Central America : A Human Geography, 2ed

[Music] [Music] Central America is a narrow strip of land that joins North and South America on its West Coast the Pacific Ocean on its East the Caribbean Sea it links not only the two American continents but also the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Panama Canal the canal 50 mil from Ocean to Ocean Mr Blair come in please Roger okay Blair you don't have a tie up operator 03 and 07 123 127 over Mr Blair okay Blair they're closing East Lake Gates when ready Roger Roger okay uh Mr walker uh ship is in the East Lake gates are clear and your times will be the Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world at the Pacific end is the bridge of the Americas the bridge is part of the Pan-American Highway which connects the countries of Central America with the countries of North and South America this major highway leads not only down into the modern cities of today but up into the highlands a region called the Tiera friia here are the M shrouded remains of an ancient Central American civilization the May has developed an advanced way of life here over 4,000 years ago when the first Europeans arrived 500 years ago they conquered the Mayas burned their books and destroyed their civilization the Mayas that survived abandoned their cities and fled up into these mountains their descendants are the Indians who live here today like the zayia family Anna Jose and their children the land is not very good not much will grow on [Music] it the aias rent the land from a Duo a landlord but the rent is not paid in money it is paid in work part of each year Jose Zia works on the farm of his Duo his work is the rent that allows him and his family to live on the land and farm it his brother helps and so do his sons Anna and Jose know they can never leave this land because they are in debt to the dwo but their hope is that someday their children will be able to go to the city neither Anna nor Jose can read or write either can their friends or their children but they would like their children to learn how someday so they can get a good job in the city and perhaps even be able to own a television set [Music] there AIA is going to town on important days like the Festival of Santa Maria de they are Catholics like most of the people here n [Music] below the high mountains is the Tiera templada the temperate zone here coffee is grown coffee is one of the most important crops of Central America the people who harvest the coffee the conchetto are paid by the basket it's very hard work for very little money the harvest season lasts just 2 or 3 months each year the concetto Harvest the crop on one coffee plantation then move to another usually whole families of Migrant laborers work together still farther down in The Valleys along the dry Pacific Coast there are rolling grasslands here beef and dairy cattle are raised seor s Salvador has worked as a Baro the Henda of seor Dez for 22 [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] years here they raise zebu cattle the work is hard but they have their good times too [Music] each year there's a rodeo [Music] [Applause] [Music] they don't kill the bull they only tease [Applause] [Applause] it it's a kind of test for the young vicos of their Macho their Manliness [Music] still farther down from the mountains is the tier Cente this is a region of tropical lowlands sugar cane grows here the crops are harvested mainly by ladinos people of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry Senor Gomez can cut 4 tons of sugar cane a day but it's hard work he and the other start at 6:00 each morning and quit around noon when the day becomes too hot for working Senor Gomez and his family live in this house not far from the fields where he works with a little extra money coming in from their son who's gone to the city they [Music] manage in the tropical rainforest of this region there are great banana plantations on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of Central America corporations from the United States own and run most of them the workers here have a larger income than other Farm Workers do they also have free housing free electricity and free schooling for their children most of the bananas will be sent to the United States Cacao is the other main product of these humid lowlands Cacao is grown on large plantations and on small Groves like this one chocolate is made from cacao beans Senor Moray owns this small Grove with the help of his son Edgar he earns enough for his family to get by cotton is the important crop of the Tia Caliente along the drier Pacific Coast Harvest time is from December to March and schools are closed during these months so that the children can help their families with the cotton picking in one day a person can pick six or seven sacks of cotton nearly all of a family's income is earned during these Harvest months but migrant workers don't earn very much and so many of them leave the rural areas of Central America each year thousands of poor and uneducated peasants leave the plantations and Tiny Villages and head for the cities hoping for work hoping for better lives [Music] there is work in the cities of Central America several million people live [Music] [Laughter] there but the rural people soon find that if they don't have education or training they can offer the city only one thing their muscle physical labor [Music] educational programs are helping them gain the skills they need so they can take advantage of the opportunities in the city seor Garcia is a teacher but not long ago he too was a peasant fresh from the countryside here at an adult education center he teaches the newcomers to read and write to learn the ways of the city and how to find jobs [Music] The Peasants from the country who get at least an elementary education can often get jobs in factories many Factory workers are the sons and daughters of illiterate peasants who came to the city and never found steady work with a little education their children are doing much better more education with some Technical Training opens up still better jobs a good income and means workers can have some of the luxuries their parents only dreamed about all the countries of Central America have technical schools students can learn mechanical civil and electrical engineering the schools are free and open to everyone who qualifies technical schooling is becoming more important for the young people of Central America as their countries modernize and industrialize there are more and more jobs that need skilled workers and more and more jobs of all kinds this means more people in the cities City population is going up and so are buildings to house the people but not fast enough even though the government and Private Industry are building lowcost housing and many more people than before are able now to buy their own homes the building can't keep up with the needs many people are still poorly housed more than 10% of central Americans live in the cities now and the percentage is increasing as the population grows the need for a good educ is becoming more important today onethird of the adults in Central America cannot read or [Music] write but the children who will be the adults in a future Central America will change that figure [Music] what the children learn in their schools will help them live better lives their education will help improve the quality of life in all the countries of Central America this narrow strip of land that links the continents [Music]