The book, Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua is considered a semi-autograph. Anzaldua uses some of her stories to explain her points which are included in the first part of the book. However, she also uses poems and prose as sources which are located in the second part of the book. Anzaldua uses her stories, poems and prose to explain the division among Mexican cultures or language, gender and sexual orientation. Throughout the book the concept of the Mexican women, Chicana illustrates how are seen as something inferior and even the gay community.
The 64-year old investigative reporter spent over eight years writing his remarkable book, Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, which was published in 1999. In his early life, Gonzalez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and was raised in East Harlem and Brooklyn. As a journalist, and before that as a Puerto Rican community activist who helped found and direct two national organizations, the Young Lords in the 1960’s, and the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights in the late 1970’s, Juan Gonzalez has spent decades living in and reporting on scores of Latino communities throughout the United States and Latin America, devouring in the process every study or account of the Latino experience he could find (Gonzalez, XXII). With the many historians that have conducted research in the recent decades, Juan realized that by connecting the past to the present and by crossing academic disciplines, he could touch on more than one Latino group while still making the entire process comprehensible to both Latinos and
“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
Mr. Diaz says “We’re in a country where white is considered normative; it's a country where white writers are simply writers, and writers of Latino descent are Latino writers. This is an issue whose roots are deeper than just the publishing community or how an artist wants to self-designate.” (pg2)
Gloria Anzaldúa, in the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” (1987), claims her experiences as a Chicano taught her that her culture was not looked at highly in comparison to the English language. Anzaldúa argues her view about her Chicano language by giving examples of both cultures Chicano Mexican and American cultures. Anzaldúa’s purpose is to inform her audience on how it is to grow up in a Chicano speaking family. Anzaldúa writes in a frustrating tone throughout the story of her life experiences. Thesis: Anzaldúa use of her personal experiences, and Music, Film and Literature are relevant sufficient and
In this article, Author Gloria Anzaldua writes about growing up in America as a Mexican-American and the struggles that she faced due to the language barrier. Gloria claims that she grew up around a variety of different forms of both Spanish and English, “Standard English, working class/slang English, standard Spanish, Standard Mexican Spanish, and North Mexican Spanish dialect”, are just a few. The language spoken, or combinations of the languages correlate with where the Hispanic person was originally from and where in the U.S. they are now, for example, “Chicano Spanish” is spoken in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Another focus of this article is how Gloria would be punished in school for speaking in her native tongue and then at home by her for not speaking English properly. Gloria also felt the university she attended made the Hispanics take two speech classes, “in order to get rid of our accents”, she claims.
Both authors go in detail about their ethnic backgrounds and blend their language for us to better understand throughout their story. Gloria Anzaldua describes herself as a Mexican-American Chicana
Selena Quintanilla’s father once said, “We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans.” In today’s society, many have encountered the challenge of not being able to be who they really are because they fear not being accepted by others, more specifically their culture. But, what happens when an individual is part of two worlds that have just as many rules? Gloria E. Anzaldúa was a Mexican-American writer and poet who made a major contribution to the fields of cultural, feminist, and queer theory. Anzaldúa identifies as a Chicana and speaks different variations of Spanish, some of which she exhibits in her works.
A poncho is an outer garment designed to keep the body warm. A rain poncho is made from a watertight material designed to keep the body dry from the rain. Ponchos have been used by the Native American peoples of the Andes since pre-Hispanic times and are now considered typical South American garments. The llawt'u or llawthu was an outfit of the ruling Sapa Incas.
Rudolpho Anaya’s main claim in “ Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” is censorship and how it affects chicano writers’ stories in this day and age. Rudolpho is a writer himself who tries to get other writers like his friend, to apply for a literary fellowship in the National Endowment of Arts. Rudolpho believes that chicano writers are being held back, emotionally and creatively with their essays. Anaya first presents his central idea when he writes, “ Censorship has affected me directly, and I have formed some ideas on this insidious activity.”.
From the internationally acclaimed and award winning author of Caramelo, Sandra Cisneros does not disappoint in this classic, coming-of-age story, mirroring her own childhood experiences. You will follow a young girl, Esperanza, growing up in an impoverished Latino neighborhood in Chicago – you guessed it- on Mango Street. Written in vignettes, it’s as if you are peeking into Esperanza’s diary, empathizing with her pain and joy as each story unfolds. You will find yourself rooting for her the whole way through. Aimed toward younger readers, it’s real-life challenges brings an opportunity for families to discuss dangers in society, and provides a humbling experience for readers more fortunate than Esperanza. Although she is mature, Esperanza’s
Many of us, of the Mexican American culture, can say that we have heard the story of “La Llorona,” so the title alone is something we are familiar with. The book is also made of short stories that Cisneros creates using her Mexican American heritage and background; she also uses bilingualism and biculturalism in her stories. Many of the stories and poems written by Sandra Cisneros are culturally relevant and were created with her culture and heritage in mind. Cisneros has made contributions to society and to both American and Mexican American literature. Her contributions to both American literature and society by Cisneros are her books My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Loose Woman: Poems, Have You Seen Marie?, and many others.
Although when she wrote this it did not connect to many reader but now that immigration is at its highest peak is is bound to be connected to many immigrants as well as Mexican-Americans. Anzaldua was frowned upon due to her lack of english, and they wanted to obliterate her native language which was spanish. Now, many believe that english is the language all should know, but in reality it's not. A person's native language is a language that should stay with them forever. This native language is what makes them who they are, it helps develop
Sonia Sanchez(1934–) is a world-class poet, playwright, educator, and novelist of international renown. During a career that has spanned over 40 years, Sanchez has lectured and taught at over 50 colleges both in the United States and abroad. She has written over a dozen books of poetry, eight plays, and several novels. Born in Birmingham, AL, Sanchez graduated from Hunter College in 1955 and did postgraduate work at New York University. Like many others, she found herself swept up in the civil rights fervor of the 1960s.1
Born in the year 1932 to a diplomat father under a dictatorship, she faced much hardship in the early stages of her life. Under such political distress, she and her family were exiled to the United States, where they settled in New York City in 1939. Soon after, Espaillat’s father fell from grace and was forced to find work elsewhere. This shifted Espaillat’s once-comfortable lifestyle into that of a lower to middle class immigrant. As a young girl, Espaillat became engrossed in her writing and turned to poetry as an outlet.
