Here is a link to my project! Hope you guys enjoy!! 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/lasvocesdelfuturop/videos/431160127658406/

For my creative mix, I will conduct interviews on people in my life who were effected by the political unrest of Nicaragua throughout the years and then will create a video montage of them.

Original

No sufras, amor

Tu sangre en el piso, en la tierra

La sangre de los estudiantes

La sangre de la gente tu patria

Sangre

 

Cuanto quiero estar contigo

No surfas amor,

No sufras, que tu gente te defenderá en guerra

Mi cuerpo hecho de tu tierra, te defiendo en guerra

Cuanto más vas a sufrir?

 

Somos uno

Mi cuerpo regresará a ti

Mi cuerpo hecho de tu tierra

Los cuerpos de nosotros hecho de tu tierra

Te pertenecemos.

 

Tu mar, mis ojos

Tus montañas, mi sonrisa

Tus volcanes, mi mente

Te amo tierra, siempre mi corazón

Nunca dejaré de luchar por tu libertad.

~KPK

 

Translation

Don’t suffer, love

Your blood on the concrete, on the dirt

Blood of the students

Blood of the people of your land

Blood

 

How much I want to be with you

Don’t suffer love,

Don’t suffer,  your people will defend you in war

My body made of your dirt, I will defend you in war

How much more must you suffer?

 

We are one

My body will return to you

My body made of your dirt

Our bodies made of your dirt

We belong to you.

 

Your beaches, my eyes

Your mountains, my smile

Your volcanos, my mind

I love you and, always my heart

I will never stop fighting for your liberty.

~KPK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXZ6kTslGJc

This relates to displacement because Hyde is living under poor conditions and then the Formans take him into their home. Hyde claims to be unhappy about this but in the end when Kitty brings him the beverage, it was something he wasn’t used to at home. I would argue that this scenario illustrates positive displacement.

Questions:

1. How is gentrification a response of the capitalist based society we live in today, and how can we in a society that values capitalism so much, control the amount of gentrification occurring as a result of trying to expand an industry or company?
2. How has our political climate affected gentrification? For instance, the political left moving from the center more towards the left, and conservatives moving more right?

Examples:

1. Right off the bat, I think of the Amazon Deal in queens and its affects. The political left feared that Amazon coming to Queens could cause inflation and a rise in rent. The argument is that the arrival of Amazon would disadvantage the residences of Long Island City because of the fact that price of rent would rise, making it too expensive for them to live in their own neighborhood. These are all factors related to gentrification.
2. Another example that I think of is when more powerful countries go into third world countries and try to invest, even if it is against the will of the people. For instance, a Chinese corporation was interested in building a canal through Nicaragua that would basically destroy Lake Nicaragua, which was a big deal breaker for the majority of Nicaraguans. The construction of this canal would require taking land from small farms owned by independent farmers and destroying their livelihood. This would cause the people to be displaced, having to find another job and packing their stuff and leaving their homes, all because a richer person decided he was interested in building a canal to make more revenue for himself and because he could.

As I kept reading Interpreter of Maladies, I found myself more and more intrigued. When Mr. Kapasi shares that his job is to literally act as an interpreter at a doctors office and be the connecting bridge between the patient and the doctor, I started to immerse myself in the plot more. I thought about that a little more and the fact that the story is named Interpreter of Maladies, indicating a large significance. Mr. Kapasi’s job is to communicate the hardships that a person is going through in an understandable language for all parties involved. Reading on, when Mrs. Das tells Mr. Kapasi about how unhappy she is in her marriage and how unfulfilled she feels, he is also interpreting a malady, even if it isn’t a sickness like the situations he deals with at work. He is put in a position where he is between an edge and a sword because of his feelings towards Mrs. Das. How is he supposed to interpret this specific malady that Mrs.Das expressed to him?

Furthermore, there is a theme of communication within this story, or the lack of. This story explores how hard communication can be in relationships and how it can become the wedge driving two people apart. This idea was exemplified by Mr. Kapasi’s loveless marriage itself and the lack of communication in regards to each partners wishes. The Dases marriage is also suffering a great deal due to lack of communication, causing their constant bickering. Moreover, at the end of the story when Mr. Kapasi’s address flies out of Mrs.Das’ purse, it signifies the end of their ties and the inability for them to communicate in the future.

1) My first idea for my personal narrative is to talk about how my room has become a very spiritual place for me and how when I step through that door, it feels like I’m going through a portal that transports me to all the places that are home for me. Much like Aciman, I relate to multiple places feeling like home and my room allows me to feel put all the puzzle pieces together.

2) My second idea is to discuss how when I went to San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua, I felt most at home. Although I haven’t lived there my whole life like I have in my little home town on Long Island, I was happy in the purest form there. I found myself in a very weird way and found what I valued more than ever. It’s a very special place for me and when I’m away from it, I often feel displaced but I have to find a way to incorporate it to my actual home.

3) My last idea is to write about my experience in Rize, Turkey, seeing my father the first time in 6 years.  I felt so extremely displaced and detached from my culture. It was a quite sad experience and all I did was long for home.

1. Aciman describes Straus Park with very flowery language throughout the piece. How do you think his use of imagery and his ability to personify the park, specifically the statue, helped enhance the plot of the story as a whole and how did it contribute to your personal understanding of the text?
2. Straus Park seems to be a safe haven for the author, as it reminds him of all his “homes” and his shadow cities. How can you relate to this and do you have a place yourself that you find reminds you of your home or homes and how they are all interconnected?
3. Do you agree with Aciman, that New York is a place where multiple “homes” and “shadow cities” intersect and if you do, how is this idea exemplified to you in your daily life?

– Kim Kazdal

Silence
In Silence we hear the start of a revolution
We hear the torment of shots being fired
We hear the children screaming, yearning to someone for help
We will endlessly hear you in Silence
We will not be discouraged
We will not let our voices go unnoticed

Silence
They try to Silence us
We say no! You will not be Silent!
They say “you’re ignorant, you’re too young to understand”
We say no!

Silence
We stand in Silence for the lives lost
We stand united,
Like individual drops of rain falling from the sky
We stand united,
We are the next storm

Silence
We will no longer stand in Silence
We will break away from the sky,
We will embody the rain
We will embody the wind
We are the next storm for the Revolution
And this is just the start

Silence
We say NO to your silence
We stand outside,
The pitter patter of the rain starts soft against the concrete surface of the earth
We fight
We fight together
The rain crashes down against the earth, hard, never ending

Silence
There will no longer be Silenced
They’re will not be Silence
There is no Silence
They will no longer Silence us

Noise
We are the Voice
We are the Change
We are the Future
We are the People
We are the Revolution
We are NOISE!!!
~ Kim Kazdal

 

This poem was inspired by the situation going on at the US and Mexican Border… More close to my heart, this poem is primarily inspired by the ongoing political unrest in Nicaragua.