Mauricio Hernandez How does America see me? And how do I see myself? Born in El Salvador, raised by a single mother (father passed away when I was four years of age) and three beautiful sister. I am the eleventh child, yes she had eleven children; eight guys and three girls. Eight out of the eleven (seven guys and one girl) came to this country at a fairly young age around their early twenties and most of them are in their late thirties and early forties with kids, jobs, etc… Anyways I came to this country seven years ago so by default “America sees me” as an immigrant. An immigrant who is trying his best to become successful, an immigrant that’s pursuing the American dream, an immigrant who became naturalized as an American citizen two years
ago but still identifies himself as an immigrant not because he wants to but because that’s what society tells him. America!!!! The mecca of the western world. I’ve been told my whole life by mother that the only reason why people decide to come to this country is because they want to become someone, they want a better lives, a steady income, and most of all they want to accomplish their American dreams, and I am trying my hardest to be that someone, I am trying my best to accomplish my American dream; that’s how I see myself. I am an immigrant to this country, I am the eleventh child, and I am the first one in my family to go to college. My ultimate goal in life is to become so successful that I do not have to introduce myself to people when they see me. That’s my ultimate American dream and I am going after, no one and nothing will stop me.
‘A Fabricated Mexican’ is a novel by Ricky Rivera in which he chronicles his life as he grows from a child farm worker to a Ph.D. candidate. He takes us through his journey in his search for his personal identity. In the book we find that his journey has not been an easy one. This difficult journey is due to many factors, most importantly the people who have surrounded him during this journey.
Mexican Americans have been in this country longer than many groups of people. Although, they have been here longer, whites took thier land from them. Along with taking their land from them, they took all the pride that the Mexicans Americans had. It seemed that way until they started fighting for their rights in the early nineteen hundreds. Treaties were made that gave land rights to them and speeches were made by political leaders deeming this countries actions unjust. However, the treaties were ignored and the speeches were ploys to gain votes. Many Mexican American leaders noticed that their people were mistreated and walked all over by the anglo government.
In addition, Mexicans as well as US citizens will start to demand more accountability from the Mexican government and the Maquiladora industry. They need to be more responsible for their actions. What will the U.S. corporations do when human rights activists and environmentalists start lobbying and protesting on their US sites? Do they want to risk losing their shareholders to this type of negative attention?
In the early 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was rearing its head amongst ethnicities other than African Americans. The mid-60’s saw the flowering of a movement for legal rights among Mexican-Americans, as well as a new militancy challenging the group’s second-class economic status. The aptly named ‘Chicano’ movement had many similarities to what the ‘Black Power’ movement also advocated. It primarily emphasized pride in both the past and present Mexican culture, but unlike the Black Power movement and SDS, it was also closely linked to labor struggles. The movement itself found one of its leaders in César Estrada Chávez, the son of migrant farm works and disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. César Chávez would become the best-known Latino American civil rights activist through his use of aggressive but nonviolent tactics and his public-relations approach to unionism. In 1965, Chávez led a series of nonviolent protests which included marches, fasts and a national boycott of California grapes. The boycott drew national attention to the pitifully low wages and oppressive working conditions forced upon migrant laborers, and in 1969, Chávez addressed a “Letter from Delano” to agricultural employers, defending his own movement’s aims and tactics.
“We all use stereotypes all the time, without knowing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us,” quoted by Annie Murphy Paul, a journalist. Human beings typically have varied mindsets as they grow up with different cultural values as well as social environment. Author Gary Soto’s “Like Mexican” compares his Mexican life with his wife’s Japanese background, while author Deborah Tannen’s “Gender in the Classroom” contrasts the “gender-related styles” of male and female students. From the two perspectives Soto’s and Tannen’s experiences’ give a universal, stereotypical point how different gender tendencies, conversational styles, and cultural background can result in a miscommunication of one’s behavior.
First to start out, we should get some facts straight. A conquistador is basically a Spanish conqueror. Their main goals were to search for gold and other riches from the Caribbean and draw them back to the mainland. The absolute most important conquistador in all of history is Hernan Cortes.
Poems are forms of communication that give an applicable view of the past, present and future events. Reading the poem titled “America”, written by Richard Blanco brought me memories from my childhood in my parent’s house and also what is happening now in my house as a parent. The poem explains how one person doesn’t have all the knowledge about something. It also, describes the daily life struggles I experienced during my childhood, when my parent 's and I moved from our hometown to live in another town becuase of their work and it brings to light the conflict of cultures I and my children are going through since we moved to United State of America .
hardships and or social barriers. It was not uncommon back then as it is not
At the age of two my parents made the long and devastating journey to bring me and my siblings to the United States from Mexico. Wanting a brighter future for us, my parents fought tooth and nail to give us the world they didn’t grow up having. Ever since stepping foot on the U.S soil, going back seemed impossible. The effects of this life-changing move, couldn’t mask the unforeseen disadvantages. Lacking exposure to Mexico’s colorful culture, little to no bonding time with my family from abroad, and the struggle of trying to blend into an environment that was so different, soon began to interfere with my overall identity. Realizing this, my wonderful parents prepared a transformative trip back to my homeland, and back to the past, facing
There is a common consensus among people around the world that the United States of America is the greatest country in the world because it is the land of opportunity, and the land of immigrants. In fact, the United States of America has always been the epicenter for the world 's greatest minds, and where hard work is recognized and rewarded. A place where boys become the future leaders of the world. A place where everyone, regardless of the color of their skin and their religion collaborate to solve the world’s future/current problems. Recently though, many Americans claim that undocumented immigrants steal their jobs, don’t pay any taxes, and still reap the benefits such as free public schooling. However, the author of “My Life as an Undocumented
“ Ironically I faced discrimination from other immigrants rather than Americans themselves”, stated Valentina Luma when she was been interviewed. This quote was the most relatable to my experience of being an immigrant to United States of America compares to hers. Valentina Luma was the age of nine when her and her family immigrated from Dominican Republic to the United States. Luma’s journey to the United States wasn’t arduous physically rather mentally where the process to get accepted took almost a decade, she admits to understand why some immigrants would rather come to America illegally than wait almost a decade to come. Some of the positive
The battle zone has become further entrenched between the protesters and the government in the Capitol of Venezuela, Caracas. With 13 dead and 150 injured tension between Nicolás Maduro and his people is at an all time high (Glusing). In the post Hugo Chavez world not only has Maduro failed to inspire the confidence of his people, but his inability to deal with rising economic woes has only worsened his relationship with his people. Machiavelli in his works The Prince and The Discourses, deals with how a leader should deal, interact, and satisfy his subjects. Thus, Machiavellian lens could be critical to best explain the current state of tension within Venezuela. To do this it is first necessary to explain Machiavelli’s method, second understand his conceptual framework, and third evaluate the situation through his work, before finally addressing limitations.
When my family and I got in the plane that would take us to the U.S., I was very excited. It was as if I had butterflies in my stomach. I was also nervous because I had heard of people that were turned away when they got to America because the government was not letting as many immigrants into the U.S as they had in the past. Therefore, my whole family was a little anxious. Two things could happen when we arrived at the Washington, D.C., airport. We could either come to the United States to chase after “the American dream”, or we could be turned away which meant that we would have to return to our country of origin.
While people immigrating to the United States are often searching for better economic situations or to be reunited with family members, they are instead thrown into a system that has had a history of retaliating against them for searching for a better life. The United States has always had a difficult relationship with immigration, both needing it to promote growth in economic and demographic spheres while also using it as an easy scapegoat for many of the country’s problems. Once within the U.S. borders, immigrants are expected to conform, or assimilate, to the country’s standards and ideals, which also includes adapting to the racialized system that controls much of the politics and day to day life of American citizens. Suddenly, immigrants
I would always do my homework and study for tests. My favorite pastime was reading books. I remember at lunch time during middle school I would always go to the library and read. Even to this day I still read a book every once in a while, if I have time. When I was in elementary school I was that student who would always get the “Perfect Attendance”, “Good Citizenship”, and “Language Arts” awards except the math award. I have always and will always be bad at math. In high school, I got “As” and “Bs”, of course, except in math I would get “Cs”. Living in a household with siblings in the same boat as me meant we were a close knitted family who did most things together. Every night we had dinner together, on Sundays we would all go out to a restaurant and as siblings we are always there for each other. I used to think other families were the same as mine where they would sit down every night and eat dinner together and talk about their day. My father made it known since I was a young girl, he expected me to graduate high school and attend college. Like most immigrants he came from Mexico looking for a better future with hopes and dreams. My parents left their country in order to start a family in a better community with greater opportunities and for us access a better education. As expected, I have graduated from high school and I’m currently attending