CONSTELACIONES

Full Issue

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0700

CONSTELACIONES EDITORS’ STATEMENT

Tara Matthews, Lily Trithart — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0700

From the Academic Advisor

Marina Bettaglio — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Back Cover Image

Kaila Lee — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Soy una paloma

Quinn Nelson — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

La autonomía corporal en las pinturas de Leonora Carrington

Paige Arden — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The aim of this short essay was to first analyze the masculine gaze as a Surrealist artistic method and secondly to determine how and to what extent the works of British-Mexican artist Leonora Carrington intentionally defied this default view. Using three specific paintings as examples, it looks at representations of binary gender, specifically the embodiment of femininity, to determine the feminine characters’ levels of inherent agency versus their fate of resting as the “complementary feminine” muse to the masculine artist.

Burn The Ancient Flints Bright: Proving a Unique Colonialism in the Andean Region

Oliver James — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Drawing on the works of Latin American intellectuals such as Pablo Neruda, Ernesto Guevara, and Jose Carlos Mariátegui, this paper explores the limitations of the commonly used academic definitions of ‘settler’ and ‘exploitative’ colonialisms. The Andean region is used as an example of an area that cannot be easily categorized into those labels due to its unique geographic location, the population demographics that emerged shortly after the initial Conquest, the nature of Indigenous participation in the new society, and the motivations of the Spanish colonial forces. The impacts of these unique factors on the modern Andes are used as a proof of why it is important to question Eurocentric definitions of subaltern experiences.

Todas las madres: An Exploration of Diverse Cathartic Maternity in Pedro Almodóvar’s Todo sobre mi madre

Carmen Kaufman — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Following a brief introduction on the work of Pedro Almodóvar, this essay examines the diverse maternal figures in the Spanish director’s film Todo sobre mi Madre with a focus on how the motherly actions of the main protagonist, Manuela, help her to overcome the traumatic loss of her child. This essay was written in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year for Dr. Silvia Colás’s class on Spanish culture which explored, amongst other themes, the colourful movida madrileña.

Narco-culture, Narco-aesthetic and The Plastic Surgery Phenomenon in Colombia

Eloisa Roldan — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The topic being discussed in this paper is the influence of narco-culture and narco-aesthetics on gender ideologies, emphasized femininity and the plastic surgery phenomenon in Colombia. Narcoculture is a subculture which originated in Colombia and Mexico in the Narco era (1960s-1980s). Narcoculture aims to reorganize relationships to match the ideals of the drug trafficking world. Such ideals are based on misogyny (fear and hatred of women with power) and sexism (the favoring of one sex over the other, both ideologically and in practice) (Wade and Ferree, 35). The social construct of narco-culture revolves around the idea of a “macho” (emotionless and powerful) man and his ownership of a voluptuous, objectified woman. Narco-aesthetics is the perception and construction of beauty influenced by narco-culture, which is characterized by women with perky breasts, large behinds, and a curvy toned physique (Salazar, Pena, and Giraldo, 63). Consequently, women in these cultures surgically modify their bodies to match such social construction of beauty: this has been described as the plastic surgery phenomenon.

Less Shipwrecks, More Navigators: Decolonial Perspectives on Bolivian Lithium Extraction

Oliver James — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Bolivian lithium is a highly contested resource with environmental, economic, and cultural significance to actors at both local and international levels. This paper employs an ethics of decolonial pluriversality to critically evaluate the rival claims to truth being made by the various lithium stakeholders. Through this lens, it is found that an approach that centres the experience of Indigenous Bolivians is favourable under that ethical framework.

More Than Meets the Eye: A Look at Mapuche Resistance in Chile

Luca Nemet — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

For nearly two centuries, the state of Chile has dispossessed the Mapuche Indigenous Nation of their lands and met Mapuche resistance efforts with violence. The Mapuche have continued to resist oppression, with some groups taking more violent and direct action. In response, the Chilean government has criminalized and ostracized the Mapuche. State-sponsored media outlets have misrepresented the Mapuche, portraying them simultaneously as an internal threat to national security and as outsiders. Existing research on the Mapuche Conflict is overwhelmingly focused on instances and consequences of violent, direct action. My research challenges the dominant perspective on Mapuche resistance by examining nonviolent resistance strategies. I chronicle Mapuche resistance strategies in Chile from the Pinochet era to the present in order to demonstrate how the Mapuche mobilize in diverse, peaceful ways to realize their desired outcomes.

La negociación o contrato andino: una revisión de su historia

Carmen Rojas Vélez, Angelina Basilio Sánchez — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

El presente ensayo examina el significativo papel de la negociación indígena en la historia del Perú. Una etapa en que los indígenas participaron activamente tanto a nivel cultural como político durante el Virreinato. Este análisis se divide en tres partes: la primera explora la historia y características de la negociación andina, la segunda evalúa cómo la negociación indígena se presenta en la conquista, y la tercera presenta conclusiones sobre la importancia de la negociación andina actualmente. La negociación indígena no fue un proceso sencillo, sino que involucró parámetros establecidos, apoyo jurídico y delimitación de áreas de influencia. Se discute cómo las negociaciones indígenas permitieron la formación de alianzas y la construcción de un orden original y dinámico. En conclusión, la negociación indígena en el Virreinato del Perú fue un factor clave en el desarrollo del proceso de la conquista, y su estudio permite una comprensión más objetiva de la historia.