Tanya Maria Barrientos published “Se Habla Espanol” in the bilingual magazine Latina, for Latinx people who feel distant from Latinx culture to know they are not alone and they still have a place in their community. Culture was created for those with similar experiences and practices to share amongst each other. It provides a label and a community for those who feel alone, but it has also been used to exclude those who do not fit in. Societal expectations and stereotypes often play a major role in the exclusivity of culture. Barrientos did not grow up speaking Spanish. Her parents welcomed the American Melting Pot and encouraged their children to adhere to American culture. Barrientos says that during this time people were expected to give …show more content…
Barrientos says, “I liked being the brown girl who defied expectations” (716). She noticed how other Latinx people were treated, and she was happy to avoid that treatment. Barrientos mentions that she never felt attached to her culture, in fact she even avoided and stereotyped other Latinx people. Barrientos says that she does not fit in with the rest of the Latinx community because she does not speak Spanish. Instead of melting all cultures into one, now people bring their cultures and stitch them into the quilt of America. Where Barrientos once looked down on Spanish-speaking people, she now wishes she could be like them. Barrientos says she is “... Guatemalan by birth but pura gringa by circumstance” (715) and is considered an outsider to the Latinx community. Barrientos calls herself a pure foreigner because she is completely new to Latinx culture. It is as if she is not part of the Latinx community at all. Barrientos points out that even when trying to be inclusive, culture has its exclusions. Those, like Barrientos, who are part of the Latinx community but do not meet all of the requirements feel
“Se habla Espanol” wrote by Tanya Maria Barrientos. She is growing up in Texas, but she was born in Guatemala. That causes she cannot speak Spanish like Latina. In the article, she talked about what the feeling as a Lantana without the ability to speak Spanish so well. Her parents give her a few of knowledge about speaking Spanish. Because, she grew up in a special era, which Mexican Americans were considered dangerous radical. Nowadays, this theory is politically incorrect. The author wants to find
is home to a unique vibrant culture that is masked by negative stereotypes painted by biased news coverage. Tanya Barrientos’ “Se Habla Espanol” and Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Border Patrol State” highlight the everyday difficulties of combating American prejudice and bigotry as a Latin American living in the Southwestern United States. Tanya Barrientos’ short story “Se Habla Espanol” is about Shannon, a Guatemalan-born immigrant who hopes to strengthen her sense of cultural identity
In Tanya Maria Barrientos’ article “Se Habla Espanol” and in Amy Tan’s article “Mother Tongue” both authors address language and culture, but they differ on the societal norms for their time period. In Barrientos’ article she talks about the struggles of fitting into an ever evolving Anglo-American society as a Latino that does not speak her native language, where she finds herself seeking to mask her cultural background for the world’s acceptance only to later realize that she should embrace her
“Se Habla Español,” is written by a Latin author, Tanya Barrientos; and Amy Tan, a Chinese author, wrote “Mother Tongue”. In both literate narratives the authors write about their experiences with language and how it impacted their lives. In This essay we will be discussing the similarities as well as the differences in the stories and the authors of “Se Habla Español” and “Mother Tongue”. We will discuss how both authors use a play on words in their titles, how language has impacted their lives
apart of a civilization or it can make you feel isolated if you don't speak it the proper way. In the article, Se Habla Español, by Tanya Maria Barrientos, Barrientos talks about how growing up Hispanic and not being able to speak her native language (Spanish) was very challenging. Barrientos came to America from Guatemala in the year of 1963 at the age of three. Since then, Barrientos wasn't able to speak her language due to her parents assimilating into the American culture. Back then, America
“Se Habla Espanol” by Tanya Barrientos goes into the life of a young girl who was born in Guatemala but by the age of three her family moved to America. She was raised in the U.S. all of her life, strictly speaking english only. Growing up was different and had it’s own unique challenges with others assumptions of her being bilingual. Barrientos wrote this is short story signify the importance of your roots and where you came from. Her view shifted from not wanting anything to be with her spanish