We are about to enter Latino Heritage Month that celebrates and offers a view of unique traditions that are the artifacts characterizing honor, pride and courage of a people that are becoming more and more indispensable to America. The annual celebration is coming amidst what the media is calling “culture wars” that describes radicalized political actors that feel the loss of portions of their own heritage.
Heritage and culture tend to be lumped together because they are somewhat related and yet there is a difference.. Heritage is “something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth…”
Culture “is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior…and norms found in human societies, as well as knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of individuals and groups.” For most of us, when we think of culture we think of “symbols, language, norms, values and artifacts.”
When we put the two together we see the legacy of physical artifacts” like monuments and “intangible attributes of a group or society inherited from the past. Cultural heritage is a concept which offers a bridge between the past and the future with the applications of particular approaches in the present.”
For me, culture is something I cannot deny and still keep my identity as a social being. It is the most important part of how I see myself and how I manage my humanity.
On the other hand, heritage is a matter of choice or revision. As I navigate life, I employ elements of my culture that can help me along the way or choose not to use those things in my past that, I feel, hinder my progress.
In our country, for example, our national heritage includes the notion that a particular group of people have governed the country since its founding because they were the established democratic majority. This century is seeing a demographic and political change that begins to challenges the idea.
A somewhat related and very visible example are the monuments to Confederate leaders in the American Civil War that are being removed which is causing great pain to many, especially in the South. There is also the matter of the names of military bases located mostly in the South that are being changed because, like the monuments, they represent rebellion and insurrection against the United States.
Finally, there is the matter of revising the history of slavery to include “positive outcomes” so that the institution appears more acceptable to the American conception of liberty. These artifacts represent an important cultural heritage conception to a significant number of people that see themselves as part of the political power structure.
The Chicano Movement had to navigate the cultural heritage road, especially when it was dealing with issues that make up identity. Activists learned that one cannot run away from culture or its history although they could emphasize those helpful cultural structures that provide strength for present and future efforts.
A great example is the epic poem I Am Joaquin when it states: “I was both tyrant and slave,” because it embraces cultural history and at the same time seeks to deny contradictions in manifesting the present and the future reality. For people, nations and groups, culture is a bundle of contradictions because it is the basic character of our humanity which carries the opposite nature of our common day and spiritual worlds.
I Am Joaquin provides an excellent lesson in how to approach our cultural heritage. It embraces historical truth as it seeks to transcend its limitations.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of laVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
