Week 10 - Rigoberta Menchú, I, Rigoberta Menchú - Nicholas Latimer - On repeated themes, culture, and tradition.

Another alluring, and thought-provoking read this week. Rigoberta’s recounting of the many stories and ‘highlights’ of her life, although sometimes very hard to wrap my head around or to come to terms with their severity - I was eager to continue reading, almost out of respect and admiration for such a strong character. 

My initial thoughts while reading were about this book in relation to our past readings. Albeit unique, there were some parallels I felt - such as the themes of death, reflective tone, and even some of the cultural beliefs that Rigoberta had shared with us. When her little brother passes as a result of the brutal conditions on the Finca, not only are we reminded that this could happen to any individual unfortunate enough to live their life, but we see a shift in Rigoberta’s perspectives of their poverty. A reflection of this growth, on page 34 she recounts: “That’s when my consciousness was born”. Although many instances of violence occurred (like the performance-killing of Petrocinio, or the rape of her mother), I wanted to note that Nicolas’ death marked a change in the tone, unlike what is common in death in books we’ve read, like Cartucho or Pedro Paramo - whereby these instances were more or less insignificant to the story. 

Another comparison that came to mind was seen in the shared style of “reflection” which would be expected in a memoir or testimony. I thought of Mama Blanca, and how stories were shared from time ago, reflections of childhood all the way through to adulthood. Of course, the energy felt in Rigobereta’s case was much heavier on the reader, compared to the “good ol days” tone of MB.

Although we did not hear much in detail about the expectedly beautiful Maya-Quiché culture, I wanted to share a lighter thought that I had when she was reflecting on the concept of the Nahul. Besides being personally appreciative of a culture which integrates itself with the natural world - Rigoberta tells us that “Parents know what a childs behavior will be from the day of the week he is born” (p. 18). I thought of the families we discussed last class from 100 Years - who could almost as precisely anticipate what a child’s personality would be - either based on his family name or his resemblance to his kin. Perhaps by opposite means, reaching a similar conclusion - it made me wish we got to hear more about the secrets of Quiché people, and all of the beautifully comedic tales/traditions that would come with it. 

To wrap up my rather scattered reflection, I will touch on the idea of her cognisant efforts to keep her peoples secrets. As I’ve said, I feel that it would have been interesting to hear more, perhaps even offsetting of the saddening content of the book - but may also keep the content on task with exposing atrocities rather than sharing culture. What was also interesting to me was that this book would be considered an effort to uplift native peoples in America, but refrained from over sharing or celebrating the culture and traditions themselves. I would contrast this with organizations which seem abundant today, who use an approach of celebration of differences to grow the appreciation and acceptance of minority groups. 

Do you think more content from Rigoberta’s cultural identity/traditions would have helped this mission? Or does its exclusion help clarify the deeper message of her stories. Let me know your thoughts.