{"id":6898,"date":"2020-06-20T16:45:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T00:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=6898&lang=en"},"modified":"2020-06-28T18:55:45","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T02:55:45","slug":"identity-privilege-and-pride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/identity-privilege-and-pride\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Identity, Privilege and Pride: The Story of Rodrigo, Guna from Panam\u00e1"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rodrigo Medina<\/b><\/p>\n

I am not like the other <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 I mean I seem like the others as described in Spanish chronicles:\u00a0 aquiline nose, broad back, short in stature, abundant and black hair, rebellious spirit and with an insatiable desire to support my people.\u00a0 But I do not speak <\/span>Dulegaya<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 I grew up in Panama City and from the time I was old enough to be aware until two years ago, I didn’t know I was <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that it is strange to read that I didn’t know who I was.\u00a0 Questions like, \u00abWhy don’t you look like your mom or your dad?\u00bb made me uncomfortable for years.\u00a0 These and other similar comments were bothersome, not out of embarrassment, nor because I was trying to be something I was not, but perhaps, to protect something that I had been denied, i.e. the ability to see myself reflected in my mother and my father.\u00a0 Perhaps out of fear of accepting myself as different from those who watched me grow up.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was eight months old, my biological mother flew from Usdub to the city. \u00a0 There she protected me until she handed me over to my adoptive mother and father who decided to maintain secretiveness about who I was for years.\u00a0 Today I am 24 years old and only two years ago did I find out about my origins. \u00a0 And I continue discovering myself from others from the same place.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember that I went to see a theatrical performance with my parents in which a young person debated about telling, or not telling, her family that she was pregnant.\u00a0 She thought about the various ways out of her dilemma, one being she could give her baby up for adoption.\u00a0 She immediately imagined herself looking for her in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Afterwards we went out to eat at a pizza place and during the conversation and critiques we got to the question that was important to me:\u00a0 What happened?\u00a0 Where was I from?\u00a0 Who was I?\u00a0 While I was asking questions and crying I discovered that I had been born in <\/span>Gunayala<\/span><\/i>, that for months my parents had wanted to adopt after having lost several babies, and that a female friend of the family knew a lady who had a sister, my biological mother, who had a son that she was not able to support.<\/span><\/p>\n

That night a universe opened itself up before my eyes because, until then, I hadn’t known what a <\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i> was nor that my lineage was that of warriors.\u00a0 And that I didn’t speak a dialect, but rather a language dating back hundreds of years.\u00a0 Pieces were falling into place, memories of a family friend teaching me a word in <\/span>Dulegaya<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>isbe,<\/span><\/i> mirror, and when that same friend for my 16th birthday gave me <\/span>The Gayamar Sabga, <\/span><\/i>a Spanish-Dulegaya dictionary.<\/span><\/p>\n

People have thought I am from a number of other countries and have asked me if I’m Chinese or Japanese.\u00a0 One professor asked if I was Philippino and I answered that I was, not out of embarrassment or to pretend to be someone else . . . . \u00a0 My adoptive family are migrants, my mother Chilean and my father Colombian and so I grew up eating <\/span>arepas<\/span><\/i> for breakfast<\/span> and having four meals daily, both traditions of those countries.\u00a0 (Note:\u00a0 <\/span>arepas<\/span><\/i> are small, fried corncakes, staples in Colombia and Venezuela.\u00a0 <\/span>Comer once<\/span><\/i> is the light meal served between lunch and dinner in Chile.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rodrigo wearing the Boy Scout outfit with his sister<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am not like other <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 I studied in a private school, a Jewish one.\u00a0 I know more about the Shoah <\/span>(the Hebrew word for Holocaust) than <\/span>Babigala<\/span><\/i> (collective history of<\/span> Guna<\/span><\/i> peoples).\u00a0 My true identity was not that of the Western world and so I learned some of European history.\u00a0 I know sophisms and logic, but the real me is the one who learns about spirituality, the significance of cacao and the preparation of <\/span>madun, <\/span><\/i>a traditional <\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i> drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

At school if they had only, just once, taken a chance by speaking with me about the<\/span> Guna<\/span><\/i> Revolution, I would have been in agreement.\u00a0 If they had taught us how to count from one to ten in <\/span>Dulegaya<\/span><\/i>, now it wouldn’t be half as difficult to learn some of our mathematics.<\/span><\/p>\n

My house is\u00a0 covered in pictures, masks, exhibits of diverse cultures and people, but there is not one <\/span>mola<\/span><\/i> (traditional art of the <\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 Sometimes \u00abSan Blas\u00bb will slip out of my parents\u2019 mouths–the colonial name for the <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i> territory.\u00a0 While I was growing up, they registered me for the Boy Scouts, in sports and whatever activity I wanted, but I never learned about the traditional dance of the <\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i> nor the <\/span>gammu, <\/span><\/i>a hundred-years old, traditional flute-like instrument.<\/span><\/p>\n

My history is as complicated as it is simple but is indicative of the urban <\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i> experience.\u00a0 A Gurbano, someone who grew up kilometers away from his culture and at times only a few yards away, yet extremely distanced from it in his way of thinking.\u00a0 I can not continue pointing fingers or feeling sorry for\u00a0 myself.\u00a0 I can not continue pestering my parents with the same question, \u00abWhy didn’t you tell me sooner?\u00bb<\/span><\/p>\n

Since I learned about my identity, I have been sleeping with the dictionary at my side.\u00a0 And I try to follow every <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i> person on social media, just to read their comments.\u00a0 I immediately went to the University Student Association of Kunas (AEKU) and resolved to participate in any activities related to them.\u00a0 I’ve travelled twice to my birthplace and have traversed, albeit superficially, from one corner to the other of the region I am from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At the Jewish shool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I took a certification course in Bilingual Intercultural Education and Ancestral Wisdom of the <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i> People without speaking the language.\u00a0 And I listened to the <\/span>Ologunalilergan, <\/span><\/i>(the ancestral sages of the culture) talk about spirituality, education, literary skills and mathematics.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have read everything that’s fallen into my hands written by my people or by Wagmar (not indigenous).\u00a0 Nevertheless, no matter where I go, I still feel isolated from everything.\u00a0 They are my people and they have never left me.\u00a0 On the contrary,\u00a0 they have been understanding and even teach me.\u00a0 But I know only I will fill this emptiness, little by little.<\/span><\/p>\n

To indigenous folks who do not have the privilege of growing up in their own world, those who, like me, have decided to, or decided not to, exist distanced from their identity, I would say, \u00abThere is still time to learn!\u00a0 We are lucky to be able to zealously protect our knowledge and wisdom.\u00a0 So, go ahead and travel, ask questions, feel your difference from others, because that will fill us with questioning.\u00a0 Take care of your ancestry.\u00a0 Oral communication is important.\u00a0 Our languages represent our resistance, although it may take us 20, 40, 60 years to learn, we can not allow this richness to die.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would like to be the last person to live away from, distanced from my roots.\u00a0 I would wish for all my <\/span>Gunadules<\/span><\/i> to embrace <\/span>anmar daed <\/span><\/i>(our indigenous way of being).\u00a0 I would like the government to elevate our indigenous languages to the same level as the Spanish language.<\/span><\/p>\n

I would be happy if the life experienced by infants from my region was not seen as \u00abmultidimensional poverty\u00bb or that we were not viewed as \u00abpopulations that have remained undeveloped\u00bb.\u00a0 I want to be the last <\/span>Gunadule<\/span><\/i> who has to hear the word \u00abIndian\u00bb to describe us.\u00a0 And I want them to stop complaining about requirements that we’ve put in to place for access to\/entrance into our territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

So until then I will continue calling myself pro-indigenous, anti-colonialist.\u00a0 I will continue painting myself as <\/span>nisar<\/span><\/i> (the annatto that provides the reddish pigment of the skin of Gunadule people) and I will not cease to be emotional about <\/span>Bila Nii<\/span><\/i> (the month of Revolution), nor will I stop going to <\/span>Gunayala<\/span><\/i>, whatever may happen, I will continue being <\/span>Gungidule<\/span><\/i>, a \u00ab<\/span>Guna<\/span><\/i> of Gold\u00bb.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rodrigo Medina I am not like the other Gunadule.\u00a0 I mean I seem like the others as described in Spanish chronicles:\u00a0 aquiline nose, broad back, short in stature, abundant and black hair, rebellious spirit and with an insatiable desire to support my people.\u00a0 But I do not speak Dulegaya.\u00a0 I grew up in Panama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409,453,457],"tags":[2105,2106,2107,2097],"class_list":["post-6898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-frontpage-en","category-migration-en","tag-guna-people","tag-indigenous-guna","tag-indigenous-panama","tag-nation-gunadule"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/60342235_2316293322027687_804898354696814592_o.jpg?fit=1994%2C2015&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-1Ng","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7631,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/supporting-the-indigenous-people-of-panama-in-the-struggle-against-covid-19\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6898,"position":0},"title":"Supporting the Indigenous People of Panama in the Struggle Against COVID-19","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"9 octubre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Por Teobaldo Hern\u00e1ndez Thompson The impact of COVID-19 is accentuating the inequalities that have already existed in countries like Panama.\u00a0 Therefore, and although this country is not yet experiencing the most extreme scenario of the emergency, it\u2019s necessary to broaden the view toward the indigenous world, emphasising those communities that\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/received_2331842533777712.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/received_2331842533777712.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/received_2331842533777712.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/received_2331842533777712.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/received_2331842533777712.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8691,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/the-last-indigenous-kingdom-of-central-america-and-their-rights-to-the-ancient-land\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6898,"position":1},"title":"The last indigenous kingdom of Central-America and their rights to the ancient land","author":"EntreMundos","date":"22 abril, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Panama\u2019s indigenous groups Panama\u2019s diversity is undeniable. The country gives home to seven indigenous groups; they are located in the Caribbean coastline, the Colombian and the Costa Rican border. They make up 13% of the population according to the 2010 census. Most of the tribes kept their traditional lifestyle, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/d0bqxyww0aejokk.jpg-large.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/d0bqxyww0aejokk.jpg-large.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/d0bqxyww0aejokk.jpg-large.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/d0bqxyww0aejokk.jpg-large.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3189,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs-last-in-the-world-in-public-spending\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6898,"position":2},"title":"Guate in Graphs: Last in the world in public spending?","author":"EntreMundos","date":"7 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The World Bank rated Guatemala last in the world in public spending and government revenues and near the bottom in public investment in its 2014 report \u201cGuatemala\u2019s Econonic DNA.\u201d The graphs compare revenues, public spending, and social investment as a percent of GDP (a measure of the production of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEconomy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3114,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/guatemalas-public-spending-worst-in-the-world\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6898,"position":3},"title":"Guatemala’s public spending: Worst in the world?","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The World Bank rated Guatemala last in the world in public spending and government revenues and near the bottom in public investment in its 2014 report \u201cGuatemala\u2019s Econonic DNA.\u201d The graphs\u00a0above compare revenues, public spending, and social investment as a percent of GDP (a measure of the production of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abGuate in Graphs\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Guate in Graphs","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/guatemalaworldbankworst.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/guatemalaworldbankworst.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/guatemalaworldbankworst.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/guatemalaworldbankworst.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2514,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/the-panama-papers\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6898,"position":4},"title":"The Panama Papers","author":"EntreMundos","date":"5 abril, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover photo:\u00a0https:\/\/panamapapers.icij.org\/ By Nicole Tse, Updated April 8, 2016 140 politicians and public officials from around the world are in trouble thanks to a year\u2019s worth of hard work by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the German newspaper S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung, and more than 100 of their reporting partners. 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