Luis Valdez wrote “Los Vendidos” in order to address his view of the Mexican culture and in reference to the prejudices that surrounded him. The play defines four versions of Mexican men, shop owner Honest Sancho is trying to sell to a Secretary in Governor Reagan’s political office. The buildup of characters: The Farmworker, Johnny Pachuco, The Revolucionario, and the Mexican-American, symbolizes an evolution of what society deems the “ideal” Mexican-American should be. “Los Vendidos” translates to "The Sold Ones" or "The Sellouts” which is a solid interpretation of Valdez’s opinion on Mexican’s conformity to the American culture. Valdez creates a distinct characterization of all four models, Miss Jimenez, and Honest Sancho with snarky humor and stereotypes in order portray the front of exactly who is running the show in the Used Mexican Lot and Mexican Curio Shop.
The scene opens with Miss Jimenez entering the shop in needs of a Mexican to fill a diversity slot in Governor Reagan’s office. She tells Sancho that her name is Miss JIM-menez, which is considered an Anglo pronunciation. Her insistence that she be called this leads the reader to believe she makes it a point to disassociate herself with her Hispanic heritage. She carries herself in a superior manner that signifies her entitlement to treat Sancho and the Mexican models in a negative way. She continues to list the trait requirements for the person she needs to look “good” in Reagan’s office. Sancho displays each model trying to receive Miss Jimenez’s approval. One important aspect of the play is the adjectives that Ms. Jimenez uses to describe the Mexican that she would like to use as her prototype. Such adjectives are: "suave, debonair, dark, but of course not too da...
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...position. What makes their role even more difficult is that they are continually faced with adversity from racial prejudice, which affects all aspects of their life, from gaining equal access to education to gaining employment. “Los Vendidos” displays a forced choice on whether they want to keep their heritage and remain proud or if they want to become a “carbon copy” American.
Works Cited
*Vargas, Zaragosa . "Major Problems in Mexican American History.." Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.. (2011): n. page. Print. .
* Cuello, Dr. Jose. "Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies." Faculty Research Portfolios - Dr. José Cuello. n. page. Print. .
In Sueños Americanos: Barrio Youth Negotiating Social and Cultural Identities, Julio Cammarota studies Latina/o youth who live in El Pueblo, and talks about how Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant law, is affecting Latina/o youth in California (Cammarota, 2008, p. 3). In this book review, I will write about the two main points the author is trying to get across. The two main points I will be writing about are how Proposition 187 is affecting the Latina/o community, and about how Latina/o youth are copping in the El Pueblo barrio. Afterward I write about the two main points the author is trying to get across, I will write a brief description of the author and write about the author’s strengths and weaknesses.
This book as mentioned before is a great addition to academia; Dr., García’s thorough research, and vast amount of statistics, give new light to the Mexican immigration into the United States in the nineteenth century, As well as the many contributions of the Mexican people in this country. Which has many times been overlooked by scholars, who choose to focus on immigration from the other side of the Atlantic, as the greater contributor of talent and greatness in this country. García’s book not only includes the struggle of men but also the struggle of the many women who sacrificed much, and had to endure even more while working as domestics for many racist patronas. Dr., Mario García obtained a PhD. At the University of California in San Diego, and is currently a professor of Chicano/Chicana studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Harvest of the Empire is a valuable tool to gaining a better understanding of Latinos. This book helps people understand how varied Latino’s in the United States are. The author also helped give insight as to how Americans reacts to differences within itself. It does this by giving a description of the struggles that every Latino immigrant faced entering the United States. These points of emphasis of the book were explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Author José Antonio Villarreal has a dry sense of humor and, as mentioned above, does a marvelous job weaving bits of wry commentary throughout the novel. Another fun quote is when Richard's sister, Luz, demonstrates her own prejudice for the newly arrived, and darker skinned, Mexicans: "Well, they ain't got nuthin' and they don't even talk good English." (p 148)
Vendidos or the sold out ones by Luis Valdez is an enlightening film about the Mexican struggle for survival in the United States. It is thought provoking and challenges the viewer to question some of the history and values that American education has engrained into our lifestyle. Although, the film is only about twenty-five minutes long, it is packed with symbolism and information about the Mexican history in the US. In particular, the film explores the Mexican identity issue.
In the award winning play The Oxcart “La carreta”, by René Marqués is about a Puerto Rican family trying to escape poverty by moving to a more prosperous place. The Characters of the Oxcart are: Doña Gabriela who is a widow and the mother of Juanita and chaguito and also the stepmom of Luis, she is very strong woman. Juanita her daughter in the other hand stars off as a docile person whoever after something tragic happens to her she then becomes this strong defying character and eventually she becomes a prostitute. Chaguito is a very naughty boy he loves that streets and hates school he is extremely disrespectful. Don Chago is the father of Luis and Doña Gabriela’s husband he’s the typical and traditional man who won’t leave behind his place of origin. Luis, Doña Gabriela’s stepson, he is the head of the household; he works very hard but eventually dies coincidentally while working. Those are the primarily characters of the Oxcart then we have the others such as Lidia, whose Juanita’s friend while living in New York, we also have Lito, who is a family neighbor while they are living in San Juan, we also have Germana, the nosey neighbor. Matilde who is the one that encourages Juanita to enter the world of prostitution, and then we have Paco, a radio personality that meets Juanita in New York and ask her to marry him. There is also Mr. Parkinton an American preacher and lastly Doña Isabel, a former teacher and Luis’ fiancé’s aunt that also has a brief affair with him
The author highlights the Latino stereotypes and their effects on those stereotyped and on society. By carrying out a satirical tone, the author is able to manifest how Mexicans are treated; thus, achieving this through the secretary’s rejection of each character represented. The satirical tone elucidates on how people may acknowledge their own prejudices and comprehend how Mexicans feel. Through the Mexican-American character, the author makes it clearly evident of an attempt to end prejudice in itself. The author illuminates the ludicrous hypocrisy behind labeling; this play serves to help society see the injustice of their opinions and to meet their
Mexico’s problems originally began upon the arrival of the Spanish in 1492, as illustrated in Major Problems in Mexican American History by Zaragosa Vargas as well as in the video documentary, Chicano!. The sequence of events which date back to the precolonial Spanish days and take place in Mexico’s history eventually provoke the national movement that called for social justice and equality, especially after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Then came the question of group and individual identity. Those of Mexican heritage were broken up into the groups "Chicanos," which were the ‘Americanized’ Mexicans or the Mexicans born in the United States, and the actual "Mexicans," who were the native born people which were discriminated against the most.
Los Vendidos means the sell-outs. All the characters in the play sold-out at some point during the play. The characters sold out both their races and their way of life. I would say that the person who sold out the most was the Mexican-American because he sold-out both his Mexican, his American heritage and way of life. He wanted to be perfect, so when he found that the Americans and the Mexicans had their flaws he sold them out. He now has to search for a new and perfect race to identify with.
In Michelle's paper she recaps the history of Mexicans in the United States that was not completely dealt with in either the website or the movie. Michelle points out that the Latin@s history is essential to understanding the Mexicans experience. She also wrote of the Mexican's el movemiento and how the website and movie brought about different accounts of this momentous event.
...l Castillo, R. 1994. La Familia: Chicano Families in the Urban Southwest, 1848 to the present. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. 1998. De Colores Means all of us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. U.S.: South End Press.
..., "Major Problems In Mexican American History" The Mexican Immigrant Experience, 1917-1928, Zaragosa Vargas (233)
Cofer uses the rhetoric appeal of ethos to establish her authority to make the argument that Latina stereotypes are just myths. Growing ...