Lucia Ortiz celebrates the African influence on Latin ... - Regis College

12REGIS<strong>Lucia</strong> <strong>Ortiz</strong><strong>celebrates</strong> <strong>the</strong><strong>African</strong> <strong>influence</strong>on Latin AmericaKathleen Dooher

Growing up in Colombia, Spanish professor <strong>Lucia</strong> <strong>Ortiz</strong>was completely unaware of <strong>the</strong> “invisible” populationwho contributed so much to her country’s lush identity andculture. Then she discovered Changó, <strong>the</strong> Biggest Badass.The historical novel by Afro-Colombian author ManuelZapata Olivella, published in 1983 and widely considered tobe a masterpiece, tells <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> <strong>African</strong> diaspora in<strong>the</strong> Americas over a period of five centuries, from <strong>the</strong> slavetrade in western Africa through <strong>the</strong> civil rights movementin <strong>the</strong> United States, with special attention to its impact onLatin America.13SPRING 11By Kim Asch<strong>Ortiz</strong> was at Boston University, working on her dissertation about Colombian historyas seen through late 20th-century literature, when she first read <strong>the</strong> 500-pageepic. She learned about her country’s age-old mistreatment of Afro-Colombians, <strong>the</strong>blacks whose ancestors were brought as slaves in <strong>the</strong> 1700s to work <strong>the</strong> mines or in<strong>the</strong> sugarcane fields. And she realized just how much of her country’s customs, foods,and traditions are <strong>influence</strong>d by <strong>African</strong>, as well as indigenous and Spanish, cultures.“The author concludes that all Latin Americans are a ‘hybrid’ being, part indigenous,part Spanish, part <strong>African</strong>,” says <strong>Ortiz</strong>. “I was just fascinated by it. It was notanything I learned in school.”Because so much of <strong>African</strong> culture has melded with Colombian culture, <strong>the</strong> pervadingview is that Colombia is integrated and discrimination does not exist, <strong>Ortiz</strong>explains. In fact, she says, Afro-descendents of Colombian society have been “madeinvisible.” For example, Cumbia music, now considered representative of <strong>the</strong> country,started as a courtship dance among <strong>the</strong> slave population living along easternColombia’s Caribbean coast. The distinctive <strong>African</strong> drumbeats later mixed withstrains of Spanish guitar and <strong>the</strong> melodic pipes of indigenous pre-Colombians andbecame a truly multicultural art form. “People think, ‘We dance Cumbia. We’re notracist,’ ” <strong>Ortiz</strong> says. “But it’s not true; you see racism at all levels. The degrees of skinpigmentation were always very important, and are still very important.”

14REGIS TODAYRural Afro-Colombian communities along <strong>the</strong>Pacific and Caribbean coasts continue to face “pervasive,systemic discrimination” despite sweepinglegislation adopted in 1993 aimed at protecting <strong>the</strong>irterritorial rights, according to a report issued by <strong>the</strong>Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at <strong>the</strong>University of Texas at Austin School of Law.<strong>Ortiz</strong> was determined to shine a light on this important,if uncomfortable, aspect of her country’s identity—throughnovels, poetry, and oral history. Sheincluded a chapter on Changó in her first book, and<strong>the</strong>n assembled and edited a collection of scholarlyarticles about little-known works of Afro-Colombianliterature that was published in Spanish in 2007 withher lengthy introduction. It was an academic success,but <strong>the</strong> kind of expensive tome that might reach onlyhighly educated audiences. <strong>Ortiz</strong> remembers marvelingwith her collaborators: “Here we are writing aboutpeople who aren’t privileged and who face so manyissues every day, yet o<strong>the</strong>r people can’t learn about<strong>the</strong>m because <strong>the</strong> books are so expensive. What arewe doing writing only to each o<strong>the</strong>r?”Her latest book, due out this summer, is both acommiseration and a celebration of <strong>the</strong> challengesand triumphs experienced by women of <strong>African</strong>descent from all over Latin America. Daughters of<strong>the</strong> Muntu: Critical Biographies of Afro-DescendentWomen from Latin America, coedited by <strong>Ortiz</strong> andMaria M. Jaramillo, comprises 34 articles and essaysand will be published in Spanish by a commercialhouse in Bogotá. The English translation is expectedsoon after.far away as possible,” she says. Many peers choosingto study abroad settled on <strong>the</strong> more familiar Miamiarea, but <strong>Ortiz</strong> was drawn to upstate New Yorkbecause she thought its proximity to Canada mightoffer <strong>the</strong> chance to explore yet ano<strong>the</strong>r country. Toher delight, she discovered a richly diverse internationalcommunity right on campus and befriendedSaudis and <strong>African</strong>s and Europeans. “They camewith <strong>the</strong>ir costumes and <strong>the</strong>ir traditions, and we allshared <strong>the</strong> challenge of trying to communicate andadapt to a new culture toge<strong>the</strong>r.”While studying for a bachelor’s degree in internationalrelations, she learned to view political andsocial systems with a critical eye. She also beganexamining her own culture through Spanish literaturecourses and gaining new insights about hercountry’s multicultural identity. She was loath toreturn to Colombia following graduation in 1984because, she says, “I knew I wouldn’t have <strong>the</strong> independence,or <strong>the</strong> freedom I was able to gain, to pursue<strong>the</strong> future I could have here.” So she stayed onat Syracuse and earned a master’s degree in Spanishlanguage, literature, and culture before moving on to<strong>the</strong> PhD program at Boston University. “Sometimesit was hard to be away from home, to be alone,” shesays. “But I took every opportunity that came along.”At Regis, <strong>Ortiz</strong> is <strong>the</strong> adviser for <strong>the</strong> LatinAmerican Student Association and serves as “a rolemodel of a successful immigrant, which is extremelyimportant” for <strong>the</strong> College’s vibrant community offirst-generation Americans, says Spanish departmentcolleague Mary-Anne Vetterling. She lists her“You see racism at all levels. The degrees of skin pigmentationwere always very important, and are still very important.”“With this book, we were able to get closer to<strong>the</strong> people,” says <strong>Ortiz</strong>, who traveled to Colombia,Mexico, and Puerto Rico to conduct her research.“Through <strong>the</strong> process of ga<strong>the</strong>ring <strong>the</strong>ir stories, Ilearned so much about <strong>the</strong> impact of <strong>the</strong>se womenon Latin American culture.”<strong>Ortiz</strong> counts herself lucky to have been raisedby forward-thinking Colombian parents who wanted<strong>the</strong>ir two daughters to go far in <strong>the</strong>ir education.At 18, she lobbied <strong>the</strong>m to send her to <strong>the</strong> UnitedStates to study English; she was supposed to begone only one year, but instead enrolled at SyracuseUniversity and never returned to her native countryfor longer than a visit.“I grew up in a very small town, with all <strong>the</strong> issuesyou face as a young woman in a small, conservative,Catholic town. I was eager to leave, to get asgood friend’s accomplishments: <strong>Ortiz</strong> is a full professor,having received that title at a fairly young agein her career, and serves as department chair; shehas become an American citizen; she’s received <strong>the</strong>prestigious Virginia Kaneb Faculty Scholars Grantnot just once, but three times, to support expensesassociated with researching her books.Known for her intellectual rigor and <strong>the</strong> high standardsshe sets for both herself and her students, <strong>Ortiz</strong>can often be overheard around <strong>the</strong> Spanish departmentassessing, with certain zeal, <strong>the</strong> montonón detrabajo, or huge mountain of work, awaiting her.<strong>Ortiz</strong>’s work on <strong>the</strong> forefront of <strong>the</strong> emergingfield of Afro-Colombian literature, and <strong>the</strong> stillnarrower field of Afro-Latina literature, is wellrecognized, and she was even invited to a receptionwith Colombia’s president.