ABSTRACTHistorically, states of exception (a process by which the government allows the rule of law to be dismissed in the name of a specific cause of issue) have been enforced for varying reasons. In the case of El Salvador, the president, Nayib Bukele, has been enforcing a Regimen de Excepción (state of exception) in the country due to its unbearable gang violence that has been increasing for the past decades. He has received criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, and in this essay, I argue that this criticism only stems from their loss of political power. Additionally, I propose that Nayib Bukele’s state of exception is indeed violating human rights according to international law.
AbstractThe State of Exception adopted by the Salvadoran government aims to rid the country of extreme violence from gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and 18 Street. Although the State of Exception has attempted to remove one issue, it has created additional human rights issues by suspending freedom of expression, association, and due process. Through my research, I argue that the State of Exception is a biopolitical tactic that attempts to remove one issue, but has instilled a new form of repression within the country, while examining the implementation of the State of Exception, its effects on the people, the point of views of the population, and the relationship between the United States along with other organizations.
AbstractFor this paper, we will bring together the philosophical writings of Giorgio Agamben's State of Exception and El Salvador’s current (2022) political climate to examine how the United States and El Salvador, though having a difficult history, continuously rely on states of exception as a tool used to maintain power.
AbstractHip Hop has spread to all parts of the globe and has had a profound influence on mainstream culture. Hip Hop is firmly rooted in African American culture and follows a long lineage of black music. Since its birth in the United States it has spread to all parts of the globe in an uncontrolled and organic way. For some countries such as Puerto Rico, the influence of hip hop has had time to mature and develop in comparison to countries like El Salvador and Guatemala where an underground movement is beginning. I will delve into the factors behind this musical advancement in Puerto Rico and explore the seeds that have created the Central American movements in Guatemala and El Salvador. I hope to touch on the erasure of black bodies in the Americas and how Hip Hop culture has allowed them to be seen and heard on their terms and is an inherently political act in itself just to exist and express yourself. How were the conditions in New York during the 1970s when Hip Hop emerged similar to the conditions in Puerto Rico and Central America? What are the impacts of Settler Colonialism and racism across the colonized Latin American nations? Capitalism and the strong adoption of Neoliberalist policies have created stark injustices and inequality for many of the poor of this world. Out of these conditions of oppression we see Hip Hop emerge as a vehicle for expression.
ARTIST STATEMENTMy art style is street photography. I love the grittiness black and white photography gives to raw subjects and everyday life. During shooting sessions, there usually is no plan, setup, or guide, only the moment. I capture that moment through feeling. My purpose is that I hope to trigger emotions through my photos. As humans, we feel emotions and I believe that’s both painful and a blessing. The true state and realness of people's lives are what inspire me to take a photo of something as well as something that stands out of the everyday norm.
Artist statementThe poet I tried to write like is Janel Pineda in another life. I really gained inspiration from her writing and work because I related alot to her poem and her style of poetry. Janel is from Los Angeles and so am I. I was able to relate to being home with a different mindset. The way she was able to describe what she went through in the lens of her family was beautifully pictured. Being Central American in LA is hard because everything is predominantly Mexican culture so being able to relate felt like being seen.
Artistic statementI want my work to be able to bring back memories or sentiments of comfort, hope, inspiration, or resiliency in the readers. Machismo, rigid gender norms, and sexism were constants in my life as a Guatemalan-American woman. This particular writing serves as a reminder that a woman's value or purpose does not exclusively revolve around getting married and starting a family. Not only males but also women, may achieve professional success and occupy powerful positions. I make an effort to include feminism and female empowerment in my work.
artistic statementSometimes for an immigrant, it can get really hard to be in the country because of the different problems that come with it. Having to worry about school, having to worry about migration, and in my case also having to worry about working so I can provide money to my family. For this poem, I wanted to express how much I miss my country and what I miss the most about it. Knowing I will not be able to go back for a long time, creating these poems just makes me feel better because I still have in mind what I enjoyed the most in my 15 years being there in El Salvador.
ABSTRACTThe challenges that children and many other adults face as undocumented individuals are frequently dire. As a result, struggling with self-identity and feeling like an imposter is all too common in this community, and it is particularly severe in children of immigrants. Nonetheless, poetry has always been a form of self-expression for me, a way for my voice to be heard and for me to be able to describe things in ways that I cannot easily do in any other way. I wrote this poem because I came to this country when I was still an infant and so I basically grew up in the United States. I did not grow up in Mexico, the U.S. is all I have ever known. However, that does not change the negative implications that come along with my status. And since I can remember, I have always struggled with understanding who I am. On the one hand, I am too American for Mexico as seen through my broken Spanish. But then on the other hand, I am too much of an immigrant for the U.S. Poetry has helped me understand what it is that I feel in the hopes of healing that part of me. It is to spread awareness for the social-emotional struggles that my community and I have to endure.
Artistic statementPoetry has always been one of the many art forms I’ve shown a strong interest in. Especially after taking CATS courses during my first semester in college at CSUN. I felt inspired by the work of various poets I’ve gotten to become familiar with, the way they each displayed the beauty of the culture and normalized humane emotions/life experiences. My poetry pieces consist of topics like cultural roots, grieving, and the point of view of transnationalism. Poetry has become an outlet for me to share not only my own experiences but also to connect these mutual feelings/experiences with others.
 Dear Readers, We are pleased to introduce the 2023 issue of La Ceiba: The Undergraduate Journal of the Central American and Transborder Studies Department at California State University, Northridge. This year’s edition includes various original works produced by students studying within the department and those of Central American descent. Additionally, this is our first-ever printed edition. This year, for many, marked the return to normalcy since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Undergoing various individual challenges brought on by the pandemic gave us time to reflect and grow past them. We are filled with hope and excitement as we move forward. However, we remain committed to recognizing the current lack of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press in Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Art, whether that is through poetry, literary works, music, or photography, allow us to be expressive of our individualistic selves. These featured student works raise awareness for issues important to the Central American diaspora. To our creative and artistic student contributors: Your work has moved the editorial team, and we hope that this journal does the same for our readers. That may mean to inspire, relate, or educate. Sincerely, La Ceiba Editorial Team AbstractPoets depict people who had ardently tragic inner emotional responses and feelings that awoke memories of their past. There were indications that their anguish was profound. Poems explored their characters' ephemeral lives and emotional trauma. Both poems in Nan Pix Pix and Melancholy contained hidden meanings that this paper analyzed as they interpreted traumatic experiences and life's difficulties. In Nan Pix, Pix portrayed Guatemala as lively, bringing joy and vitality to its residents; however, Guatemalans were killed by soldiers. Survivors of the Guatemalan war continued to suffer, thereby their ordeal. Melancholy depicted Ruben Dario's struggle to cope with his life and adversity. His life was plunged into darkness because his dream was a curse that left him miserable and hopeless. These poems reflected the pain and suffering that characters endured throughout their journey.
AbstractNature is important to Indigenous Mayan people for the grounding, healing, and memory that can be found. In this essay, I examine symbols and imagery of nature through Indigenous perspective and memory. In What the World Used to Be Like, a short story translated by an Indigenous Ch’orti Mayan author who features the sea as home. For Indigenous Ch’orti Mayans this story is an amplified version of their brutal history during colonization, their perspective of events has been remembered by nature. While in Humberto Ak’abal’s, At the Side of the Road the symbolism of water is interpreted to represent the flow of the way things are. Nature themes are meaningful to Indigenous perspective and memory as supported in this essay.
Artist StatementThis is a new love story set in the 1970s. When disco was coming into the scene, a revolution was in the air, and love was just a glance away. Times were changing and people were leaving El Salvador in hopes of a better life. For young Salvador, it was to be with his love and start his life. This story is the first part of the whole story, the part where we meet Salvador and Carmen and their days in El Salvador. Most never know true love, but when it does happen, it’s something to fight for.
Artist StatementMany people underestimate the struggles first-generation college students face, and as a Central American woman who is conquering academia, I can say that there are many people who pray for my downfall. But, through writing and freedom of expression, I am able to have the outlet I need to create pieces of poetry that Central American women (or anyone that appreciates poetry) can connect with and feel at ease with because someone else in this universe has felt what they have felt in some way, shape, or form. I want my writing to be an outlet for myself, but also for the reader, these pieces were more intimate and private in comparison to the work I did back in 2019, but I have grown into the version of myself that knows my ancestors would be proud if I continue to create and conquer the world one piece at a time.
Artist statementAs far as I can remember, the arts have always been an important part of my life. It was most present during my high school years when I got involved in my school’s choir group and where I took classes that grew my interest in the work of literature. I’ve read many works of various Central American poets after taking a few CATS courses and was inspired by their work in displaying the beauty of the culture and the cultural issues they include to spread awareness. My work consists of feelings, emotions, and thoughts that I experience throughout my life and within my culture which I hope is relatable to those who read or see it. Although poetry and painting started as a hobby, experiences in my life and the knowledge I continue to grasp inspired me to create an outlet for myself to share not only my own experiences but also bring awareness to issues that are important.
Artist statementThe poems “Arriving” and “First Day of School” were written to reflect the perspective of a Central American child during a time of change due to immigration to the United States of America. My inspiration to write derives from personal moments in my life that seem to have a recurring theme connecting me back to the memories I have of these life-defining moments. These poems are meant to showcase my confessional artistic style and my experience as a Salvadoran-born, US citizen, and the ways in which my life was influenced because of this cultural change.
ABSTRACTThe great migration of the 1980s saw the forced movement of Central Americans into neighboring Central American countries, Mexico, the USA, and Canada. In accepting their journey northward, they become stripped of their identity only to be seen as exploitive tools for wealth for those in power. My paper is influenced and builds upon the works of Susan B. Coutin, Michele Moran Taylor and Cecilia Menjivar, and J. Thomas Ordonez. My paper argues that the commodification of the Central American migrant has placed them in a space of limbo in which they are never certain whether they will reach their destination of fully arriving.
AbstractThe end of the Anthropocene has occurred at various moments throughout history. Theorists argue that the Anthropocene, or the human era, will end due to our selfish and extractive processes on the earth. However, others argue that this discussion of the Anthropocene universalizes the human experience by erasing the effects of racism and colonialism by only focusing on environmentalism will be incorporating the theoretical works of Rosi Braidotti, Giorgio Agamben, and Kathryn Yusoffin describing the creation of the Inhuman. In this essay, I argue that "Chaos," a Fable by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, illustrates how bio-politics, geo-politics, and necro-politics led to the creation and commodification of the Inhuman.
AbstractPoetry has been for years a fundamental element in which many people express their feelings towards a person, place, or object. The authors of each poem usually express their feelings in a few or many stanzas based mostly on personal experiences such as loving, sad, or melancholic. In this case, Dalton in which he speaks specifically of the injustice that is experienced in El Salvador and sadness or disappointment in a country where the population is affected by corruption. In both poems, we can understand how the "country or the homeland" is being controlled by corruption because El Salvador appeared blurred since the politicians betrayed the spilled blood of their people.
AbstractThe story "Muneca Rota" by Nicaraguan author, Maria Del Carmen Perez invites readers to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. The main focus is rejecting the grand narratives of humanism and opening up possibilities of being other. A solution she proposes is to think beyond humanism, imagine other possibilities, and explore different temporalities. The style of this piece is written artistically, requiring readers to use their imagination and critical thinking as they engage with the metaphors in the text. The main character, who is also the narrator, shares with her sister her desires, dreams, and thoughts as stories filled with metaphors. With each dream the character describes, more emphasis is placed on moving and becoming, that is in transformative abilities of motion. This literature is written to bewilder the reader specifically, to alter their thinking into something deemed impossible, inhuman, and/or nomadic. Many would say bizarre and be quick to construct strict categorization of an individual. Others would say suicide and would be missing all the metaphorical content. This limits the ability to think beyond humanism, the species, and be able to imagine becoming others. She can explore nonhuman time and space. I will explore the ideas of different temporalities, being other, being nomad, and the posthuman as concepts that may not be achievable within the liberal and colonial thought processes. Can humans construct original thoughts and ideas or are they truly stuck in a colonial realm of reasoning?
|
