Tuesday, 13 June 2006:

Poetry reader: Donny Leveston

Poem: Martin Espada, “Coca-Cola and Coco Frio,” UA 124

Outline

In Martín Espada’s “Coca-Cola and Coco Frio” his title echoes the idea of the dominant culture and the immigrant/minority cultures, at least, to a certain degree.

I would like for the class to think about the course’s objectives as we examine this outline, and see how we can categorize Espada’s text within the concepts of our course objectives?

I.                    Dominant Culture Ideas

A.    Coca-Cola

1.      Americans associate “Coke” within part of the quotidian.

2.      Identity

B.     Coco Frio

1.      Language→ Spanish→ Home Culture

2.      Foreign→ English→ Acknowledgment

In what other ways might the class relate dominant, and/or immigrant/minority cultural ideas in this poem?

    II.          Espada shifts the idea of the protagonist from affirming his idea of “Americanism” or  assimilation to rediscovery of ethnic identity back to the seemly acceptance of the dominant culture.

                    A.    1^st Generation ancestor confirms conformity and persuades the boy

           1.  “Have a Coke and a smile.”

           2.  Coke Jingles

                    B.     The boy is American, in the sense of birthright.

                                   1.  “Brooklyn’s in tha house”

                                   2.  A sense of longing for the “Old World,” thinking about the coconuts.

In what ways can we reassess the boy’s willingness to drink the coconut milk, and later comparing and contrasting the Islanders’ drinking Coke and singing Coke jingles as oppose to not touching the delightful coconuts?

II.                 Textual challenges to the course’s objective:

1.      Great-aunt ↔ Boy ↔ Role Reversal (Objective 2: Character by Generation)

2.      U.S.A. Born ↔ Nonwhite ↔ (Objective 3: Immigrant, Minority, “New World Immigrant)   

3.      Drink Coke or else? (Objective 2: Assimilation)

Drink for thought: Coca-Cola or Coconut milk...