afro-Colombian dancers start to perform in the plazas wearing the 'traditional' green, yellow, and red costumes right around dusk. Some restaurants don't even open until 6 or 7 p.m. Cartagena comes alive at night.

Plaza Santo Domingo


One of my favorite plazas! This is where I spent most of my Valentines night talking with the friendly waiters, listening to drums and guitars, drinking beer, thinking about Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the many ways this city inspired him in two of his novels.

Plaza de las Coches
Another one of my favorite plazas. The plaza is right on the border of the walled city and all the carriages line up at night waiting for tourists. There's a few bars or discotecas located behind the horses too. The street I usually take to the plaza is lined with professional vagabonds who selling jewelry for travel money. I've always loved seeing people do that. Every time I see them out there I  feel like I've located my clan. Although my obligations in Austin means I'm forever displaced.




Shipwreck Diving
But first! Some beautiful underwater captures:

The very dangerous Stone Fish. Can everyone see it? It's easy to pick out the fin but the eye is a little harder to focus on. I only noticed it because of its fin. The Stone Fish is one of the more dangerous fish in the sea. Apparently they carry deadly venom in their fins and if it punctures you it can kill you. Luckily, they're not aggressive.

I don't know the official name, but its a flat fish we call "Sol" or a type of flatfish flounder. Another tricky catch that our fantastic dive guide Carlos pointed out. Its little eye balls are visible if you can pick them out.

My first kiss from a pucker fish!
=)








(Now the shipwreck, mis amigos)

Cannonball. Carlos handed me the cannonball and I immediately sank. Hand first, of course. It was a heavy little corroded beast of a cannonball.

Top of the Ship

Inside the deeper corridors of the ship there was a room with a pocket of air left in it. We surfaced for a bit just for fun. The air smelled of rust. 

I tried to take a few photographs while we swam through the sunken hallways but there was so much sediment in the water from the corrosion of the ship and it was so dark the pictures always came out black or murky. We swam down the into the lower decks, into a room, through a hallway and out the side of the ship. 

Beside the ship I suppose someone dropped a huge weight as a memorial of some sort. (Photo to the left) I don't know who the person is, but it seems they were a scuba diver as well. 

Three days left in Cartagena... not too pleased about leaving the city. I'm just now making friends and getting to know the city. Ah well! So it goes. More soon. 

Warm Regards!

- Kelly 

El Amor

Happy Valentines Day everyone. I never truly appreciated this holiday until Cartagena.

More pictures and thoughts tomorrow.

Peace and especially love,

Kelly

Fragments of an Anthropologists Perspective on Travel

"Really being somewhere means to be committed to a place rather than simply an observer." 

- Philip Sheldrake (Spaces for the Sacred: place, memory, and identity)

     So how does one adapt or truly commit to a foreign social landscape while embodying and carrying their separate identities and sense of place with them? I wonder.
    During my capstone research I got to know Anna Tsing's theories on Friction and intercultural encounters like the back of my hand. She believes that the word 'landscape' itself inherently implies human influence rather than "pure habitat." Likewise Sheldrake believes that there can be "no sense of 'place' without narrative." He also states believes that the "primacy of perception is ultimately a primacy of the lived body-- a body that... is a creature of habitual cultural and social processes." That is to say, in short simplified terms, our perceptions of 'other' places are perceived through the lens of our personal narratives, familiar places, ect. You get the point. (Hopefully. If not, I recommend looking into Sheldrake on sacred spaces.)

     Anyway, my personal theory runs parallel to Sheldrake. I believe (perhaps counterintuitively) that, truly 'being' somewhere does not mean you "make a mark" or impact the place in passing. We can impact a place or location by leaving a mark on a wall, gate, community for the rest of time. All it does is prove we were there physically. I envision "being" somewhere in a much more sentimental way. I believe a place becomes relevant when you transcend 'place' and encounter the 'space.' I think one can only experience a transcendence of physical location to this anthropological 'space' when the place transforms or impacts you. When you become impacted by your surroundings it grants you the metaphysical lens you need to finally examine your surroundings as a 'space' rather than just a physical location or 'place.' Do I make sense at all?

     I miiiight be bias but I also believe that the methodology of anthropological studies (if you employ ethical methods) requires you to practice this transcendence of geographical location. Anthropology calls for a non-biased participation in a place/community and although some intention (framework) is required, a lot of ethnographic study depends on spontaneity and immersion into the local narrative landscape. Effect, experience, discovery. 

Some Pictures of Cartagena:

Warm Regards Everyone!

Anika

Walking in Cartagena, Colombia

    For the next few weeks I'm gonna take a break from my regular artsy-abstract ponderings and freestyle my entries while I'm visiting Cartagena, Colombia.

     I've been in Colombia for the past three days and I've already taken over 200 photographs! In my defense, every book I've read on photography advises me to take more photos than I think I should. I usually take several shots of one scene or object. At this point I'm still trying to come up with a project for myself. For example, I could take pictures of different doorways and create a line-up of different doors. I could take groups of photos that represent a certain color and create Colors of Colombia... faces of Cartagena.
I'm not worried. At this rate, by the time 2 weeks rolls around I'll have enough photographs to make whatever I'd like.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

El Balcon:
This is the view from my dads apartment. In this picture you see the coastline. On the right side of the balcony is the bay where the Colombia naval base is located. Cartagena was one of the oldest surviving cities in Colombia (founded by the Spanish around 1533). As one of the major port towns in the Caribbean a lot of the gold that the Spanish collected from the Americas was filtered through the city on its way to Europe. No surprise! The city was constantly under attack by pirates. They built walls and forts along the city's coast and underneath the water they piled rocks to keep out unwanted pirates. There's only one safe way to enter the bay but even at that entrance they installed a thick chain that slaves would reel up to stop pirates from entering the bay at that location. The chain's still under the water in the entrance but I don't know if it's still functioning. I want to scuba dive the area!
Dad thinks there's still a few "scuba divers" searching for gold pieces and antiques around Cartagena's coast.

Castillo San Felipe:

Castillo San Felipe is one of the oldest and strongest fortesses built by the Spaniards during this time period. It has underground tunnels throughout the fortress for what I can only assume was for the distribution of resources and for escape or easy access to other parts of the fortress. We didn't buy a professional tour of the fort. Although there are lots of 'tour guides' trying to make some a little money off their knowledge of the place. The cannon to the left still has visible engravings on it- designs and the date. 

     The old town of Cartagena is really the place to be. Colored buildings, small streets, shops, plants, old architecture. The rushes of cool wind, block-style streets, lanterns and architecture are reminiscent of the European conquest of the city. However, the bright colored buildings, people, language and music are uniquely South American with an African blend. 

And the friendly TOUCAN! I love toucans... love. Probably took 10 photos of the toucan. 

More on Cartagena soon!

Peace everyone, 

Kelly