VAS Littlecrow - The Journal of Vanesa Littlecrow W.
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Writer's Block: Ghost Story [Edited] 
28th-Apr-2008 09:37 am
chiquitita

Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever seen one?


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I do and I have.  It is one of the reasons why I received a diagnosis of schizophrenia at HCMC many years ago.  But then again, that doesn't explain why the visiting bat at my wedding answered to my great grandmother's name.

In Puerto Rico, ghosts were viewed as a normal part of life.  You talk to dead relatives on a regular basis.  You light candles at your local Catholic Church to guide your wayward loved ones back to purgatory.  Your Santera neighbor conjures up ghosts to battle her demon conjuring arch rival.  Until American and Evangelical influence finally started putting nails on the coffins of Puerto Rican culture in the 90's, ghost were pretty much a non-issue unless they pestered you, or you needed them. 

I always found the American interest in making ghosts out to be supernatural entities, rather than boring natural phenomena, to be bizarre.   Likewise, I find it weird how mainstream American science goes out of its way to say, "there's no ghosts end of discussion." There's this weird notion that using different terminology to describe the same phenomena somehow makes it non-existent.   That's just as silly as some chick saying, "This dress isn't dark bright red, it's crimson."

I think ghosts are an example of the difference between Latin American fatalism (you're destined to die anyway, so enjoy life while you can) vs. the American cult of youth.  People in the US are petrified of death, and the voyeuristic/fear-based interests in ghosts (which are probably just memories and projections of one's own consciousness) is so pervasive.

Added: Gino brought up an excellent point in the comments, that I also think has a big influence on the Latin American view of the afterlife.
"may i disagree on point, but not substance?

latin america is heavily catholic. catholicism, with its reverance for saints and Holy Apparitions, contains within itself an easy acceptance of ghosts, even if the church has no doctrine concerning them. in short, The Faith is officially rather silent, but its followers are maleable to their real life experiences.
by contrast, protestantism is rather sterile on after life issues, and have rejected books of scripture that contain fodder for such belief in saintly/next worlder intercession.

american culture is largely protestant centered. catholics have never played a major role in mainstream media presentation. the opposite is true, actually, where the various mediums have 'sterilized' the public presentation to appeal to greater consumption. as a result,protestantism is considered 'normalism' in the american mind.

this is likely what is happening to puerto rico. increased americanism equals a watering down of public spiritualism to its lowest common (and thinist) denominator.

notice how places like new orleans, with their heavy catholicised cultural roots, are more prone to ghost stories?
just an shallow observation on my part, and not a researched study by any means.

Gino!"
Comments 
28th-Apr-2008 04:58 pm (UTC)
You know, I never grew up in Puerto Rico and I'm too young to have escaped the "Death is bad" thing but I do know that Puerto Ricans all seem to have at least one story of the "supernatural": be it ghosts, aliens, angels, etc. The terminology might have changed (ghosts are now "demons" or "angels"), but it's still there.

Maybe the reason other cultures can embrace death is because they can actually enjoy life. They realize the material world is so much bigger than them, why not the spiritual and emotional?
29th-Apr-2008 02:24 pm (UTC)
That's very true!
28th-Apr-2008 10:30 pm (UTC)
That perspective is useful for me. With Italians I know of there is a different spin on death and mourning that looks "crazy" of not letting go compared to anglo. It's not indiv. difference but cultural in there too.
29th-Apr-2008 02:24 pm (UTC)
That is interesting. Gino, who commented below is Italian, and he bring up a point about the predominant Catholic perspective of Latin American culture that is also very pervasive in Italy.
28th-Apr-2008 11:25 pm (UTC)
Anonymous
may i disagree on point, but not substance?

latin america is heavily catholic. catholicism, with its reverance for saints and Holy Apparitions, contains within itself an easy acceptance of ghosts, even if the church has no doctrine concerning them. in short, The Faith is officially rather silent, but its followers are maleable to their real life experiences.
by contrast, protestantism is rather sterile on after life issues, and have rejected books of scripture that contain fodder for such belief in saintly/next worlder intercession.

american culture is largely protestant centered. catholics have never played a major role in mainstream media presentation. the opposite is true, actually, where the various mediums have 'sterilized' the public presentation to appeal to greater consumption. as a result,protestantism is considered 'normalism' in the american mind.

this is likely what is happening to puerto rico. increased americanism equals a watering down of public spiritualism to its lowest common (and thinist) denominator.

notice how places like new orleans, with their heavy catholicised cultural roots, are more prone to ghost stories?
just an shallow observation on my part, and not a researched study by any means.

Gino!

29th-Apr-2008 02:22 pm (UTC)
That is an excellent point!
28th-Apr-2008 11:26 pm (UTC)
Anonymous
oh, and Yes!
i have seen a ghost, and spoke with him, as well.

Gino!
29th-Apr-2008 02:21 pm (UTC)
Cool!
1st-May-2008 01:33 am (UTC)
Anonymous
thank you vas.
i'm flattered! :)

somebody mentioned about italians being viewed as not 'letting go'.
i guess there is something to that.

i had an aunt (she was deaf and unschooled, in the old country tradition, and never married and lived her life, once again per custom, as a ward of her two older brothers. becoming along the way a sort of Grandmother emeritus to my generation here in the states)

suffering from leukemia, she had a final strike which blinded her. it was clear she was leaving us that nite. two of my cousins were with her in the hospital in her final couple hours. zizi (my aunt) now deaf AND blind, was in a state of fear, not understanding what was happening to her, and nobody able to inform her. the cousins kept physical contact through out the ordeal, to let her know they were there.

suddenly, she let go of their hands, and in a greeting sort of way, spoke the names of her two brothers who had preceded her by 20yrs. it was as if they entered the room. she calmed down at that point.
15 minutes later, she slipped away. in peace.

we believe her two men came for her, to escort their little sister to the next place.

another: when my grandmother passed, 10yrs later, in her final hours she was singing to salvatore(my grandfather), and giggling, the way she used to when he was alive. he was in the room with her.

another: my dad has spoken to me of seeing his dad and uncle, who came to him (separetly) in his dreams, telling him his prayers were no longer necessary and they were in heaven.

there's more.
maybe we dont let go, because our people never let go of us.


gino.
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