[Leica] IMG: Quetzales

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca)]

Chris Crawford OFFERED:

> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Quetzales
> He probably served in the military.  Doubt Guatemala has enough white
> people to fill the army, and there are probably a lot of Hispanicized
> Mestizos and Indians whose loyalties lie with the Hispanic ruling class.

Hi Chris,
Thank you very much for a very interesting historical presentation!
Once again proving there is more to the LUG than just photography.
Not to often as precise a piece is as well and informatively written.
Good on you lad! thanks again.
cheers,
Dr. ted

> Your photos show something about Hispanoamerica that most anglos don't
> understand. The Spanish conquered centuries ago, but in many parts of
> Latin America, most of the people never adopted Spanish language or
> culture. Even Mexico, whose people were more Hispanic than most Latin
> Americans, has millions of Indians who still speak languages like Nahuatl
> (the language spoken by the Aztecs and most other Indians in central
> Mexico). Some of them don't know Spanish, which condemns them to poverty
> and political weakness because they cannot participate in Mexico's
> economic or political life. Mexico's government has not done much to help
> them.
>
> The dirty little secret of Spanish America is that the Spanish still rule
> there. The countries became independent in the 1820s, but the independence
> movement was led, for the most part, by Criollos (Pure-blooded white
> Europeans who were born in the colonies, but whose ancestors came from
> Spain). The Spanish government in Madrid always feared that the Criollos
> would take over the colonies, if allowed too much power, so the top jobs
> were reserved for Peninsulars (Spaniards born in Europe). The 1776
> revolution in Britain's colonies confirmed these fears (The British
> colonists had far more power and political rights than the Spanish
> colonists did), and the Spanish government actually forbade possession of,
> publication of, or even the reading of the American Declaration of
> Independence! British newspapers were allowed to publish it as soon as it
> arrived in King George's hands!
>
> The disruptions of the Napoleonic Wars (France invaded Spain) allowed the
> Criollos to take over the administration of their colonies, and when the
> wars in Europe ended, they declared their independence. Nearly 200 years
> later, the tiny white minorities in countries like Mexico and Guatemala
> still rule. Some of these countries are not even that poor. Mexico is
> classed by the UN as an Upper Middle Income country! Problem is, 99% of
> the wealth is held by 1% of the population there.
>
> These countries and their history fascinates me because part of my family
> came to the USA from Spain. New Mexico is the only part of the USA with a
> large white Hispanic population. A lot of the colonial racial prejudices
> are alive and well there, with the Hispanos (the whites) treating
> brown-skinned Mexicans like dirt, and openly declaring that work was
> something whites made non-whites do. I lived there a couple years, and
> loved getting to know my family's cultural heritage, but the racism there
> was a real turn off.
>
> --
> Chris Crawford
> Fine Art Photography
> Fort Wayne, Indiana
> 260-437-8990
>
> http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com  My portfolio
>
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