Chicano literature chronicles the lives and experiences of Mexican Americans in the United States, and is used as a cultural education tool to keep the Chicano heritage alive through text. Although there have been many different Chicano authors, most Chicano literature revolves around themes of culture and Mexican history and issues with identity and cultural discrimination. Many Chicano authors have used writing as a vehicle to express themselves and have a sense of representation that they would not normally be entitled to. In Luis Omar Salinas’ poem Aztec Angel, he uses vivid imagery to paint a picture of what his socio-political complaint is all about. Before delving into Aztec Angel, closer examination of Chicano literature will serve as an excellent primer for understanding how Salinas felt when writing the piece.
The three articles included in this unit focus on representations of what can be called ‘Mexicanidad’. The three elements under discussion are used to identify Mexicans in the eye of others (Aztec dance, chili, the aquatic commerce of Xochimilco and Chalco), from a historical perspective and also discussing the way the community –Mexican in particular, and Latino in general- connects to their historical past through iconic symbols like the aforementioned. Garner (2009) explores Aztec dance in the context of its connection to the Sun Dances of United States and focuses her discussion on the contrasting political identity of the dancers. Although the Sun Dance and the Aztec Dance share similar roots and both of them seem to have become more
Argument/Summary on “Cultural Memory and Chicanidad: Detecting History, Past and Present, in Lucha Corpi’s Gloria Damasco Series” Ralph E. Rodriguez in “Cultural Memory and Chicanidad: Detecting History, Past and Present, in Lucha Corpi’s Gloria Damasco Series” examines Lucha Corpi’s series and what they expose about the development of Chicano identity and the spread of Chicano history. An example of the author’s thesis is when he explains that he examining Lucha Corpi because “she investigates the various historical shifts and constructions of Chicanidad since the Chicana/o movement…more systematically than her Chicano counterparts writing in the detective genre” (Rodriguez). Rodriguez further supports his claim with a number of examples from Lucha Corpi’s Gloria Damasco series. First, Rodriguez states, “Throughout the Damasco series, Gloria’s memories challenge traditional understandings of U.S history and shape-shift into her own construction of Chicana/o identity and community” (Rodriguez). Second, Rodriguez says, “Corpi seeks to build a causally linear narrative about the development of the Chicana/o community, a linearity consistent with the epistemology of the detective novel” (Rodriguez).
The cultural iconography of the film lone star cannot be mistaken. It is however the exact type of iconography that Jose Limon speaks of in his essay, a shift of the social relations between Anglos and Mexicans during a specific time frame in the southwest. From a generalist’s perspective, lone star is the story of a man on the search for the answer to a mystery and in the process discovers more of his own personal history. Inside this story however John Sayles seamlessly weaves in little tidbits of others lives into the grand scheme of the story. The most important detail in understanding these tidbits is to understand that almost all of them in some form or another revolve around history, the history of a family, friends, a town, and a relationship.
The book “Que Onda “ by Cynthia Bejarano is a journey into the lives of the youth living on the border and how it has stimulated their cultures, society, and identities. I believe the author intended on allowing the reader to see that Latino youth are different not only in societies eyes but among themselves. Being Latino means being Mexican, Chicano, or a combination of both. Border theory categorizes “Mexican” as coming from the other side of the border (Mexico) and Chicano as being born on this side (U.S.) of the border. Latino youth living on the border fight to find their identity and niche in their new lands.
BACKGROUND It is relevant for the purpose of this study, to give a brief explanation of the historical background of citizen participation and democracy in Mexico, in order to understand the reason why such political system has had difficulties to prosper in the region after all these years of hard efforts. Citizen participation is an essential
The notion of subcultural theory has mainly been used to explain deviance and crime in the past. However, it works well in analyzing certain subculture groups like that of the unique world of breakdancing in the hip hop subculture and its values and norms from the rest of society. This leads into the term of subcultural style that is performed through an individual’s lifestyle choices which is practiced consciously and unconsciously through aspects such as their fashion, their values, norms, beliefs, music, dance and the list goes on. It is an expression of an individual’s identity that is made to reflect, express, and resonate important aspects of who they are, and what they represent (Hebidge 57). This is similar to that of the hip hop subculture that represents a group, history and a type of world that can be seen through its aesthetics, specifically the area of breakdancing.
Despite fundamentally different literary styles, intents and origins, both works reveal postmodern influences adapted to the author’s respective cultures. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Outsider by Albert Camus, explore concepts of social inequity through equivocal narrative techniques, religious paradoxes and meticulously contrived settings. Rendering unconventionality and intentional inconsistency to the plot, both narratives complement the novels’ socially critical themes. Narrated in first person from 27 years in the future, Chronicle of a Death Foretold compiles civilian testimonials, with personal memories and recollections so as to unveil aspects of a murder which fails to demonstrate legitimacy. Part of this failure stems from the discrepancy in individual recounts of the same occurrence.
Therefore, when he is aware of himself he is aware of his lack of another, that is, of his solitude. '[2] Paz observes that solitude is responsible for the Mexican’s perspective on death, ‘fiesta’, and identity. Death is seen as an event that is celebrated but at the same time repelled because of the uncertainty behind it. As for the fiestas, they express a sense of communality, crucially emphasizing the idea of not being alone and in so doing helps to bring out the true Mexican that is usually hidden behind a mask of self-denial. This represents the way in which the Mexicans have inherited two distinct cultures, the indigenous and the Spanish, but by denying one part of their identity they become stuck
Travesties in Mexico Definitely Mexico and its culture it’s very conservative in many aspects of the life, and for this reason the life of a Mexican citizens is governed by hard and sometimes extreme social rules. Specially those social rules are extremely enforced in Who are you as a person?, focusing that question in issues related by sex, gender and sexuality. Really all of those issues can segregate a group of people who do not feel indentified at all if only we understood a person in a matter of genre and sexuality. Generally for people, genre and sexuality is only understood as heterosexual man or heterosexual woman. Even so in Mexican culture daily living and coexist different people such as heterosexuals, homosexuals, and also too travesties, transgender and transsexuals.