In Magical Urbanism, Mike Davis illustrates the growing influence of Latinos in reshaping and redefining urban spaces. Furthermore, David provides a glimpse at the reality experienced by many immigrants in the West Coast and the reaction of the natives that coexist with them in those spaces. While reading this, I thought of how far-removed my own experience as a Latina in the DMV area was from those depicted in the book. I could not, for example, relate the experiences of those Latinos living in the border having to deal with racial profiling by the local police, Border Patrol, and even the DEA (pg. 43). The themes that did resonate with my experience were those found in the chapters, “Buscando América” and “Disabling Spanish.” The complexity
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He also mentioned the backlash by proponents of “English Only” in education who viewed bilingualism as a threat to American identity, but dressed it up as a concern for the Latino community educational disparities (pg. 140). This topic reminded me of the program “Spanish for Fluent Speakers” that I was part of for three years. The program was often undermined, as some saw it as means for Spanish speakers to evade the language requirement and take an easy class. I often received questions such as: “Why are you taking a Spanish class if you already speak it?” Despite those negative perceptions, this was a program that allowed me to reconnect with my Hispanic roots and recognize the social capital of bilingualism. As Davis mentions, this program rooted in the importance of bilingualism, validated my first language skills and cognitive abilities (pg. 147). The SFS programmed allowed me to develop critical reading and writing skills in my first language, which I later incorporated into my English classes. I cannot imagine being able to develop those skills in an only English education, where I was trying to keep up with new vocabulary and sentence syntax. I still consider my success in the mastery of the English language as one rooted in the reinforcement of my skills and abilities in
He also mentioned the backlash by proponents of “English Only” in education who viewed bilingualism as a threat to American identity, but dressed it up as a concern for the Latino community educational disparities (pg. 140). This topic reminded me of the program “Spanish for Fluent Speakers” that I was part of for three years. The program was often undermined, as some saw it as means for Spanish speakers to evade the language requirement and take an easy class. I often received questions such as: “Why are you taking a Spanish class if you already speak it?” Despite those negative perceptions, this was a program that allowed me to reconnect with my Hispanic roots and recognize the social capital of bilingualism. As Davis mentions, this program rooted in the importance of bilingualism, validated my first language skills and cognitive abilities (pg. 147). The SFS programmed allowed me to develop critical reading and writing skills in my first language, which I later incorporated into my English classes. I cannot imagine being able to develop those skills in an only English education, where I was trying to keep up with new vocabulary and sentence syntax. I still consider my success in the mastery of the English language as one rooted in the reinforcement of my skills and abilities in