An Organizer's Tale By Jose Yglesias

Distinct Perspectives In The Works of José Yglesias and Cesar Chavez
Latino literature has many famous and important figures, dating back until the 1600s. Cesar Chavez was one of the most important figures in Latino literature. He started as a migrant worker and came from a very poor family. By the end of his life, Chavez helped lead the movement that resulted in the first pay increase in the farm-working industry. He was a labor union organizer that started many movements, including three grape boycotts. He wrote “An Organizer’s Tale,” which portrays the journey he embarked on when first started the labor movement. He started as a worker for an apricot farm, and one day a man named Fred Ross changed his life. Ross introduced him to the Community

In his writing “Jesus’s Friendship,” Chavez portrays Jesus as a worker and poor. He uses this depiction to persuade his fellow comrades that experiencing hunger and thirst is a part of life. While collecting dues, Chavez went to a workers home who had 5 dollars for groceries. However, to stay in the union the worker had to pay his share in dues. Many would leave the union, but Chavez convinced the man by saying, “we have been hungry before and we are going to be hungry again; nothing will ever change unless some of us make sacrifices” (766). Shortly after, the man paid his share and stayed in the union. By using the sense of hunger, he relates to the problems that the working class face every day. Additionally, he uses Jesus to articulate that he had the same problems as the people in the union. The comparison of Jesus to the workers was to bring a sense of hope to the union. Jesus sacrificed his life for the people, and the workers of the union should make sacrifices, such as enduring thirst and hunger, for the betterment of the movement. Ultimately, Chavez wanted the union to use that craving of hunger to fuel them to keep fighting for their

Pinpin starts the story off as a retired writer, and through interactions with his family he realizes that they’re much different from him. Yglesias’s use of dialogue portrays his cultural loss within him, resulting in him becoming a writer again. For example, Pinpin would ask Tom-tom numerous questions about the Ybor City he remembers. However, times have changed and Pinpin couldn’t do some activities, such as walking and taking the bus, he used to do. While Pinpin is throwing up in the bathroom, he reflects on his past life. Pinpin stated, “Here in Olivia’s and Tom-tom’s bathroom was the first time in a year that I missed the little notebook I once always carried in my shirt pocket.” He then said, “I wanted to start right then and there with a list of things I needed to buy if I was to stay in the old house. Or a list of alternatives to staying in Ybor City” (710). Pinpin realizes he’s an outlier in his culture, and he wants to gain his cultural identity back. In order to gain his cultural identity back, he must stay in Tampa and live in his childhood home. Yglesias portrays the main message through interactions, while Chavez is very direct. This contrast is evident of Yglesias’s superior education and writing