Week 2: “Mama Blanca’s Memoirs” (De La Parra)

 Hi everyone! I found this week's reading rather interesting as I haven’t read a lot of memoirs in the past. I am not a very fast reader so this reading took me a while and I found myself doing it in shorter blocks of time, which I wish I hadn't as I felt like every time I began again I was reading something completely different. For next week I am going to try and read the reading in longer sit down sessions so I can truly absorb the content more and not feel so out of place when I start reading it again. That being said, I did enjoy this book as I loved its attention to detail, especially when discussing the hair or the features of her other family members. I always appreciate this attention to detail, as for someone who watches a lot of film and TV (being a film major) it helps me to paint a more detailed image in my head, which overall makes the story more interesting to me.

I found the part where she was discussing in intense detail about her hair and how her mother felt towards her curls, or lack thereof, to be rather interesting. I think most girls can probably relate to sitting down with their mums spending time on their hair. For me as a kid I always wanted my mum to braid my hair in as many braids as she could. However, in this section of the book she is talking about how she and her mum are almost embarrassed or ashamed of her pin straight hair, and the copious amounts of effort it took to bring back the curls or ringlets that they so desired. I found this part interesting as it was super relatable to me, and I’m sure many others,  as a young girl. We all had things that we felt were strange or ugly about ourselves that we could never change. The vulnerability she expresses in this section about her insecurity with her hair, and it being different from her entire family was very relatable and brought up a lot of old memories for me. 

I think it's impossible to discuss a memoir and not think of the concept of memory and nostalgia. In the lecture one section stood out to me discussing how the text is only a memory and possibly a fractured one but without this memory the stories and history would be lost forever. This makes me think about why authors or just people in general would write memoirs in the first place. I always used to think that someone had to be famous to write a memoir but in reality it's just another way for anyone to document or recall something that may vanish into existence forever, losing meaning or value. Memoirs are people's stories and histories and that’s why I think they are so important.


Comments

  1. DaisyJanuary 18, 2023 at 11:16 AM

    Hi Jordan! I loved reading your post. I found myself returning back to my younger self and all the things I felt were different about me in comparison to my friends when reading through the moments relating to her hair. I also felt like memoirs were for people who are famous or have a very interesting story to tell, however i'm sure regardless of someones fame or life story, there would always be something of value in it. Or even more, a way for you older self to one day reflect on your life.

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  2. Chanya ChawlaJanuary 18, 2023 at 11:53 PM

    HI Jordan! I love this post. I totally relate with you on getting used to reading in one go. I've also had a hard time "mentally" keeping up with the texts as I tend to zone out. Again, this is mostly because I'm not used to reading this much. Regardless, I'm sure this will get better as the term progresses.
    Other than that, I like how you emphasize that memoirs are really just people's stories and one doesn't necessarily have to be super important/accomplished to write a memoir. If anything, it was the little day-to-day details and simplicity of Mama Blanca's memoirs that made it an enjoyable read.

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  3. Daniel OrizagaJanuary 25, 2023 at 11:29 AM

    Hello Jordan, you have left me thinking with something you wrote: about the vulnerability of the characters, and in particular of the narrator, which I think has not been discussed so much. There is an interesting part that we don't know about the development of the character that tells us her path to maturity. The narration leaves us at the moment when she is most vulnerable, in the city, already outside her paradise.

    Please don't forget to write the final question :)

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