Pages

Sunday, January 30, 2011

'Real Mexico is within the family'

What does it mean to live in poverty, to be poor?

Take a moment to define it.

Does it mean you live in a small house, or on the streets. Does it mean you wear ripped clothes and have a dirt floor with no running water. Does it mean you shine shoes or work in the market.

Or perhaps it means you’ve only got one car instead of two. You can only take one holiday a year instead of three. Perhaps it means you have to wait until things go on sale before you can consume or you have to use coupons to purchase your groceries.

Yesterday ISW students met with American anthropologist and poet Quentin Kirk. Kirk is married to a Mexican woman and has lived in San Cristobal for the past two years, where he has fallen in love with the Mexican culture and published two books out of his new-found passion.

Kirk discussed many things with the group, the history of San Cristobal, the story behind it’s title, Bishop Ruiz and his involvement with the indigenous communities. He discussed the sound of Mexican music and it’s purpose, which is to bring happiness. He spoke of the Mexican passion to dance and how the majority of indigenous populations are shy but genuinely kind and helpful of all others.

He spoke of San Cristobal history of everyone getting along, the mestizos, the indigenous, the foreigners and the hippies. He spoke of the history of the regions leaders and spoke of how long before the culture of industrialization, before the culture of things, there was a culture of celebration. He spoke of the people and how they had adequate food and shelter and how what they wanted was more celebration.

He spoke of how real Mexico is within the families and how cautious all must be when talking about poverty and being poor. He spoke of cultural baggage and how everyone must be careful of the baggage they bring from their own country. He spoke of a study done called ‘The Happy Index’ and of how Mexicans are genuinely happier than people from the north and how they laugh a lot more and have a lot more time for their family.

“The Mexican people have more of what life is suppose to be like, life needs people and people need their families and the children will have more time to play,” Kirk says.

When ISW students sat to discuss some of the things they had learned through their guest speaker, many were profoundly shocked with some of the simple things they had never realized before. About family, northern lifestyle, poverty, being poor. Many had never looked at life through this perspective, as their cultural baggage showed a different meaning of value and poverty.

“I had only ever seen poor as I was raised to,” says Child and Youth Worker student from Loyalist College Debbie Margetson. “I will now be able to see the richness [of the Mexican people] more than I ever had before.”

Many people know the cliché saying of rich in spirit, rich in heart and many people overlook it. Is it because it is so simple that it cannot be true? Or could it be because northerners have so much cultural baggage we are not able to see it?

How do you define true wealth, what does it mean. Is it possible to be spiritually rich and materialistically poor, or vice-versa. Must people be one or the other.

Although many northerners climb the capitalist model and believe title, money, power and materialistic objects signify wealth, there are still many northerners who believe a more socialist movement is taking place, especially within more urban areas of Canada.

Loyalist College ISW student Kailey Ellis Chapman lives on 100 acres of farmland outside of Belleville, Ontario and says that balance of spiritual and capital wealth is present close to home if only you look for it.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a great discussion.

    Unfortunately, in our western world many have forgotten what real value is, and many of the truths associated with it. Indigenous cultures have not forgotten - even with our barrage of commerce and obsession with pricing and monetary valuing, not to mention devestating econo-political treaties such as NAFTA, that what is authentic and necessary isn't bought or sold - and thankfully, can't be.

    Much like the findings of The Happy Index, some people are aware that the health of the economy has little to do with overall happiness of the people. Gross National Happiness, instead of GDP, was coined by the former King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972 - and tries to detach the nation's productivity and income from happiness of citizens, since there is such little correlation - and one has more real 'value' than the other.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting!

Mn.