Latin American identity, something so simple yet so powerful, an idea that has caused numerous countries great political, cultural, and economical problems. Something that has been lost at times and forced back into play, an ongoing dream that has taken its toll on an entire continent. In Calle 13’s song “Latinoamerica”, the idea of Latin American identity is portrayed through the thoughts of an actual Latin American. In this piece, Calle 13 brings up numerous issues occurring in todays Latin America. It is a manifest against great economic instability in Latin America, ongoing political issues, and what true Latin American identity means. Calle 13 brings these points up with great precision, for example “Soy una fábrica de humo, mano de obra …show more content…
campesina para tu consumo.” directly points out the increasing problem with foreign reign over the Latin American economy and how the only ones gaining from this are foreign investors. The musical duo also directly point out how truly proud Latin American’s are of their motherland and how foreign belief that Latin America is “Americas backyard” is completely wrong in the following verse: “Soy lo que sostiene mi bandera, la espina dorsal del planeta es mi cordillera. Soy lo que me enseñó mi padre, el que no quiere a su patria no quiere a su madre.” Their cause for this piece is to bring notice to the problems occurring in Latin America and show how its people are proud and working hard to surpass all of these problems brought on them. It is a wake up call to those who believed that Latin America was a sad place where all that exist is monetary investments. Throughout this course we have discussed major events in Latin American history. Because Latin American history is so vast we have been forced to stick to specific events, we will focus on: A liberal elite man during the Latin American export boom, Foreign consumers of Bananas, and the world renown cuban politician Jose Marti. In fact, these three completely different figures all tie into Latin American Identity and what it signifies to completely different characters. Each of these characters would have different view points on Calle 13’s “Latinoamerica.” A liberal elite man during the export boom would believe that the economy is doing well because he is a liberal, he believes that exportation is a good towards a free market. He wouldn’t see is as a negative that foreigners are exploiting Latin America. He would believe that it is a good thing that Latin Americans are working on the goods for foreigners.
“Liberals believed in free markets and where made up of many industry leaders.” (Class Discussion). A foreign consumer of banana’s on the other hand wouldn’t agree with this theory of Latin American superiority and patriotism. This character would believe it is a good thing that foreign countries are exploiting Latin America because he is purchasing the product. “Without these companies, we wouldn't have bananas.” (Class Discussion) These consumers believe that there is no harm being done and possibly it is actually good thats being done to the Latin American economy. Distinctively from these characters listed above, Jose Marti would one hundred percent agree with Calle 13’s “latinoamerica.” In Jose Marti’s “Our America” he explains how Latin Americans must not show weakness but patriotism, that they should be proud to be Latinos, and that hard work is the only way to move forward. In “Our America” Jose Marti states: “Those without faith in their country are seven-month weaklings. Because they have not courage, they deny it to the others.” This is a direct attack to those who lack patriotism and are not proud to be Latin American, he states that they are the weak link. This idea directly correlates to what Calle 13 portrays in
“latinoamerica.”
In a story of identity and empowerment, Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem “Borderbus” revolves around two Honduran women grappling with their fate regarding a detention center in the United States after crawling up the spine of Mexico from Honduras. While one grapples with their survival, fixated on the notion that their identities are the ultimate determinant for their future, the other remains fixated on maintaining their humanity by insisting instead of coming from nothingness they are everything. Herrera’s poem consists entirely of the dialogue between the two women, utilizing diction and imagery to emphasize one’s sense of isolation and empowerment in the face of adversity and what it takes to survive in America.
In Sueños Americanos: Barrio Youth Negotiating Social and Cultural Identities, Julio Cammarota studies Latina/o youth who live in El Pueblo, and talks about how Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant law, is affecting Latina/o youth in California (Cammarota, 2008, p. 3). In this book review, I will write about the two main points the author is trying to get across. The two main points I will be writing about are how Proposition 187 is affecting the Latina/o community, and about how Latina/o youth are copping in the El Pueblo barrio. Afterward I write about the two main points the author is trying to get across, I will write a brief description of the author and write about the author’s strengths and weaknesses.
Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall
Harvest of the Empire is a valuable tool to gaining a better understanding of Latinos. This book helps people understand how varied Latino’s in the United States are. The author also helped give insight as to how Americans reacts to differences within itself. It does this by giving a description of the struggles that every Latino immigrant faced entering the United States. These points of emphasis of the book were explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated racism and economic exploitation, and paved the way for all-consuming, cultural wars in the centuries to come.
Have you ever disobeyed your families culture? Or ever wanted to forget about something in your past culture? It’s not always easy, to follow traditions, sometimes you want to create or change your lifestyle.In the poem ‘’El Olvido’’ by Judith Ortiz Cofer and ‘’Life In The Age Of The Mimis’’ by Domingo Martinez. The authors of these texts indicate the idea that trying to hide your cultures identity is defiance against your heritage.
Mexican Lives is a rare piece of literature that accounts for the human struggle of an underdeveloped nation, which is kept impoverished in order to create wealth for that of another nation, the United States. The reader is shown that the act of globalization and inclusion in the world’s economies, more directly the United States, is not always beneficial to all parties involved. The data and interviews, which Hellman has put forth for her readers, contain some aspect of negativity that has impacted their lives by their nation’s choice to intertwine their economy with that of the United States. Therefore it can only be concluded that the entering into world markets, that of Mexico into the United States, does not always bring on positive outcomes. Thus, one sees that Mexico has become this wasteland of economic excrement; as a result it has become inherently reliant on the United States.
Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. 1998. De Colores Means all of us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. U.S.: South End Press.
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
It, however, was a sales pitch to continue Latin America’s subordinate position in the global market. As a result, much of Latin America, from the late 1980 through the early 1990s, transitioned into this form of “democracy”. Consequently, Latin America suffered and still suffers today from underdevelopment, high levels of socioeconomic inequality, and immigration. Globalization of capital, off-shore production, and new technologies have created structural barriers and have led to economic and social inequalities among the Latino communities in the U.S. Politically, the program changes the control of the political system to less direct coercive rule. Economically, it eliminated state intervention in the economy; this allowed the adjusting of local economies to serve the global economy instead of their national economy.
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Latinos who were raised in the United States of America have a dual identity. They were influenced by both their parents' ancestry and culture in addition to the American culture in which they live. Growing up in between two very different cultures creates a great problem, because they cannot identify completely with either culture and are also caught between the Spanish and English languages. Further more they struggle to connect with their roots. The duality in Latino identity and their search for their own personal identity is strongly represented in their writing. The following is a quote that expresses this idea in the words of Lucha Corpi, a Latina writer: "We Chicanos are like the abandoned children of divorced cultures. We are forever longing to be loved by an absent neglectful parent - Mexico - and also to be truly accepted by the other parent - the United States. We want bicultural harmony. We need it to survive. We struggle to achieve it. That struggle keeps us alive" ( Griwold ).
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Pablo Neruda is from Chile and gives a voice to Latin America in his poetry (Bleiker 1129). “The United Fruit Co.,” the poem by Pablo Neruda that will be analyzed in this essay, is enriched with symbolism, metaphors, and allusions. These allusions have great emphasis to the Christian religion, but some allusions are used to evoke negative emotions towards the United States (Fernandez 1; Hawkins 42). Personification and imagery along with onomatopoeia and metonymy are also found in “The United Fruit Co.” Neruda’s use of these literary devices makes his messages of imperialism, Marxism, and consumerism understandable (Fernandez 4). In this essay each of these literary devices with its proper meaning will be further analyzed in the hope of achieving a more complex understanding of Neruda’s message.