La Entrevista Research Paper

            In addition, having a language barrier does not suit her case. The idea of “not knowing how to speak a language of my home countries is the biggest problem that I have encountered, as have many Latinos” (Raya 121-122). “Pocha” (Raya 122) is used in Mexico to describe those “who were raised on the other side of the border”. More so, “it expresses a deep-rooted antagonism and dislike…to ridicule Mexican Americans” (Raya 122).  Evidently, the failure to speak proper Mexican Spanish fall under the dislike category. Even if a Latino speaks Spanish well, “it can never be good enough” (Raya 122). Consequently, Latinos who “speak Spanish in the U.S.” (Raya 122) have a tendency “of being called “spic” or “wetback”” (Raya 122). Hence, in order to be considered “fully Latina in college, however, I must know Spanish…I must satisfy the equation: Latina [equals] Spanish-speaking” (Raya 122).

She like millions of others have struggled to better their future and economic status by not having any legal status at all. Being minority of the minority they have to face many obstacles and many live in fear of deportation.

In 1996 Delia and her family of five immigrated to the United States. Delia’s uncles had been living in the United States, therefore they provided a lot of support for Delia’s family when they arrived (Feliciano Lec.1/13/16). Upon arrival, Delia and her family shared a two-bedroom apartment with her uncle’s family of five. Right from the start, Delia’s family experienced poverty. Due to their lack of documentation, Delia and her family experienced a negative context of reception from U.S. Government Policy (Feliciano Lec.1/13/16). Being undocumented was a primary factor that shaped Delia’s life in terms of the education she could receive and the occupation she would later

Rocio has dealt with patriarchy in her family, discrimination, and trying to break out of the norms for Mexican American woman. She says despite there being obstacles and expectations to fulfill when being Chicana, you just have to learn to balance both cultures and live the best of both worlds. I feel lucky to be Chicana because I live my life as a proud American with Mexican roots. Rocio grew up listening to Madonna and Vicente Fernandez. Although she was born here, she has not forgotten to speak spanish. She speaks spanish at home to her children. Thats something I think is very important; being able to communicate with your grandmother or older relatives that only speak spanish. Living in the U.S. it’s easy to lose your Mexican roots, especially because a lot of families now days are very “whitewashed”. Embracing both sides is very important. Many Chicanos grow up with parents who speak only english to them, so they completely forget how to speak spanish. After interviewing Rocio, I’ve seen her views on what it is to be a Chicana. I, myself could relate to certain things she was telling me. I’ve experienced some discriminative comments similar to the ones she's gotten. And, I too have a father who isn’t very open minded. It’s not to that extent of her husbands, but I do know what it feels like living with a very machismo type of father. Talking to her made me realize how important it is to embrace both sides. I can see why she thinks

Being a latino in the U.S had been and still is the reason for suffering discrimination against one's aspirations and goals in life. Not only that but as an ESL life was far from being the American Dream most people come to this country looking for. The truth is that for those that had not escape from the category of ESL, prejudice will be a stigma that would follow them through high school and life. From these tumultuous waters I rose. Expectations were low and many assume that I was either stupid or incapable to compete with my classmates. My attitude and determination were the floating devices for my sicking life.

Despite my limited Spanish and her limited English, our conversation continued in Spanish for more than an hour. Jessica, her name I later found out, had lived in Peru her whole life and was on her way to Cusco. With the occasional pause and an intermittent language lesson or two, we covered everything from her career, my interests, her son sitting beside us, and our travel aspirations. It wasn’t until the plane began its descent that we noticed that the once barren landscape was now scattered with houses and woven by roads.

The first question I asked her as, “What was the most difficult challenge she faced being an immigrant in America?” She replied it was difficult because she was alone at first and didn’t really get along with the family she was employed for. It was a struggle because she had to learn a new language and was taught by the family themselves. When she was in Los Angeles she took an actual class to teach her more formal English.

When she was younger she never knew that there were books about Chicanos. She was never told she could succeed being Spanish. Anzaldua says, “For days I walked around in stunned amazement that a Chicano could write and get published.” (Anzaldua 379.) After learning this she really does her research and she finds out that there is poetry, music and movies all about the Spanish heritage. She talked about how she had pure joy whenever she found new poetry she could read, “ it made me have a sense of belonging” (Anzaldua 379.) Growing up every Thursday night, her and her family would pile up in the car with a cooler full of water and bologna and cheese sandwiches and head to the drive in. Thursday nights the drive in consisted of Spanish related movies, some of them were Nosotros los probes and Cuando los hijos se

Being Hispanic also means being able to overcome daily struggles that others would not have to face. I grew with parents that didn’t speak English and couldn’t help me with assignments that I didn’t understand. I remember asking friends how they were able to do a problem that I really struggled with and often times them saying it was their parents that helped them. I have the distinct memory of my two best friends having a tutor for AP Statistics and when I asked my mom if I could have a tutor also, she said that we couldn’t afford it. While my friends were getting help with their homework from professions, I had to sit in my room and figure out how to solve something on my own. I also saw the struggle we faced as

A maquiladora is a manufacturing plant based in Mexico where foreign companies import materials and equipment, on a duty free and tariff free basis, for the purposes of processing, manufacturing, or assembling goods which are then exported to other countries. The idea behind these maquiladoras promises a prosperous Mexican society. On paper, it really does seem like NAFTA is living up to expectations; creation of more jobs and a much less unemployment rate. On the surface, there seems to be nothing wrong with what’s going on in Mexico in terms of employment. Everyone has jobs and everyone is getting paid for these jobs, so what’s the issue? Despite all of this, the degrading and terrible working conditions imposed upon the maquiladora workers

Mirtha Quintanales wrote a letter “I Paid Very Hard for my Immigrant” to Barbara Smith explaining her struggles and feeling of separation. Mirtha appeals to the reader’s emotions by making a clear understanding about racial discrimination. She makes clear statements about Latina lesbians that have experiencing racial inequality. Mirtha states in the letter “Well I have paid very hard for my immigrant title. And I’m still paying for It even though I have learned a lot” (Quintanales 209).

It’s frustrating to see many Mexican women’s work go unnoticed and unappreciated, I say this because I’ve noticed it within my family and friends as well.

However, many Hispanic families were and in some cases, still are viewed as lower-class citizens. According to Barrientos, “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms. It meant being left off the cheerleading squad and receiving a condescending smile from the guidance counselor when you said you planned on becoming a lawyer or a doctor” (561). They are not respected in a lot of communities, they live dirty, and they have bad jobs. These stereotypes are reasons why Barrientos did not want to be called Mexican and never wanted to learn Spanish. If diversity had been celebrated when Barrientos was a child, as it is celebrated and honored now, she would have grown up speaking Spanish and being proud of her heritage.

The expectations for the second generation Mexican American female were high. Their families not only expressed the importance of sticking to their traditions and cultures, but they also relied on their future generations to maintain a good name and reputation for the Mexican immigrant community. The young Mexican American women,

Discrimination, misunderstanding, contempt and pity are the things that my interviewee faces and deals with in her daily life. On Saturday, January 15th 2017, I interviewed my sister Lucia Mendez. We met at a local café near our house. We chatted for a while then we began the interview. I told her to speak to me like if I were a reporter. At first, my sister felt a bit awkward, but as I continued with the questions, she began to opened up and elaborated more on her answers. Although I know my sister, she began sharing things I never knew about her. Her personal story resonated with me. Many questions came to my mind, “Why didn’t they do anything about it?” My perspective about my sister changed after this interview. I got to understand her