Chantel Mack Dr. Etheridge English 310 7 February 2011 Annotated Bibliography: Americo Paredes Americo Paredes was a Mexican American folklorist, teacher, writer, poet, and musician. He was a seminal Mexican scholar of the 20th century who developed the foundations of modern Mexican American scholarship. He was born on September 3, 1915 in Brownsville, Texas. Paredes studied corridos, folkloric ballads, machismo, and border stereotypes of Mexicans. Known as an ethnic activist he fought against discrimination towards Mexicanos and he wrote many stories dealing with the Mexican culture.
Nowadays in California you often here someone of Latin descent speaking Spanish. Whether, you are at the supermarket or at the mall. Then you will often hear someone reply, “Those Mexicans really need to learn English because they are in our country.” Little do they know that their beloved country signed a treaty allowing Mexicans to speak Spanish in the territories now known as California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and parts of New Mexico and Colorado. How you ask. This and many other rights are preserved for Mexicans in these territories as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed by the United States and Mexico which ended the Mexican-American war.
It’s also celebrated by Americans here in the United States. Here in the United States, the date is observed as a celebration in Mexican pride and heritage. It is to celebrate the freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. The significance of Cinco de Mayo was the battle of Puebla. The Mexicans defeated a better equipped French Army who greatly outnumbered them.
Mexican-American War is a big event in the 19th century, in which the concept of Manifest Destiny was related with war. The Mexican-American War was not only for increased territory, but also a symbol of America's racial misunderstanding. Some White people have the superiority with themselves. [1] They took Mexican people’s land as Manifest Destiny, above all moral and law. Many Americans believe that God give them the power and duty to expand territory, strengthen the United States.
Today’s cholo’s are the evo;ution of an Mexican subculture that sprung in the 1930’s through 1950’s. This report deals with the pachucos and how they came about. Also, it deals with their life style, language, and their peculiar sense of beign. Pachucos are Mexican American teenagers, which ages rounded from thirteen to twenty-two, who belonged to juviniel gang (most of the time) from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. (De Leon) The Pachucos initiated in the southwest.
Slaveholders realized they needed a stronger law and help with enforcement. They would get their wish embedded in the Compromise of 1850. In December 1845, President James Polk added the Republic of Texas to the Union as a slave state. Both the government of Mexico and Northerners who feared a war with Mexico opposed the annexation. The Mexican-American war did follow, but ended up being a huge success for the United States, because The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gained the territories that would become California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
The Piñata In my culture a symbolic image that I have chosen is the “piñata”. It is said that the piñata originated in china, then was adapted in Europe in the 14th century, and consequently for religious purposes came to Mexico City in the 16th century. However in Mesoamerica a similar tradition of the piñata already existed. The Aztecs utilized the piñata to celebrate Huitzilopochtli’s birthday. They celebrated from December 7th to December 26th.
The boundary between Mexico and Texas was undecided, however Mexico said it was the Nueces River and the U.S said it was Rio Grande. At this point it was clear that the United Stated was provoking the Mexican army into fighting. As Polk’s Army entered Mexican territory they were attacked and 16 were killed. (Background Essay) President Polk used this as an excuse to persuade Congress to declare war against Mexico. However, according to Jesus Velasco-Marquez, in the eyes of Mexicans, the American troops were trespassing and therefore the Mexican government was bound to protect their borders.
He thought it was the right time to attack and defeat Santa Anna because the Mexican troops did not expect it. Later when Houston found out where the Mexican troops were, he ordered his men to attack, and the Texans showed little mercy during this battle. Finally when Santa Anna was captured they forced him to sign a treaty recognizing the Republic of Texas after that Santa Anna ordered his army to return to Mexico and that was the end of the Texas Revolution which meant that Texas had finally gained its independence from Mexico. In 1845, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas and Texas became known as the 28th state. Later Texas claimed the eastern part of this new territory which consisted of part of present-day Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming, Utah, and Oklahoma.
After reading the Texas Declaration of Independence and the rebuttal to it, I feel that Texas has presented the more convincing arguments. Texas provides a variety of supportive arguments on why they want to become independent from Mexico. Texas gives many examples of different ways Mexico is trying to take over their land. Texas refers to themselves as “an instrument in the hands of evil rulers.” (117) Texas and Mexico both sworn to support the federal republican constitution of their country, but it no longer had a important existence, due to the Mexican nation forcibly changing the whole nature of their government without giving Texas any consent. Texas argues that the Mexican General Santa Anna made late changes in the government and overturned the constitution that both states originally had agreed upon.