Frijolero. Greaser. In Tucson he branded cattle. He slept in a stable. The horse blankets
The short, often fragmented sentences within this piece give it a very unique, staccato rhythm. Most of the statements are very neutral and mater of fact, but together they create something more free flowing and artistic.
The Mexico City ‘85 earthquake
This is in reference to a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Mexico City in 1985, which caused around 5000 deaths and major damage to the infrastructure of the city itself. The event is especially significant because the president at the time, Miguel de la Madrid, initially refused foreign aid and had an ineffective response to the emergency at large.
You bring out the Mexican in me.The hunkered thick dark spiral.The core of a heart howl.The bitter bile.The tequila lágrimas on Saturday all
This is an incredibly strong and impactful opening. I was surprised by the direction it took and was immediately engaged with the text.
I wanted to kill somebody.At moments, it had nothing to dowith the Paragons.
This section seems to imply that the narrator has an innate urge or need to kill rather than it being dependent on gang violence.
The doctors don’t care, our bodies decay,our minds deteriorate, we learn nothing of value.Our lives don’t get better, we go down quick.
It's interesting how discrimination manifests differently in the US compared to Mexico. The false promises of freedom within America hold no value when there are systemic issues preventing immigrants from gaining access to essential medical resources.
i used to watch her, and think her name was ironicand poetic,for she was Soledad Guerra, solitude and war,
This is an interesting juxtaposition that highlights the greater themes of the poem.
the art form of our slums more meaningful & significant than Egypt’s finest hieroglyphics.
I found this section to be an incredibly strong line. Assigning such a deep meaning to details in one's environment that are easy to overlook is powerful. I believe that the author not explaining each symbols individual meaning furthers this effect. These symbols are significant because they are understood by people familiar with that area and are not fully understood by outsiders.
running all the way home nape hairs at attention
This specific line of description is very evocative. It brings this specific story to life and feels personal.
How when a man and a woman love each other, sometimes that love sours. But a parent’s love for a child, a child’s for its parents, is another thing entirely.
This is an interesting theme to explore. In what ways is love different between people in relationships and with family?
I am scared to get closer. He runs ahead, kicking up sand. The beach looks so big, like he could get lost in it. I do not want to lose him. I follow, my ankles buckling to the uncertainty of the sand.
I found this passage particularly important for defining the relationship between Rio and the narrator. Rio is the driving force, pushing further bravely at all times, even if it may be unwise. The narrator is more timid, but pushes himself past his comfort zone to be with Rio. This dynamic is present within many of their interactions throughout this story.
There is a handshake, a promise with our bodies that I will not remember until years later when I see the neighbor boys slapping hands before they part for dinner.
Referring to a handshake as "a promise with our bodies" emphasizes their agreement as far more intimate and private than an ordinary promise.
Erick got to order his favorite American food
I am curious as to why the author decided to use third person consistently when describing Erick throughout the story instead of a first-person perspective. It does make Erick feel more detached from the things going on around him with his mother and the different men she is involved with.
She gave me one of her looks. I didn’t like those looks. It was her way of slapping me. We lived that way for about a year, her slapping me with her looks.
This section highlights the emotional abuse between the narrator and his mother. The narrator makes the fact that she did not physically abuse him clear repeatedly throughout the story, but there is still an abusive nature to the way she treats him and a constant tension between the two in any given conversation.
“If the rich don’t care about the problems of the poor, then why should the poor care about the problems of the rich?”
This particular quote seems to be at this story's core. Economic status and the differences between the rich and poor seem to be central themes for this piece and I think that this simple quote sums up those themes in a succinct and powerful way.
I don’t know why I remember that. I guess you could say he became my patron saint because I’ve always given beggars on the streets all the change in my pockets. I didn’t have a cloak like San Martín Caballero, but I always had a quarter and a few pennies.
This is an excellent piece of characterization for the speaker in this story. It is important to note that they do not idolize San Martin Caballero to an extreme point and are not trying to emulate him directly, just that they have noticed a similarity in their own behavior and the man in the picture.
The small sound is constant. And then the wind stops. And then the voices stop. Completely. They stop completely. I am alone. No, not alone.
I found this section to be particularly impactful. Structurally it is very different then the rest of the story making it stand out.
. I sit at truck-stop diners, drinking cup after cup of coffee. I have something sweet. Pancakes. Or pie. Or cake. Then more coffee until I can bear to go back out again and devour the miles. Windows open and the road screaming past.
This paragraph has a very poetic sort of flow to it. The author has us move through one of these long drives smoothly. The short fragmented segments referencing different sweets at the diner interrupt that flow with short staccato beats before returning to the norm after.
I have existedin the barrios of the cityin the suburbs of bigotryin the mines of social snobberyin the prisons of dejectionin the muck of exploitationand in the fierce heat of racial hatred.
This passage shows the wide variety of forms that discrimination and exploitation take. The Author makes it very clear here that it is an institutional problem which is pervasive through many layers of society, from the very violent and visible forms of racial hatred, to the more subtle forms like social snobbery. This passive does an excellent job of addressing these problems at every level and showing how unescapable discrimination is for the Mexican-American community.
I rode with Pancho Villacrude and warma tornado at full strength,Nourished and inspiredby the passion and the fireof all his earthy people.
I thought the metaphor comparing Pancho Villa to a tornado at full strength was excellent characterization. This comparison makes Villa appear to be a powerful force of nature.
The Indian has endured and stillemerged the winner,the Mestizo must yet overcome,And the gauchupín will just ignore.
I am a bit confused by what the author means here. I would be interested in discussing it in class further or hearing an interpretation from another student responding to this post.
their own worth as human beings, for that GOLDEN MOMENT of FREEDOM.I was part in blood and spirit of thatcourageous village priest Hidalgo
I found this to be a particularly impactful and strong line. Here Gonzales uses the format of the epic poem to its fullest potential by using unique spacing and capitalization. The formatting here really reflects the content in an important and engaging way.
Unwillingly dragged by thatmonstrous, technicalindustrial giant called Progress
Within my History 1302 class we are currently discussing the industrial revolution and its impact on American society and individual workers. Its incredibly impactful how industrial progress can be so negatively impactful for workers on an individual level while companies benefit. It is interesting to see how the development of technology continues to impact people's lives in similar ways nearly two hundred years later in this piece compared to the start of the industrial revolution.
American social neurosis,
I was not previously familiar with the term "social neurosis", so I did some research and found that it was defined as a state of shyness, inhibition of thinking and memory, and a tendency to withdraw from social activities.