Chicano

From my understanding, the word Xican@ is derived from the term Chicano. Thus, what is Chicano? How did the term arise? And why was there another word derived from it? According to “Running for Peace and Dignity”, Roberto Hernandez states that in…

Throughout Revolt of the Cockroach People, Buffalo Brown is torn between following the violent tendencies of his chicano brethren, or staying true to being the peaceful protesting chicano lawyer he needs to be. In his time of confusion, he is able to visit his inspiration, Cesar Chavez. While Mookie of Do the Right Thing does not get to meet a popular civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King is still present throughout the movie in Smiley’s picture. These two non-violent activists are…

In our mainstream culture Standard English is the proper and acceptable language to use. We are look down upon if we use our home language in an “inappropriate” setting. There many good reasons one should allow these beautiful languages to be spoken and show their potential. There is nothing wrong with other languages we are just scared of something new. We have this feeling of disconnect from all the languages we use, but one must take pride and be joyful that one can speak these languages. We…

being judged, “I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. I will have my voice…” she adds emotion because we see how she felt like she was voiceless/powerless. She learns that Chicanos can too have a voice. In the 1960’s she had read her first Chicano novel and was shocked because she didn’t think a Chicano was able to write and get published. This article appeals to me as an individual because I was able to see how some words have different meaning to her, and how some are the exact…

The farmers in the field of California protested for equal pay and humane working conditions. A school teacher led one of the largest high school protest with the students walking out. They demanded that Chicano students be given the same educational opportunities as Anglos. In Texas, the Chicanos wanted to create a new political party and change…

towards attaining dignity to the Treaty of Guadalupe, in an effort towards gaining an equal playing field on the areas of education, and land attainment. As mentioned by Chao-Romero, this pride in one’s identity has lead many to recognize that the Chicano@ community face harder circumstances in terms of access to the “pond” (Romero, PPT, 10/12/15). Nonetheless cultural pride to this day motivates many to work towards equality. This aspect of the definition in itself is immensely crucial because…

Indigenous alike. Serrano mentions that the “Chicanos are mestizos, or the blending of two races and cultures” (149). America and Chicanos are alike in that they both are a blending of cultures, because the Chicano takes from American society just like America takes form the Chicano communities. Serrano and Rodriguez are the very definition of American society, from the people that refuse assimilation to those that accept…

Among some of the greatest of Chicano activists very few could hold a light to one Cesar Chavez. A man who dedicated action and sacrifice to changing and improving labor conditions for immigrant farm workers in California. Mr. Chavez was born March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. Cesar grew up with his family working in fields as migrant workers which they ended up losing their land to a scrupulous lawyer. Very early on Cesar learned the difference between Mexicans and white people; which would…

Walkout is a story based about school walkouts that happened in the sixties in East LA. I think this movie was very successful in portraying what was happening to the Mexican people during the sixties. The main theme in the movie that stuck out to me personally was simple, the students, who decided to take charge for themselves, and fight against the racist conditions they were dealing with in school. The impulsive walkouts spread to five different schools and during them the students argued for…

The Trinity of Religions Throughout Chicano literature, one sees a constant conflict of religions, with everything from the mythology to folklore to Catholicism taking root deep in Chicano heritage. Rudolfo Anaya sees these religions not as three separate entities, but rather, as three religions that could be combined into one, seeking truth in the heart of man rather than the philosophy of scholars and theologians. In Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya presents aspects of mythology, folklore, and…