Brainstorm #6 - Paul Druta

In "Ceremony as Memory", Patrisia Gonzales describes various indigenous "technologies" that Natives were persecuted for practicing by their Spanish colonizers. These technologies range from very detailed calendars, to ceremonial feasts, incantations for agriculture, and perhaps most significantly, complex birthing rituals and practices. Initially, it might be hard to see how these practices constitute "technologies" since we usually associate this word with inventions and scientific developments, but in reality a technology is the sum of knowledge practices. Beyond just being traditional practices of indigenous populations in Mesoamerica, these indigenous technologies shape the way that Native populations perceive the world, their place in it, and their future. Unlike Western thought, which is linear, indigenous knowledge is often concerned with cycles and regeneration. In "Ceremony as Memory", Gonzales describes a report by Ruiz de Alarcon of native practices that were particularly opposed to European Catholicism: "His report includes as heresy the healing prayers for setting bones and for headaches, incantations to ants—'the Red Chi-chimecs'—as well as fish hooks, and planting prayers for squash, corn, and amaranth. He records incantations about agriculture and birth as heretical ritual speech, especially that which centers on regeneration of the natural and the cultural worlds." (Gonzales 74). The indigenous technologies described by Gonzales frame the world in a narrative of regeneration, giving hope to these populations that have experienced so much hardship due to colonization. This usage of technology as a snapshot into a brighter future is reflected in "'Girl in a Coma' Tweets Chicanafuturism: Decolonial Visionaries, New Media and Archivista Praxis” and in the "Cloudy Sky" music video. The opening lyrics of the song invoke this same feeling of viewing (and creating) a new future, one in which the status quo of the present has been changed: “Are we alright now? / Something’s gonna happen / You’re staring off now to the sky  /  We’re  staring  off  now.” ("Habell-Pallan 166). One way the band challenges societal norms is through their use of technology and convivencia to create more than just a following, but rather, a community around them. The article discusses the band's usage of Twitter as a way to quickly and effectively interact with other bands and fans, allowing for their community to influence their music-making. Meanwhile, cell phones and video recording posted online allow their music to be more accessible to the community. This positive feedback loop emulates the process of convivencia without the need for physical proximity to each other, something that allows for a new way of music making in a globalized world.