In the reading, “Who Is a Chicano? And What Is It the Chicanos Want?” by Ruben Salazar we learn that during the era of the Chicano Movement, we see how this specific era has been an influence on ethnic labels and identity of the Chicanos. To begin with during this era a lot of people didn’t know what Chicano meant or who a Chicano was. Ruben Salazar mentions, “A Chicano is a Mexican-American with a non-Anglo image of himself” which means that they pertain and identify to belong to this group because they are nothing like the Anglos, the Anglos where the White Americans (Salazar, 1970).
During the Chicano Nationalist Movement, a well-known speaker, Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales, delivered a speech titled Chicano Nationalism: Victory for La Raza. In this speech, Rodolfo Gonzales tries to unify the Latin American people within the United States by using the idea of a family and to create a new political organization for the Chicano people. This speech was a cumulation of various ideas which stemmed from his own life, the experiences of the Chicano people, and the Chicano Nationalist Movement in general. Each of these factors contributed to the context of the speech and how the ideas within the speech are presented by Rodolfo Gonzales. Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales was born to Federico and Indalesia Gonzales, two Mexican immigrants, on June 18, 1928.
Inequality did not just occur in the everyday life of a Mexican-American, there were also signs of inequality in the educational system. This is explained in “Occupied America A History of Chicanos” by Rodolfo F. Acuña. The fact that the Anglo-Americans had stereotypical views such as them being “dirty, shiftless, lazy, irresponsible, unambitious, thriftless, fatalistic, [and] selfish…” (Acuña 186). This made it extremely hard for them to progress since they would always be seen as a nobody.
In the first section, the author provides an educational synopsis of the history and colonization in the Americas. Because of the framework being talked about, Gonzalez congregated a plethora of sources that were well researched in order to display an easy enough to understand explanation of these times. The key strength of section one, “roots,” is the way Gonzalez justifies the different societies that exist in the United States and Latin America today. With this, his notion is that the historical experiences of Latino colonization have resulted in the different societies that exist today in our present-day culture. For section two, “branches,” the main strength is the interviews Gonzalez conducted with the many immigrants, which gives the reader descriptions that help identify each of the different Latino groups.
Chicana/o was positioned between indigenism and indigeneity because it emerged from various forms of creativity and political face during the Chicano movement. In addition, it was established following redeployment of different tools from the initiative of the previous indigenism but having different goals and motives as well as the outcome (Rios, 2013). During the late stages of artistic development, pictorial presentations of the indigeneity have been openly embraced by Mexico. It has been widely used as a means of declaring the voice of independence.
Johnson concludes his introduction by letting his readers know that the book will tell a story of both Mexico and the United States histories and of the journey of becoming an American. This book is broken down into eight chapters, each chapter discusses main points that in the end lead to legacies and citizenship into America. Johnson gives a good insight as to what it took for Mexicans to become citizens of America. Throughout the book the author describes different battles, killings, and tragic stories.
Annotated Bibliography for The Chicano Movement The Chicano movement helped improve the lives of all Chicano and Mexican generations in the United states in the way of helping end educational discrimination, Better Job pay, and having basic human rights. I hope to show the positive outcomes of the Chicano Movement and how the lives of Mexican-Americans today were changed. Chicano [chi-kah-noh, -kan-oh] (in North America) a person of Mexican origin or descent.
In high school I was able to choose an elective that had great appeal to me- Chicano Studies. This was a new course at my high school, it was providential for me that the course became available because of the large impact it had on my life. In this course we studied, the history of Mexico and its influence on current culture, past civil rights leaders, and the topic that struck me the most, current events. Our teacher, Mr. Pisano, expressed his alacrity to teach the course to the administration at our high school, and with appeal he was able to teach one section of the course.
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
From Mexican heroes like Pancho Villa, to vintage lowriders, an eyesore to Anglos who are unaware of the complexity of Chicanx culture. Chicanxs are not confined to society’s preconceived notions that define what it means to be a Mexican-American. Chicanx art is separate from Anglo art, unneeded for the white gaze; it is experiences, spirituality, history, love, and expression of self. The Chicano Movement of the 1960s was the response to the oppression and discrimination of Mexican-Americans in the United States. The movement fueled an emergence of Chicanx art that countered dominant narratives perpetuated by society.
Injustice and inequality often ignite the sparks of social and political movements. The Chicano (Mexican-American) and Puerto Rican movements of the 1900s provide such examples. Latinos are often considered a homogeneous and involved political subsection or as Beltrán describes a ‘sleeping giant.’ The metaphor describes a sleeping giant who contains much political control through its sheer size but does little with its power. Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans have historically proven this metaphor wrong and mobilized in great numbers to affect real change within their respective communities.
Civil Rights Movements of 1960’s and the 1970’s were a stepping-stone to what these movements are today. The Chicano Movement, which is also known as the Brown Power movement, was created to support Mexican Americans mainly in the 1960s that pushed for restoration of land grants, farm workers rights, enhanced education, and voting and political rights. In 1962, Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. This Association pushed for better pay and working conditions.
We’re constantly being influences by our surrounding. Usually, our parent’s cultural background plays a significant part in shaping who we are. On the other hand, co-cultures also promote their own set of values which could easily shape our ideas about certain matters as well. These components are a part of how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive too. Growing in a Mexican household allowed me to be exposed to more family orientated events that included music, food and dancing.
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.
The study of the history of various ethnic groups, cultures, and religions is one of the most profound ways an individual can grow their understanding of both themselves and the people around them. The study of gender is one aspect of research highlighting many of these groups’ foundational ideologies and what they provide cross-culturally. For example, the study of gender within Chicano/a/x may provide a researcher with a plethora of historical concepts and ideas that can bolster the understanding of the Chicano/a/x people as well as provide the researcher with new beliefs to inherit. In my personal experience from Chincano/a/x studies, I developed a greater understanding of the group’s challenges and acquired new ways to think about how gender
