Gruesz reviews the new Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (NALL). She notes that as Kenneth Warren's argument and the recent history of African American tradition building it refers to can help people appreciate the Latino literature. She states that Norton is “hobbled by the lack of any prior powerful literary-historical narrative with which to contend”(Gruesz). She argues, however, that the NALL “would raise a skeptical eyebrow at the repeated characterizations of NALL as a “treasure” and a “celebration” of the ethnoracial groups whose genius they index”(Gruesz). She argues that the Latino literature is viewed as an instrumental tool into the management into culture, shows a sign of times, and is is accommodating. Gruesz argues that the …show more content…
I both agree and disagree with this argument. I agree with this because the idea of giving perspective to make social change has been something that has been proven over time. On the contrary, historical context is something that has been imperative in helping people understand different cultures.I think this important because the texts illustrate the unusual demands of categorizing the past into discrete ethnic …show more content…
Gruesz writes “these translations represent a necessary accommodation to the English- language American literature classroom, to which the NALL is clearly being marketed: the first paragraph of the preface characterizes Latino literature as an “insufficiently studied, and perhaps underappreciated, component of the nation’s literature” (Gruesz). This is arguing that translating takes away from the text’s meaning. She also writes “the Spanish language itself often disappears in translation (one- quarter of the material was originally written in Spanish) or gets relegated to the extensive footnotes.”(Gruesz) I agree with this observation that making accommodations within the text takes away from the meaning of the text. This is important in noting in the development of Latino literature because in order to truly make social change, it is important to not neglect Latin American
In the reading, “(Re)constructing Latinidad: The challenge of Latina/o studies.” it explains the challenge that is, defining what it is to be a Latino in America. In the reading, it gives reasons as to why there is a challenge, examples include how diverse the Latino community is in America and how others in America perceive the Latino community. After reading the article, I saw two main ideas that Aparicio had and they were; redefining what it means to be Latino in America and to show that there are issues in the Latino community that need to be addressed. Then I will provide my reaction based on the ideas I got out of the reading.
The United States since the past until now has limited the historical information given to us. In reality only focusing on what the US has done that seems good. Giving little to no credit to other people who contributed to shaping the country we are today. However, in the book Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America by Juan Gonzalez. Throughout the book he talks, and explains much of history that is hidden from people today.
Mike Davis. Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the U.S. City. In his book Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the U.S. City, first published in 2000, Mike Davis explores the various ways through which Latinx communities in America have influenced the urban landscape. Davis uses statistics and his own analyses thereof to argue that, despite the fact that Latinos are largely ignored by American cultural discourse because “The living color of the contemporary big city… is still viewed on an old-fashioned black-and-white screen”, that Latinos are central to the globalizing urban landscape (Davis, 9).
Throughout “The Mexican in Fact, Fiction, and Folkore” examines the term “Mexican” as it is applied in Southwest literature and argues the Anglo society has made a conscious effort to misrepresent Mexicans (Rios 60). He states the people of Mexican descent are viewed as un-American because they are perceived as filthy, lazy, and dumb. Ricatelli adds to the conversation of Mexican stereotypes by examining the literary expressions of Chicanas and Mexicanas in the literature of both the United States and Mexico. In “The Sexual Stereotypes of The Chicana in Literature” Ricatelli explains how in Yankee literature, the Chicana is referred to as the “fat breeder, who is a baby factory” meanwhile the Mexican is described as an “amoral, lusty hot tamale” (Ricatelli 51). He makes note of these stereotypes in order to highlight the ethnocentric and nativist points of view that dominated Anglo literature.
Respect between Ethnicity and Creativity Everyone has their own time to express themselves and let their mind flow. Everyone has their own techniques of showing their creativity. People like to write and draw to express their emotions in a way they can share with others. People believe in what they can see and feel.
A part of this reading I appreciate is where contributions to culture are discussed. Silvio discusses the contributions of Afrro-Latinos and their influences in the medical field and literature, while also highlighting religion and the way practices were taken away from
One of the area of conflict that rose in the book involves the usage of the English language in relation of the family’s native language, Spanish. As a Mexican-American raised in the States the exhibition of the English language, whether the use of the tongue is fluent or not, cause a strain in the Mexican culture as the culture takes in consideration of their romance and richness of history in their native tongue (Rothman 204). Language represent the supporting backbone of a person as the progress in life as the ability to communicate without misunderstands, however a person can cause the loss connection to the past romance of the culture and art of cultivation that brings the language to lifes from their inabilities to comprehend the ability/asset to its fullest potential (Rothman 204). To fully understand the true meaning behind a spoken chain of words can be understood by the method of trying to first comprehend the cultivation of the word and the definition behind them. Cisneros embeds the use of Spanish in fragments depicting a sense of reality within a fictional novel, Caramelo, as well with the use of interchangeable dialogues with spanish phrase to express the illustration of Celaya’s family and the culture in which is translate in of importance of pride.
Francis stated that some of the Spanish translations aren’t very good or don’t help at all especially if one isn’t literate or be able read and write in general. One of the studies I read about health literacy in Hispanics at the University of South Carolina they gave out 28 studies between the years of 1992-2008 in order to measure the level Hispanics HL. They found that there is
Culture is an essential part of a community’s identity, because it links individuals to a collective bond. The Americas have always contained a vast variety of cultural communities, especially in the United States. The US is known for being one of the most diverse nations in the world, housing hundreds of different cultures. Mexican-Americans display a strong sense of a cultural background, which falls as a subset of the bigger Latino culture that links all Latinos. Oral history is a major aspect on the Mexican culture, which contributes to the truth of how history in the United States actually happened.
He shows this through his many experiences with bilingual court and education. At the end of his essay, Espada concludes with a basic summary of what he has learned. Espada claims “The repression of Spanish is part of a larger attempt to silence Latinos, and, like the crazy uncle at the family dinner table yelling about independence or socialism, we must refuse to be silenced.” Through the summary the reader understands despite English being the prevalent language the in the U.S. today the Spanish culture is still being preserved through bilingualism. On the other hand Rodriguez argues that in order to gain a public identity, one must be willing to sacrifice some part of their own cultural identity.
“Oranges,” “The Seventieth Year,” and “Avocado Lake,” showcase Soto’s ability to move a reader using an emotional story without the use of rhyme or rhythm. Through Soto’s poetry, he indicates the traits that define Mexican-American community
In order to write this book, the author clearly uses different manuscripts and papers that helped him to explain and show the situation of this social movement. He also uses and gets information from people that were living those situations, for instance in Chapter one, he mentions a note from Journalist Ruiz Ibañez: “Contrary to the common belief that those groups are composed of “punks” and hoodlums….”1. Related to him, he is an American historian and sociology that obtained his sociology and political science degrees in the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, as well. Currently, he is a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and he is president of the Center for Latino Policy Research. He wrote not only Quixote’s Soldiers but also, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986.
Cofer addresses the cultural barriers and challenges that Latinos experience through emotional appeal, anecdotal imagery, parallelism and the use of effective periodic sentences. In her article, Cofer assesses the difficult cultural hurdles of Latin Americans with emotional appeal. She provides insight on her cultural barriers by first conveying the way she had to dress and her struggle, as it shows in this piece of text, “That morning I had organized… which to base my decision” (Cofer 5). This poignancy works to stress an agonizing feeling of uncertainty and restraint towards the author.
“Aztlan, Cibola and Frontier New Spain” is a chapter in Between the Conquests written by John R. Chavez. In this chapter Chavez states how Chicano and other indigenous American ancestors had migrated and how the migration help form an important part of the Chicanos image of themselves as a natives of the south. “The Racial Politics behind the Settlement of New Mexico” is the second chapter by Martha Menchaca.
Generalizations take after specific individuals for the duration of their lives. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a Latina who has been stereotyped and she delineates this in her article, "The myth of the Latin lady: I just met a young lady named Maria. " Cofer depicts how pernicious generalizations can really be. Perusers can understand Cofer 's message through the numerous explanatory interests she employments.