Simone Rieck
25 November 2002

The Mexican American Experience: A Literary Journey

Introduction

The American dominant culture has little awareness of the daily trials and tribulations faced by most Mexican Americans.  Similar to members of other minority cultures lives, Mexican Americans (or Chicanos) work each day to support themselves and their families and attempt to find their places in a white dominated society.  Mexican Americans are often considered “the ambivalent minority,” since many were born in states such as Texas and New Mexico, which were originally parts of Mexico.  Despite this fact, the dominant culture often treats its fellow citizens as if they are outsiders or even inferior.  Unfortunately, most of our country’s minorities experience these wretched circumstances everyday.

            Unlike African Americans or Native Americans, there is usually a language barrier where Chicanos are concerned.  Many of the culture’s members were born and raised in the United States, but their parents’ primary language was Spanish.  The parents or grandparents of Mexican Americans may have been Mexican immigrants or simply wish to maintain their roots through language.  In any case, most Mexican American children are expected to learn both English and Spanish.  Even after learning two languages fluently, most Mexican Americans are still discriminated against, whether it is in educational, occupational, or social situations.  They must learn someone else’s history and learn someone else’s language.  The following poem offers an insightful yet humorous insider’s perspective on the educational experiences of many Mexican Americans:

I’m sitting in my history class,

The instructor commences rapping,

I’m in my U.S. History class,

And I’m on the verge of napping.

The Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock.

Tell me more!  Tell me more!

Thirteen colonies were settled.

I’ve heard it all before.

What did he say?

Dare I ask him to reiterate?

Oh why bother

It sounded like he said,

George Washington’s my father.

I’m reluctant to believe it,

I suddenly raise my mano.

If George Washington’s my father,

Why wasn’t he Chicano?

-         Richard Olivas (Romano)

Many successful Mexican American authors, such as Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros, use unfortunate situations from their lives as motivation.  These writers, in turn, inspire many of their voiceless brothers and sisters.  In an interview with the author Ana Castillo, Elsa Saeta expressed, “Writing can dream and invent new possibilities.  It is a utopian space where the long-silenced Other begins to speak heretofore unheard things—where authority is questioned, tradition subverted, privilege challenged” (1).     

Works Cited (1)

Saeta, Elsa.  “A Melus Interview: Ana Castillo.”  MELUS.  22.3 (1997). 22 November 2002.  Academic Search Premier.

Romano-V. Octavio Ignacio & Herminio Rios C..  El Espejo – The Mirror: Selected CHICANO Literature.  Berkeley: Quinto Sol Publications, 1972. 

Interview: The Mexican American Experience

The overall objective of this interview is to gain an understanding of the Mexican American experience.  I hope to accomplish this through questions regarding the interviewee’s heritage, his/her life’s successes and/or hardships, and his/her dreams.  Since this is for an American Minority Literature class, I wish to relate their experiences to those of many successful Mexican American authors and poets. 

1. What is your name?

·        Edgar Bustillos

2. Where were you born?

·        El Paso, Texas

3. Where were your parents born?

·        Both were born in Mexico.

4. If both you and your parents were born in the United States, which members of your family were born in Mexico?

·        N/A

5. Which is your primary language?  (English or Spanish)

·        My first language was Spanish.

6. Which language do you prefer to speak?

·        At the moment English, due to my lack of practice with Spanish while living in Boston.

According to Alicia Sosa, “Hispanic students have not been served particularly well by the educational system” (1).  In effect, the dropout rate for Mexican American students is extremely high. 

7. Did you attend grade school, middle, and/or high school in the United States?

·        I attended grade school in the U.S. in the second grade.  Prior to that, I had gone to school in Mexico City.

If so, were you in general education classrooms or bilingual (or ESL) classrooms?

·        In the second grade, I attended ESL classes, and by the third grade I was placed in general education by my mother.

8. Rate your experiences as a student in the U.S.?  1=very unpleasant; 10=very pleasant

·        I would say a 7 because school was never really challenging, and I managed to pass all my classes with very little effort.

9. How do you feel about being labeled a minority?

·        I never thought of myself as a minority.  I would never use my ethnicity as leverage over others.

10. Have you ever been discriminated against based on your ethnicity?

·        I am not sure if it was based on my ethnicity or just appearance, or the fact that I was dating out of my race.

If so, describe the circumstances.

·        It was in Galveston in a shop on The Strand.  The security guard followed me through the store and stood four steps away from me the entire time.  I made his behavior clear to him before walking out of the store.

11. Briefly describe your plans or hope for the future.  (Include family, occupational, artistic, etc.)

·        I came from a very humble background living in a garage apartment while my single mother worked on her education.  I saw how she managed to get a master’s degree while being a single parent and starting out without even a high school degree.  My mother is an example to me that I should not set any limits for my future.  My plans for the future include taking care of my family and helping minorities adapt in the United States.  With my spare time, I would like to focus on painting and going on bike trips.

Many successful Mexican American authors/poets are inspired by the hardships they endured as minorities in the United States.  They also use their writing as a voice for those who feel they are voiceless.  Thus, many of the voiceless men, women, and children look to literature for strength and hope.

12. How have your experiences as a Mexican American minority influenced your life now and/or your plans for the future?

·        I find myself watching out for illegal Mexican workers everywhere I go.  I’ve had to work labor jobs and realize the strains it can take on you.  In my neighborhood, the workers building the houses have all gotten to know me from talking to me.  I acknowledge that without them affordable housing would not exist.  I see the long hours they work and whenever I get a chance, I try to help them out with drinks or food.  My plans for the future are to help people as a teacher and in general.

13. List a few of your favorite Mexican American authors/poets.  Please include which or their works you like best and what you like about them.

·        I was first introduced to Rudolfo Anaya at the age of eight with the book, Bless Me, Ultima.  It is the story of Antonio, a Mexican American child who is embarrassed by his heritage and yet discovers the beauty of his life.  In many ways I can relate to the character and feel that many more Mexican Americans can as well.  I feel a large number of Mexican Americans lack pride on their heritage, do to negative perspective society has placed upon them.  Other writers, like Richard Rodriguez (famous for writing Hunger of Memory) encourages Mexican Americans to not identify themselves in statistics, but rather just check the “other” box; he strives for a universal race.  While his point may seem valid to me for some, it does little to help those who cannot be identified.  I feel society views Latin people as the invisible race.  We struggle to have prime time family television shows.  All the Latin role models resemble Europeans not the ethic majority.  Literature remains one of the only places to find honesty on the true Mexican American experience.

Personally, I know Edgar as a talented artist and a determined student.  He

draws inspiration from many who share his experiences as a Mexican-American, but also seems to strive to be an example for those who are feeling insecure or have a feeling of hopelessness.  I believe that, in a few years, we will be seeing great things from Edgar Bustillos.   

Bustillos, Edgar.  Online Interview.  21 November 2002.

Sosa, Alicia.  “Making Education Work for Mexican-Americans: Promising Community Practices.”  ERIC Digest.  (1990).  22 November 2002.

            <http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed319580.html>.

Rudolfo Anaya

            Rudolfo Anaya was born October 30, 1937, to Rafaelita Mares and Martin Anaya in Pastura, New Mexico, but he grew up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.  He was the fifth of seven children.  Garcia writes, “His mother’s lineage comes from Llano (farmers), and his father is a vaquero (cowboy)” (1).  Rudolfo was raised Catholic and was spoken Spanish to at home, making him bilingual.  He graduated from a high school in the Barelas barrio of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1956, and he later received his degree and accepted a teaching position in a small town.

            Rudolfo Anaya’s first novel, Bless Me, Ultima, took seven years to write.  He was awarded the esteemed Premio Quinto Sol Award in 1972.  Heart of Aztlan (his second novel) “explores the relationship of communal youths entering adulthood and moving to the cities” (Garcia 1).  Anaya began working on his third novel, Tortuga, while he serving on the board of the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines and working as a professor in the English department of the University of New Mexico.  This novel is about “individuals who are in total despair and reach back to look at their faith to survive” (Garcia 1).  Rudolfo looked to his own trying adolescence for inspiration.

            Rudolfo has written several novels, journals, commentaries, and theses.  He was awarded the PEN Center West Award for Fiction for his novel Alburquerque.  His works continue to inspire millions with his whimsical wisdom and masterful dream sequences.  Anaya was a participant of “a movement called Aztlan; […] a mythical Aztec place” (Monkey 1).  Unlike the dominate white culture, who could inevitably trace their history back to the first thirteen colonies, Mexican Americans were not sure of their origins.  So, they created Aztlan, as an origin, an inspiration, and as comfort.  Most agree that the most captivating factor of Rudolfo Anaya’s writing is its realistic feel.  Even members of the dominate white culture can feel an alarming sense of the Mexican American experience after reading one of his novels, such as Bless Me, Ultima.  According to Rolando Hinojosa, “This is not magic realism but is something similar.  Anaya’s direct style bears a resemblance to that of the contemporary American novel, but his treatment of his characters and their background – the mixture of fantasy and realism – is strictly Mexican-American” (17). 

Bless Me, Ultima

            Bless Me, Ultima was Rudolfo Anaya’s first novel.  It was one of the first Chicano novels published during a movement of protestation against the discrimination that Mexican Americans experienced.  The novel addresses many issues, including the decision of assimilating versus maintaining traditions.  For example, the main character (Anthony) is often referred to as Tony.  However, readers must notice the frequent use of Spanish words.  Meaning or context is always provided for the Spanish words, but nevertheless, the mainstream American audience is not Spanish speaking.  “Anaya gave voice to the diversity and richness of Latino/a heritage in this country” (Monkey 1). 

            Similar to most Chicano prose, Bless Me, Ultima “creates a child or adolescent protagonist, narrator, or focus character and examines problems typical to that age; how to get along with society, and how to harmonize one’s interior feelings with the exterior world“ (Lyon 255).  Herminio Rios and Octavio Romano are noted as saying they find special value in Bless Me, Ultima because:

It is from our collective memory that he draws myths such as that of Chuacoatl.  And it is from our collective subconscious that the myth of the Golden Carp arises.  Anaya takes us from the subconscious to the conscious, from the past to the present.  [I]n so doing, he has helped us to know ourselves. (Sommers 147)   

After receiving insight into the opinions of Mexican Americans, I have ascertained a new interest in Bless Me, Ultima.  I find excitement in the realization that, by reading this novel, I gain the privilege of relishing in the culture and dreams of an entire people.

Works Cited (3)

Garcia, Rosie & Brenda Holmes.  “Rudolfo Anaya.”  JAN 2000.  Southwestern Literature.  23 November 2002.  <http://web.nmsu.edu/~tomlynch/swlit.anaya.html>.

Hinojosa, Rolando.  “Mexican-American Literature: Toward an Identification.”  The Identification and Analysis of Chicano Literature.  Ypsilanti: Bilingual Press, 1979. 7-18.

Sommers, Joseph.  “Critical Approaches to Chicano Literature.”  The Identification and Analysis of Chicano Literature.  Ypsilanti: Bilingual Press, 1979.  143-152.

Sandra Cisneros

            Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954, and does not consider her childhood “normal.”  She had little time to make lasting friendships, as her Mexican American mother and Mexican father often moved her and her six brothers between Mexico and Chicago.  Cisneros’ “loneliness from not having sisters or friends drove her to reading and burying herself in books” (Mathias 1). Though Cisneros wrote poetry and edited a literary magazine in high school, she claims she “didn’t really start writing until her first creative writing class in college in 1974” (Mathias 1). 

            Sandra Cisneros developed a writing style of her own in college and decided to “write what she knew” (Mathias 2).  She worked teaching high school dropouts and gained an understanding of the hardships faced by many young Latinas.  Sandra Cisneros’ writing has since been based on her experiences as a Mexican American minority.  According to Elisabeth Mermann, “Cisneros’ work makes use of the short story and Mexican-American oral tradition” (2).  Her work “explores issues that are important to her: feminism, love, oppression, and religion” (Mathias 2).  Like most successful minority writers, Cisneros’ creations act as a powerful voice recognizing many who are often considered voiceless.  Her work also shows that “discontinuities in Mexican-American experience motivate experimentation and ground [her] fiction in historical and material reality” (Mermann 2).

            Cisneros’ first book, The House on Mango Street, was well received, and she was considered a “fresh new voice in Chicana literature” (Mathias 3).  Her remarkable talent was further revealed in following books including her collection of poems, My Wicked Ways.  The House on Mango Street was awarded the Before Columbus American Book Award in 1985, and Cisneros received the first of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in 1982, which allowed her to write full time.

            Sandra Cisneros is “nobody’s mother and nobody’s wife” (Tatum 180).  She lives in San Antonio, Texas and is currently at work on a novel.

Inspiration: The House on Mango Street

            Even though The House on Mango Street was Sandra Cisneros’ first book, many consider it to be her best work.  Most of its characters and stories are based upon real-life people and events taken from Cisneros’ own life.  Cisneros incorporates “conflicts directly related to her upbringing, including cultural loyalties, feelings of alienation, and degradation associated with poverty” into her writing (About 2).  The character of Esperanza is multifaceted, allowing readers to determine what kind of person she is.

            Esperanza’s life is filled with shortcomings.  Despite her poverty, shyness, and naiveté, Esperanza is determined to make a life for herself outside of Mango Street and to have “a house of [her] own” (Cisneros 108).  Similar to Cisneros, Esperanza’s dream for a better life does not result in deserting her roots on Mango Street.  She expresses, “They will not know I have gone away to come back.  For the ones I left behind.  For the ones who cannot out” (Cisneros 110).

            The House on Mango Street could serve as inspiration for anyone living in grueling circumstances.  Esperanza’s self-empowerment to overcome obstacles of gender, poverty, and race encourages readers to create their own destinies instead of letting society or circumstances determine their futures.  This was undoubtedly Cisneros’ ultimate motivation in writing this book of poetry and prose.

Works Cited (4)

 “About The House on Mango Street.”  ClassicNotes.  1999.  23 November 2002.             <http://classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/houseonmango/about.html>.

Cisneros, Sandra.  The House on Mango Street.  New York: Vintage Books, 1984.

Mathias, Kelly.  “Voices From the Gap: Sandra Cisneros.”  6 December 1996. 23 November 2002.  <http://voices.cla.umn.edu/authors/SandraCisneros.html>.

Mermann-Jozwiak, Elisabeth.  “Gritos desde la Frontera: Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, And Postmodernism.”  MELUS.  25.2 (2000).  22 November 2002.  Academic Search Premier.

Tatum, Charles M. (Ed.).  New Chicana/Chicano Writing.  Tucson: University of Arizona, 1992.

Mexican Americans feel a pull to live their lives as they desire despite the resistance placed on them by society.  Savin describes:

[T]he conflictual encounter between Mexico and the United States, followed by the political and ideological domination of the latter, did not erase the original artistic and literary representations intrinsic to the Mexican tradition.  Moreover, a new cultural space was unwittingly created in which potential compatibilities and supposedly irreducible differences could be confronted by being brought together.  (2)

Community programs have created an alternative to the alarming dropout rate of Mexican American students.  These programs “help cultivate the aspirations of talented Hispanic students” who are not getting the advanced education necessary to succeed (Sosa 2).  Many communities have had success in incorporating their own heritage into the education of their children.  Consequently, communication skills are improved, allowing the minority students to be more effective in social situations, or even in job interviews. 

 I am left wondering whether I will ever fully comprehend how that type of discrimination feels.  I do, however, find inspiration in novels and works such as Bless Me, Ultima and The House on Mango Street, just as I do in works such as King Lear and Hamlet.  All of the protagonists face life-altering dilemmas.  How will they overcome these dilemmas?  How will they salvage happy lives after these experiences?  They may or may not overcome; they may or may not salvage happy lives.  Readers can learn from their stories, or they can simply heap encouragement from them.  Literature, to me, is a mode of escape or adventure.  I can forget the trials and tribulations I face daily, just for a moment, while I enjoy the words of such talented authors as Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros.

Works Cited (5)

Savin, Ada.  “A Bridge Over the Americas: Mexican American Literature.” Bilingual Review.  20.2 (1995).  22 November 2002.  Academic Search Premier.

Sosa, Alicia.  “Making Education Work for Mexican-Americans: Promising Community Practices.”  ERIC Digest.  (1990).  22 November 2002.             <http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed319580.html>

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