 Featuring the 2020 cover! The plant is called myrica cerifera and it is a medicinal plant found throughout Central America. Dear Readers,
We are honored to launch La Ceiba: The Undergraduate Journal of Central American and Transborder Studies at California State University, Northridge. We are pleased to present the creative and intellectual work of students of Central American heritage, as well as those interested in producing scholarship focusing on the Isthmus. This year, we were filled with hope and a sense of renewal. We continued our community efforts in supporting our people. Then a month ago, we felt the blunt of the impact of the COVID-19 on our communities and our campus. Still, we pressed on. Still, we moved forward with the journal and continued to advocate for communities most impacted by the pandemic. Now, we are at the end of this journey but the resilience and fight for our communities continues. We are in awe of the generosity and work of our contributors. We wish them a joyful end of the semester and hope our efforts to celebrate their work are met with cheer by everyone who visits our website and social media pages. They deserve every moment of praise and appreciation. As we reflect on the unforeseen changes, we have overcome this spring semester, the Editorial Team is thankful for the guidance and support of Professor Susana Marcelo, our Creative Director. We are also proud of the collaboration between our editorial team and student contributors during the creation and editing process of this issue. In La Ceiba’s spring 2020 issue, you can find innovative and original works that explore transborder and creative topics on Central America. It is our hope that this publication serves as a medium to disseminate the knowledge taught in our department while promoting academic excellence and future research in the field. On behalf of the editorial team at La Ceiba, we thank you for your support. Sincerely, La Ceiba Editorial Team Abstract“Weird” literature is something new that I learned in my Central American Studies class. In the class I was assigned to write a story with the same aesthetic as another author. I took inspiration from “Highway without an Ox” by Claudia Hernandez, by giving unexpected reactions. In the story that I wrote, the reader would have expected the parents to call the police, or do anything to protect their child from this stranger under his bed... but that was not the case. Instead they invited him downstairs to eat dinner.
AbstractThis paper examines the documentary Reparando by Scott Owen Moore and Voices Beyond the Wall by Brad Coley. The paper examines the detrimental effect historical events, such as a Civil War can have on the countries of Guatemala and Honduras. I analyze how these documentaries showcase that many of the social issues faced in these countries come from a Civil War and a history of colonization. It is important to know the negative effects international countries have on Latin American countries. I argue that poetry, religion, and community building could all be outlets to redefine an environment and create a positive change. The people in these documentaries were able to use these outlets in order to heal and create a better environment. It shows the importance of activism and resistance against the issues present. I believe that different environments and certain life circumstances can be a problem because they create obstacles for people and deprive them of many resources in order to reach their full potential; however, with the help of community building and redefining their situation, they can achieve happiness.
abstractThis paper analysis the book One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta. I showcase that the social hierarchy present in El Salvador allowed those in power to create oppression and commit human rights violations against the people. The government used many tactics, such as violence, religion, and fear as a way to stop people from revolting. These tactics were used as a way to force civilians to conform and accept the lower position in hierarchy that they were given.I will explore the negative role the United States played in assisting the government of El Salvador during the Civil War. The U.S. enabled the government to commit horrific war crimes and human rights violations against its civilians. A close look at many details in One Day of Life reveals how there is a social hierarchy and imbalance of power, which in turn impacts the problems people face in El Salvador; consequently, leading to the oppression that took place during the Civil War.
abstractIt is difficult to express how hard it is to adapt to a new place where you do not even know the language. However, regardless of all of this, one must not give up and should demonstrate to themselves how far they can go. Nevertheless, I enjoy making poetry that depicts how I feel about everything that I have or had to go through.
AbstractOver millions of people from different countries around the world migrated to the U.S. for better opportunities or as an escape from the violence left due to previous wars. These people face challenges by adjusting to a new environment and different societal expectations. With this transition into a new life comes the ongoing challenges they face with transnational identities. In my paper, I discuss how two transnational poets, Yesika Salgado and Javier Zamora, used their work in poetry to bring to light societal issues that many people with transnational identities face living in the U.S. through their own experiences in life and how they demonstrated the importance of representation in the work of literature for transnational poets. I also discuss a few cultural issues, like Marianismo and Machismo, that Salgado and Zamora feature in their work, which is seen as ‘inappropriate’ in the Latin(x) community.
AbstractSome men treat women horribly and some women treat women horribly as well. In my lifetime, growing up with my mother, I saw her get mistreated as if she wasn’t good enough. By having to grow up being around that negative energy, it made me very upset and angry with the world. The reason why it made me feel that way is because women are more than what society makes them seem. Women have the same power as men to be whatever they want, work in whatever job they want, and they have the power to be successful just like everyone else. Women shouldn’t be discouraged just because someone tells them they cannot be great in their life. Being a woman is a difficult, untold story, but when it’s told--it’s the most beautiful story.
AbstractOur society has portrayed a “perfect picture” of what they believe a relationship should consist of. Female’s in different cultures feel like their options are limited, due to the backlash they obtain from others. My essay focuses on the different literary devices addressed in Corazon to demonstrate how machismo still plays a huge role. The book is written by a Salvadoran author, Yesika Salgado who makes poems about her love stories and the impact it had on her identity. No one should feel the need to seek others validation because no matter how much you change for a person you will never be enough.
AbstractEl Mozote was a small village in Central America and it was attacked by their own soldiers. The soldiers killed the people in the village and left their bodies there to rot until later were picked up by rescued family members. The women and kids were crying for their help. My poem is through the eyes of a mother who is locked in her own home afraid of what might happen next, and begging for mercy to let her children survive.
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The poem "The Marathon Continues" is really an inspiring poem. This is a poem that I relate to not only just for me but for everybody who is from Los Angeles California we may not have the same stories same background but what we do know is is that we're from the same city. Everybody has their own story and background but my story is a girl growing up in South Central California with parents who are Central American and grew up struggling. My form of art started when I was young. I knew I was really creative I had all these ideas in my head that I wanted to create. I wouldn't focus on just one thing. I like to play around with different things, but really I didn't get serious till my teenage years. Writing poetry was a form of expression mainly because that was where I could express myself as a teenager. As I got older and mature, I began writing about life challenges as an adult. That's were my inspiration came to play and not only that but being Afro Latina, I wanted to educate people and hopefully I can be able to educate more people who can relate.
AbstractCentral America has been a region that has been affected by much turmoil, however it’s easy to just blame wars and political conflict as causes. If we do that, it’s an incredible injustice to the people suffering due to an infinite number of factors they have no say in that include poverty, elitism, and systematic oppression. It is for this reason that the works of Honduran writer Roberto Sosa are so impactful. In the form of poems, he gives the reader an impression that there is something beyond the idea of war that causes problems for people. Given that Honduras has been a country without much foreign conflict, Sosa shows how the lack of accountability, opportunity, and future is in fact creating Honduras’s biggest enemy, hopelessness. “The Missing Stairs” is a poem written about the Honduran children losing hope without even knowing it. He further explores how the system has let the newer generation down. In this essay, I will explore how the facts that Sosa presents in this poem, written in 1983, still have an impact in modern day, and support his critique with the truths Jesuit priest J. Guadalupe Carney was exposed to in Honduras.
AbstractLos Angeles, the City of Angels as many people would describe it. A city where dreams are meant to come true, where the fresh faces of diversity can be seen as you walk the streets at any time of the day. My city has been a huge inspiration for my art, the city where I was born and raised in. Despite the beauty we see from afar of the city of dreamers, many struggles can be found within the city as people try their hardest to push forward and live another day. My work demonstrates my perspective as I walk through my neighborhood and see the many struggles my people are facing on a daily basis. Poverty, Racism, Homelessness and these are just the few struggles we face when living in a large city. I love to use animals to symbolize the hardships people face, as a way to bring me back to the animal kingdom and see how a wolf or a poisonous snake can signify what we see in the city. Los Angeles is a beautiful city with a deep, rich, and meaningful history and I use my community as my main motivation. I’ve experienced and witnessed the hardships and hope to shine a light brighter on my community to continue fighting our battles and remind us that we are capable of so much. To not get blinded by the immense beauty of the city but to spread awareness on the many issues people in Los Angeles deal with.
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Sporting events are not immediately associated with religion or politics, but the ancient ball game played across Mesoamerica changes this notion. My paper analyzes the various ways different cultures of Mesoamerica morphed the ball game to suit their needs; socially, politically and spiritually. For Mesoamericans, this ball game was tethered to the cosmos above, ultimately playing a hand in life and death. I use references made in the Mayan council book, “Popol Vuh”, to illustrate the religious aspects of the ball game and its’ impact on daily life. The ballcourts of Mesoamerica brought both entertainment and power to its’ players and believers.
AbstractI choose to write a poem because poetry stimulates our brain to feel emotion. I hoped that by writing a poem, my words would have an emotional impact to the reader and be remembered. I want readers to feel the pain and agony of the Salvadorian citizens who had to survive El Mozote massacre. My poem used literary devices such as rhyme scheme and pathos. The Miracle Who Survives is a poem about a child who is hiding away from the Salvadorian Army, frightened that he would be the next victim. However, determined to be brave and create change for the state of the country.
AbstractTo gain knowledge of a Civil War, one must take time to develop understanding of the cause and the different perspectives on it. One way to do this is by reviewing testimonials. My paper provides historical research and the value testimonials have by challengingthe narrative portrayed by the elite and serve as a form of resistance and activism. I focus on the exploration and surfacing the perspective of El Salvador’s civil war through the eyes of poor indigenous groups by forming the analysis based the formalistic and historical approach. The analysis of Civil War in El Salvador will consist of text, “Microbus to San Salvador,” by Manilo Arugeta, which tells the story of genocide in the Central American country which reveals deeper meaning of daily dangers of life in the region and the lethal consequences of telling a controversial story. My endeavor is to give value to testimonials as it relates to speaking up on real life experiences of being a target and unwanted on the land your ancestors walked on prior to colonization
ABSTRACTThe consequences of civil war are complex and often goes ignored. By exposing the thoughtsand experiences during the critical time can lead to a better understand the aftermaths of war such as living in poverty, dealing with grief, and desensitized by death. Thus, the essay exposes the trauma and social issues through the perspective of women in a post war society by using feminist and sociological approaches. The paper provides analysis of literature written by women who have experienced the consequences of the civil war in Central America and gives insight through their writings. Therefore, the literature used to reflect on the social and psychological effects of war and grief are, La Familia O El Olvido: Family or Oblivion, by Elena Salamanca which is compilation of poems and short stories to reveal the struggle women faces post war as it compares to “Highway without an Ox,” by Claudia Hernandez, an article describing the extent grief can go. The purpose, to address the life after civil war to those who are neglected in society.
AbstractThe journey that many migrants take to reach the United States is filled with pain and agony. Not only must people face tough weather conditions but there is also border patrol, hunger, dehydration, extortion, and so many factors that make the journey so life threatening. El Viaje tells the story of the journey people make, in the perspective of someone making this difficult trek to reach a better life.
Religion and Revolution: The Role of Christian Base Communities (ECBs) in Community Organizing5/13/2020
AbstractSuffering under the military rule, El Salvador underwent a decade-long civil war and revolutionary struggles. A key component which led to people's mobilization is liberation theology, a theology which calls for the liberation of the poor and oppressed. Rather than telling people to endure all sufferings on earth and wait till the glory of afterlife, it emphasized upon the preferential treatment of the poor, teaching that the church must take an active stance against social injustices and stand on the side of the masses. Its teachings were materialized into the Christian Base Communities (ECBs), Catholic communities which were run by lay, ordinary folks who not only conducted bible studies, but took their messages and drew connections to their social realities, empowering everyday people to organize among themselves and believe in their power to enable social changes.
AbstractLos Años Marchitos, a novel written by Rafael Menjivar Ochoa, features an unnamed radio voice actor whose recording project has recently ended, leaving him on a bind as to how he will make a living until the next project arrives. Drawn from a presentation script written for the 2019 Annual Central American Symposium: Memory and Imaginaries of the Future, this presentation focuses on the marginalization of those in the working force at large, with specific characterization of a radio actor who is at the mercy of el calvo (the bald guy) to get by on a daily basis. The theme focuses on how one becomes a foreigner to his or her own works of art while those in privileged positions claim the credit, leaving an average audience to be entertained by a final outcome without any knowledge of original creators and those who toiled behind the scenes.
AbstractDiaspora, a dispersion of a population from a focal point to peripheral areas, is defined by Safran to hold the following characteristics: an inheritance of memories of homeland from one generation to another, a longing to return home, a feeling that one does not belong in his or her host country, and a collective memory which remains specific to an ethnic group. The concept is explored and brought into life via interview with Lorena, a migrant from El Salvador who maintains her sense of presence in her homeland through WhatsApp, enabling her to have weekly video chats with her mother back in her place of birth. This ethnography examines ways in which digital communication shapes and embodies the Salvadoran experience in the US.
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