Blogia

Kristin in Nicaragua

La Gritería

My participation Monday night in the Gritería in barrio Santa Ana turned me into a Marianista of sorts. The Purísima and Gritería are part of what is an incredible popular religiosity and mass expression of Catholic faith and Nicaraguan idiosyncrasy (not without criticism from the growing Evangelical population, but that’s another post). The traditions were brought by the Spanish during colonialism and they have persisted into the present, with many families carrying on the practice of placing altars and giving out offerings to Mary for generations. I was invited by one of the families in my study to "gritar" (shout) in their barrio and went with my friend and her nieces and nephews, so we had a good-size group, better for singing and shouting with. The singing involves animated songs of devotion to Mary sung in front of the often-elaborate altars (imagine ceramic statues of Mary, colorful christmas lights strung plentifully, plants, flowers, and incense, blue and white balloons - Nicaragua’s national colors, figurines of flying angels and more) that have been placed by families in front of their houses throughout most of Managua’s barrios. For about two-and-a-half hours, we walked around the neighborhood, lining up in front of altars (people pass one group at a time to sing to Mary), singing our songs (think: "Mary, your name without stain", "Mary, you Celestial Virgin" - ok, there’s way too much symbolism for me to go into here...), and then receiving the gorras (gifts) given out by families hosting the altars (think Trick or Treat, but Nicaraguan, Economic-Crisis style: adults were given bags of rice, beans, even salt! oranges and bananas; children were given toys, candy, underwear, socks) - given to us for our singing and shouting but really as a symbolic offering to Mary for her blessings and protection. After singing, we shouted: "¿Quien Causa Tanta Alegria? La Concepción de María!", "Que Vive La Virgen! Viva!", and "María de Nicaragua, Nicaragua de María!". And there you have it, La Gritería!

migration in ochomogo

migration in ochomogo

This past week my collaboration with Servicio Jesuita de Migrantes (SJM) took an exciting turn as I conducted two days of intensive fieldwork with a SJM colleague in the rural community of Ochomogo, in the department of Rivas, about 2 hours south from Managua by bus. Rivas is the southwest department (state) bordering Costa Rica, and the community of Ochomogo is heavily impacted by migration, with nearly every household having at least one family member (mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, grandchild) in CR. I’ve been asked by folks in the US why Nicaraguans emigrate to CR. The short, simple response = for economic reasons. In agricultural communities impacted by droughts, flooding, lack of government investment, inability to access credit, jobs, education, and opportunities in general, people leave "para mejorarse" -- in search of a better life. Their destination is CR for many reasons: geographical proximity, relative lower cost of transit (in compared to the trip to El Norte/the US), demand for low wage immigrant labor in the CR economy, and relatively better incomes compared to what would be earned for similar work in Nicaragua (e.g. women working as domestics in Managua may make $200USD/month, whereas in San José CR, the same work earns a salary of about $500USD). For men, employment in the Tica (Costa Rican) economy is in agriculture or construction; for women, in domestic service or agriculture. With SJM in Ochomogo, we conducted interviews with returned migrants and family members, focusing on human rights violations experienced in transit, while living in CR, or in deportation/return. The next morning, we conducted a half-day workshop on the rights of documented and undocumented migrants under the UN "Convention of 1990" (see earlier blog post on Foro de Migraciones), as well as the steps to obtain legal documentation. I hope for my collaboration with SJM to be ongoing; it is incredibly rewarding to work alongside like-minded and compassionate people. I also plan for Ochomogo to be the site for my next round of data collection. I’ve already met two families for my study there, and hope to add several more in the next couple months. I currently have 10 families in my study, with whom I’ve conducted the bulk of my data collection. My goal is to identify another 10 families next year, for a total of around 20 families by the end of fieldwork. That’s my update from the field; now back to all this virgin mary madness... [note: pictured are women participants in our SJM workshop, all of whom have migrant experience or are family members of migrants. the house in the background is typical of those that have achieved some "mejoras" (improvements) due to migration: the paint, the room addition, the new zinc (corrugated iron) roof, and the ceramic tile (as opposed to dirt) floors being just some of the things that remittances typically buy for families back home.]

La Purísima

La Purísima

Nicaragua is filled with the sights, sounds, and flavors of the holidays, especially the altars and displays dedicated to the Virgin Mary during these days of the Novena and Purísima - the celebration of all things related to the "immaculate conception". Of course I’m not a religious scholar, but these popular catholic traditions are fascinating - in this case, "marianismo" and the veneration of mary as the symbol of faith, dedication, purity, devotion, and christianity. The Purísima is celebrated largely in private homes, as families and close friends join together to sing and pray in honor of Mary; often the celebration is made as a "promesa", a promise to Mary in exchange for some act of faith - e.g. healing a sick child, helping a family member in need, etc. In the case of the family where I shared in a Purísima celebration Monday night (invited by one of the families in my study), the tradition has been fulfilled every one of the past 25 years, since the birth of an ill child and a promise made by a grandmother that if the child lived, the family would always pray to Mary during the novenario. Usually such celebrations are accompanied by gifts of food and candy; however, the family I shared with on Monday explained that because of the "crisis" economic difficulties made their celebration this year particularly meager. Along with the other guests, I still enjoyed a full plate of "chop suey" (a multicultural delight mainly reserved for special occasions) and refresco de cacao. Pictured is their altar with a Mary that has been in the family for four generations. La Purísima began November 28 and ends December 7 with "La Gritería" - when most families will move their alters from their living rooms to the sidewalk and the public (sometimes drunken) display of devotion to Mary will culminate with a huge fiesta, as everyone takes to the streets to shout "¿Quien Causa Tanta Alegría? La Concepción de Maria!" (Who causes so much happiness? The conception of Mary!). Most businesses will close on the 7th at 4pm; and Dec. 8th will be a national holiday for many...

Donations for Gilbert

Donations for Gilbert

In the hopes of catching some of you while you’re in the mood for holiday giving (and before you head to the malls for "Black Friday" -- so not missing the over-commercialization of the holidays!), I wanted to share this request for scholarship support for my friend Gilbert. Gilbert is the health promoter/volunteer with AMC I’ve been working with in La Dalia, and he hopes to study for a dentistry/odontology degree after he finishes high school next year. Please do not feel obligated to donate, but if you do feel you want to help out (I’m thinking small amounts e.g. $5-$20), email me separately and I can share options for sending donations. Mil gracias and Happy Thanksgiving!!!  --Kristin

(what follows is my translation of Gilbert’s letter, which he prepared at my request)

Hi, I’m Gilbert,  Warm greetings to all of you, I want to tell you a little about myself: I’m a young person who dreams, and my dream is to become an Odontologist or a translator, but I need a little luck to achieve this because I don’t have the needed economic resources. I’ve actually just finished my fourth year of secondary school [note: high school here lasts five years]. My only desire is to serve the community and society if I can make my dream reality. I work as a volunteer Health Promotor with Acción Médica Cristiana, I don’t receive any pay for this work. I’ve also helped Kristin, who has led a good process in a community and whose friendship is important in helping me develop my personal knowledge. I also participate and lead a youth group in the catholic church in my town; our saying is, “where there are youth, there’s happiness”. I would like to have the opportunity to receive support from you all, people who have the heart to help me achieve my dream. I am 17 years old, I live in El Tuma-La Dalia, in the Department of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I hope God blesses you all. While I don’t know you, I wish you love and happiness. Thank you, bye bye.

diagnóstico comunitario, Granadillo

diagnóstico comunitario, Granadillo

the past four months, i've been facilitating a community needs assessment process in Granadillo, a rural community in La Dalia, Matagalpa. working alongside the comité comunal, an active group of 15-25 members - men and women of all ages - and my compañero Gilbert, a Promotor de Salud with Acción Médica Cristiana (AMC), we've: generated a mission statement for the community committee, created a written history of the community (based on oral histories collected from long-time residents), identified and prioritized community needs and problems, and brainstormed about resources available to resolve those problems. due to my increasing collaboration with the two migration-related organizations i'm working with in managua, i felt i had to bring my volunteer gig with AMC to a close, which really meant bringing my work with the community to a sort-of conclusion. yesterday i gave a mini class of sorts on research methods that the comité could use to investigate community problems, explaining the difference between qual and quant (all my anthro friends know russ bernard would be proud!). i'm pictured here with hermano salvador (we are tabulating problems listed by community members) - salvador is the president of the comité comunal and leader of the local catholic "church" (a group of people who meet on the same patio in front of his house where we are seated in the photo and where we held all our community meetings). also pictured are a gallo (rooster) and cerdo (pig): can you find them?!

whose streets, pt.2

clearly today the streets belonged to the FSLN and supporters of the ortega administration. throngs of thousands crowded into the "plaza de las victorias" in downtown managua, and kept arriving well into the afternoon, past the scheduled noon end, by which time most opposition protests (which included maybe 1,000 blue-and-white-wearing supporters of the PLN and esp. of eduardo montealegre - ok, just so you get an idea of why he’s _not_ a good alternative to ortega, his party is called "Todos Con Eduardo"!!! and that’s just the beginning of its problems...) had come to a close. to the credit of the local police, by 5pm today there had been little violence, only the constant arms-firing-into-the-air of the FSLN multitude. i stayed far away from the masses in my little corner of managua on carretera sur, but at about 3pm the highway was filled with buses rented by the FSLN to bring supporters into the city from surrounding departments - so the big yellow school buses that would normally be filled with commuters or families visiting the beach or relatives on a saturday were converted into mobile caravans of ortega sympathizers, the FSLN’s red and black flags covering their roofs and windows and their drivers honking support all the way down the road. the administration had set up a huge stage downtown - in front of the crowds hovered a large poster with ortega’s familiar face (it’s plastered on political signs all over the city) and the words CRISTIANA, SOCIALISTA, SOLIDARIA next to it. the organization of the orteguistas, and their ability to mobilize what were probably tens of thousands of supporters, is impressive. however, i’m still not impressed by what appears to be the corrupt, civil liberties-threatening, egoist tendencies of ortega, who i’m not convinced is either christian, or socialist, or really acting in solidarity with the masses of nicaraguans who showed their support for him today. i’m a progressive, pacifist critic, trying hard to understand all that is going on around me here...

orquesta sinfónica nacional de cuba

orquesta sinfónica nacional de cuba

in the midst of the political madness, i decided to go hear the national symphonic orchestra of cuba, in town for one night only at the teatro nacional ruben dario. weaving our way through many blocked-off and other over-crowded streets filled with re-routed traffic (while the main political protests were today, saturday, there were "preludes" last night), i and my two colleagues/friends made it to the theater. sitting in our second-balcony seats, we were surrounded by managua's cuban community - adults in their 50s and 60s in neatly-pressed guayaberas sharing stories about their home states of matanzas, trinidad, santa clara in the joined-syllable accent of cuban spanish. the concert celebrated the orquesta's 50 year anniversary and was stupendous - they played three pieces by european composers exquisitely, i was literally swept away by the crescendoing finale of rossini's overture to "guillermo tell"; then, the orchestra switched moods and styles and played two pieces by cuban composers based on typical cuban rhythms, one danzón and one guaguancó - during the former, the entire string section broke into "palming" their instruments to the one-two-three beat, it was fantastic and the crowd loved it! who ever thought they'd want to bust out and dance at a classical music performance! the night was true testimony to the social and cultural benefits of the cuban revolution: decades of investment in music training has produced an incredible depth and diversity of talent. i wish figuring out the political situation here was as easy to do as enjoying a night of cuban classical music.

whose streets?

the past week has seen various enfrentamientos (confrontations) between the two main political groups here: supporters of the ortega administration ("orteguistas") and the liberal-conservative opposition wing. the situation is incredibly complex, and it bears repeating that many long-term sandinistas do not support the current administration, which they critique for its anti-democratic tendencies. for example, in the press lately are reports that public officials are being told they must report to the various pro-ortega (pro-reelection) protests occurring in the rotundas around managua, e.g. if they don't go wearing their red or pink t-shirts and waving flags or holding signs in favor of ortega, they'll take a salary cut or risk losing their jobs. while horrendous, sometimes it's hard to trust these reports, as they come out of the main daily newspapers such as La Prensa, which daily contains sensationalist headlines such as, "Ortega needs to see a Psychiatrist", and constantly refers to the president as "The Dictator". in this context, the situation on the street is becoming more and more tense, especially as we approach the nov. 21 marchas planned by opposition groups in protest of the municipal elections of last november, which they allege were fraudulently manipulated in favor of the FSLN (against the liberal parties). at the same time, ortega-supporting protests are taking place daily in the rotundas of managua, with youths wearing bandanas (La Prensa refers to them as "los turbas"), firing mortars and home-made arms into the air, breeding a sense of insecurity and fear (i've fled from more than one of these rotundas in the past week, literally shaking due to the gun blasts and sense of violence i perceived).  for the 21st, the ortega administration is apparently planning massive counter-protests, with more confrontations between the opposition/liberal party supporters and orteguistas likely. in sum, it feels very unstable here right now, as if nicaragua were a state at war with itself, but of course this is taking place in the regional context of the ALBA alternative for the americas through which ortega is aligning with chavez against the interests of the US. a very complicated time, but most nicaraguans i know just want to return to normalcy, peace, stability...

bus adventures

the russian government has just donated a fleet of large, rectangular white buses that are circulating the streets of managua. they run much cleaner than the old yellow US school buses (with indicators of their origins like "Albequerque Unified School District" written on the side), which churn out clouds of black soot as they rumble their way over the many "rutas" (routes) that traverse the city. taking a "ruta" costs 2.50 córdobas, or about 10 cents, and so it's much more affordable than taking one of the thousands of taxis circulating city streets, which cost between 20-50 córdobas, depending on the length of the trip. (taxi adventures, and horror stories of robberies, assaults, and sexual aggressions, are the topic of another blog!). yesterday leaving an interview in barrio alta gracia around 5pm (it gets dark here shortly after 5), i got on a ruta in one of these new white russian buses, it was raining, and the bus was packed full, and so quickly converted into a mobile sauna of sorts, with steamy windows and we passengers dripping with sweat despite the cool afternoon and pouring rain. i was standing, holding on to the padded grey seat in front of me, and trying to discern through the clouded window where we were going, soon realizing i was definitely on the wrong ruta, weaving its way up above the residential area where i live, into the popular barrios of san judas and camilo ortega and their mud streets and wood slatted homes. and after asking if we would ever weave our way back down to carreterra sur and having a concerned woman tell me that we wouldn't and that i'd better get off quick and make my way back, i jumped off at the next stop with a group of other passengers sheltering their heads with backpacks and plastic bags as they ran home in the rain, and walked several blocks through flooded streets before deciding to just pay the 20 córdobas and take a taxi to a central intersection, and from there i walked the remaining few blocks home. just when i got inside and dried off, a huge rain and electrical storm hit (but tropical storms also need to be the subject of another blog!)...

Blog - Red de Mujeres Familiares de Migrantes

My friends at the Red - in English, The Network of Women Family Members of Migrants - have created a blog. For those who are interested (and read Spanish) you can find the blog at:

http://www.redmujeresfamiliaresdemigrantes.blogspot.com/

In Managua, I'm actively involved with the Red and their programs, including those related to their political agenda (posted on the blog), and other educational and social activities. Some of the women incorporated in the Red are grandmothers caring for children left behind by migrant mothers, and some of these families have become the first group of study families for my research. Through them, I am meeting additional families for my study, including extended family members and/or neighbors of the first group of families. Currently I am working with 10 families in Managua and 3 in La Dalia. I hope to have a total of at least 20 families by the end of my research, with a sufficient number in each site to generate some rural-urban comparisons.

paz y benediciones, kristin

hurricane Ida

several friends have asked about the impact of hurricane Ida here. basically, in Managua, we are just experiencing the related weather system - rain, clouds, overcast (actually a welcome relief from the heat) - but the Northern Atlantic Coast was pummeled by the storm last week. by Friday, over 13,000 coastal residents were displaced after losing their homes; water sheds have been contaminated, and crops lost. food aid, water, and medicines are reaching the coast and providing some relief. however, the ongoing tragedy of these storms is that year after year the same communities are affected, complicating the permanent reconstruction of homes and infrastructure. nicaragua's coastal regions are populated by indigenous groups such as miskito and rama, many of whom live in extreme poverty, which adds to their vulnerability to these storms.

día de los difuntos

día de los difuntos

november 2 was día de los difuntos and much of managua celebrated by joining loved ones at the cementerio general, cleaning and adorning grave sites with flowers, plants, and confetti, and gathering together around family members' tombs singing, eating, and drinking. by 5pm the cemetery was crowded as many had the afternoon off from work on what was a public holiday. families filled the narrow walkways between graves, vendors sold comida chatarra (fast food), muchachos hawked their grave-cleaning services with shovels and buckets of water, and groups of mariachis milled around offering to serenade the deceased. the graveyard is expansive, its front end filled with people born in the 19th century; further back lie the more recently-deceased. many national heroes are buried here - including Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, Camilo Ortega Saavedra and many other martyrs of the revolution - impressively, the gravesites of the well-known and well-off (including President Ortega's parents and the family of opposition leader Montealegre) lie side by side with those of working class and poor families -- death and its accompanying rituals are more democratic than life...

protests and politics

Last week there were somewhat violent protests in front of the US embassy in Managua, with allies of the current FSLN administration, often referred to as "Orteguistas" for their support of President Daniel Ortega, demanding that US Ambassador Robert Callahan resign and leave the country, throwing rocks and mortars, and defacing the wall outside the embassy. Callahan has expressed concern about the Nicaragua Supreme Court’s recent decision to modify the constitution to allow for re-election (in the US, it is reported that John Kerry, chair of the Sen. Foreign Relations Committee, has voiced similar concern). Re-election is a highly politicized issue, and it’s hard to give it justice without going into a lengthy conversation about contemporary Latin American politics or the history of US intervention/imperialism in the region. However, suffice it to say that the political climate here and now is incredibly polarized - supporters of Ortega argue that with another 5-year term (election in 2011), his plans for improving public education, healthcare, and implementing a wide range of "popular participation" programs in benefit of the poor will have a better chance of success. Opponents, on the other hand, including one of the main daily newspapers, continually lambast Ortega as having "Dictatorial" intentions and accuse Venezuela’s President Chavez of manipulating Nicaraguan politics. It’s hard to know exactly what to think about all this - it’s a complex and often confusing state of affairs. On one hand, I feel that the violent protests at the Embassy last week were out of proportion to any threat the US currently poses here, despite the official US support of opposition parties through programs such as the "National Endowment for Democracy" (e.g. US taxpayers are paying to train leaders of opposition parties here, which the FSLN views as a destabilizing threat). It also bears noting that the vast majority of my Nica friends and colleagues oppose the violence of the protests, and many who are Sandinista supporters oppose the current Ortega regime, saying, for example, "Sí, soy Sandinista, pero no Orteguista". It also bears mentioning that other Latin American governments have made similar constitutional amendments to allow re-election (namely, US allies Uribe in Colombia and Arias in Costa Rica), and the US has not expressed disapproval. In sum, it’s an incredibly complex time for Latin American politics and will continue to play itself out as nations such as Nicaragua engage in an ongoing experiment with "Democracy"...

community assessment - Granadillo

community assessment - Granadillo

I continue to facilitate a community needs assessment process in a rural community of the municipality of La Dalia, as part of my volunteer commitment with Acción Médica Cristiana. Pictured here are members of the Comité Comunal, leaders of the community, Granadillo, where I am facilitating this process. In our meeting this week, we focused on identifying and prioritizing community problems. The three problems the community has chosen to focus on are: latrines and sanitation (many families don't have latrines or they are in poor condition); access to health care and use of medicinal plants (there are many such plants in the community, but people are not aware of appropriate uses); and nutrition/food security/and the need for a land bank for families to have access to cultivable land. When in La Dalia, I also am interviewing and visiting with the 3 families I have included in my study there.

doña alba

doña alba

doña alba is the señora in whose home i rent a room in managua. i have truly enjoyed getting to know her family and feel blessed to share time with them. last night we had a cena for alba’s birthday, complete with mariachis who came to serenade her! i took this picture at the party of alba and her husband (a german post-WWII emigré).

entrevistas

entrevistas

i am having an incredible time getting to know the seven families i am working with so far in managua as part of my study. i focus on the role of the abuelas in each family; to "qualify" for my study, each family has either a mother or father who has emigrated (usually to Costa Rica, the U.S., or Spain), and who has left behind a child (between 6-12 years old) in the care of the grandmother. it’s way too early to draw any firm conclusions about the impacts of mother migration on families left behind, but what is clear is that there are both economic and emotional impacts that are incredibly complex, and have to do with family histories and configurations both before and after the migrant’s departure. some interviews have been quite intense, involving shared hopes, fears, and tears. i’ve been helped in identifying these families by newfound friends and colleagues, including karen, pictured here, who is a lawyer and works for the ministerio de familia, adolescencia, y niñez and has generously shared with me her time and expertise on the culture of nicaraguan family life and gender roles. (p.s. no worries, i’ve asked for permission to share all photos posted here on this blog!)

misa campesina

sunday i went to see katia cardenal perform the misa campesina nicaragüense in a free concert in the plaza las americas. Katia is an amazing nicaraguan canto-autora (singer-songwriter), founder of one of my favorite musical groups, dúo guardabarranco. the misa campesina was originally written by carlos mejía godoy and inaugurated in 1975 and draws on nicaraguan folk music (música del campo) to create a score full of allusions to social justice and essentially based on the liberation theology that emerged in response to the Second Vatican Reconciliation. i don't know the religious history well, but this music recalls the heart and soul of the sandinista revolution (and was oficially banned at one point); when sung by Katia, it is absolutely beautiful and awe-inspiring. check out more about Katia's music at her website: http://www.katiacardenal.com/

dodgers y vicente

with apologies for those of you who don't care about sports (or hate the dodgers)... but to all you sports fans, headlines in today's nicaraguan national newspapers read: "brilló padilla" (padilla shined) and "Nervios de Acerco" (Nerves of Steel). vicente padilla pitched eight innings in last night's dodgers' victory and back home nicaraguans are filled with pride. padilla was born in the state of chinandega and pitched for the nicaraguan national team before joining MLB. a cumbia video homenaje to him can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQSZnFJHwEc. the globalization of professional sports connects me to my home team. go dodgers! 

la casa de café

--a favorite meeting spot in managua. there are actually three locations (two are inside centros comerciales), but last night i joined my friends sara (another fulbrighter from UCSC), and roxanne (with witness for peace) for queques and cafés in barrio los robles. a warm capuchino covered with foam and a sprinkle of cinnamon, accompanied by a delicious piece of carrot cake full of raisins and pineapple, on the balcony of a two-story house covered with vines and partly sheltered from the street by huge cieba trees, a nice break for reflection and conversation, much-needed in the midst of the daily routine of meetings, interviews, buses, taxis, traffic... paz, amor, y cafés, kristin

barrios populares

i've conducted several interviews for my study this week in popular (working class) barrios throughout managua. while my colleagues (and several earnest taxistas) have warned me that these barrios are "dangerous", that i shouldn't walk around, shouldn't wear a watch or any jewelry, etc., i haven't had any problems with safety. instead, i find the barrios (just like my own at home in LA!) to be friendly places, where people eagerly help me locate houses (with directions like "from where the theater olga used to be, two blocks to the west, one half block towards the lake" -- i'm not kidding, anyone who's been in managua knows what i'm talking about!), where school children leave home at 6:30am with uniforms washed and ironed and return at 12:30pm to share the midday meal with their families, where adults spend afternoons sitting in the shade, drinking fresco natural (any juice made with water and fresh tropical fruits such as nancite, pitahaya, tamarindo, or piña - yum!), while kids play in the street all afternoon - running and laughing and playing with sticks, balls, bikes, dogs, rocks, marbles or anything else they find - until their moms call them inside at dark. the sense of being rooted to families, extended kin, and neighborhood ties is strong. several "experts" i've talked with here about nicaraguan families assert that it is the central and authoritative role of women in family life that has held nicaraguan society together, despite the persistent poverty, lack of economic opportunity and years of broken political promises. i'm not sure yet what to make of all this, but for now i'm struck by these glimpses of life in the barrios, and the common refrain, "hay que salir adelante" (you have to keep going forward), a sense that, despite the fact that "la vida aquí es dura" (life here is hard*), living is about continuing on in the face of difficulties, rooted in the routines of daily life and the necessary labors of raising children and tending to families and communities. [*note: possibly the best ethnography i've read on Nicaragua is "Life Is Hard" by Roger Lancaster. check it out if you want a glimpse into life among families in one of Managua's barrios during the war years of the 1980s and through the election of Violeta Chamorro in 1990...]