In the midst of a presidential election, it’s worth noting the misstatements and missteps that US politicians have made in Latin America, particularly South America, where their ignorance is almost breathtaking. On a visit to Brazil [2], an aging Ronald Reagan infamously toasted his hosts as “President Figueiredo and all the people of Bolivia.” In 1990, on an official visit to Chile [3], then Vice-President Dan Quayle drew international chuckles for his purchase of an indio pícaro [4] (naughty Indian [5]), a lasciviously smiling and anatomically explicit Mapuche [6] novelty that, when picked up, exposes himself (or herself). It's closest counterpart in the English-speaking world might be a bobblehead.
For the lightly regarded Quayle, things got worse fast. His faux pas made him the target of ridicule in the satirical comic strip Doonesbury [7] and Chileans found it so amusing that, before long, local craftsmen had produced similar figures with the Quayle’s own visage. It hasn’t gone away, either, as a new generation of carvers have made similar figures of the current Republican nominee [8] in advance of the November election.
That’s not the only current item of anthropological or archaeological interest. At the same time, the iconic moai of Easter Island [9] (pictured above) are also playing a role in the campaign, even though it’s not coming directly from the Chileans. Rather, this week’s New Yorker cartoon caption contest uses the iconic stone statues to depict the nominee [10] – as of writing, the contest is still open, so submit your suggestion by Sunday, September 9.
Addendum: The link to the cartoon in question is no longer live, but when the New Yorker posts the contest results, I will link to it in another post.
Tango by the River
As announced previously, I will give a digital slide lecture on Buenos Aires [11] at Tango by the River [12] in Sacramento, but it has been postponed until Friday, September 21st, at 6 p.m.
Limited to a maximum of 50 people, the event will also include tango performances; admission costs $10 at the door, or $8 in advance. I have spoken here several times before, and we always sell out, so plan in advance. Signed copies of my Moon Handbooks on Argentina [13], Buenos Aires, Chile [3] and Patagonia [14] will be available at discount prices.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/files/blog-entry-images/Rano Raraku_0.jpg
[2] http://www.moon.com/books/moon-handbooks/moon-brazil-third-edition
[3] http://www.moon.com/books/moon-handbooks/moon-chile-third-edition
[4] http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-03 12/news/9003123611_1_quayle-souvenir-doll
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indio_Pícaro
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche
[7] http://www.google.com/imgres?q=dan quayle chile doll&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1257&bih=573&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=onRBOYXXYTgGoM:&imgrefurl=http://doonesbury.slate.com/strip/archive/timeline/1990&docid=QfW2UUvTJy2aWM&imgurl=http://assets.amuniversal.com/6c0d8fe0921b012f2fe300163e41dd5b&w=1200&h=379&ei=hJpLUNCzBo6NigK9wYCwCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=5&sig=106302162798877978419&page=1&tbnh=47&tbnw=148&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:75&tx=51&ty=19
[8] http://www.mittsmanhood.cl/
[9] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/-chilean-pacific-islands/rapa-nui-easter-island
[10] http://contest.newyorker.com/CaptionContest.aspx?affiliate=ny-caption
[11] http://www.moon.com/books/moon-handbooks/moon-buenos-aires-fourth-edition
[12] http://rivertango.com/inmeon20tato.html
[13] http://www.moon.com/books/moon-handbooks/moon-argentina-third-edition
[14] http://www.moon.com/books/moon-handbooks/moon-patagonia-third-edition