942: On this day we acknowledge the newly appreciated cultural diversity of the Americas
Day 942: Friday, October 14, 2022
On this day we acknowledge the newly appreciated cultural diversity of the Americas
Yesterday October 13 we celebrated “Día de la Raza” or "Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity" in recognition of the mixed indigenous and European heritage of Mexico - the mestizo character of its population - and as an alternative to paying homage to the colonial conqueror Christopher Columbus.
On this day we acknowledge the rich cultural diversity of the Americas – and the acknowledgement of the enslavement and death of so many millions of Native peoples from what is now the United States and Canada all the way to the tip of Chile and Argentina. The colonizers - from Columbus, to Pizarro in Peru to the Pilgrims on North America came to find gold, glory and land no matter the cost to the Native Peoples whom they refused to recognize as humans. In this poem the poet imaginatively reverses that history. Read on.
El Poema de lo Reverso – A poem in which everything goes backward:
BY VICTOR HERNÁNDEZ CRUZ
In which everything goes backwards
in time and motion
Palm trees shrink back into the ground
Mangos become seeds
and reappear in the eyes of Indian
women
The years go back
cement becomes wood
Panama hats are seen upon skeletons
walking the plazas
Of once again wooden benches
The past starts to happen again
I see Columbus’s three boats
going backwards on the sea
Getting smaller
Crossing the Atlantic back to the
ports of Spain Cadiz Dos Palos Huelva
Where the sailors disembark
and go back to their towns
To their homes
They become adolescents again
become children infants
they re-enter the wombs of their mothers
till they become glances
Clutching a pound of bread
through a busy plaza
that becomes the taste
of the sound of church bells
in reverberation.
Announcement for TODAY from NETWORK Catholic Sisters Lobby
Subject: Protecting Democracy & Voting Rights:
A Conversation with Catholic Activists
As state lawmakers roll back voting rights and the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a pivotal case which could empower state legislatures to overrule voters, Join me for "Protecting Democracy & Voting Rights: A Conversation with Catholic Activists," provide a forum for Catholic advocates to discuss why our faith compels us to act.
The live event will begin TODAY at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, October 14. You can register to watch here:
