Elias Miguel Munoz’s and Omar S. Castaneda’s essays in Muy Macho

Martin Espada also argues that cultural aggression causes diversion amongst communities and that Spanish speakers receive unfair treatments due to suspicion and fear from non-Spanish speaking people. Between the communities of Spanish and Non-Spanish speakers the presence of violence and bullying lingers and affects both of the involved parties. Espada writes about one of his encounters with an

Juan Gonzalez uses Chapter 12: “Speak Spanish, You’re in America!: El Huracán over Language and Culture” of his novel Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America to introduce a truly polarizing argument that has plagued the Latino community in the United States of America. Gonzalez is quick to point out that English is the common language in this country, though he is quicker to note that it should not necessarily be so. This author is so incredibly biased in this chapter that it is nearly impossible to disagree with his opinion without feeling like one is completely shutting out the entire Latino community. However, speaking as a member of this community, perhaps it is this unique insight that allows for not only a contending opinion, but also the framework to make the opinion relevant. Gonzalez makes brash claims with little supporting evidence and relies heavily on argumenta ad passiones to manipulate the reader’s emotions instead of focusing on rationalism and sound judgment. Quite possibly, it was the abundance of this logical fallacy that made it difficult to sympathize with his argument; though, it lays the basis for this chapter analysis.

Language is much more than a method of communication. Permeated within it are traditions, customs, and legacies of one’s culture. The identity of an entire population is in the distinct vocalizations of their native language. Unfortunately, as a wave of immigrants enters the United States at young ages, many face language barriers that pose significant challenges. Language barriers affect a multitude of immigrant populations to different degrees. This, in turn, causes many of them to abandon not only their native tongue but a piece of their ethnic identity, as well. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s personal narrative,“The Language of Silence,” she describes the difficulties she experienced throughout her childhood with a language barrier as a

Lopez, R. A. (2009, April 09). The other side of machismo. Retrieved November 18, 2017, from http://www.latinoopinion.com/category/cultural-traits/machismo/

This paper discusses Machismo among Latino Americans in the modern society and how it shapes the social constructs within which they live. It will discuss how machismo shapes gay men and how they build cultural capital in order to negotiate through life. The paper will also discuss the effects of machismo on marianismo, and how the rules around machismo

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

Social science teaches that a person’s self identity is a reflection of that which other people put on the individual, in other words a person’s behavior steams more from what they see of themselves from someone else’s perspective and less from how they see themselves. In the case of the Mexicans, this concept holds true. From that, which has been studied thus far this semester, Mexicans/ Mexican Americans are good examples of this concept. Their sorted past has resulted in a new kind of Mexican American and perhaps a new kind of Mexican. Certainly the Mexicans American’s experience in this country has brought about some changes from the first generation of Mexicans who were born in this country to those who

Chavez uses the “Latino Threat Narrative” to compare the Hispanics to the “German language threat, the Catholic threat, the Chinese and Japanese language threat, and the southern and eastern European threats.” He suggests that “each was pervasive and defined “truths” about the threat posed by immigrants that, in hindsight, were unjustified or never materialized in the long run of history.” Chavez was trying to explain that the Hispanic would pattern these other threats by upsetting the America people. He states that “… the Latino Threat Narrative is part of a grand tradition of alarmist discourse about immigrants and their perceived negative impacts on society.”

First of all, the setting of this novel contributes to the Rivera family’s overall perception of what it means to be an American. To start this off, the author chooses a small American city where groups of Latino immigrants with their own language and traditions, lived together in the same apartment building. All these immigrants experienced similar problems since they moved from their countries. For example, in the novel after every other chapter the author

Everyone has their own distinctive identity and culture which allow them an unique individual. Identity can be defined as a set of characteristics and beliefs that can be associated with a particular person or a certain group. Culture has a huge influence on one's life because it is a factor help shape one’s identity. In Muy Macho: Latino Men Confront Their Manhood, the book explores the theme cultural identity through Latino men. The theme can be seen in stories such as, “Me Macho, You Jane” where the author Gilb discusses his and others perception of him and his identity and in “The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son” where Espada tries to educate his son about the bigotry around them. Both of these stories contain individuals whose identities are affected stereotypes, culture, and prejudices.

There are different countries and cultures in the world. Sometimes when Americans view other cultures’ values the actual truth becomes distorted. In her article “Americanization is tough on the Macho,” Rose Del Castillo Guilbault examines the concept of macho from both the Hispanics and Americans perspective. The Hispanic view of macho embodies a man described by Guilbault as manly, responsible, hardworking, a patriarch and a person who expresses strength through silence. She describes her father as a man who “handled most menial task with pride.” In a patriarchal society such as Mexico, the man is regarded as the nucleus of the family. The man represents

Richard Rodriguez’s use of irony in his essay “Blaxicans and other Reinvented Americans” supports his main claim that assimilation occurs naturally by exaggerating his ideas to the point that they sound fallacious. In turn, this causes his point to vibrant, stronger and more reasonable. During his interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, a woman asked Rodriguez if he was “in favor” of assimilation. Rodriguez replied, “One doesn’t get up in the morning, as an immigrant child in America and think to oneself,”“How much of an American shall I become today?’... “One doesn’t walk down the street and decide to be 40 percent Mexican and 60 percent American” (Lines 146-148).

During the Mexican-American War the border moved, but the people didn’t. History has shown us that no matter how thick the border might be Latino Americans have a strong connection to their culture and roots; instead of assimilating, Mexicans live between two worlds. The film, Ballad of Gregorio Cortez gave us a perspective of two cultures; “Two cultures- the Anglo and the Mexican- lived side by side in state of tension and fear” . Cortez is running for his life as he heads north, while the Anglo believe that because of his Mexican ethnicity, he would travel south to Mexico. Throughout the film there were cultural tensions and misunderstandings; language plays an important part of someone’s identity, and for many Latino Americans Spanish is their first language. The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez also shows us that language plays an important role, and can cause confusion between two different groups. For example, Anglos refer to a male

One of the most speculative experiences of conquest and dictatorship in the history of Latin America has been the socialist and dictatorial regimes in Chile. Chile has gone through multiple times of dictatorship, lead by the military, and also had lapses of a socialist government. The film “Machuca” by Andres Wood provided an insight of the series of social events in Chile in 1973, ranging from inter personal experiences to political issues and the Chilean nation. “Two dictators, Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet, both brought tremendous suffering upon the Chilean people -- one through his socialist policies and nationalization of

For thousands of years, waves of immigrants continue joining the developed countries in the world, bringing with them the unique cultures, languages, and ideas. Over time, those unique values might be faded away with each generation because of the new culture exposition. The second-generation immigrants experience a cultural conflict between that of their parents and that of host society. Most of them are unable to preserve and empower their origin cultures. Many differences between the first-generation and the second-generation immigrants arise. Through the analysis of the mother in “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” and the Das family in “Interpreter of Maladies”, I would like to demonstrate the differences between the first-generation immigrants, who travel from other countries, and the second-generation immigrants, who were born and raised on the immigrated land. These differences include the purpose of being in the foreign land, the connections to their homelands, society’s view, and the culture differences.