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I M A Chicano Because I Say I Am Summary

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For many individuals, being labeled or categorized based on others' perceptions can be unwelcome. They want to be themselves and not worry about others' opinions on their own personal lives. I believe Cheech Marin expresses his stance in his essay "What is a Chicano," a stance I seem to agree with to an extent. In my essay, I will be discussing why, in certain instances, categorizing people and giving them unwanted labels is unnecessary and can even be, sometimes, offensive, and why people should be able to describe themselves however they see fit to their own personal lifestyle. Comedian, actor, and activist Cheech Marin eloquently expresses in his memoir, "I'm a Chicano because I say I am," a view that I find admirable and respect worthy. …show more content…

They want to be free to live their life the way they want to live it and not be ridiculed for it. They want to label and describe how they see fit for how they live their own life. Some individuals don’t prefer being called a term that they do not directly identify with and could take offense to. For example, if you were born in America or didn’t grow up in Mexico and/or don’t speak Spanish at all, you can find the label “Mexican” or “Latino” offensive. Most opinions on labels and being categorized come from the history of why these labels were made, or a way of just putting people who look alike in the same category. Some people do not share the same history as those who they often compare or relate to. Some people view it as stereotyping and don’t like to be racially profiled because of what they look or sound like and can have certain terms bother them. Hence, the reason why a Mexican-American person can reject the term “Hispanic” or “Latino”. For those people, they just don’t want to be classified based on what they look or sound

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In the textbook “From Indians To Chicanos”, the author’s, James Diego Vigil, purpose for writing this book is to educate about the history of Chicanos, their experiences, and what changed their lifestyle. James Diego Vigil’s objective for this book is to write about the Chicano culture and how it has changed for ethnic minority groups due to time and different geographical and socioeconomic settings. He also addresses how the Chicano experience motivated Chicanos to dedicate themselves to shape their own identity and refuse to accept outside ideas and theories about them, about their identities. Vigil wants to cover on how this culture change resulted by using two concepts, one being the six C’s and the second being how and why many identities

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People will see others as a specific label, like for something embarrassing they did, being labeled as someone’s girlfriend, being non-American, or something that catches people’s attention and make assumptions. This is what people in Calamus are doing because they are stereotyping others. Lorna and Wade

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To add to the misinformation, the Hispanic category is then compared to other races, which only “constructs a fallacious equation” (408) since a term that signifies culture cannot be compared to a term that signifies race. These false perceptions lead to even more emphasis on race and cause humans to cling to separate identities. Once separated, there is no longer interest in commonalities but rather contempt because of differences, as seen in the example of a group of Laotians’ hatred for Mexicans living nearby. For this particular case, Rodriguez has shown that

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So, what happens when a person is constantly discriminated against for the language they speak? They create their own, which is where the explanation for Chicano Spanish comes into play. According to Anzaldúa, Chicano Spanish is “…for a people who cannot identify with either standard (formal, Castilian) Spanish nor standard English…A language which they can connect their identity to, one capable of communicating the realities and values true to themselves” (77). This is something that Mexican-Americans want nothing more than to be who they really are without having to choose a

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“Hispanics, Latinos, or Americanos: The Evolution of Identity” 1. Comas-Diaz used heading and subheadings to assist in defining terms in her essay because she wanted to show the difference among the terms. This type of structure is appropriate for her essay because separation is necessary to describe the different types of people. 2. Generic Terms for Hispanic/Latino Population • Hispanic - A word created by the United States Bureau of the Census, to describe people of Spanish origin, who lived in the USA during the census in 1970.

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However the word Chicano doesn't have to have a definition. The word Chicano/a is unique because it can only be understood by one who has lived the Mexican American experience. The Chicano identity is flexible, because the word Chicano can mean something very different to everyone. This film shows that the 1960s Chicano movement created an identity for Mexican Americans who were stuck in the middle between Mexican and Anglo culture. In one identifies themselves as Chicano/a they are identifying themselves with the Chicano struggle.

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The Chicano movement derives from early oppression of Mexicans. Robert Rodrigo, author of “The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement” acknowledges that, “At the end of the Mexican American war in 1848, Mexico lost half of its territory to the United States and its Mexican residents became ‘strangers in their own lands.’” In stating this fact, Rodrigo exemplifies the United States’ relations with Mexico, that, ultimately, led to their oppression. Moreover, these early relations led to social injustice for the Mexican community. Carlos Muñoz, author of The Chicano Movement: Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality reports, “As a conquered people, beginning with the Texas-Mexico War of 1836 and the U.S. Mexico War of 1846-48, they have

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In this essay, I will argue how the Chicanos in the U.S. have responded to the lack of inclusion in history, opportunities, to racism and violence because through time we have seen how the Chicanos have been part of the country history and what it came to be, but we have been left out of history. The Chicano helped build what the united states came to be, we are part of its culture since the treaty of Guadalupe was signed, but our path has not been easy, many have been victims of oppression, poor working conditions, lack of civil rights and segregation. I’ll argue not that the Chicano has been a victim but what he or she have done to change the way things were for our ancestors in this obscure past of our history, how we have come together

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Others believe it is just a variation from the word “Mexicano” (cf. Planas 2012). Anyway one regards it, Mexican-Americans used it to embrace their Mexican heritage, connoting it with a sense of pride and defiance against discriminating

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Usually Latinos are treated as a race, but they are made up of different ethnic groups who belong to different countries. The major problem is colorism, which refers

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I use these labels to describe myself because I feel like these words really describe my people and myself. I feel like the words describe my people because not all of them are brown some are white and tan and minority because we are less than other ethnicities. I use these labels to describe myself because I feel like these words really describe my people and myself. Mexican-American because I am born and raised in America and from Mexican descent. Latina

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People should not judge one another and feel so surprised if they see a individual who does not look anything like a Latino and should not criticizes that person. There are wide, diverse experiences in competition with the stereotypical images. So people are constantly judged by these images. Every Latino is unique in their own way and should not have to explain to a person why they do not look like a Latino because may come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Society should realize that not every race will look identical because of the parents genetics which can have a big changes in how the Latino may look.

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societies in the world. These sub-cultures include Whites, African Americans, Asians, Irish, Latino, and European among others. Chicano refers to the identity of Mexican-American descendant in the United State. The term is also used to refer to the Mexicans or Latinos in general. Chicanos are descendants of different races such as Central American Indians, Spanish, Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans.

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When I moved to California eight years ago, I always asked myself “why do people think that because we speak Spanish we are from the same country and we are classified as Latinos?” at the beginning it was so offensive that people would ask me “Are you Latina from Mexico or EL Salvador?” I used to get so upset and tell them “No! I am from Ecuador and I am Hispanic”. Despite, the fact that Latinos and Hispanics speak and uses Spanish as their primary language for communication, this does not mean that we are all from the same country, share the same culture and food, and that the meaning of words are the same.

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I believe the term, hispanic, itself does not define who I am. I define who I am and who I want to become. However, I do come from a Mexican heritage. Coming from a Mexican heritage has influenced and deeply impacted my life. My heritage has taught me a lot.

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