The Prince Of Los Cocuyos Analysis

In my analysis of this novel, The Adventure of Don Chipote or, When Parrots Breast-Feed by Daniel Venegas, I kept in mind that Nicolás Kanellos put great effort into getting this novel circulated in Spanish and in English. Kanellos argues that Spanish-language immigrant novels more accurately present the “evils” of American society such as oppression of the immigrant workers and deconstructs the myth of the American Dream, which permeates in English-language ethnic autobiographies. I believe Kanellos felt so passionately about circulating this particular novel was due to the fact that in Venegas’ novel we see clear representations of the three U.S. Hispanic cultures that Kanellos presents which are the native, the immigrant, and the exile cultures.

The article, Putting Don Carlos Together Again: Treatment of head injury in sixteenth-century written by L.J. Andrew Villalon tells the story behind the treatment of Philip II’s son, Don Carlos. The article begins by explaining the details of the incident that almost caused the prince’s death. The author then goes into a more deeply examination of the treatment itself; he explains the ways in which the physicians took care of the situation and the reaction of the prince. The author talks about the reaction not only from the king but also from the community of Alcala. One of the main topics of the article is how many writers of the time, portrayed the injury of Don Carlos. And how this image persisted so much that it influenced the way in which the community of Alcala and even in modern times we observe the life of Don Carlos.

El Norte is an American independent film about a Guatemalan family. The film, directed by Gregory Nava, was first released at the Telluride Film Festival in 1983. El Norte was the first American independent film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (IMDb.com, Inc., 1990-2012). The film El Norte is about a brother named Enrique and a sister named Rosa. Enrique and Rosa are on a quest to get out of the ethnic and political repressed Guatemala and attempt to escape to the North where they can live the “American dream.” Will Enrique and Rosa live the “American dream” once they escape to the North? Can an illegal immigrant achieve the “American dream?” The answers to

Several of the events that the Garcia girls experienced are common negative aspects of cultural integration. Harassment and discrimination are common forms of cultural conflicts that occur between two opposing cultures. Cultural values that have become forged into a person’s life usually remain with them for long periods of time. In this case, the Garcia girls were unable to completely adjust their perspectives of Dominican values to accommodate to their Americanized living situation. They held on to their traditional Dominican values, which conflicted with American culture. As a result, they experienced harassment and discrimination.

“´Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros was a very straight forward literary work. The reader gets a strong sense of the setting in the first few lines of the story when Cisneros begins to use Spanish words and phrases. Just by reading the Spanish words, images, smells, and feelings come to a readers mind. For example, when I read Spanish words I think of warmth, cinnamon, and chili peppers. Also, based on the title of the text and the first few sentances I deduced that the story would be about an Americanized-Mexican family, and therefore began to think of the conflicts that could result within this family. This made me curious and drew me into the text. In the first paragraph of the story, a classic church scene is described establishing the location of the setting. As the story continues, readers get the impression that the family does not have very much money because of the way the different characters are described and because the narrator says, “We can not spend our allowance on fried cookies or Familia Burron comic books or those clear cone-shaped suckers.” These are all items that do not cost much money and therefore, readers assume that the children receive a very small allowance. Readers get an even stronger sense of the setting of the inside of the church when the author states that the grandmother “disappeared behind the heavy leather outer curtain and the dusty velvet inner”. Readers begin to understand that the narrator views the church as a gloomy, old, stale place,

He feels a great sense of betrayal of his Mexican past. His connection that held him so close to his family is destabilized.

When Rodriguez’s brings up his bilingual childhood, at the time when he had difficulties with English, he tells about how he only spoke Spanish while at home using it as “my private language, my family’s language,” informing the reader that while at home he was able to speak Spanish with an ease feeling that he belonged (Rodriguez 573). However, whenever outside of his house he sensed that “the sounds of the gringo, reminded me that in this so-big world I was a foreigner,” still new to the language, he felt that he did not belong (Rodriguez 593-594). Only after his parents began speaking to him in English and asking him “speak to us en ingles” Rodriguez felt encouraged to learn classroom English, which led to him taking a leap and answering a question in class giving him “the calming assurance, that I belong in public,” feeling part of the classroom when he was understood by the others (Rodriguez 577). He also had thoughts like “I finally came to accept what had been technically true since my birth:

The particular focus of Rodriguez’s story is that in order to feel like he belonged to the “public society” he had to restrict his individuality. Throughout his story, Rodriguez discussed such topics as assimilation and heritage. He goes into depth about the pros and the cons of being forced to assimilate to the American culture. Growing up Hispanic in America was a struggle for Rodriguez. This was due to the fact that he was a Spanish-speaking boy living in an English-speaking society, and he felt like he was different than the other children. Rodriguez writes, “I was fated to be the ‘problem student’ in class” (Rodriguez 62). This is referring to Rodriguez’s improper knowledge of English. It made him stand out as the kid that was behind. He wanted to find the balance between the public and private face. He believed both were important to develop. As I read this story it changed the way I looked at people who speak different languages, and how it must be hard to fit in with society if you are not all fluent in English.

Every artist's dream is to create something that leaves a lasting impression. The Last Conquistador follows the story of a sculptor who does exactly that. John Houser spent nearly a decade painstakingly crafted a 34-foot tall equestrian statue featuring the infamous Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate y Salazar. Following in the footsteps of his father who assisted in the carving of Mount Rushmore, Houser's fantasy of leaving his mark in one of the largest bronze equestrian statues in the world finally became a reality (Valadez). However, what an artist attempts to express and what message is truly received may not be one and the same. While the Hispanic elite of El Paso praised (and funded) the magnificent piece, the Acoma were horrified by the towering symbol of oppression and genocide looming overhead. This film not only provides a window into the conflict and controversy surrounding Houser's work, but also showcases several aspects of Texas political culture and highlights the dismissive attitude toward Native American culture that is still prevalent today.

My family was going through a really hard time during that time. My father was not able to provide enough money to sustain all nine of us, and me being the only man out of the nine of us, I felted the responsibility to help him out. During that time, one of my uncles was planning to crossed to United States and so I crossed with him”. I followed by asking him how old was he when he immigrated and if his parents supported his decision. He began to count from the year he was born to the year he immigrated, “eighteen” he said, and “no, my parents didn’t not support my decision but I didn’t listen to them”. As the interview kept going I was engaging more and more to know about Jose’s life. I followed and asked him of his expectations of the United States and if he found what he was expecting. He answered my question by telling me that he expected what all immigrants expect of the U.S. He expected a change in his lifestyle and he expected better job opportunities, and the chance to help his family in Mexico. As to if he had found what he expected, he replied, “Si(Yes)”, this because of the freedom and the ability to change a lifestyle that the United States provide to immigrants. Jose also mentioned that he was able to help his family economically. I than asked him if there was anything that made him feel connected to his homeland culture and if so what was it. Jose answer my question by stating that on his arrival to the United States, he

In Okita's poem the narrator says that ''I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs.'' The chopsticks are an utensil commonly associated with Japanese culture and the hotdog is what people typically call 'American' food. The girl is basically saying that she has a stronger connection to America than she does Japan. Cisneros's narrator shares this opinion. In Cisneros's story the girl often refers to her grandmother as 'awful grandmother’. The 'awful grandmother’ is often in the church praying and speaking only Spanish. Hinting to the reader that the grandmother symbolizes the traditional Mexican culture and implying the reader was not fond of her heritage

El Patron needs a new heart and Matt is the only supplier. He wants to believe that the old man loves and would never kill him; nevertheless, he has to face the truth. On page 218 it states, “No matter how treacherous El Patron had been, Matt loved the old man.” Discovering that El Patron only needs Matt for spare parts crushes the boy. He feels that his “accomplishments were a sham. It didn’t matter how intelligent he was” (216). Maria, Matt's childhood friend, tries to help him escape from the clutches of El Patron. While they are trying to figure out a plan she tells him “You’re not a dog. You’re so much, much more” (217). The truth about his purpose only discourages him, but he overcomes it and takes action. Though Matt is still hurt and

Now going back to people not identifying themselves as Hispanic/Latino(a) because they are different they don’t carry the exact same meaning. In the article “Allá en Guatemala” by Lucila, she mentions how religion can influence identity and the importance of its existence. I find these very believable since we go to church we can relate to the fact that we have pride for our culture, language, and religion. Being bilingual can be also a way to feel motivated in over achieving things because for those people can be easier to learn other languages than a person who is monolingual. “The girls’ trips to Mexico also helped them develop a deeper understanding of the difference between the U.S and a developing country” (Lucila). This means that going back to Central America, you start to value more the things you have. Amalia was able to see that perspective in developing countries, but

Dear Henry Guzman, hitting you was the biggest mistake of my life; I write to you now as a frighten soul and a broken man. If you were to give me one more chance I promise not to put anyone above you. Henry I know we are going to live together and we are going to love together and we are going to have so much fun and a little pain but for you its will be worth it. I know we are going to live a life that’s going to make other people die with jealousy wishing they were us. I've always seen that you are a confusing man. You are irrational and impulsive, superstitious and exasperating. You believe in ghosts and angels, and maybe even Santa Claus. You are the most positive, optimistic person I've ever met; and because of you, I've started to see

¿Quién se le ocurrió este concepto debe ser realmente una broma a sí mismos, o simplemente tratando de hacer dinero. No hay una píldora en el mundo que va a agrandar su pene, y hemos probado! ¿Se puede tomar una pastilla para que tus labios o la nariz más grande? ¡POR SUPUESTO QUE NO!