Pachuco

1. The Mexican government demanded that the U.S. treat Mexican Americans and Mexican resident nationals with dignity and respect as part of the “Good Neighbor Policy.” Discuss three specific cases in which the U.S. failed to uphold their end of the bargain. The Good Neighbor Policy was violated due to the discrimination of Mexicans in U.S. soil. Mexicans were segregated in separate schools, they were forced to sit apart from Anglo Americans in theaters, service was refused in cafes and…

In the early 1940’s, Los Angeles was in a world of racial disperse and discrimination that exploded in result of the Zoot Suit Riots. The Zoot Suit Riots was a series of racial conflicts between Mexican American youth and U.S servicemen because of the “Zoot Suits” that they donned upon their backs. What was once a expression of freedom within the Chicano (and African American) community was flipped into a dark portion of history. In relation to the Salem witch trials,both historic events,share…

that have become standards for Mexico. His “Cancion Mexicana” was covered by legendary singers such as, Lucha Reyes and Lola Beltran, while “Nunca Jamas” was recorded by the equally legendary Trio Los Panchos, Javier Solís, and Jose Feliciano. His Pachuco music that he produced in the late 40s was used as a soundtrack for the movie that Luis Valdes produced in the late 70s for the film “Zoot…

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa maintains the strong belief that Chicano people are, as expected, harsh on themselves due to their strict and forbidden upbringing and they will likely continue their refusal to conform to a particular set of biased guidelines—having been attributed to them by a cultural oppression—not through revolution but by communicating and connecting to the modern world around them. Throughout the essay, Anzaldúa shows her strong abilities to preserve her…

language spoken by Chicano/as: standard English, working class and slang Spanish, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish dialect, Chicano Spanish (primarily used in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California), Tex-Mex, and Pachuco or caló (Anzaldúa 56). Anzaldúa, in fact, uses all of aforementioned languages in Borderlands/La Frontera in an effort to emphasize the diversity of the Latino/Chicano culture. Anzaldúa explains to us that ethnic identity and culture can be…

Gloria Anzaldúa provides a great account of how it is to be a chicano(a) in the borderlands. In her book Borderland/ La Frontera she exposes the hardships that chicanas have to face such as the identity crisis the face, the machismos and the infringement of the Hispanic culture. In the chapter “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Anzaldúa describes the Chicano(a) in the United States are told not to express themselves in their native language as “linguistic terrorism” since it instills fear and shame…

Western region of the United States the new rash of immigrants coming to the United States were very identifiable and rather defiant to the culture at the time. “Racial conflict struck the West as well. In Los Angeles, male Hispanic teenagers formed pachuco (youth) gangs.” (A. 742) The gangs were very defiant and not backing down from violence, drugs and corruption. Racial conflict was happening in the south at a rapid rate as well. The issues of slavery and civil rights was continuing and…

Although, Mexicans encountered many obstacles because of the clothes they decided to wear that didn’t stop them from expressing their culture. The Mexicans in this time period were very protective over what they owned and where they lived. If you messed with one of the Zoot Suit members then you will have to face them all. Zoot Suit members would start things with people for no reason, which would be understandable since most of them were young teenage boys who thought they were tough. Sailors…

The word language is defined as “the system of communication used by a particular community or country.” Language gives the people a great source of communication a way to represent yourself and your identity. Chicano Spanish is a language created and used by bilingual Spanish/ English speakers to communicate with each other. As people come to a new country the norm is no longer the language they speak, but a new one they have to learn. It may be difficult for them to learn a new language,…

In the early 1940’s inhabitants of Los Angeles experience widespread tension and conflict that ultimately led to the Zoot Suit riots. During WWII, Southern California was a vital military outpost with stations scattered from San Diego through Los Angeles, resulting in thousands of active servicemen deployed in the area. Along with these social tensions come the influence of jazz music that developed into a rich culture that flourished throughout Los Angeles area (PBS). Big band and swing music…