Mi Querido Viejo Analysis

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Chicano studies 100 1:00 March 3, 2012 Vicente "Chente" Fernandez was born on February 17, 1940 in the village of Huentitan El Alto, Jalisco, Mexico. Vincente Fernandez was the son of a rancher, Ramon Fernandez and homemaker, Paula Gomez Fernandez. At the age of six, Chente dreamed of pursuing a career in singing. At age 8, he got a guitar and quickly learned to play and began to study folk music. Vicente grew up in poverty, and when his dad lost the ranch he moved to Tijuana where he worked as a janitor, dishwasher and a waiter. He later on moved to Mexico City, where he found a job singing at a restaurant called, El Amanacer Tapatio and began performing in the streets for tips. When he wasn’t working he was auditioning for recording companies…show more content…
In this song Vicente demonstrates a respect between a son and father, and the unique family traits in Mexican/Chicano society. This song resembles the quality that Mexican families have of taking care of their parents when they are old, just as the parents did for their children when they were young. In the song there is a line that represents the sensitivity that Mexican/Chicanos have towards their parents, “Viejo, mi querido viejo, Ahora ya caminas lento, Como, perdonando al viento, yo soy tu sangre mi viejo, Soy tu silencio y tu tiempo,” and says “cuando se cansen un dia tus pasos, yo quiero ser quien los cuide” ,metaphorically speaking means when you die I want to be there to take care of what is yours, symbolizing and referring to taking care of their family. Unlike Anglo families who tend to let their kids of their own when they turn 18, that is one of the breaking points between Anglos and Chicanos, because until they believe that one is well enough to go out on their own their parents will continue to support them and aid them in whichever way needed. Most common Chicano families tend to either have their parents living with them in their households or aiding their parents economically every month. On the other hand Anglo families tend to send their parents to retirement homes, either because they don’t have time to take care of their parents, or they just feel like their better off in a retirement home with people their age. In fact according to the U.S. department of human services 89.5% of the people in retirement homes are Anglo. Once Mexican Families come into the U.S. they adapt to the American way of life. Besides the fact that they are subjected and adapt quickly to urbanization, industrialization, and

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