Blog 1: Why Did I Choose Latin American Civilizations?

Hi, my name is Gabrielle Renee Gomez and I am a student at Grand Valley State University.
Go Lakers!

I also happen to be a part of the Frederik Meijer Honors College, and as my freshman sequence I decided to take Latin American Civilizations.  A major deciding factor for me in taking this course was my family background.

Half of my family is from Mayajigua, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, a small little town east of Santa Clara.  

In 1971, my grandparents decided to move to the United States with their three young children (my father was only six!) and make a new life for themselves.  My grandfather made the journey first to try and find a job and a place to live before he sent for my grandmother.  They came to the U.S. by way of Miami, but soon left for New Jersey, where their sponsor family lived.  At the time, in order to be allowed into the U.S. you had to have a sponsor family, or someone to help you get a job and get settled in the country.  They stayed there for a few months before my grandfather heard of a job in Michigan working for General Motors, where they eventually moved.  

Over the years I have learned so much about the food, music, and traditions of Cuba through my family and it has only fueled my drive for more information.  One of my favorite Cuban foods is frijoles negroes y arroz (black beans and rice), as well as flan and empanadas.  

I also grew up dancing to Cuban music, with its great rhythms and fast pace.  My favorite song as a child was called Guantanamera and was written by José Martí, a famous independence hero.

Hearing about my family's life in Cuba has always made me curious about my heritage. Learning about the foods and traditions from personal experience makes learning much more interesting.  The opportunity to learn not only about Cuba, but the other Latin American countries as well, in the Latin American Civilizations course was something I couldn't pass up.  While my major right now is Biomedical Science, I hope to minor in Spanish in the future, so this class has not only helped me learn about my heritage but has also helped with my Spanish.  I can't wait to see what we learn about next!

picture credit: http://www2.gvsu.edu/prowantj/02_gvsu_secondary_01.jpg;http://www.weather-forecast.com/place_maps/ma/Mayajigua.8.gif;http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/13642826.jpg; http://www.mynicolita.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/rice-and-beans2.jpg;http://www.los-poetas.com/a/marti99.jpg