In The Country We Love Summary

You can see how Maria’s El Salvador is empty of people, full only of romantic ideas. Jose Luis’s image of El Salvador, in contrast, totally invokes manufactured weapons; violence. Maria’s “self-projection elides Jose Luis’s difference” and illustrates “how easy it is for the North American characters, including the big-hearted María, to consume a sensationalized, romanticized, or demonized version of the Salvadoran or Chicana in their midst” (Lomas 2006, 361). Marta Caminero-Santangelo writes: “The main thrust of the narrative of Mother Tongue ... continually ... destabilize[s] the grounds for ... a fantasy of connectedness by emphasizing the ways in which [Maria’s] experience as a Mexican American and José Luis’s experiences as a Salvadoran have created fundamentally different subjects” (Caminero-Santangelo 2001, 198). Similarly, Dalia Kandiyoti points out how Maria’s interactions with José Luis present her false assumptions concerning the supposed “seamlessness of the Latino-Latin American connection” (Kandiyoti 2004, 422). So the continual misinterpretations of José Luis and who he really is and has been through on Maria’s part really show how very far away her experiences as a middle-class, U.S.-born Chicana are from those of her Salvadoran lover. This tension and resistance continues throughout their relationship.

Castillo’s work definitely gives us a different view on writing and lets us see the power of Xicanisma. In Xicanisma we are able to view Chicana feminism and get a better understanding of Mexican culture and history. In Theresa’s letters she provides us with a glimpse of history when she says, “I hated white women who took black pimps everyone knows savages have bestial members”, “I hated white women who preferred Latins and Mediterranean’s”, and “nineteenth-century romanticism that makes going to bed with

I started this essay off with a quote one of the characters mention in the book because it basically gives us the main idea the author is trying to get readers to understand throughout the book. By looking at the title of this novel, “The Book of Unknown Americans” and by looking at the author’s name- Cristina Henriquez, we can already get an idea of what this novel is going to be about. When someone first takes a look at the title and author of this book they would assume that it is going to be about immigrants who moved to the United States and struggled to fit in. After reading this novel, I now understand how difficult it was for these Latino immigrants to leave everything they have in hope for better lives here in the United States. Each person has their own meaning of what it means to be an American and their own reason of what most immigrants come here for. The Rivera family came here in hope for better resources to help treat Maribel because they didn 't have the resources they needed back in their country.

This passage is important because Diane Guerrero has said some important information about immigration reform in this country. She was only fourteen years old when her parents were arrested while she was at school, and after they were deported back to Colombia, Diane was left all alone. No one showed up to check on her well-being not even the police, ICE, or child protective services. So not only did her parents disappear from her life, but it had seemed as if she had become invisible.

She discusses how Mexicans identify themselves; since there are many different ways to identify culture, they make up several different cultures (Indian, Black, and Mexican). By the end she talks about the fight that Mexicans put up to stand up for their culture and their identity.

The whole movie deals with emotions and how they grow up in that environment and that reflects in next generation’s life. Their perceptions are a lot different from my culture. One thing that I felt from this movie is whatever you see from parents or elder siblings, most of the time you will follow that way and it’s also happen in my culture also. Twenty years ago at about the same time that "Cisco" and "Stingray" Santiago became leaders of the notorious Assassination gang and Luis also became a gang leader. That movie is also a great example of emotional intelligence. This movie is kind of empathetic.

Pat Mora is an award-winning writer that bases most her poems on tough cultural challenges and life as a Mexican American. She was born in a Spanish speaking home in El Paso, Texas. Mora is proud to be a Hispanic writer and demonstrates how being culturally different in America is not easy. She explains this through her experiences and the experience other’s. In her poems “Elena”, “Sonrisas”, and “Fences”, Mora gives you a glimpse of what life as a Mexican American is; their hardships, trials, strength that make them who they are.

Linda illustrates how the way we view Hispanics is what holds them back from fully growing in our society. This is mainly done through discrimination that withholds them from attaining jobs or opportunities that halts their overall progression up the ladder. The U.S. census and many other federal agencies confirms that the Hispanic race, much like any other race, works had to make a decent living and support their families. This depicts Hispanics as a race that shares a common norm of all others, yet is still treated as if they are the bottom rung of society. This is actually not the case when

Being an immigrant in the United States is very difficult because many people are introduced to a new language, people, etc. The poem “English Con Salsa” by Gina Valdes explains the struggle of an immigrant in the United States. Gina Valdes was born in Los Angeles, California. She grew up on both sides of the border. Her writing was affected by growing up on both sides of the border. She got a degree from the English and Spanish departments from the University of California. The poem English con Salsa explains her struggle of being introduced to a new country and how hard it was to get use to everything.

Dinaw Mengestu, Richard Rodriguez and Manuel Munoz are three authors that have been through and gone through a lot of pain to finaly get accepted in their societies. They are all either immigrants or children of immigrants that had trouble fitting in America’s society at the time. They struggled with language and their identities, beucase they were not original from the states and it was difficult for others to accept them for who they are. They all treated their problems differently an some tried to forget their old identeties and live as regulalr Americans others accepted themselves for being who they are, but they all found a way to deal with their issues.

Similarly, the book also carries a strong message that shows how strong Mexican Americans were during this time era. The story had many devastating parts, but many really show how

That both genders have common ground as people. She goes on to describe how society is becoming more progressive, that whether or not people want to admit it, changes are coming and as time goes on women will be granted more equality. This change was already being seen but just needed further progression.

There are many concepts that Gloria Anzaldua discusses in Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, but there are two that stuck out: linguistic terrorism, nephantla, and la facultad. These concepts have affected Women such as ElviraPrietoo and Norma Cantu to write from their personal experiences. To embrace their roots, they came from and never forget the events that shaped them into the women they are today. Perhaps expand a bit on your introduction. For instance, offer some context of Borderlands and the other two texts and then teases / a tease / the tease out what it is you will discuss the themes of memory and identity a bit more.

What is wrong with you?” , This is a great example of assimilation versus the non assimilated stereotypes. She has abandoned her culture and fully taken on American culture instead. This is an example of Valdez's definition of actos because Chicanos should not have to be forced to totally assimilate to a culture that is not their own to please those around them or for others to accept them. I believe that Miss Jimenez's character and the hardship that she represents for many Chicano Americans is important because many do not feel that they are Chicano enough or American enough.

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, shares his life-long journey as an undocumented immigrant in his text, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” As the title suggests, Vargas attempts to convey to his audience, who likely never has and never will experience anything similar to what he has, what it is like to live as an immigrant in the United States of America. Skillfully, Vargas details the perfect number of personal stories to reach the emotional side of his audience, which is anyone who is not an immigrant. Through the use of his personal accounts Vargas is able to effectively communicate that immigrants are humans too while simultaneously proving his credibility, as he has experience and a vast amount of knowledge