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Who Is Tanya Barrientos Se Habla Español

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The struggle of not finding an identity in a culture because of a last name such as Barrientos can be a real challenge. Especially if the language associated with the name is as foreign as to someone who does not understand the language the name originates from. In Tanya Barrientos autobiographical memoir “Se Habla Español” the frustration is voiced and expressed through her description of molding into the American Anglo culture. Then coming to terms to accept her Latina culture without speaking her native language. Her incapability to only speak English was the decision of her parents when they came to the United States in 1963. The sole purpose of losing touch with her native tongue for Tanya Barrientos was that her parents believed that by adapting to the American culture their children would have a better chance of being successful. As a result, Barrientos finds herself neglecting her cultural identity. She states “People who called themselves Mexican Americans or Afro Americans were …show more content…

But this created a new dilemma in the barrier in language within her culture. The author states “The Spanish language was supposedly the glue that held the new Latino community together. But in my case it was what kept me apart.” Barrientos, Tanya. "Se Habla Español." The Norton Mix. New York: W.W. Norton &, Comp. 44. Print. So she pursued to learn the language, but still felt not completely accepted by native Spanish speakers. Now not only was she not the proper American but felt frowned upon by her ethnicity. In time Tanya Barrientos learns to accept herself as she is. “Aqui estoy. Spanish-challenged and pura Latina.” Barrientos, Tanya. "Se Habla Español." The Norton Mix. New York: W.W. Norton &, Comp. 45. Print. Such a strong statement that let her audience the minority understand and accept that being different while accepting your heritage is perfectly fine to embrace

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The children had with the ability to speak both Spanish and English, and referred to themselves as ‘Mericans’ because of it. As they desired to enjoy new things, they were pulled back by their heritage. The speaker tried to hold on to her beliefs and withhold her cultural heritage, while remembering where she came from. This causes a cross between Mexican and American, the ‘old world’ and the ‘new

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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.

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This quote explains that the author feels out of place. When Barrientos came to the United States she stopped speaking spanish, partly because her parents wanted her to speak english. One reason she did not want to be classified as Mexican American was that society has negative connotations outsiders. Learning spanish

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