History books whitewash history while hiding many of the facts of what happened, figures such as Bigfoot Wallace are seen as heroic meanwhile the institutions they worked for (Such as the Rangers) committed atrocities against innocent people in the name of expansion, colonialism, and racism.

A metaphor for pregnancy/sex? Maybe an allusion to how someone could get pregnant by someone they don't truly love/doesn't truly love them?

She's proclaiming her love, her need, her want for the person, as seen by "amarte. Atarte. Amarrarte" or "love you. Tie you. Tie you up."

Tlazoltotl is the Aztec goddess of both sin and purification, impurity and growth, I think Cisneros chose to use this deity specifically because it represents the duality of identity, some good, some bad, but a sense of growth and pride in it regardless.

Both of these are volcanic mountains in Mexico, with some eruptions from Popocatepetl being believed to be larger than some Mt. St. Helens eruptions.

As the concrete river acts as a metaphor for his mind, the weeds and debris act as a metaphor for the challenges/pains of life, something that he runs past regardless of how much they hurt or scrape him.

Despite life's challenges, he always had a place to return to, his thoughts/the concrete river, and he always ran/never gave up.

Despite them not living near the beach, nor being from the area, the beach is still treated as "theirs" an issue seen in many tropical areas that have lots of tourism, such as Mexico, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Her brother works to give the image of a perfect beach to accommodate the tourists, despite them (as seen later in the poem) not being allowed on it.

Roque, despite not being a huge fan of baseball, takes Erick out, in an attempt to connect with him but also show him that he loves not just Erick's mother, but Erick as well.

Roque was more ordinary than the other men, quieter than the other men, nicer than the other men, but more importantly, he loved Erick's mother, and truly cared for her, more than the other men.

He was so shocked by his catch that everything froze around him, he wasn't just at a game, or just watching his favorite players, he was experiencing the feel, holding a ball they had played with, and he was able to experience this because Roque had shown him more actual care and attention than any of the other men had.

Erick sees Roque for who he is, and that he genuinely loves his mother, and because of that, Erick doesn't care about the note, nor the fact that Roque isn't rich, only that Roque cares.

Erick isn't used to people being nice, or kind, just for the purpose of being nice, or because they are genuinely good people. He's suspicious because he doesn't understand that the men before, like the engineer weren't actually caring or good, despite many of them being rich or wealthy.

The closest experience he has, in his memory, as to what Mexico is like, is what he sees on TV, stereotypes, making the country seem simple, dangerous, and scary, such as how old westerns and cowboy movies do.

A fight in order for his sons, literal or not, to be able to have a better life, where they don't have to sacrifice their spirit for financial security.

Despite the many labels, and many names, these people have the same origins, same history, share culture, and intertwine with each other, regardless of how they are divided or defined, or what they are called.

He is a duality between two cultures, between European and Native, between Mexican and Spanish, between Mexican and American, but decides to endure, and keep fighting because that is what his spirit wants.

The author, Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, displays his experiences in using boxing as an escape from both financial and also social hardship, but also exposes another example of similarity between the U.S. and Mexico which are the two countries with the most boxing champions, with many of the U.S.'s champions being of Mexican descent, such as Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya.

Because of Joaquin's identity as a mixed person, a mestizo, he identifies with both sides of his history, as both the Native and the Spaniard.

Parasites, such as racism and classism left behind by the Spanish Empire, continued to rule and eventually led to another war less than a hundred years later, the Mexican Revolution.

The hardship that comes when having to choose between abandoning your culture for financial/social safety and continuing to practice/celebrate your culture but sacrifice economic opportunity can be soul crushing, yet was a hardship that many Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans were forced to face.