Event 1: Quipus, Immigrants and Music...... from the perspective of a third culture kid

 As a graduating international student, if there's one aspect of my identity I identify with is as an immigrant. But it isn't just when I came to UCLA that I started identifying as an immigrant. I was born in Brazil to Portuguese parents and for the rest of my life I would never quite fit in either country's culture. To my teachers and friends in Portugal, I came from the old colony, and never felt quite included enough when talking about the "Golden Age of Discovery", especially when slavery and colonization were topics of discussion. When I moved back to Brazil, I was the physical representation with the colonizer with the accent and the literary knowledge to boot. Additionally, I went to an International High School, which added yet a different perspective into the mix. And that's why this event peaked my interest as colony and colonizer and colonized have always been concepts that have bit dumbfounded me and something I didn't associate with either art or science.... but with history.

Ms Cadavid's presentation captured my interest because of the quipu and the ability to store information through knots. I wasn't aware of computational strategies like that and was especially fascinated with the role of the quipocayamos, someone who spent all their lives dedicated to the storage, interpretation and record keeping of knots on a string. From Ms Cadavid's presentation I was under the impression that the Spanish quickly banished the quipu's but from sources it seemed that quipu's were use for anything from counting agriculture yields to rosaries. (Curatola et.all) It makes me wonder what a world view without writting looks like. And how the perspective of illeteracy as not knowing how to write in spanish or latin might have damaged the relationship between colonizers and colonized, as symbols of revolution and revolt. (Olona) (Caberra Ibarra et all)  (Sebastian) I would definitely recommend anyone to attend this even if you're not an immigrant.  It will show you a different perspective on computation you would not know from general knowledge.

Cabrera Ibarra, Hugo. “La Codificacion De Los Quipus Incas.” Ciencia, Ciencia, https://www.amc.edu.mx/revistaciencia/index.php/82-vol-58-num-4-octubre-diciembre-2007/comunicaciones-libres/132-la-codificacion-de-los-quipus-incas.

Curatola Petrocchi, Marco, et al. “El Quipu Colonial. Estudios y Materiales.” Fronteras De La Historia, Instituto Colombiano De Antropología e Historia, http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2027-46882015000100010.

Efe, Republica. “El Enigma De Los Quipus Andinos, Cada Vez Más Cerca De Ser Descifrado.” Republica.com, 29 Nov. 2021, https://www.republica.com/historia/el-enigma-de-los-quipus-andinos-cada-vez-mas-cerca-de-ser-descifrado-20211129-16591362527/.

Geographic, National. “Los Quipus, La Escritura Secreta De Los Antiguos Incas.” National Geographic En Español, 3 Oct. 2020, https://www.ngenespanol.com/el-mundo/que-es-un-quipu-escritura-inca-epoca-precolombina/.

Olona, Carol. “‘Muchos Españoles Veían a Los Incas Como Analfabetos Porque Los Quipus No Coincidían Con Lo Que Ellos Entendían Como Escritura.’” BBC News Mundo, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-59079240.


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