martes, 16 de diciembre de 2014

Thai's Adoption of the Mexican Gansters


Now is time to talk about Thai Mexican Gangsters. Exactly, something like that exist and is basically just a harmless group of people, most of them have stable jobs, who likes the looks of Mexican gangsters so they so they adopted the style. 
It's easy to call this trend an example of "Cultural Appropriation". But what is exactly that concept about? Well, it means that a certain group of people adopt elements ore practices from another culture or sub-culture, something similar to the "Goth Lolita" popular trend on japan that likes to borrow the aesthetic of British dolls.
In this case it’s pretty clear it’s just the imitation of the look because this group of people doesn’t have the kind of background that actual Mexican gangsters have, like selling drugs or making a living in a violent environment. In fact, they don’t even know that much about Mexicans and their culture. The whole thing it’s about something more superficial and maybe even a little naïve. These Thais like to hang around people with similar interests and are happy to find friendships among them. They use the rap to write original songs that talk about their opinions of the government and society, something very positive if we start thinking about how often can Thais do really give their opinion


lunes, 15 de diciembre de 2014

Racism Againt AfroColombians

As I said previously, I was born in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. It is a beautiful city with some of the most perfect beaches of the world. Still, it saddens me that my hometown is an excellent example of the racism presented in Colombia. But not only there, I would bet is the same in at least Medellin, Bogota, and Barranquilla, and I’ll explain why
I watched a video of a guy talking about his experience in Medellin as a black man, and most of the things he said were really nice and all but it catches my attention what he said about the population. That if you walk on touristic and commercial areas it will be difficult to find Afro Colombians in comparison of the amount you’ll find in the center of the city AKA the poorest area.
It is interesting because I was there 2 months ago and I know it’s true. I also know that is EXACTLY the same here in Barranquilla and it has a totally different level in Cartagena. There, about only the 20% of the city is evident for tourist from even national cities. The other 80% composed mostly of black people, is living in terrible conditions of poverty and it’s almost hidden to visitors as if they were the filth you wouldn’t want to show to a guest.
But why is this racism? Well, let’s take what the guy of the video said: most of the population here is black or at least not white. Then why is more strange to find them on commercial areas? Some people have commented me by experience that is easier for you to get a job if your skin isn’t too dark, even here in Colombia. I’ve heard an administrator say before that is better for economy to hire white people for jobs that require contact with clients because they look “cleaner”.  And I’m not even going to start with how many black representatives exist in our politics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWBnGl0lo9s 


A quick introduction

Hello!
My name is Angelly Arzuza, i'm from Cartagena, Colombia; i'm 20 years old and i'm currently studing Industrial Design at Universidad del Norte. I like many kind of things that let me be creative and make my own stuff, such as playin piano, writing, 3d modeling, and of course, design of products. My biggest passion, however, is drawing and more specifically the art of illustration. You can find me in Deviantart and tumblr as AngieZu to see my drawings.

http://angiezu.deviantart.com/
http://angiezu.tumblr.com/