When discussing the conquista and colonialism as a whole, we tend to imagine these concepts as historical artifacts—as happenings of the past that are in indeed still impacting the present and that will continue the affect the future. However, I appreciate Lara’s exploration of Christian colonialism as an active concept of the present, not an aging actor of the past. If I understand correctly, Lara expresses this in her statement that, “The reification and instantiation of gender binaries, racial hierarchies, and heteronormativity become dense knots expressing the disciplinary powers of Christian coloniality…body-lands are conquered and settled for the perpetuation of Christendom” (68). This is an incredibly powerful analysis by Lara that again removes colonially from its traditional perception by describing peoples’ bodies, particularly those of indigenous and Black queer individuals, as what is being conquered in the present day. By using the concept of “body-lands,” we can better understand present-day colonialism as not only conquering physical land but also peoples’ bodies/sovereignty.
While many of the topics that Lara touches on are rather heavy and tragic elements of the Caribbean’s past and present, I was particularly inspired by one of her responses to the lack of queer freedom : Black sovereignty in the world today: “There is no door to magically go through and become another. This is the world we have received, on loan from future generations, as an inheritance from our ancestors—all of our ancestors, including those yet to come. And so now, we must transform it” (18). I feel as though I have heard few academics express this kind of hope (at least in my recent studies and readings!) and encouragement for present generations; it seems that in academics, we do tend to focus on the rather upsetting, horrific elements of the world and rightfully so. However, Lara, here, was intentionally expressing–speaking almost like a parent to a child in the way she expresses to us as readers–that we must understand this is the context we have to work with; we must make a change in this world because it is the only one we have.
Finally, I also wanted to mention how Lara’s use of the ofrenda as a form of framing her book and her argument. I think by doing this, she creates a space where her argument can rest, expressing that her argument has been placed out in the open and has been offered to the readers for debate, contemplation and hopefully even action. It is also a space where a new future can be imagined. Lara says, “This ofrenda serves as a method that enables the process of imagining land restoration, the interruption of trauma, the possibilities of new histories, and the erotic autonomy of queer : Indigenous and queer : Black beings” (5).
Madi I totally agree, I really appreciate her encouraging message. When reading about how ingrained into our culture these types of issues are, it can be hard to see why anyone should even bother trying to change things. Her message resonates with me like something I heard someone say in response to climate nihilism. By giving up you just give the people perpetuating these issues more power, you might as well try to help solve the issue. Even if we have little to no power in dismantling these harmful systems, it can’t hurt to try. This is basically just saying don’t give up, but I think everyone needs to hear that. It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by all the problems in our society, things seem impossible to change. However there’s no guarantee that we’re doomed, I think of all the transformations humans and the Earth has gone through and I know no matter what happens, life will go on.