I am an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Ball State University, where I teach courses in Spanish language and Latin American literature and culture. My research focuses on the contemporary spiritual practices of the Kaqchikel-Mayas within local and global contexts of indigenous self-expression.
(Forthcoming in the Journal of Folklore Research) The Maya hip hop scene that is currently buildi... more (Forthcoming in the Journal of Folklore Research) The Maya hip hop scene that is currently building in the area of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala serves as an alternative form of education where the state has been inadequate. This musical genre combines ancestral local knowledge, accessed by way of pre-Colombian indigenous texts and sacred fire ceremonies, with popular music in a manner that attracts Maya youth who may otherwise receive little formal education about their own culture. Maya hip hop artists use several modes of expression to articulate their contestation of the status quo, including musical sampling, indigenous language, and Maya spiritual epistemology. Nevertheless, this musical form surpasses a mere attempt at identity building, instead creating a third space of contestation: not underground nor mainstream, but “highlands.” From the social and cultural margins, Maya hip hop borrows from and interweaves with global flows of influence and local context. By adapting an international music form to autochthonous practices, a characteristic endemic to hip hop globally, Maya hip hop is an indicator of a cultural resilience that subverts traditional power structures and offers agency to an otherwise disenfranchised youth.
The Rab’inal Achi, a Maya drama originating in the sixteenth century, contains an encoded discour... more The Rab’inal Achi, a Maya drama originating in the sixteenth century, contains an encoded discourse about the human body. Using four components—the heart, the whole body, the navel, and the head—this play explores and negotiates the territorial disputes of the Maya region during the time in which it was written and performed. An examination of the cultural symbolism of each of these body parts reveals that the Rab’inal Achi uses them to talk indirectly about territory, thereby producing a less risky discourse to resolve bellic conflicts. Furthermore, by drawing on performance theory, we gain deeper understanding of the unique ability of performative drama and the body to negotiate conflict and serve as a repository of sociocultural meaning.
Maya spirituality serves as a locus of enunciation for the ongoing negotiation between local expr... more Maya spirituality serves as a locus of enunciation for the ongoing negotiation between local expressive culture and a changing globalized society. In recent years the Mayas of Guatemala have subversively used the global market provided by tourism to survive economically, recover their cultural property, and reclaim their heritage. Lacking voice and representation in an environment that has historically threatened their way of life, they assert their heritage in order to valorize their culture. They employ public knowledge and experience of natural disasters to demonstrate not just the accuracy of the 2012 prophecies
of change at the end of the Maya calendar’s long count, but also the value of the knowledge systems that produced them.
La espiritualidad maya sirve como un lugar de enunciación de la negociación en curso entre la cultura local expresiva y la sociedad cambiante y globalizada. En los últimos años los mayas de Guatemala han utilizado subversivamente el mercado global provisto por el turismo para sobrevivir económicamente, recuperar su patrimonio cultural, y recuperar su patrimonio. Careciendo de voz y representación en un ambiente que históricamente ha amenazado su modo de vida, han afirmado su patrimonio con el fin de valorar su cultura. Ellos emplean el conocimiento público y la experiencia de los desastres naturales para demostrar no sólo la exactitud de las profecías del 2012 del cambio al final de la cuenta larga del calendario maya, sino también el valor de los sistemas de conocimiento que los produjo.
Within the Kaqchikel-Maya community of Guatemala, the recently popular effigy Rilaj Mam can be un... more Within the Kaqchikel-Maya community of Guatemala, the recently popular effigy Rilaj Mam can be understood as a trickster figure, a storytelling trope which traditionally subverts an established order through trickery and/or deception. As we examine his contemporary representation, Rilaj Mam is considered a Maya ancestor, and variations in his origin tales often include his mysteriously escaping and deceiving his Spanish conquerors. In a society that finds itself in this negotiation process due to neoliberal forces of economic and cultural reorganization, Rilaj Mam is a trickster that has come to represent opposition to the invasores, to the colonial Spanish invaders and simultaneously all that is foreign in present day as he mediates a hybrid culture of tradition and modernity. Lacking other means of valorization, he is a way in which the Kaqchikel can negotiate their own position within society: by means of a figure who represents resistance to Spanishness.
Almodóvar abarca el tema del femme fatale en su película Volver (2007) a través del uso del cuerp... more Almodóvar abarca el tema del femme fatale en su película Volver (2007) a través del uso del cuerpo femenino. Por medio de una serie de relaciones metonímicas por la cual se logra conectar varias generaciones de mujeres, en los cuerpos de ellas se manifiesta un crimen de pasión, si bien a la vez el cuerpo esconde el acto. De esta manera, el cuerpo femenino hace posible una suspensión tanto de la ley como de la realidad, reemplazando la justicia legal con la justicia de la mujer que mata.
(Forthcoming in the Journal of Folklore Research) The Maya hip hop scene that is currently buildi... more (Forthcoming in the Journal of Folklore Research) The Maya hip hop scene that is currently building in the area of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala serves as an alternative form of education where the state has been inadequate. This musical genre combines ancestral local knowledge, accessed by way of pre-Colombian indigenous texts and sacred fire ceremonies, with popular music in a manner that attracts Maya youth who may otherwise receive little formal education about their own culture. Maya hip hop artists use several modes of expression to articulate their contestation of the status quo, including musical sampling, indigenous language, and Maya spiritual epistemology. Nevertheless, this musical form surpasses a mere attempt at identity building, instead creating a third space of contestation: not underground nor mainstream, but “highlands.” From the social and cultural margins, Maya hip hop borrows from and interweaves with global flows of influence and local context. By adapting an international music form to autochthonous practices, a characteristic endemic to hip hop globally, Maya hip hop is an indicator of a cultural resilience that subverts traditional power structures and offers agency to an otherwise disenfranchised youth.
The Rab’inal Achi, a Maya drama originating in the sixteenth century, contains an encoded discour... more The Rab’inal Achi, a Maya drama originating in the sixteenth century, contains an encoded discourse about the human body. Using four components—the heart, the whole body, the navel, and the head—this play explores and negotiates the territorial disputes of the Maya region during the time in which it was written and performed. An examination of the cultural symbolism of each of these body parts reveals that the Rab’inal Achi uses them to talk indirectly about territory, thereby producing a less risky discourse to resolve bellic conflicts. Furthermore, by drawing on performance theory, we gain deeper understanding of the unique ability of performative drama and the body to negotiate conflict and serve as a repository of sociocultural meaning.
Maya spirituality serves as a locus of enunciation for the ongoing negotiation between local expr... more Maya spirituality serves as a locus of enunciation for the ongoing negotiation between local expressive culture and a changing globalized society. In recent years the Mayas of Guatemala have subversively used the global market provided by tourism to survive economically, recover their cultural property, and reclaim their heritage. Lacking voice and representation in an environment that has historically threatened their way of life, they assert their heritage in order to valorize their culture. They employ public knowledge and experience of natural disasters to demonstrate not just the accuracy of the 2012 prophecies
of change at the end of the Maya calendar’s long count, but also the value of the knowledge systems that produced them.
La espiritualidad maya sirve como un lugar de enunciación de la negociación en curso entre la cultura local expresiva y la sociedad cambiante y globalizada. En los últimos años los mayas de Guatemala han utilizado subversivamente el mercado global provisto por el turismo para sobrevivir económicamente, recuperar su patrimonio cultural, y recuperar su patrimonio. Careciendo de voz y representación en un ambiente que históricamente ha amenazado su modo de vida, han afirmado su patrimonio con el fin de valorar su cultura. Ellos emplean el conocimiento público y la experiencia de los desastres naturales para demostrar no sólo la exactitud de las profecías del 2012 del cambio al final de la cuenta larga del calendario maya, sino también el valor de los sistemas de conocimiento que los produjo.
Within the Kaqchikel-Maya community of Guatemala, the recently popular effigy Rilaj Mam can be un... more Within the Kaqchikel-Maya community of Guatemala, the recently popular effigy Rilaj Mam can be understood as a trickster figure, a storytelling trope which traditionally subverts an established order through trickery and/or deception. As we examine his contemporary representation, Rilaj Mam is considered a Maya ancestor, and variations in his origin tales often include his mysteriously escaping and deceiving his Spanish conquerors. In a society that finds itself in this negotiation process due to neoliberal forces of economic and cultural reorganization, Rilaj Mam is a trickster that has come to represent opposition to the invasores, to the colonial Spanish invaders and simultaneously all that is foreign in present day as he mediates a hybrid culture of tradition and modernity. Lacking other means of valorization, he is a way in which the Kaqchikel can negotiate their own position within society: by means of a figure who represents resistance to Spanishness.
Almodóvar abarca el tema del femme fatale en su película Volver (2007) a través del uso del cuerp... more Almodóvar abarca el tema del femme fatale en su película Volver (2007) a través del uso del cuerpo femenino. Por medio de una serie de relaciones metonímicas por la cual se logra conectar varias generaciones de mujeres, en los cuerpos de ellas se manifiesta un crimen de pasión, si bien a la vez el cuerpo esconde el acto. De esta manera, el cuerpo femenino hace posible una suspensión tanto de la ley como de la realidad, reemplazando la justicia legal con la justicia de la mujer que mata.
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written and performed. An examination of the cultural symbolism of each of these body parts reveals that the Rab’inal Achi uses them to talk indirectly about territory, thereby producing a less risky discourse to resolve bellic conflicts. Furthermore, by drawing on performance theory, we gain deeper understanding of the unique ability of performative drama and the body to negotiate conflict and serve as a repository of sociocultural meaning.
of change at the end of the Maya calendar’s long count, but also the value of the knowledge systems that produced them.
La espiritualidad maya sirve como un lugar de enunciación de la negociación en curso entre la cultura local expresiva y la sociedad cambiante y globalizada. En los últimos años los mayas de Guatemala han utilizado subversivamente el mercado global provisto por el turismo para sobrevivir económicamente, recuperar su patrimonio cultural, y recuperar su patrimonio. Careciendo de voz y representación en un ambiente que históricamente ha amenazado su modo de vida, han afirmado su patrimonio con el fin de valorar su cultura. Ellos emplean el conocimiento público y la experiencia de los desastres naturales para demostrar no sólo la exactitud de las profecías del 2012 del cambio al final de la cuenta larga del calendario maya, sino también el valor de los sistemas de conocimiento que los produjo.
written and performed. An examination of the cultural symbolism of each of these body parts reveals that the Rab’inal Achi uses them to talk indirectly about territory, thereby producing a less risky discourse to resolve bellic conflicts. Furthermore, by drawing on performance theory, we gain deeper understanding of the unique ability of performative drama and the body to negotiate conflict and serve as a repository of sociocultural meaning.
of change at the end of the Maya calendar’s long count, but also the value of the knowledge systems that produced them.
La espiritualidad maya sirve como un lugar de enunciación de la negociación en curso entre la cultura local expresiva y la sociedad cambiante y globalizada. En los últimos años los mayas de Guatemala han utilizado subversivamente el mercado global provisto por el turismo para sobrevivir económicamente, recuperar su patrimonio cultural, y recuperar su patrimonio. Careciendo de voz y representación en un ambiente que históricamente ha amenazado su modo de vida, han afirmado su patrimonio con el fin de valorar su cultura. Ellos emplean el conocimiento público y la experiencia de los desastres naturales para demostrar no sólo la exactitud de las profecías del 2012 del cambio al final de la cuenta larga del calendario maya, sino también el valor de los sistemas de conocimiento que los produjo.