Guatemala has more people than any other Central American country, with an estimated population of 11,980,000 it is home to many different cultures. The population can be divided into two groups; Indians and people of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry. But in Guatemala, being called an Indian or a non-Indian does not depend entirely on a person's ancestry. It is basically a matter of how people live and of how they categorize themselves. For example, a Guatemalan is considered an Indian if he or she speaks an Indian language, wears Indian clothing, and lives in a community where the people follow the Indian ways of life. The Indians think of themselves more as part of their community than of their country. They pay little attention to affairs outside the community. Indians make up about 45 percent of the population of Guatemala. Most of them are extremely poor and uneducated. Spanish is the official languages spoken in Guatemala, but there are 20 other Indian languages that are spoken as well. Guatemala's fifth constitution was adopted in 1956. The army seized the government again in 1963, and a sixth constitution went into effect in 1966. Elections were held that year, and civilian government was restored under President Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro. But the country remained troubled. Secret political extremist groups both rightist and leftist made terror raids. Guatemalan political leaders, the U.S. ambassador, and others were killed during the raids.
The movie "El Norte" tells the story of how two siblings (Enrique and Rosita) lose all of their family to military raids in Mexico. When seems to be next to impossible to survive in Mexico, the two decide to flee to the North (America) which they feel ca be there stepping stone to opportunities and freedom. After a difficult journey the finally arrive in America. As illegal immigrants they had to find immediate work and the had to learn to adjust to American cultures, for instance Rosita did not know how to use a washer and dryer so she did it as if she were still in Mexico. While both of them worked hours of hard labor daily, Enrique is offered a job in Chicago that could guarantee him the right to a green card, but in order to take the job he would have to leave Rosita behind. Meanwhile, Rosita becomes very ill from being exposed to rats during their journey to America. At the last minute Enr...
... middle of paper ...
... and get a green card instead of sticking with her. When they got to the United States they were exposed to American cultures that were not like there own. Enrique was introduced to a characteristic of the American society when Macte tried to tell Enrique to leave his sister behind and leap toward the future and leave the past behind him, which is a mentality that most Americans have (Paz 65). As mentioned earlier when Rosita was working she did not know how to use the washer and dryer which seems to be a simple task for Americans but it was unfamiliar to Rosita and she ended up laying the clothes outside. Many North American cultures are taken for granted until we see someone who is not used to simple things such as washing clothes with a machine. Earlier in the movie we saw Rosita washing clothes by hand it was almost as if the movie repeated itself but just showed the same task in a different environment which really stressed the difference in cultures.
Work Cited
Connor, Walker., Heath Shirley B., and Paz Octavio. Who Are the Mexican-Americans?: A note on Comparability. Washington D.C.: The Urban Press, 1985
"Guatemala" Encyclopedia Britanica. Vol 5. 1996, 536-37
In Richard Rodriguez’s “Proofs,” Mexican immigrant’s destination is described, as well as their perceptions and expectations of America. Rodriguez describes the passage to the United States as difficult, yet worthy. He states: “The city will win. The city will give the children all the village could not- VCR’s, hairstyles, drum beat. The city sings mean songs, dirty songs. But the city will sing the children a great Protestant hymn.You can be anything you want to be.” He also states: “Mexico is poor. But mama says there
The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light.
8. Meyer, Michael C., et al. The Course of Mexican History, 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
The push-and-pull factors in Enrique’s yearn for the U.S not only allows him to rediscover himself as an individual in a world of uncertainty, it also eliminates his constant fear of failing as a promising human being; in addition exhibits the undying hope of a desperate man found in hopeful migrants. In Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” his mother’s trip streamed “emptiness” into the heart of a once comfortable child and left him to “struggle” to hold memories they shared. Enrique’s life after Lourdes’ departure triggered the traumatizing demise of his identity. He threw this broken identity away while facing many obstacles, nevertheless each endea...
In an article written by a Senior student they discuss a monumental moment in Mexican American history concerning equality in the South. The student’s paper revolves around the Pete Hernandez V. Texas case in which Hernandez receives a life in prison sentence by an all white jury. The essay further discusses how Mexican Americans are technically “white” americans because they do not fall into the Indian (Native American), or black categories and because of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. The student’s paper proceeds to discuss the goals connecting the Hernandez V. Texas case which was to secure Mexican American’s right within the fourteenth amendment [1].
The focus of analysis will consist of Southern Chicago Mexicans and the way by which they established themselves as important features of US civilization. Within the late 1910s and early 1920s the first major waves of Mexican immigrants ventured into the Southside of Chicago. Members of the community overcame the discrimination against them while organizing themselves in way that introduced Mexican pride and community building across their
In the years following the Spanish conquests, the southwest region of the United States developed into Spanish colonial territory. Indians, Spaniards, and blacks occupied this territory in which the shortage of Spanish women led to the miscegenation of these cultures. The result of mixing these races was a homogenization of the people of various cultures that came to be called mestizos and mulattos who, like present day Mexican Americans, inherited two distinct cultures that would make their culture rich, yet somewhat confusi...
Weber, David J. Foreigners in Their Native Land: The Historical Roots of Mexican Americans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2000.
Ngai, Mae M. 2004 “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2004. Print.
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben G. Rumbaut, “Immigrant America: A Portrait.” Kiniry and Rose 336-337. Print.
their work on the railroad systems and in the field of agriculture. Work Cited Page 1. What is the difference between a. and a. Zaragosa Vargas, "Major Problems In Mexican American History" The Mexican Immigrant Experience, 1917-1928, Zaragosa Vargas (233). 2.Merton E. Hill, "The Development of an Americanization Program" The Survey 66, no.3 (May 1931). In Carlos E. Cortes, ed., Aspects of the Mexican-American Experience (New York:Arno Press, 1976), pp. 113-117.
When I was a toddler, I had blonde hair, blue eyes and white skin, and still presently do. My parents are Guatemalan, however they fit the stereotype of a Guatemalan, small, a bit chunky, and tan. My siblings also carry the same genes as my parents, but yet I stand out like the moon in a night sky. But just like the moon, the public looks at me different. Growing up in a hispanic community and having a Latino family I gained numerous titles for my abnormality. “Canche” is the George Clooney of my nicknames, it means white boy.
The ethnic- Mexican experience has changed over the years as American has progressed through certain period of times, e.g., the modernity and transformation of the southwest in the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor demands and shifting of U.S. immigration policy in the 20th century, and the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Through these events Mexican Americans have established and shaped their culture, in order, to negotiate these precarious social and historical circumstances. Throughout the ethnic Mexicans cultural history in the United States, conflict and contradiction has played a key role in shaping their modalities of life. Beginning in the late 20th century and early 21st century ethnic Mexicans have come under distress from the force of globalization. Globalization has followed the trends of conflict and contradiction forcing ethnic Mexicans to adjust their culture and combat this force. While Mexican Americans are in the struggle against globalization and the impact it has had on their lives, e.g., unemployment more common, wages below the poverty line, globalization has had a larger impact on their motherland having devastating affects unlike anything in history.