I Need Help: World Culture Day Project

Post by **Art** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:57 pm

There is a Spanish Club in Clarksburg, WV, that has members from all over the Spanish-speaking world. When you're in a small community, you have to band together. That's fine. I'm happy that they still get together.

Most of the members have exclusively Asturian roots. That's why it is surprising that their programs often include paella and flamenco dancing. In their defense, they don't have a lot of entertainment options. I don't think there are any gaiteros locally or in the region.

It appears that these Asturianos have adopted stereotypical assumptions about their "Spanish" heritage. In a foreign land, people who used to think of themselves as "Asturians" became labeled as "Spanish" for the sake of simplicity. Over time that label stuck and we began believing what the culture around us believes about us.

Our adopting these stereotypes is one of the reasons that so many grandchildren of Asturian-Americans have lost awareness of Asturias and its traditions. (Of course, opposing that trend is one of the purposes of AsturianUS.org.)

I was like Bob. While growing up I didn't know even the name "Asturias." Even when I was living in Spain, I didn't know anything about my grandparents' homeland. It's hard to imagine now, but at that point I thought of Spain as a homogeneous country.

And it's not just in the US that we've lost objectivity. The "we're Celtic" movement in Asturias may be another example of wishful thinking which prevents objective thinking about our heritage. (I may be as guilty as anyone because I love and play Celtic music.)

The fact that Spanish schools teach that Asturianu is not a language but a dialect shows that even in Spain, there are tremendous forces pressing on Asturian culture. Is speaking Asturianu something only country bumpkins do? Where did that common idea come from?

Given the great influence of mass media and mass education, it's very difficult, maybe impossible, to arrive at an objective understanding of one's heritage. The enculturation we experience transforms how we think about ourselves and what we think is normal behavior. It's not that there is a conspiracy against Asturian culture. This is just the way human cultures work.

In spite of the difficulty inherent in attempts at objectivity, it's worth trying. Why? Because if Asturian culture is going to survive, we must act consciously to counteract these cultural forces. Other regions within Spain have been successful at this. There's no reason why Asturians cannot be successful, too.

I realize that it's unlikely, but my hope is that Barbara and her granddaughter will consider this when they plan the presentation.

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Hay un club español en Clarksburg, WV, que tiene miembros de todas partes del mundo de habla hispana. Cuando estás en una comunidad pequeña, tienes que congregar junto. Eso está muy bien. Soy feliz que todavía se reúnen.

La mayor parte de estos socios tienen raíces exclusivamente asturianas. Por eso, me sorprende que sus programas incluyen a menudo paella y baile flamenco. En su defensa, no tienen muchos de opciones por entretenimiento. No creo que hay ningún gaitero localmente o en la región.

Parece que estos asturianos han adoptado asunciones estereotipas sobre su herencia "española". Viviendo en una tierra extranjera, los que piensan en sí mismos como "asturianos" se etiquetó como "españoles" para simplificar. En un cierto plazo esta etiqueta nos pegó y comenzamos a creer lo que la cultura que nos rodea cree de nosotros.

Nuestro adoptación de estos estereotipos es una de las razones que tantos nietos de astur-americanos han perdido el conocimiento de Asturias y de sus tradiciones. (Por supuesto, oponer esa tendencia es uno de los propósitos de AsturianUS.org.)

Yo era como Bob. Mientras que me criaba, no conocía ni la palabra Asturias". Incluso cuando vivía en España, no sabía nada sobre la tierrina de mis abuelos. Es difícil ahora imaginar, pero en ese momento pensaba que España sea un país homogéneo.

Y no es solamente en los EE.UU. que hemos perdido objetividad. En el movimiento de "somos célticos" en Asturias podemos ver otro ejemplo del optimismo a ultranza que previene pensamiento objetivo sobre nuestra herencia. (Pues, puedo ser tan culpable como cualquier persona porque amo y juego música céltica.)

El hecho que las escuelas españolas enseñan que asturianu no es una lengua sino un dialecto demuestra que incluso en España, hay enormes fuerzas que presionan sobre la cultura asturiana. ¿Es Asturianu una lengua solamente de los paletos? ¿De dónde vino esa idea común?

Dado la gran influencia de los medios de comunicación y de la educación común, es muy difícil, quizás imposible, llegar a una comprensión objetiva de su herencia. El enculturación que experimentamos transforma cómo pensamos de nosotros mismos y qué pensamos sea comportamiento normal. No es que hay una conspiración contra la cultura asturiana. Es sólo la manera en que funcionan las culturas humanas.

A pesar de la dificultad inherente en tentativas para objetividad, vale intentar. ¿Por qué? Porque si la cultura asturiana va a sobrevivir, debemos actuar consciente para contrarrestar estas fuerzas culturales. Otras regiones dentro de España han logrado en esto. No hay razón que asturianos no podemos tener éxito también.

Me doy cuenta de que es inverosímil, pero mi esperanza es que Barbara y su nieta considerará esto cuando planean la presentación.

Mafalda · Post by **Mafalda** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:46 am

Me parece que estamos exagerando un poquito, al fin y al cabo, la chiquilla solo tiene 11 años...

Y el profesor, que tendrá un grupo de 20 o 30 niños de la misma edad, solo pretende que adquieran una visión general de las diferencias culturales a nivel mundial. España, China, Japon, Laponia, Peru.....y asi hasta 20 o 30 paises.

Por supuesto que a mi me rechinan los dientes cuando oigo el famoso tópico "España: Paella, toros, castañuelas y ¡Olé!", pero estamos sacando de contexto, lo que al fin y al cabo no debe ser mas que un trabajo escolar. Esto es otro debate.

Le repito a Barbara mi ofrecimiento de buscar mas información, mas concreta.

Barbara Alonso Novellino · Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:43 am

First I would like to apologize to Chris...I thought those comments were from you...but they were from Art.

Mafalda...I don't read Spanish to well...but I used the Google Translate and was able to get an idea of what you said.

You are right...there are 35 students in the class and they each will report on a different country...so you can see there will be 35 presentations...all done within a school day.

Asturias will most certainly be part of the presentation.

Barbara

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:56 pm

para el trabajo que hable del país por que así lo exige la profesora pero que barbara tiene que enseñarle a la nieta de dónde viene y creo que aprender juntas es muy bonito incluso para ella en el futuro de tener recuerdos de su abuela enseñándole.

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Trans. Art

For this project, she may have to speak about the country since that's what the teacher is asking for, but Barbara should teach her granddaughter where she comes from. And I believe that learning together would be a lovely thing especially for her [granddaughter] to have memories in the future of her grandmother teaching her.

Mafalda · Post by **Mafalda** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:07 pm

Xose · Post by **Xose** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:28 pm

Art,

I think your family history may be different from some of the other Asturian families, then. My grandfather, for one, never really considered himself anything other than "Spanish." I never heard him even once call himself Asturian. We eat arroz con pollo and always have. In fact, it's my bisabuelas recipe (they eat it in Asturies too

).

As far as Barb's granddaughter goes, at least she'll be able to tell folks that Spaniards don't wear sombreros and eat tacos! Baby steps, my man. Baby steps!

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:56 pm

Yes, but the deeper we dig the more riches we find in the mine. I talked a bit about my own discovery of my Asturian identity at the Pace University conference today (in castellano, yet, with what must have seemed like a strange accent to many). In my opinion, it's usually not good to progress by the proverbial leaps and bounds, but rather by the slow assimilation of growing knowledge.

In my family, "Spanish" was a label of convenience once my ancestors moved out of a mostly asturianu community, simply because it was more intellible to the masses. Yet they preserved asturianu as their primary language, as well as many other aspects of Asturian identity and cuoture.

Post by **Art** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:01 am

[I translated Chris' last message above.]

Bob, I don't think we have to worry about leaps and bounds. The level of awareness of Asturian culture is much too low for that. Hmm. Well, maybe at this point any movement would be a giant step forward.

Xose wrote:Art,

I think your family history may be different from some of the other Asturian families, then. My grandfather, for one, never really considered himself anything other than "Spanish." I never heard him even once call himself Asturian. We eat arroz con pollo and always have. In fact, it's my bisabuelas recipe (they eat it in Asturies too ).

As far as Barb's granddaughter goes, at least she'll be able to tell folks that Spaniards don't wear sombreros and eat tacos! Baby steps, my man. Baby steps!

Xose makes interesting points. Yes, it could be worse (tacos & sombreros).

I have often wondered when Asturians became aware of their Asturianness, as opposed to Spanishness. I have no data on this, but I wonder if it isn't a recent phenomenon. Maybe someone from Asturias has some insight into this?

It's true that contemporary Asturians eat rice. My cousins love paella. I've heard, though, that rice is a fairly recent introduction to Asturias. Can anyone verify that? When did rice become common in Asturias?

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Bob, no pienso que tenemos que preocuparnos de pasos agigantados. El nivel del conocimiento de la cultura asturiana es bajísimo. Um. Pues, en este momento, tal vez cualquier paso sea un paso gigantado más adelante.

Xose hace puntos interesantes. Sí, podría ser peor (tacos y los sombreros).

Me he preguntado a menudo sobre cuando asturianos tomaron cuenta de ser asturianos, en comparación con ser españoles. No tengo ningún dato sobre esto, pero me pregunto si no es un fenómeno reciente. ¿Tal vez un socio de Asturias ha llegado a comprenderlo bien?

Sí, es verdad que los asturianos contemporáneos comen el arroz. Mis primos aman paella. He oído, aunque, que el arroz era una introducción bastante reciente a Asturias. ¿Puede un miembro verificar eso? ¿Cuándo llega el arroz a ser común en Asturias?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:12 am

I agree that rice must be a relatively new element of Asturian cuisine, although I cannot date it, but I wold stress "relatively." My guess is that rice use diffused northward from the Moors after the reconquista. But pimientos, patatas and maiz are also relatively recent introductions, since they are New World species. I cannot imagine Asturian cuisine without them. Almost all of my family recipes, as well as the arroz con pollo and empanadas we enjoyed over the last two days at the Asturian conference at Pace University, require one or more of these food items.

Post by **Art** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:50 pm

That's an interesting point, Bob. It's hard to imagine Asturian cooking without potatoes. Is there a dish made with corn?

Besides berza and the local seafoods, I wonder what the native foods were?

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Sí, es un punto interesante, Bob. Es difícil imaginar una comida asturiana sin patatas. ¿Hay un receta que emplea maíz?

Además de berza y los mariscos y pescados locales, me pregunto: ¿cuales son los alimentos autóctonos?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:19 pm

I suspect that castañas y nabos were two of the most important starches before the intoduction of barley, wheat, potatoes and rice.

As for a dish made from maíz - boroña.

Post by **Art** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 3:51 pm

Ah, and Boroña uses maiz as a grain (not a vegetable), doesn't it?

Nabos would make sense. Castañas? Hm. I'd have been a skinny guy. (Oops. I am a skinny guy.)

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Oh, y Boroña utiliza el maiz como grano (no un verdura o vegetal), ¿no?

Nabos, sí tienes razón. ¿Castañas? Hm. Yo habría sido flaco. (Opa. Ya soy flaco.)

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:14 pm

Yes, as a grain for a kind of cornbread.

Chestnuts are not just for skinny guys. They are delicious. I like the ones imported from Italy (the only kind I have been able to find here) roasted after having been cut in the shape of a cross (to prevent them from exploding in the oven. Just once, about ten or twelve years ago, I found some native American chestnuts, much smaller and sweeter, and sent them to my dad, who gathered and roasted chestnuts in his youth in West Virginia, before the chestnut blight wiped out most of the American chestnut trees.

Post by **Art** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:59 am

What I meant was that I'd be skinny because I don't enjoy chestnuts, although I've wanted to like them. Something about the smell really disgusts me.

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Lo que quería decir es que yo sería flaco porque no me presta las castañas, aunque quería quererlas. Algo del olor me disgusta muchísimo.

Mafalda · Post by **Mafalda** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:19 am

En Asturias el maiz no es tierno, a no ser las mazorcas cuando aun estan lechosas.
El maiz se utiliza para dar de comer a los animales, y para hacer harina, con la que se hace la boroña, pan con harina de maiz en vez de harina de trigo.
Una receta que no lleva patata, pero si maiz, son las "papas", al menos mi madre las llamaba asi, en otros sitios las llaman fariñas, farrapes, es una especie de papilla hecha a base de harina de maiz y leche, parecido a una bechamel, pero con harina de maiz.
Fue una de estas comidas para "quitar el hambre" en la posguerra, se hacia con agua, si habia suerte, se añadia tambien un vasito de leche y con ello se daba de cenar a la prole....
Os gustará ver esta página:
http://personal.redestb.es/cabiedes/lexico.htm#indice

Asturian-American Migration Forum

I Need Help: World Culture Day Project

Un trabajo escolar

Para la nieta de Barbara

Maiz