Like America, Mexico is a cultural melting pot. With many different communities and people groups, this Latin American country is full of life. In the documentary Jamaica and Tamarindo, we hear many different stories from individuals who share the same culture and the same judgments as locals. Each person focuses on how different their lives are because of the looks and comments they receive based on the color of their skin. Afro-Mexicans face daily discrimination because of how Mexico has culturally constructed race. First, looking at race in Mexico as a social construct requires us to dig into the history of Mexico and colonialism. Mexico was a part of the Spanish empire, which heavily influenced the culture of the Latin American country. The country was also involved in the …show more content…
"More money is more important than skin color." Next, looking at the timestamp 7:41 in the film, a woman, Seynabou, is seen walking through a market with a child on her hip as she gets catcalled by a man off-screen. It then cuts to Seynabou in her home talking about the hardships of being an Afro-Mexican woman. Despite having a distinct understanding of culture, Mexicans did not welcome the combination with African culture, which appeared to be a recurring pattern despite their role in its introduction. Most Black Mexicans are still treated as lesser citizens than non-Black Mexicans. Throughout the film, we see many different aspects of African culture that have been diluted to fit Mexican norms. At 15:53 the tap dancing that is shown is how many Afro-Mexicans can hear the beat of an African drum that has been banned in their country. The quote, "-the fact is that race continues to determine one’s access to economic opportunities, health care, quality education, and environmental conditions" (Lesson 2.4 Lecture), emphasizes the impact of racial discrimination on various aspects of
By showing the historical struggle of Mexican immigrants to be equal members of American society, portraying the humble and unique characteristics of Fernando Valenzuela, and by emphasizing his incredible rise to fame, the film Fernando Nation introduces a new type of American dream. Fernando Valenzuela became the embodiment of the Mexican-American dream to many people. By understanding his story we can understand the hopes and dreams of many Mexican immigrants in America today.
Traditionally history of the Americas and American population has been taught in a direction heading west from Europe to the California frontier. In Recovering History, Constructing Race, Martha Mencahca locates the origins of the history of the Americas in a floral pattern where migration from Asia, Europe, and Africa both voluntary and forced converge magnetically in Mexico then spreads out again to the north and northeast. By creating this patters she complicates the idea of race, history, and nationality. The term Mexican, which today refers to a specific nationality in Central America, is instead used as a shared historic and cultural identity of a people who spread from Mexico across the southwest United States. To create this shared identity Menchaca carefully constructs the Mexican race from prehistoric records to current battles for Civil Rights. What emerges is a story in which Anglo-Americans become the illegal immigrants crossing the border into Texas and mestizo Mexicans can earn an upgrade in class distinction through heroic military acts. In short what emerges is a sometimes upside down always creative reinvention of history and the creation of the Mexican "race (?)".
“Complexion” by Richard Rodriguez is a story I don’t feel I can connect and identify with because even though I am a Mexican American, I have never gone through his painful circumstances. This is the story of a Mexican American in United States who went through countless racism, insults, and disappointments. He encountered moments of inferiority because of his ethnic group and color skin. He was a person that not only was offended in public, but also he received criticism from his mother. There is a quote from his mother that says, “You know how important looks are in this country. With los gringos looks are all that they judge on. But you! Look at you! You’re so careless!” (Line15-19) By these words I can mention that humiliation and judgment
10. Richmond, Douglas. “The Legacy of African Slavery in Colonial Mexico, 1519-1810.” Journal of Popular Culture 35, no. 2 (2001): 1-17.
Latinos beyond Reel documentary film presented how US news and entertainment media portray Latinos. Latino American is an ethnic minority group of whom origin was from Latin America or Iberian Peninsula. Latino American is the fastest growing population in the United States. However, media has had negative effects for the Latino community. News media and entertainment had strongly influenced the perception of non-Latino about Latinos. These media portrayal of Latinos had implications for real world perceptions of Latinos.
In America today, there is a large and diverse African-American population. Within this population, there are several ethnic groups. The other ethnic group similar to Afro-Americans is Dominicans. Not only are they both minorities, but they also look similar as well. Both Dominicans and Afro-Americans are originally from Africa, but their slave masters separated them into two different cultures. African-Americans was African slaves of Americans, and Dominicans were African slaves of the Spanish. Hevesi of the New York Times says, "Dominican and Afro-Americans culture was formed from one ethnicity, Africans" (Hevesi 86). As a person of these two ethnic groups, I have two perceptions of my dual ethnicity. Among Afro-Americans’ and Dominicans’ culture, language, history and values, there are large differences, but there are also several similarities. I will compare and contrast these two ethnic groups which are within me.
Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. 1998. De Colores Means all of us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. U.S.: South End Press.
Mexican American struggles in the United States date back to the Spanish discovery of the New World in 1492. For over five hundred years, Mexicans have endured social injustices and inequalities at the hands of their superiors. The mistreatment of the native people of this land is constantly overlooked for "…the main goals shaping Spanish colonial policy were to maintain and expand political control and to convert Indians to Christianity." (Vargas p.30) With this mindset, the basic nature of relations between the dominant Anglos and the inferior Mexicans was that of suppression, rejection, ignorance and separation as opposed to establishment of ideals that would foster cultural relations and produce the true definition of a "melting pot" society.
Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced because of her cultural background. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. By forcing them to speak English and attempting to get rid of their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that arises from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States,
Being so naïve about the country I came from being influenced by the way other people look at Mexico made me ashamed of who I was. Even taking it as far as dreading the color of my skin and despising the blood that ran through my veins. Not knowing of course that blood and the way I am and look is what ties me to my ancestors and my future family. Now, having the ability to block out the unnecessary opinions of outsiders and finally having the courage to love myself and my roots; I’m able to fill my own head with information. Learning from how people in Mexico treated the land like a part a part of themselves, I decided that I’m as important as the seasonal fruits, as intricate as el mole, sweet life the pineapple, and as bright and persuading as the sunflower. For the first time everything I see and am is as beautiful as it should be.
The question of personal identity is very intuitive, yet very difficult to define. Essentially, what makes you, you? John Locke was one philosopher who attempted to answer this question. He proposed a psychological theory to define personal identity. His theory does have some merit, but it is not a correct definition of personal identity, since there are some counter-examples that cannot be accounted for. My argument will prove that Locke’s theory of personal identity is false.
The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria, an essay written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, discusses the racial stereotypes Cofer struggles with as a Latin woman who travels across America. Throughout her life, Cofer discusses her interactions with people who falsely misjudge her as a Latin woman. Additionally, Cofer mentions other Hispanic women she has met in her life, who also suffer with racial assumptions. Although several people would disagree with Cofer and claim that she is taking racial remarks too seriously, racial stereotyping is a significant issue that should not be overlooked in our society. People should not base someone’s worth by their outward appearance or their ethnic background.
Crouch, Ned. Mexicans & Americans : Cracking The Cultural Code. NB Publishing, Inc., 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
It has been centuries since slavery ended across Latin America yet racial issues continue to plague these countries. Since manumission, the concept of race has evolved through the meaning societies have given it. Countries have used and continue to use the idea of race as a way to stratify their societies through racial hierarchies. Each country has taken on its own definition of race in terms of blackness, whiteness, and everything in between. These types of labels perpetuate racism and subject People of Color to discrimination, marginalization, and inequalities across society. It is crucial to identify the origins of race and racism, how the term has evolved, and the role race plays in societies across the Latin American countries, especially
The ethnic- Mexican experience has changed over the years as American has progressed through certain period of times, e.g., the modernity and transformation of the southwest in the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor demands and shifting of U.S. immigration policy in the 20th century, and the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Through these events Mexican Americans have established and shaped their culture, in order, to negotiate these precarious social and historical circumstances. Throughout the ethnic Mexicans cultural history in the United States, conflict and contradiction has played a key role in shaping their modalities of life. Beginning in the late 20th century and early 21st century ethnic Mexicans have come under distress from the force of globalization. Globalization has followed the trends of conflict and contradiction forcing ethnic Mexicans to adjust their culture and combat this force. While Mexican Americans are in the struggle against globalization and the impact it has had on their lives, e.g., unemployment more common, wages below the poverty line, globalization has had a larger impact on their motherland having devastating affects unlike anything in history.