- What have you learned in this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class? The answer to this question can be the screenshot of a conversation, a voice recording of a reflection, a video speaking, a piece of art, or a diagram. Express your answer in the manner you want.
2. After reading La Guera, Cherrie Moraga, record your voice ( just audio) speaking for 1 or 2 minutes about how this reading relates to you.
Cherrie Moraga’s “La Guera” resonates with the realities for a lot of white passing Latinos in the United States, along with other children of immigrant parents. During the 90’s, my mother immigrated from Puebla, Mexico to the United States, alone and barely speaking English. She married my father, who migrated to the United States from Mexico before her and eventually married him, having three children. Growing up as a Latina in the United States, I have come to realize the privilege coming along with lighter skin. As mentioned in the reading by Moraga, for many immigrant Latinos and their children, the mentality of associating white/lighter skin with economic, educational and social success, is instilled in them as a method of avoiding “illiteracy and poverty”, which is to them, associated with being brown or black. The mother, in the reading, deals with the internalized racism and oppression that she has endured, without even realizing it, due to this ongoing negative connotation of being a brown Chicana woman. The author herself, being lighter skinned lesbian Latina, comes to realize later on in life that the attempts of her mother to anglicize her, by not teaching her spanish, referring to low income Mexicans as “wetbacks” and externalizing the internalized racism and classism, was a product of oppression and being silenced. Growing up in predominantly white schools, with very few Latino kids attending and being one of those few kids, it was very prevalent among kids who were from immigrant families, to be forced to abandon their language and culture, in order to assimilate within the US. One of my very own friends, a puertorriqueña, wasn’t taught Spanish at all, in order to increase her chances at succeeding in school and assimilating with the US predominant language. And that’s exactly what happened with Moraga;
“ It was through my mother’s desire to protect her children from poverty and illiteracy that we became “anglocized”; the more effectively we could pass in the white world, the better guaranteed our future”
Despite the mother herself being from a family that isn’t financially secure and does farm labor as a living, the internalized classism, colorism and its ties to racism is portrayed accurately in Moraga’s piece.
3. Create a playlist on Spotify that matches the short story “Kimberle”, by Achy Obejas. Explain the connection of the songs to parts of the reading and specific quotes.
a. Issues by Julia Michaels:
In Achy Obejas’s “Kimberle”, a college student befriends a girl named Kimberle, who tends to have suicidal thoughts and disruptive tendencies. Despite Kimberle’s tendencies to be reckless and suicidal, the main character feels a sense of responsibility for her and essentially becomes part of a codependent relationship. The song “Issues” by Julia Michaels accurately depicts the nature of codependency and the relationship between the main character and Kimberle. Kimberle, throughout the story, is presented in a way where she has these urges to have multiple relationships with women, to drive as fast as she can and steal the main characters’ books. However, the main character in a way, ends up romanticizing and dismissing any concerns since she doesn’t realize that she’s falling in love with Kimberle. Despite the incident with the pregnant woman and Kimberle, the main character begins to realize her infatuation with Kimberle;
“I steered out of town, past the strip malls, the corn fields, and the interstate where, years before, Kimberle had made me feel so fucking alive…Trembling there in the dark, I realized I wanted to kiss Kimberle—not for anyone else’s pleasure but for my own” (pg.81-82)
A section from the song “Issues” ;
“Cause I got issues, But you got ’em too
So give ’em all to me
And I’ll give mine to you
Bask in the glory
Of all our problems
‘Cause we got the kind of love
It takes to solve ’em”
Just like both the main character and Kimberle, Julia Michaels describes the nature of what it is like being in a codependent relationship with someone who isn’t always good for you. The line “ Bask in the glory of all our problems’ ” is essentially what these two characters from Obejas’s story did by not addressing the issues they had and fixing them, but instead disregarding them.
b. Stuck On You- Giveon:
Despite the very transparent feelings of the main character, regarding her friend, Kimberle doesn’t seem to acknowledge the relationship between her and the main character. In this scene, the two are about to get into a car crash but before they are discussing a threesome with a male, instead of a female. Kimberle, surprised and losing control of the car, shows uncertainty about this. It’s clear that Kimberle likes to have a sense of control of situations she is put in and the fact that the main character started to want to take control, angers Kimberle, goes onto show the volatile nature of codependent relationships. And this is when the main character asks Kimberle what was happening between them, essentially wanting to know if they were a thing. Kimberle responds with “Us? There is no us”. And it’s at this moment the car crash occurs and when the main character realizes that Kimberle wasn’t interested in being with her. “Stuck on You” by Giveon, portrays the feelings that the main character has for Kimberle. Giveon goes on to say “You do me wrong but it feels right” and it’s what the main character experiences with being around Kimberle. Kimberle, despite involving the main character in sexual relations with her, doesnt reciproacte the feelings the main character has and still the main character has love for her. Other lines that depict the feelings of the main character are like “Trust me I do understand this is bad for me I’m a fool but I cant end it”.The main character possibly acknowledges that she is in an unhealthy codependent relationship but it’s difficult to fully grasp the harm of it when being in love with that person.
c. Sia- “Im in here”
Sia’s song, “I’m in here”, describes the feelings many people dealing with depression experience. Sia, herself suffers from long term depression and the song is her cry for help. The lyrics that appear frequently throughout the song are;
“Can’t you hear my call?
Are you coming to get me now?
I’ve been waiting for
You to come rescue me
I need you to hold
All of the sadness I can not
Live with inside of me
Kimberle, herself most likely suffers from depression, hence the desire to end her life, as mentioned in the beginning of the short story. Kimberle, like Sia, asks the main character for help, to prevent her from committing suicide. Throughout the whole story, Kimberle deals with her depression and the main character attempts to help her to the best of her abilities, as well as dealing with her own issues.
d. Sam Smith- “Not in that way”
“Not in that way” by Sam Smith tells the story of an unrequited love, which is what the main character experiences. Right before the accident, Kimberle tells the main character, “Us? There is no us?”, revealing to the character that Kimberle doesn’t feel or reciprocate the feelings the character has for her. The following lines from Smith’s songs depicts the exact thoughts and sentiments the main character had before and after, when she received her answer;
“I’d never ask you ’cause deep down
I’m certain I know what you’d say
You’d say “I’m sorry, believe me, I love you
But not in that way
And I hate to say I need you
I’m so reliant, I’m so dependent, I’m such a fool
When you’re not there, I find myself singing the blues
Can’t bear, can’t face the truth”
It is unsure if the main character ends up staying with Kimberle, despite all that has happened, but it can be assumed she possibly did, since Kimberle is homeless and depends on the main character, and vice versa. Both characters depend on each other, but for very distinguished reasons. Kimberle depends on the main character financially, whilst the main character depends on her emotionally.
4. Find a newspaper article online that relates to Pandora’s Box, by Arturo Arias. Explain the connection.
Article Link: https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/paula-williams-has-lived-life-as-a-man-and-a-woman-now-she-fights-for-gender-equity/
In the article, “Paula Williams Has Lived Life As A Man And A Woman. Now She Fights For Gender Equity”, the writer tells the story of Reverend Paula Williams, who has lived as both man and woman in the world. Paula, coming out as transgender, believed that there was a “gender fairy” who would “come and change how the world saw her from boy, to girl”. Eventually becoming an advocate for gender equity and an LGBTQ church consultant, Paula’s unique experiences as both man and woman helped her come to an understanding of the disparities between the realities of living as either man or woman in this world. She comes to realize that “There’s no way a well-educated white male can understand how much the culture is tilted in his favor. There’s no way he can understand that because that’s all he’s ever known and all he ever will know”. This specific section of the article related to Arias’s “Pandora’s Box” because after becoming a woman, the main character, Juan, previously a man, comes to realize the difficulties of being a woman. The character goes onto say that before transitioning into a woman, he solely saw Pandora, as a body to penetrate, disregarding her as an actual person. However, after transitioning, the character comes to realize that Pandora, along with other women, feel as if men treat them as if they have no life of their own, no thoughts worth mentioning or no knowledge worth imparting on…treating them solely as a means worth of bringing them pleasure. The character, Walker, resembles the white heteroseuxal man’s privileges that Paula refers to in the article, bringing awareness to the difficult realities to those within the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Choose an image from “selected photography of Dulce Pinzón(link)” and another from “selected photography of Graciela Iturbide (Link)” and write a paragraph or record voice/video analyzing a comparison.
Dulce Pinzón’s “Historias del Paraíso” piece and Graciela Iturbide’s “Asor” piece, both photographers choose to show the beauty in simplicity of nature, as well as the stages of life. In Pinzon’s picture, depicting both a black woman and man, sitting on what seems to be a statue of a prehistoric dinosaur, Pinzon combines both elements of life and death within this image. Both the people and nature surrounding them in the background, represent life at its peak, while the statue represents the stage of death, essentially, extinction. Similarly in Iturbide’s photograph, Iturbide brings the focus of this photo to the inevitable death or growth of the sunflowers depicted. Compared to Pinzón’s piece, Iturbide emphasizes the lingering death of these flowers by making it a black and white painting. The black and white creates this sense of dramatization and mysteriousness about the fate of these flowers, which represents the uncertainty of life. We, like these plants, are unaware of what could happen next in our lives, either being the end of it or the continuation of it.
6. Include the poem by José Olivarez: “Mexican Heaven” ; Poems. Why would you include this poem on your blog; in relation to what?. Post it next to a movie clip that relates to it. Quote pertinent verses.
A MEXICAN DREAMS OF HEAVEN
BY JOSÉ OLIVAREZ
all of the Mexicans sneak into heaven. St. Peter has
their name on the list, but none of the Mexicans have
trusted a list since Ronald Reagan was President.
St. Peter is a Mexican named Pedro, but he’s not
a saint. Pedro waits at the gate with a shot of tequila
to welcome all the Mexicans to heaven, but he gets drunk
& forgets about the list. all the Mexicans walk
into heaven, even our no good cousins who only
go to church for baptisms & funerals.
it turns out God is one of those religious Mexicans
who doesn’t drink or smoke weed, so all the Mexicans
in heaven party in the basement while God reads
the bible & thumbs a rosary. God threatens to kick
all the Mexicans out of heaven if they don’t stop
con las pendejadas, so the Mexicans drink more
discreetly. they smoke outside where God won’t
smell the weed. God pretends the Mexicans are reformed.
hallelujah. this cycle repeats once a month. amen.
Jesus has a tattoo of La Virgen De Guadalupe
covering his back. turns out he’s your cousin
Jesus from the block. turns out he gets reincarnated
every day & no one on Earth cares all that much.
all the Mexican women refuse to cook or clean
or raise the kids or pay bills or make the bed or
drive your bum ass to work or do anything except
watch their novelas, so heaven is gross. the rats
are fat as roosters & the men die of starvation.
there are white people in heaven, too. they build
condos across the street & ask the Mexicans to
speak English. i’m just kidding. there are no
white people in heaven.
tamales. tacos. tostadas. tortas.
pozole. sopes. huaraches. menudo.
horchata. jamaica. limonada. agua.
St. Peter lets Mexicans into heaven
but only to work in the kitchens.
A Mexican dishwasher polishes the crystal,
smells the meals, & hears the music
through the swinging doors. they dream
of another heaven, one they might be allowed in
if only they work hard enough.
José Olivarez’s poem, “A MEXICAN DREAMS OF HEAVEN”, reflects the realities of many Mexican immigrants residing in the United States. Beginning his poem by comparing the United States to “heaven”, the author introduces the common misconception in Mexico, of the United States being the “land of the free” and “land of opportunities”, referring to it as a place where “all of the Mexicans sneak into”. Saint Peter, the patron saint of locksmiths and holder of heavens keys, has a list of names granted permission to enter into heaven, but is impeded by the distrust that Mexicans have for “heavens” president at the time, Ronald Reagan. Escorted by a more welcoming Pedro, who “waits at the gate with a shot of tequila to welcome all the Mexicans to heaven”, they walk on in, joining “ even our no good cousins who only go to church for baptisms & funerals.” The author goes on to describe the heavens as a place with a God that pretends that “the Mexicans are reformed. hallelujah.” and where St. Peter grants permission to enter into heaven, to Mexicans “to work in the kitchens”. This accurately represents the exploitation that many Mexican immigrant workers endure when coming to the United States for a better life. Immigrants are left to “dream of another heaven, one they might be allowed in if only they worked hard enough”, and are hence discouraged of finding their “heaven” in the United States. By mentioning historical Mexican immigrant working experiences within the United States, the author’s poem serves as a commentary piece on the United States’ views on immigration from Mexico and its historical exploitation of migrant labor, despite being heavily against immigration.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMlTmOip3ig
QUOTES:
“The only thing I said to the police is that everything we have, we got through our own hard work. We never did anything wrong”
“An estimated 11 million people live in the US illegally, at constant risk of deportation, even while large parts of the economy depend on their low paid labor”.
7. After reading Porcupine Love, a short story by Tatiana de la Tierra (Colombia), write an alternative ending for it. No less than two paragraphs.
God I miss Anteneta. I miss her love and her laughter but I’m too afraid to end up losing that love soon. I knew I would end up just loving her for one second and then the next, I wouldn’t speak to her. There it goes again. Why do I reject her love when it’s the one thing that makes me feel so alive? But I knew why I rejected her love. It wasn’t her, or maybe it was? If I could just see her again, just even for a bit, I know that it would be different. Fuck it. I’m booking my flight right now and quitting. My stomach is doing cartwheels at the thought of falling in again but I could already feel her and it’s all I want. It’s all I ever wanted to feel but wouldn’t allow myself to. Love.
I can’t wait to see you, I’ve really really missed you. God I can’t believe you are coming to see me. I’ve waited for what seems like forever for you.
It’s the day to leave for New Zealand and I feel as if I’m going to puke my insides out, exposing myself to the world. Letting them see that inside this body that yearned for Anteneta’s lips on mine and my hand intertwining in hers, that I was unable to love. Incapable of ever being loved because for me love would bring out the quills in me and spear my lover straight in the heart. I’m laying in the seats, squished but still squirming at the thought of her. Told her I would land soon. Am I really going through with this?
It’s been almost a year now, since I visited her. And it ended up exactly how I imagined. Fucked. I should’ve known that it would have gone wrong and we wouldn’t have lasted. But this one hurt, like actually hurt. She wasn’t like the other of my quilled lovers.She was the one that got away.
