One thing that caught my eye was the book on Lourie’s following of the trail of Cabeza De Vaca. I found it intriguing because I thought it to be a lot like the well known Homer books Illiad and the Odyssey. To me, the description of On the Trail of Cabeza De Vaca seemed similar to that of Homer’s books. A man, Cabeza De Vaca, set sail to near Mexico, which was like Odysseus journeying to Troy; but in Cabeza De Vaca’s case he was venturing to the Mexico area in order to colonize, conquer, and possibly find gold, while Odysseus was traveling in order to defeat Troy. Also too, both Odysseus and De Vaca were gone for about ten years.…
We experience something new everyday, such as moving to a new city or having your first job interview. Changes like these can be challenging, but in the end, they can have benefits. The book Esperanza Rising is about a girl who’s life changed from good to bad in the blink of an eye. Throughout the story, she learned and grew from these changes over time.…
How would you react if foreign people you have never seen or heard of before started claiming your land for their own? The Indians faced this exact question when the European explorers started to explore the Americas. The Native Americans reacted with an array of emotions and therefore a wide variety of solutions. Fear, superiority, kindness, and even worship were some of these feelings, and even though they are vastly different from one another, they all can be used to describe how different groups of Indians dealt with the Spaniards exploring North America. In The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca: His Account of the Disastrous First European Exploration of the American Southwest, Cabeza de Vaca describes his interactions with various tribes of Indians…
Motherhood varies in every culture. The Urban Dictionary defines mom as, “The woman who loves you unconditionally from birth, the one who puts her kids before herself and the one who you can always count on above everyone else,” from my experience this is only part of what a mother does. A mother is someone who is underappreciated and is your bestfriend. Motherhood in the hispanic culture is being responsible for the children’s education, teaching the child to be respectful, the child’s health, the house duties, and putting yourself last. All these responsibilities make the mothers the heart of the family and without them a family is not the same.…
Chicano/a/xs in the United States experienced racial discrimination through regional segregation, marginalization in suburbia, and construction of a selective fantasy past. This relationship between space, cultural citizenship, and race relations were apparent in the unequal opportunities and the marginalization Latinos faced in racialized suburbia. An imagined Spanish fantasy past was constructed through mission revival and Olvera Street in Los Angeles that placed the Mexican people and their culture in the past. It was implied that the only place for them in modern day Los Angeles was in the past, supporting the belief that the Mexican immigrants in the present were not a part of the Los Angeles community and were just a temporary workforce in America. This further emphasizes this racial segregation they faced from the Anglo community who constructed a physical…
Barrio Azteca: The Rise of a Violent Prison Gang and If They Are Still Powerful Today Introduction The Barrio Azteca is a prison gang that originated from the Texas prison system that rose to prominence in the 1990s when it became known as one of the most violent gangs in the El Paso/ Ciudad Juarez area. In this paper I will discuss how the Justice Department categorizes gangs and organizations, putting emphasis on prison gangs, how these organizations are formed and interact with one another. I will give a brief overview on the war on drugs in both Mexico and the United States, how the area affected Barrio Azteca and vice versa. I will then go into discussing the Barrio Azteca; their history, organization, tattoos, violence, and how they…
The Cabin Inside Six Flags "Kalie. Kalie. Kalie. " I said, hitting the pillow on my best friends head. She rolled over and looked at me with a hateful expression.…
The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca is an autobiographical account of the eponymous Spanish explorer’s eight year journey of survival in a strange land which provides a detailed description of the vast terrain, multifarious wildlife, and the diverse cultures of the early Americas. The importance of this unique piece lies within the writing’s function as a gateway providing a glimpse into the cultures of the indigenous people of the Americas as the first recorded confrontation and intermingling between the Europeans and the Native Americans. Cabeza de Vaca was one of the first few Europeans to live among the Native Americans and actually adapt to the cultures of the Native Americans. However, the Spaniards’ steps towards this partial cultural assimilation were driven by the unconscious, evolutionary incentive of survival. This driving force taints and complicates these survivors’ attitude transformations and cause Cabeza de Vaca’s opinions to fluctuate throughout the narrative.…
When i was in 1st grade and i was 6 years old i had just came from golden corral with my brother,2 sisters,my mom, and her new boyfriend,we were headed home,but we needed some gas so we stop for some gas and some snacks, our mom new boyfriend bought for himself but then shared with us so after he got done pumping the gas we went home my mom said no more candy because it was past our bedtime but, when we got in the house my mom was pulling in the truck and we went inside to go to bed but my mom´s boyfriend gave us some candy anyways when we got in the house we ran up stairs and hurried up and ate the candy and put on our pajamas for bed once my mom got up stairs we were in the bed but then, that did not last long once my mom went back downstairs…
In the past few years, I’ve volunteered with a variety of organizations from National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Key Club. I have also co-founded a Community Outreach Club at high school. Through the Church I’ve assisted with Vacation Bible School and middle school retreats. One of my favorite memories came from volunteering for the first time with National Spanish Honor Society. Choosing to participate in this program was not a difficult decision, since I knew I wanted to continue practicing my Spanish and volunteer in the community at the same time.…
She says yes and they throw a goodbye party. Mama Elena’s ghost comes and sets Pedro afire. Tita comes and tries to help him. In the month of November, the recipe is beans with Chile tezcucana-style.…
A tradition in my family on thanksgiving, new years and Christmas eve would be my dad cooking pork for the family to eat. The recipe was taught to him by my paternal grandfather. Being Hispanic is a topic that comes up everyday of my life. For example, in scholarship applications, college applications, AP exam days. The questions is always there, “Are you Hispanic/Latino?”…
Requiem for a Spanish Peasant is Ramon J. Sender’s famous book. The setting of the book is an unknown village, during the Spanish Civil War. The book narrates the story of Paco El del Molino, a peasant who was killed for no reason, but his side in politics. Every Spaniard was expected to choose a side between the Republicans, and the Nationalist, and since the nationalist were the ruling party in that unnamed village, they chose to execute those who were not on their side. The ongoing violence ruins the peace between Spanish community and destroys the church’s reputation.…
The Southwestern tales, which are also known as Hispanic folktales, were first told around the early nineteenth century and are still told today. Presently, the folktales are used to instill moral lessons and the meanings of religions to people of different ages, especially young children. Jose Griego y Maestas collected and presented the tales “Los tres hermanos (The Three Brothers)” and “La comadre Sebastiana (Dona Sebastiana)” in Tales from the Hispanic Southwest. The tale of “Los tres hermanos” teaches the lesson that children should be grateful to their parents. While, the tale “La comadre Sebastiana” reveals the message of social inequity in Christianity and the lesson that people should keep their promises.…
A mother’s love is one that will always be there with no questions asked. Love is the foundation for a prosperous and thriving family Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas in 1942, to a Spanish speaking family. Mora “takes pride in being a Hispanic writer, she sees her work for both children and adults as bound up with the effort to promote literacy, a wider knowledge and appreciation of Hispanic culture and heritage, and cross cultural understanding” (971). Mora shows the concept of a Mother’s love through her poems “Elena” and “Mothers and Daughters.” She also gives us a glimpse of what life is like as a Mexican American, she explains their hardships, strengths, and trials that make them who they are.…