Latin Night At The Pawnshop Analysis

Dear, Martin: Even though life gets rough, you still managed to overcome the obstacles and become a successful person. For my next essay, I was assigned to research a poem or passage of poetry. During my search your name caught my attention, Martin Espada. The poem I decided to read was “Latin Night at the Pawnshop.” I enjoy reading any type of work that come from a person with the same race as me. I believe it is easier for me to understand because I have gone or seen some of the struggles that you have faced through.

As I read more about your past background it says that you were “Born in East New York section of Brooklyn” (Salgado). It also says that you attended at the “University of Maryland and dropped out a year after due to your instructor

The tone sounded to be sad and depressing. Which for me is quiet unusual because the tone on Christmas day usually sounds joyful, or excited. You talk about “The apparition of a salsa band” (Espada line one), which o can see that you had an image in your mind of a ghostly figure of the people playing in a salsa band. Not only that, but you can feel yourself hearing them playing salsa music from your past. You go on to say on line two that the band are gleaming. I can definitely see that because when you go to a fiesta (party), you see all the lights flashing at the band and everyone else on the dance floor. With the lights shining and the rapid tempo of the salsa band playing it makes you want to get up and dance, that is how I feel. You go on to say “In the Liberty Loan pawnshop” (Espada line three and four). I believe it is ironic for me because you do not see a salsa band in a pawnshop. The pawnshop is where people go and buy materials that were passed down from a previous owner. Salsa band are usually seen at a fiesta (party) or at a concert. In line four through six you mention five instruments. All of the instruments play an uplifting and rapid tempo. What caught my attention was the “Golden trumpet and Silver trombone” (Espada line four and five). The two colors of the instruments remind of Christmas ornaments that people hang up on the tree during the holiday. I also see that the color of the instruments could also be a piece of treasure for the people that had played them in the band before. It is like a piece of jewelry for them because in the Hispanic culture men tend to wear silver and gold color for jewelry. Usually that symbolized that they were wealthy. In the poem you go on to say “All with price tags dangling like the city morgue ticket” (Espada line seven and eight). When I think of a ticket, I imagine it to be a place where you use tickets to enter to movie