Chicano Americans

At my understanding, the term Hispanic is wrongly used when referring to a race. Being Hispanic is, of course, to belong to an ethnic group, but it is much more than that. It is not about the color of your skin or your hair, but about culture, tradition, and manners. All started with the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of South and Central America. From Europe came the adventurous men, full of ambitions and courage. These attributes blended with the strength and energy of African slaves and the Native Americans, and this mixture led to the born of this new culture that we called Hispanic.

Love me or hate me no matter what you may think of me I stand for millions that can't stand for themselves. I am from somewhere you can't imagine and I was brought up in conditions where many would not survive. What your see in front of you is a strong, intelligent, Mexican American also known a Chicano/Chicana. I am seen less than what I really am, and viewed as an immigrant our even in some people's eyes labeled as an outsider. You people label me as Hispanic but I am not, I am a proud Mexican-American “Chicano.” The Chicano Culture base comes from Mexico, slang name also known to be Mexicano. It was used in ancient times to spot each member from the Aztec Indian Tribe. Anyone who was born in Mexico was seen as a Mexicano. Although most people don't know the difference an Chicano isn't a Mexican, he/she is a Mexican-American that was born and current lives in the United States since the early 20th century.

In this paper, I will be summarizing the following chapters: Chapter 3: "A Legacy of Hate: The Conquest of Mexico’s Northwest”; Chapter 4: “Remember the Alamo: The Colonization of Texas”; and Chapter 5: “Freedom in a Cage: The Colonization of New Mexico. All three chapters are from the book, “Occupied America, A History of Chicanos” by Rodolfo F. Acuna. In chapter three, Acuna explains the causes of the war between Mexico and North America. In chapter four, Acuna explains the colonization of Texas and how Mexicans migrated from Mexico to Texas. In chapter five, Acuna explains the colonization of New Mexico and the economic changes that the people had to go through.

During the late sixties and early seventies, a Mexican - American movement was taking place in the United States, The Chicano movement. This movement takes place because of the Mexican American society 's suppression in the country. Indeed, during the years, 1966 to 1981 was a period where the Mexican American society was looking for equality and justice from the Government of the United States. In fact, they will start to organize their own communities, where the Government will accept their new ideas. David Montejano, “a historian and sociologist, and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley,” wrote about that movement that helps the Mexican - American society being part of the United States. One of his books is Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986, where he describes the relation that the Anglo and the Mexican American people have in those years. In the same way, he wrote Quixote’s Soldiers: A local history of the Chicano Movement, 1966 - 1981, where he describes the Chicano movement as a way of helping the Mexican American community. By describing the Chicano Movement and the political changes made in San Antonio, Montejano relates the problems of equality and justice, the organization created at that time, and the consequences of this movement.

The movie also displayed a "Gringo" with Ms. Alice Harper who was an American woman who offered Enrique a job in Chicago that would help him earn his citizenship and make good money. Each of these ethnic groups have a different relationship towards each other Mestizos and Indians view each other as enemies as we saw when Rosita was on the bus and she had the conflict with the Mexican man behind her over a window. Mestizos view the Chicanos in a negative manner because they feel that they should be in better touch with their heritage but the Chicano 's as we saw in the movies gave Mestizos ways of adjusting to American culture as far as employment and even language. The Gringos view the Indians and Mestizos as good hard workers, they are aware of the fact that they need the work so somet8imes they take advantage of them by underpaying them or making them work in unfair conditions. The Mestizo and Indian immigrants depend on the Gringos for work and education opportunities when they first come to America.

To understand Chicanos, it is necessary to comprehend their Mexican roots. The Spanish interrupted the evolution of indigenous lifestyles and fashioned a colonial empire that remade the land, people, and culture. Spanish architecture, religion, language, and other institutions and practices were glorified as Indian culture was degraded, but many changes led to a new Mexican culture. New foods, religious beliefs and practices, social customs and cultural traditions arose and evolved. It also left a socio-psychological heritage in which skin color became associated with feelings of inferiority and superiority, with those who have whiter skin being privileged. Whether a person appears to be white or dark, still is significant among Mexicans as well as Chicanos. Could this possibly

1. Chicano – Is a person that is also known as Mexican American that resides in the United States. The term also refers to a descendant of Mexican heritage. Once referred as Mexicano and then shortened to Chicano.

The Chicano Movement is about negative ethnic stereotypes of Mexicans in mass media and the American consciousness.

The lack of participation Mexican men exhibit in the lives of their children is similar to the views about African American men. African

The Chicano Movement was the Civil Rights Movement for Mexicans that took place in the mid 1960s. Chicano meaning sons and daughters of Mexican immigrants. The Chicano movement had several goals, including rights for field workers, better education for Mexicans and empowerment of Mexicans. The movement was rooted in Los Angeles. In the movement, were different groups to tackle down different goals. The famous activist, Cesar Chavez led one of the groups to fight for field worker rights, which participated in boycotts and protests. Not only did the Chicano Movement fight for rights, but it also raised awareness of Mexican history and discrimination of the race. From the movement was born the activist group La Raza, who fought for better

Chicanos felt that as a nation, the history has had some significant Chicano influence that also needed to be recognized and taught within our school system. They also felt that the institutions that let this country function like law enforcement, government and education, were set up to systematically work against the Chicano. This was their way to identify themselves with the struggle against such entities.

For being the Chicanos means you are the “other.” You are inferior to the dominant discourse by speaking a different language.In the essay,” How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Anzaldua explains how the Chicanos are referred as a marginalized groups because their cultural language is found different and also inferior to the English dominant discourse. As a result, the Chicanos people then felt uncomfortable of speaking their language to other people, as they thought they were making low expectations of them by speaking an unfamiliar language; therefore, they start speaking the English discourse as a neutral language to communicate without feeling embarrassed. However, Anzaldua is against the idea of the Chicanos people by speaking the English

This chapter talks about the deculturalization of Hispanic Americans in education and etc. Anglo-Americans didn’t consider Hispanic/Latino Americans white, more as an inferior race. The Mexican War mark a change in Mexicans. The Mexicans lost half of its territory to the United States/Already losted half of their territory in the war; the ratification of a new treaty came about, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty stated, that Mexicans remaining in their lost territories have the right to become U.S citizens (page 90). The Mexican congress ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848; ceded the United States Mexican territory from Texas to California. Mexican leaders wanted all Mexicans living in ceded territory to be given citizenship

In the Preface of Major Problems in Mexican American History Zaragosa Vargas writes, "Nearly two thirds of Latinos in the United States are of Mexican descent, or Chicanos- a term of self definition that emerged during the 1960's and early 1970s civil rights movement. Chicanos reside mainly in the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. Their history begins in the precolonial Spanish era, and they share a rich mestizo cultural heritage of Spanish, Indian, and African origins. The Chicanos' past is underscored by conquest of the present-day American Southwest first by the Spanish and then by the United States following the Mexican American War" (xv). When one thinks of a Chicano one thinks of the Mayans and Aztecs, the conquests,

Mexican-American history is overwhelmed with rich culture and vast experiences. The struggles and challenges this diverse group of people possessed throughout time to bring about change prove important to the history of the world in many aspects and regards. Whether or not to teach Mexican-American history in classrooms throughout the United States is a hot topic of debate. However, to forget about an entire race and culture of a people is to sweep much larger issues under the rug such as racial divide. It is not only morally wrong to do such a thing, but also impractical to ignore an entire group of people. Doing so leaves room to breed uncomfortable ignorance throughout the population about Mexican-Americans.