Culture/ Literature/ Film Artifacts

This artifact is a paper written for my History of Latin America class that I took during my time studying abroad in Argentina, “Éxodo del Mariel” (The Mariel exodus, also known as the Mariel boatlift). During this class, I learned about various Latin American countries' histories and cultures, which assisted in giving a broader perspective to understand why these countries are the way that they are today. Our professor presented this paper with the goal of selecting one historical event that took place within a Latin American country and explaining factors that may have influenced different aspects that took place before, after and during that event. I chose this topic because my family immigrated to the United States from Cuba several years before the Mariel boatlift took place and I was interested in learning more about the effects this event had on families leaving a place they have called home their whole life just to have the chance to start a new, and hopefully better, one in a unfamiliar territory. This paper not only tested my literacy skills during the research and writing process but also challenged me to think critically in order to capture such a complicated event in a language that is not native to me. During this class I can confidently say that while I found it challenging at times to fully capture what I wanted to say, my Spanish literacy skills were made stronger, giving me the reassurance that I will be able to apply said skills in my academic and professional future.