Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Machismo and Culture

The concept of machismo has administered itself as a common theme in many Latino men’s lives.  The thought of being strong, has influenced how many men in Latino communities live their lives.  The overall exaggeration of manliness can be seen and explored in the novels, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Bless Me, Ultima by  Rudolfo Anaya and Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez.  Each of these novels presents the theme of machismo differently, but the overall message of Latino men being raised with an entitlement to show off their masculinity in order to preserve their respect and dignity is present throughout each of the novels.  Machismo has had an effective on the entire Latino community, with it helping out in certain scenarios and also hindering the greater good in many cases.
            Literature can help explore this theme in a variety of ways.  From the authors, the reader can gain new insights and viewpoints from each of the Latino/a cultures.  It is easy to compare how machismo has affected each, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico in different ways, but also bring together the underlining fact that machismo plays a big part in Latino/a culture as a whole.  The authors each tell their own story and machismo works its way into each of the novels through different characters and plot lines.  In the novels, machismo usually hinders the main character, preventing them to live their life the way they see fit.  The pressure of machismo in Latino/a culture has developed so strongly that the authors have correlated it into their novels whether intentional or not.
            The Brief Life of Oscar Wao contains the most upfront visualization of machismo and how it affects the people of the Dominican Republic.  Machismo dominates the book, and Junot Diaz shows the negative impacts of machismo in the Dominican Republic through the main character, Oscar.  Oscar is different than all the other boys.  He loves science-fiction, role playing games, and fantasy which is a direct opposite of what all the other young men are interested in.  The narrator constantly goes on about Oscar’s problems with women and how he cannot have the type of relationship he strives for because of who he is as a person. 
            The women in the novel are often dominated, and forced into situations because of the machismo demonstrated by all of the other males in the novel besides Oscar.  Diaz portrays the other men as ignorant and headstrong, regardless, the men who demonstrate the most machismo get what they want with little to no setbacks.  Diaz is showing how backwards the society can be with men, focusing more on the power and influence they have over others rather than the relationship and personal experiences they share with both men and women. 
              In Challenging the Grand Narrative of Machismo the need to dominate women and other people deemed inferior is hardwired into many Latino men’s brains (Falicov).  Some theories suggested are the patriarchal reinforcement of the Roman Catholic Church, an Oedipus theme that has existed in Latino men since colonization, and some theories date machismo back to a colonial inheritance from the Spanish Inquisition.  These themes can all be seen throughout the novels, individually. 
            Oscar is the perfect foil for how Diaz views machismo in the Dominican Republic.  He is sincere and honest and cares fully for how he presents himself to other people.  By the end of the novel Oscar is so convinced that he is in love, he dies for what he believes is a noble and true love.  The persistence of his family and friends do not affect him as he tries to achieve his lifelong goal of being accepted and loved for who he is rather than what he portrays. 
            Diaz intertwines the Fuku and Zafa curse of Oscar’s family with the machismo in the Dominican Republic.  His mother, sister, and Yunior are all affected by the sexuality and power given to them in their culture. But instead of reversing that role and foregoing what their culture brings them into, they fall into the “curse” which can be seen as falling into the roles given to them by their society.  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao shows the negative impacts of machismo in the Dominican Republic; this has shaped how the people think, act, and live their lives accordingly.
            Bless me, Ultima has themes that show how machismo has affected Chicano culture.  Although not as direct as The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Bless me, Ultima gives the reader a perspective on how machismo shapes the upbringing of many Chicano youth.
            The novel follows the coming of age story of Antonio Marez y Luna, or Tony. Tony is guided by Ultima, who is deeply respected and helps Tony find his struggling identity.  Throughout the novel Tony struggles with Death, religion, good, evil, and the concept of what is reality or myth.  The theme of the catholic religion can be seen as a connection to the machismo in the book (Falicov). The domination of the religious leaders of the Catholic church is juxtaposed by the free spirituality of Ultima.
These struggles are also often provoked or connected with the machismo Tony is surrounded with while growing up.  His father and older brothers represent the Chicano machismo and how it surrounds Tony’s culture.  The character Tenorio portrays the idea of machismo more than any other character.  He is testy and malicious, and throughout the novel he foregoes concepts of forgiveness or understanding but would rather act out violently to gain respect and fear from others. 
            Unlike Oscar, Tony rejects the machismo thinking of his father and brothers.  Instead, he relates to Ultima and his mother, who show him values that enable him to figure out his identity, instead of being wrapped around the identity that most of the youth are forced into.  The character of Tony shows how going away from the cultural thought of machismo can help find one’s own identity and place in life.   Tony constantly struggles with different themes that are all pushed on him, the same way machismo is pushed onto much of the youth in Latino/a societies.  By fighting through this he becomes his own person, instead of a clone that his culture expects him to become. 
            Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez gives the reader a unique perspective on machismo in Puerto Rican culture.  The entire novel revolves around Chino, a smart college student who gets tangled up in the machismo of Willie Bodega and Bodega’s dream of ruling the drug trade in Harlem, New York. 
            Bodega portrays the machismo of Latin culture perfectly.  Being concerned with power, and respect, Bodega’s dream is reminiscent of the movie Scar Face.  The theme of rising to power through any means possible reflects how the machismo of Latin culture influenced the characters to act and behave the way they do.  Bodega’s reason for acting this way is he does not know how else to maintain a healthy life without showing others his masculinity and power.  Many of the characters act tough and powerful.  They show how many people feel the need to become strong and dominate, and the only way they can obtain these goals is by showing an exaggerated view of masculinity to both their friends and foes.
Bodega has it in his mind that he needs to be the top dog, which involves ousting the former drug lord of the area.  The machismo Bodega learned as a child directly influenced how he runs his business, and his general outlook on life.  The brutal and harsh life Bodega sets up around himself eventually leads to his downfall, which is a theme Quinonez desperately beats into the novel. Chino eventually learns that the stereotypes he initially thinks of as being important and meaningful do not mean nearly as much as what type of personality or character someone has. 
Unlike Bless me, Ultima which focuses on the individual machismo and how it can affect the personality and identity behind someone; Bodega Dreams shows how machismo can affect an entire culture.  These cultures that are run by machismo are shown by the authors to be harsh and unfair.  The entitlement men have by simply being a man is given a negative look, and machismo is keeping back these cultures on becoming something more connected to all genders and people. 
The social construct of machismo is apparent through all of Latino culture.  The characters of Oscar, Bodega, and Tony all give a different perspective on how machismo has shaped and paved their lives.  Without machismo these characters would not behave in the way they do or have the same identity.  Machismo has shaped the way men look at each other, the way men look at women, and what is understood as right and wrong behavior regarding the two genders.  These preconceptions about Latino men have negatively impacted much of the culture, but the authors of these novels seem to be combating the machismo affect by showing the relationships between these men and others in the community.  

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Power of Sexuality

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz has certain characters that are portrayed as powerful, but their power stems directly from the sexuality that they show.  Both Beli and her daughter Lola show how sexuality can be a double-edged sword, and the problems with the driving forces of sex in the Dominican Republic.
Even Oscar finds his main problem revolving around sex,  everyone that he knows is pushing him to be something that he is not. The machismo in the DR has a driving force that Diaz shows shapes how people react and treat each other.  Instead of embracing who Oscar is as a person, he gets it into his head that he must lose his virginity and experience what everyone around him is pursuing.
Both Lola and Beli show the negative impacts of showing off their sexuality, especially during the hard times of Trujillo s reign of terror.  They have a lot of power with men, but it eventually leads into the scenario where they are being forced into something that neither of them want.  Lola simply loses her virginity because she does not think it is that big of a deal, and having a sexual relationship is a way for her to actually feel something.
Diaz shows how many people in the novel correlate sex with love, even though it is two completely different things and I believe Diaz wants to show how wrong it is for people to abuse and take advantage of each other.  Lola Beli and Oscar fall into the trap of sexuality and what kind of power it can give a young person, hopefully it is a lesson we can all learn from

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Importance of Culture

In both Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban certain characters express the need to forgo their pasts in order to move on and live in white America, but then realize that their own personal identities are not complete without their cultural background.  Both Chino and Lourdes feel like they should not act Latino/Latina since they are pursuing the dreams in America and they want to act like white Americans do.  Eventually they both come to embrace their family’s culture and the area which they live and become better in the long run from it.
            Chino is a young college student who is struggling to raise his unborn child and support his wife Blanca.  He ends up getting mixed together with Willie Bodega, an up and coming drug lord, and his whole dream gets turned upside down.  Willie eventually realizes after Bodega’s death that he cannot change his heritage and should find happiness within his culture.  He sees that life in the barrio goes on and is able to support himself with what Willie has taught him and everyone else in the community.
            Lourdes moves to America and starts a bakery that has a patriotic theme.  She ends up becoming successful, but then everything falls apart with the relationship between her husband causing her to forego her ways and go back to Cuba.  She realizes that her family is what is important and without that she would have no one to be close to.
            Both characters end up going different directions than their intended plans.  They realize that family and having a strong heritage can correlate with the American Dream, and acting out white America is not what will make them happy.  The find it in themselves to protect and value their own families and culture, which in turn makes them a better mother, husband, and friend.
             
           
            

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Bodega Dreams

Bodega Dreams tells a lot of truths about the mindset a lot of people grow up with.  Finding an own personal identity in a big city can be a struggle with so many negative influences.  Willie Bodega in Bodega Dreams grows up with these struggles which can be seen through his conflicts with his peers and his own personal quest for greatness.
The knowledge that Willie has learned growing up did not come from a book or from school, it is street knowledge; and since that is all he knows that is how he bases his life.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Urayoan Noel

On April 12, 1976  Tomas Urayoan Noel Martinez was born in Puerto Rico; but goes by Urayoan Noel. Urayoan Noel  received his B.A. at the University at Puerto Rico, his M.A from Stanford and his Ph.D. from NYU and is now a poet as well as an Assistant Professor of English at the University at Albany SUNY.
His areas of research  include Latino/Latina culture, poetry of the Americas, and United States poetry since 1950.  He currently lives in the Bronx, New York.
Noel has put an emphasis on his research on questions of performance, translation, circulation, and the relationships between the aesthetics and politics in North America. Photo credit goes to Urayoan Noel on his website http://urayoannoel.com/
He is known today for being a poet that has questioned the American government, a translator, and a scholar. Currently, he is a fellow on the Bronx Council on the Arts, as well as a Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican studies at Hunter College. Information can be found at http://urayoannoel.com.
The poems by Urayoan Noel in the anthology The Wind Shifts can be appreciated by Latino/Latina people who have been treated unfairly by the American government because the poems address the problems people, especially from Puerto Rico, have gone through since their emergence in the United States.
Noel's most famous poem is Kool Logic/ La logica kool. This poem is presented in both English and Spanish which reinforces his bi-lingual background as well as shows the problems of capitalism reach out to a far wider crowd than just English speaking people.  Each stanza has the phrase, "This is the kool logic/Of late capitalism". The problems shown are varied, ranging from mindsets of people in the Americas as well as the problems Noel sees with love and values.
Noel seems to think that poems are also meant to be heard, not just read.  He has a DVD of his performances as well as a YouTube account that has many Spanish and English poems recorded that he keeps up with daily, which can be found here http://www.youtube.com/user/urayoannoel.  I do not think Noel wants to be a recorded artists, but rather be heard both in a serious manner regarding the problems he sees in society but with a hint of care free living.




Saturday, February 4, 2012

9500 Liberty

During the movie 9500 Liberty I really appreciated what Annabel Park and Eric Byler did.  Prince William County reminded me a lot of Goshen, Indiana and I think it is important as either white or Latino to be able to take something away from their situation.  Racism and racial profiling is still a large problem, but I connected with what the people did to stand up for what they believed and tell their board what they really thought.  If people would not have stood up to the blatant racism things could have gotten much worse for the county.  We should take a note from Prince William County and realize that immigration actually helps support our economy.  I think the movie did a great job showing what can happen to a community when a large majority of its population is forced out.  The movie also did a great job showing a Latino's perspective.  Finding work and being able to support a family is something everyone that has a family should be able to identify with.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A day without a Mexican

After renting A Day Without a Mexican, I feel like I could connect with the problems the movie was constantly referring to.  It was eye opening looking through different people's perspectives on how they view the Mexican-American population in not just America but the state with the biggest immigration, California.  My eyes really opened up to the fact that we need Mexicans in the United States or our economy will collapse. The movie did a great job showing what would happen if a lot of people got what they wanted and all Mexicans left.  I think people need to be more open minded to the fact that America is a haven for immigrants, and having immigrants is helping our economy which we have come to be dependent on. The different perspectives shown in the movie represent all the different opinions I have heard from people here in Goshen as well. People need to embrace the cultural influences that help keep America alive and open up to something different.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Bless me, Ultima

Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a coming to age story about a young Antonio Marez.  One thing that really struck me about this novel was that the experience he has with his religion and the magical world makes the story unique as well as cultural. 
Antonio lives in World War 2 era New Mexico in a small town called Guadalupe.  The story starts when Ultima arrives and performs healing.  Antonio gets worried about his religion and the introduction of magic into his life.  I understand how he would feel, having something new put into his life while he is already struggling to find his own identity and what he really believes.
Bless me, Ultima is a unique novel that shows the cultural experience of something new and different from the usual.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Response to "I, the Worst of All"

"I, the Worst of All" was very helpful for me when getting a broader outlook on the history of Latino Literature.  Being able to view and read about the strict moral codes and hierarchies gives me a better glimpse on why a lot of the literature of that time came out the way it did. 
Juana shows a lot of the sides Latino writers all over the world had to endure, and the fact that she was a woman made it even more difficult for her to write freely and express her opinion about the wrongs of society in that time.  She also shows that even though literature for a Latina woman was difficult to come by, those who wrote or even dedicated their lives to literature and education did the best with their opportunities, and really helped bring around a wave of new thinking and changes that helped revolutionize the rest of the world. 
The identity that Juana has for herself, and the identity that Juana portrays throughout the film shift while watching the movie.  She starts out a little backward, quiet, and not abash but then becomes more outgoing and critical as she gets respect from her peers.  During parts of the movie I did not think that the other characters even bothered that she was a woman because her knowledge and education meant more to the Viceroy.
Altogether it was a sad story that during 17th century Juana was not able to pursue her educational career like she would have wanted, but she helped pave the way for all Latino writers that came after her time. 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

My Name

My name is simple.  It isn't a strange name with a good story behind it, or even an ethnic name that could be used as a conversation starter.  It tells little about me; what kind of personality I have, what kind of foods I like, and it certainly does not tell people where I have been or where I am going.  I would like my name to become a title, a way for people to understand who I am not just what I am called. If my name was a title I imagine it would be long, filled with difficult words but also easy going in certain parts. Everyone would have their own title, allowing other people to understand each other completely.  The world would be a more truthful place.
I feel that my name just does not give me enough justice when it comes to things I have experienced.  A name like Nathan is pretty boring and when it comes to introducing my self I really would like more flavor to my name.  A name is something the owner should be proud of, something that really shows everyone around you all the travels and journeys from your past.  Likewise if you are not a good person, you should not have a grand name.  I believe names help start a new relationship, and with a name that tells a life story, it makes making friends that much easier.  My name is simple, but I wish it wasn't.

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Latino lit.