Survey of Chicano Literature 220
Instructor Notes
by Charlene Garcia Simms, Spring 2002

UNIT I:

Evolution of Chicano Literature and its Historical and Cultural Nature (Traditions, Folklore & Myths)
HAL refers to Hispanic American Literature. Burciaga refers to Spilling the Beans
Mexican American and Chicano will be used interchangeably

Time got away today and no one picked up the three available videos which show, "Taking Back the Schools." I will assign them before class tomorrow. As shown in your tentative course outline, by the end of Unit I, I want everyone to have seen this video. There will also be a copy in the Media room at the Library, Room 610. It is about 50 minutes long. You will submit a one page paper pertaining to this video and current issues. This paper is worth ten points due on February 19. The paper should answer the questions: Were the students who protested able to bring about change in the school curriculum? Are their issues still relevant today? Support your opinion. The following is a summary of what happened, but the video has a much greater impact. It takes you there!

On March 3, 1968, on the streets of East Los Angeles, over a thousand students walked out of Abraham Lincoln School. Later several thousand more students walked out of five other predominantly Mexican American high schools; by the end of the day 10,000 students had joined the strike (blowouts). The demands were many but the major purpose was to protest the inferior education Mexican American students were getting;  racist teachers and school policies; the lack of freedom of speech, and the lack of teachers of Mexican descent and the absence of classes on Mexican and Mexican American culture and history. In addition to its historical significance, it also marked the entry of Mexican American youth into the history of the turbulent Sixties; What did the Students want? What did they get?

Important terms and characters in Taking Back the School:

* The L. A. Thirteen - those arrested because of the school walkouts in L. A. If they were convicted, they could go to jail for 66 years.
* Sal Castro - the teacher who helped the students organize. He was one of the L. A. Thirteen who was arrested.
* Moctezuma Esparza - movie producer - The Milagro Beanfield War; Price of Glory; the Legend of Gregorio Cortez; he was also part of the L. A. Thirteen.
* Brown Berets - a group of young Chicanos who first called themselves, Young Chicanos for Community Action/students set up to ward off police brutality/defend themselves form the  oppressors/ tried to keep the peace. Their leader David Sanchez, was arrested as part of the L. A. Thirteen and jailed for conspiracy to create riots, disrupt the functioning of public schools and disturbing the peace. When he was arrested his prom tuxedo was in the trunk of his car.

From the events that happened in 1968 involving the blowouts, in L. A. and throughout the southwest, came much literature written about the turbulence that took place. We will be studying some of these stories.

Handouts: Syllabus; Tentative Course Outline; Themes, Symbols and Traits of Chicano Literature; short autobiography on Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado; Chronology on the Chicano Movement; Poster depicting 460 years of Chicano History; I am Joaquin by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. Quiz.

Orientation, class policies, course syllabus; definitions; the Chicano Civil Rights Movement; Reading: Long Distance Tortillas by Moises Sandoval; video, I Am Joaquin, by Rudolfo "Corky" Gonzales, directed by Luis Valdez, writer, director and known as the father of Chicano Theater.

Assignment: All assignments are in your handout, Tentative Course Outline. You should keep up with the readings even if your instructor gets behind.

NOTES:

Chicano Literature - Literature written by Chicanos about the Mexican-American experience in the southwest.  The Literature deals with Chicano themes, including analysis of folklore and myth. We will not interpret the literature but this class will give you a foundation of what Chicano Literature is; You will develop a survey of available Chicano Literature and a list of Chicano authors. In order to understand Chicano Literature, you need a basic understanding of the history and the culture. The first unit will be devoted to discussion of basic Chicano history, culture, terms, traits and icons of Chicano Literature. .

Chicano - a political term made popular in the sixties with the Chicano Civil Rights Movement which followed the example of the Black Civil Rights Movement. The people of the Movement adopted the word Chicano for themselves just as the African Americans had adopted Black. The Chicano Movement fought for all people of the Southwest of Mexican descendancy. These people included  those whose ancestors had been citizens in the southwest when it was Mexico before the United States occupied it  in 1848. These people became citizens by default with all rights guaranteed to them under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Chicano Movement also  included three waves of immigrants from Mexico: those who migrated because they were escaping the Mexican Revolution between 1900 and 1914; those who came between World War I and 1930, mainly for economic reasons; and those who came between World War II and the 1960's. Several of those who came in the 1940's came with organized labor programs such as the Bracero Program and decided to stay, even if undocumented.

The Chicano Movement and the Treaty of Gudalupe Hidalgo - After the United States won the Mexican American War the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was executed on February 2, 1848. Under the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States a large area including, California, Arizona, New Mexico, parts of what we know today as Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah. The annexation of Texas was also approved. All the citizens who had resided in what had been Mexico were given one year to make a choice to remain in what was now the U. S. or go to what was now  Mexico. It is estimated that 75,000 Mexicans decided to stay and became citizens of the U. S. by default. The treaty provided specific guarantees for the property and political rights of the "native" population and they were given the right to retain their language, religion and culture.

Almost immediately, the treaty was broken and these people were treated like foreigners in their own land. When they lost their land, they lost their economic base, thus had to turn to wage labor to survive. They were subjected to great discrimination practices, as were the three waves of immigrants who came later. By the time World War II ended Chicanos were an oppressed people; poor, uneducated, with no political clout; and menial jobs with little hope for upward mobility. It was after the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 and after soldiers came back from World War II that the foundation for the Chicano Movement was built. The veterans and other concerned Chicanos refused to be treated like second class citizens. The groundwork was laid for the battle of equality for Chicanos. When the 1960's came about Chicanos recognized  that like the Blacks, they, too, had a cause and initially emulated the Black Civil Rights Movement.

Scholars consider the year 1943 as the beginning of an new period of Mexican American history and culture. When the so-called Zoot Suit Riots occurred in the Los Angeles area it marked a stage in the cultural development of the Mexican American in which there was a consciousness of not belonging to either Mexico or the United States and an effort to assert a separate independent identity. It introduced the Pachucos, young Mexican-American young men who were not accepted in their schools, nor at home. They sought their own identity.

Also after World War II Mexican American veterans who had fought and died side by side with their other American counterparts now felt they had earned their rights and were ready to participate equitably. Thus the quest for identity in modern American society was initiated and by the 1960's a younger generation made up of the children of the veterans took up the pursuit of democracy and equity in the Civil Rights Movement and explored the question of identity in all the arts. There had been very little Chicano Literature in the past so the 60s was considered a Chicano Renaissance.

Hispanic - an umbrella term that reduces groups of people into the lowest common denominator of Spanish speaking peoples. This can be people who speak Spanish or whose ancestors spoke Spanish and includes, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans and other ethnic groups. It is a most unfair label because it denies the different histories, and dilutes the importance of each different culture by lumping them all under one umbrella.  The term was given by the government during the Nixon administration.

Mestizo - for the scope of this class half-Spanish, half-Indian. When the conquistadores arrived in the Americas miscegenation took place between the Spaniards and the Indigenous women, thus produced a new race, the Mestizo, a mixture of Caucasian and Indian. Much of Chicano Literature is based on Indian folklore. The Mestizo is an element in Mexican American Studies -- meaning both the Indian and Spanish side of the Chicano. Therefore we will be studying literature that takes us back to ancient Mexico and Spain and brings elements of both cultures to produce Chicano literature.

I am Joaquin, written by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in the 1960's elaborated a version of cultural nationalism that would typify what is called Movement Poetry. It was Mexican American history all wrapped up into one poem. It was monumental because up until then there had been very little written about the Chicano. When something was written, it was usually derogatory or stereotypical. It stands alone as an epic poem of the Chicano Movement.

A new breed of writers were born because of the Chicano Movement. Their writings were related to a political and social movement. They wrote about cultural identification with the Mexican American heritage within the general framework of American society. It became the most intense expression of the creative spirit of the movement. It first saw the light in print in angry journals or newspapers such as El Grito Magazine or El Gallo Newspaper. There were many. The writing was cause writing, not just literary. It was also inspirational.

The first Chicano writers of Chicano Literature  in the 60's committed their literary vices to the political economic and educational struggles. Their works were often inspirational and read at organizational meetings, boycotts and before protest marches.

The first Chicano poets included: Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado; Ricardo Sanchez and Alurista (Alberto Urista). Alurista coined the term Aztlan as the Chicano homeland. It gave Chicanos a sense of place. Aztlan had been the mythical homeland of the Aztecs which was north from Mexico, probably somewhere in the southwest United States.

In 1967 appeared the most influential Chicano Literary Magazine, El Gallo, initiating the publishing house El Quinto Sol (The Fifth Sun). El Quinto Sol emphasized the Chicano culture, language, themes and styles and a Mexica/Aztec identity and promoted the Spanish Language. The fifth sun referred to the Aztec belief in a period of cultural flowering that would take place some time in the future, in a  fifth age that coincided with the rise of the Chicano movement. One of the first books published by Quinto Sol was an anthology in 1986, El Espejo/The Mirror, edited by Dr. Octavio Romano Paz and Herminio Rios. In 1970 El Quinto Sol instituted a national award for Chicano Literature, Premio Quinto Sol (Fifth Sun Award) which gave the winner $1000 and published their winning manuscript.

The first winners were:
1. Tomas Rivera (1971) for  ...y no se lo trago la tierra,...and the earth did not devour him.
2. Rudolfo Anaya (1972) for Bless Me Ultima
3. Rolando Hinajosa (1973) for Estampas del valle y otras obras / Sketches of the Valley and other works

In 1975 the first woman won the award, Estela Portillo Trambley, for her short story collection, Rain of Scorpions. It marked the ascendancy of women's voices in Chicano Literature.

Study Guide: You should know what the following terms mean: Chicano Literature; Chicano; Chicano Movement; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; Hispanic; Mestizo, Quinto Sol Literary Award,  I Am Joaquin;

You should know who the following people are: Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado, Alurista, Ricardo Sanchez; Rudolfo Anaya, Tomas Rivera, Rolando Hinajosa; Estela Portillo Trambley;

Handouts: Glossary of Terms, I Am Joaquin; The Roots of the Psychology of Mexican-American Women: and Malinche: The Archetype of the Feminine; Article on Aztlan, Acknowledgments, Introduction and In Search of Aztlan by Luis Leal; Aztlan by Abelardo; Songbird of the Sefarad by Isabelle Medina Sandoval;

Glossary of terms; historical analysis and critique of I Am Joaquin;  Reaction Paper #1 due Tuesday on I am Joaquin in relation to its importance to the Chicano Movement and the Literature world.

Reading Assignment: articles on Aztlan; Quetzalcoatl, pp. 124-130; Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, pp. 102-123,  in Burciaga; A Sense of Place and From the Account: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. pp. 1-5 (only);  Canto III p. 13-15 (only) in HAL.

Chronology of events affecting  Chicano History and Literature

    * 1519 The Conquest of the Aztecs by the Spaniards
    * 1531 The appearance of La Virgen de Guadalupe
    * 1540 Coronado explores the Southwest
    * 1598 Juan de Onate brings the first colonists to New Mexico
    * 1680 Under the leadership of Pope, a Pueblo medicine man,  the Spanish are kicked out of New Mexico for 12 years
    * 1693 Diego de Vargas reconquers New Mexico
    * Late 1600s early 1800s - settlement of Texas, California, Arizona
    * 1776 American Revolution
    * 1810 - 1821 Mexican Independence War
    * 1846-1848 Mexican American War
    * 1862 - 5 May -  France invades Mexico, becomes known as the Cinco de Mayo battle in Puebla, Mexico; Benito Juarez is president. A new hero emerges from this war, Porfirio Diaz
    * 1863 - France succeeds in their attempt to take Mexico
    * 1867 - Emperor Maximilian is executed, thus ending the French takeover
    * 1910 - 1940 Mexican Revolution
    * 1916 Ludlow Massacre, Trinidad; World War I
    * 1920-1940 Deportation, Segregation, Repatriation
    * 1943 - Zoot Suit Riots; World War II
    * 1950's Operation Wetback; McCarthy Era; Viet Nam
    * 1960's Chicano Movement

Handouts: Cultures Meet and Collide in the Borderlands;Discourse of the Severed Head of Joaquin Murieta by E. A. Mares; Check course outline for reading assignment.

Reading: Spilling the Beans - the beans that will spill from this book are beans that have boiled for over 500 years. Spilling the beans is about disclosing, divulging, revealing, confessing and publishing pods of truth, facts of integrity, humor and pathos.

Symbols which have served to give unity to the Chicano Movement and which appear in Chicano Literature are many. Among them are:

1. Aztlan
2. The black eagle of the farm workers
3. La Huelga (symbol for strike)
4. The expression Viva la Raza
5. The characteristic handshake (being outside the literary field)
6. La Virgen de Guadalupe
7. Huitzilopochtli (represented by a hummingbird)
8. Quetzalcoatl
9. Quinto Sol (the Fifth Sun)

In the 60's when a new breed of writers were born because of the Chicano Movement, they had very little Chicano literature to refer to because very little had been published. They had to depend on the following sources:

1. The Popul Vuh (The sacred book of the ancient Quiché Maya)
2. Codices (picture writing books of the Mexican Indians, especially the Aztecs) Some of the priests such as Sahagun and Duran helped to preserve these books. They also taught the Indians to write in Latin Letters which they transcribed into Spanish. From all this came Aztec Myth and Reality.
3. Chronicles such as those of Pedro Castaneda who was the chronicler of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition when he made his epic journey through the southwest between 1540-1542.
     Another example is Gaspar Perez de Villagra, the chronicler of Juan de Onate in 1598 when he took the first group of colonizers to New Mexico. (Example, HAL - pp. 14-25).
4. Journals such as those of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, who was shipwrecked in the ill fated Florida expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez. Cabeza de Vaca traveled throughout the southwest surviving as a curandero. Along they way he met Dorantes and Castillo and Estevanico the Black Moor. Cabeza de Vaca's account of the shipwreck was captured in La Relacion (The Account - Example, HAL, pp. 2-11).
5. Letters and diaries (Letters of Hernan Cortes, Diego de Vargas...)
6. Old Plays (Aztec and Spanish - Moros y Cristianos)
7. Memoirs (especially, Americans traveling in the southwest for the first time, Zebulon Montgomery Pike - his writings served as a blueprint to invasion)
8. Dime Store Novels
9. Texas Romances
10. Some other Books
11. Canciones (songs)
12. Corridos (ballads)
13. Newspapers
14. Oral Tradition
15. Personal experiences
16. The Chicano Movement

Language:

We will be running into words from different languages or different dialects. Among them:

1. Weaving Spanish and English
2. Nahuatl -language of the Aztecs (some common words are cunque for coffee grounds; jumate for water dipper; Zoquete      for mud)
3. Castillian - the old 16th Century Spanish
3. Ladino - language of the Sephardic Jew (eg. Songbird of Sefarad by Isabel Medina-Sandoval)
4. Calo - language of the gypsies - Pachuco slang - street slang
5. Arabic (Mozarabic) - picked up from the Moors who occupied Spain for almost 800 years; words such as Alcalde (mayor); barrio; alfombre (rug) Azucar (sugar); acequia (ditch); adobe
5. Colloquial (regional such as Spanglish in Pueblo)
6. New words by necessity (when the American occupied what had been Mexico, those who became citizens by default were presented with new words and situations they knew no words for. Examples are money; they did not know the word for nickle so they invented a new word by extending the pronunciation to neekle. Other examples are bisquete for biscuit; craques for crackers; lonche for lunch; etc.
7. Other languages include Gallego from Galicia, Spain; Eskuri from the Basque part of Spain; French
8. The use of X instead of J as in Ximinez instead of Jiminez; interchange of b and v as in Vaca and Baca or Varela and Barela or Cordoba and Cordova

Study Guide: You should know the following terms and characters in Chicano Literature:

Huitzilopochtli; Quetzalcoatl; La Virgen de Guadalupe; Juan Diego; Aztlan; Tenochtitlan; Huelga; Nahuatl; Ladino; Calo;

The Readings and the Authors thus far:

I Am Joaquin by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales: Chicano history wrapped into one poem. The poem stands alone. It has been called a social document rather than art. From a stance of ethnic pride and hope it is proclaimed as an epic poem. It provided the revolutionary movement with a statement of Chicano nationalism and ideology. From a literary stance it is severely criticized. Corky is not considered a poet. He published little else. His time was spent fighting police brutality, creating the Crusade for Justice which for fifteen years was the most powerful and effective organization that fought for the rights of people of Mexican descent. He continuously fought for badly needed educational reform and many other issues. In 1987 he was in a bad car accident which left him with head injuries and impaired memory of which he will not recover. The school he started in 1970, Escuela Tlatelolco still exists. A book on his life and other writings by him will be published in the near future.

A Child to be Born by Alberto Urista (Alurista): a bilingual poem that links the image of the plumed serpent god of the ancient Mayas (Kulkulcan) and of the ancient Aztecs (Quetzalcoatl) to the future. Alurista coined the term Aztlan as the Chicano Homeland. He was born in Mexico City and arrived in the U. S. in the mid sixties. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California in 1983. He became involved in the Chicano Movement when he saw Cesar Chavez leading the striking farmworkers from Delano to Sacramento in 1965.

Barrios of the World by Ricardo Sanchez: racial pride, human dignity and future of hope.
Ricardo Sanchez was born in a rough district of El Paso Texas, known as the Barrio del Diablo (The Devil's Neighborhood). He dropped out of high school feeling lost in what he called a racist educational system and enlisted in the U. S. Army. He served time in prison. After his parole in 1969 he obtained a Ph.D. in American Studies with his dissertation entitled "CUNA: The Barrio and the Poetics of Revolution." He died in 1995.

The Night Before Christmas by Tomas Rivera: an attempt to keep hope alive in the midst of poverty; Tomas Rivera was the first winner of the Premio Quinto Sol for his book ...y no se lo trago la tiera translated into ...and the Earth did not Devour Him; A migrant worker, himself, he wanted to document the migrant worker for all time. He writes with compassion about the laborers who seem helpless to escape their lot. From humble beginnings he rose to the highest levels of university administration. His complete works were published by Arto Publico Press in 1992. He died in 1984.

Introduction-Aztlan - A sense of place is crucial to spiritual orientation. Knowledge of a homeland provides an important element of identity. By the 1960's Chicanos had lost their homeland through various conquests. Mexico had lost sight of them and the United States had misplaced them. They were searching for a homeland.

In Search of Aztlan by Luis Leal, Translated by Gladys Leal: Symbol and myth; As a symbol Aztlan represented the geographic region known as the Southwestern part of the U. S., composed of the territory that Mexico ceded in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; more important it symbolized the spiritual union of the Chicanos, something that is carried within the heart, no matter where they may live or where they may find themselves. As a myth it was the home of the Aztecs who were the only remaining of seven tribes in Aztlan and were advised by their god Huitzilopochtli to leave Aztlan in search of the promised land. In description, Aztlan is the perfect place. Like the mythical Atlantis it has never been pinpointed in geography. Most describe it as being in the southwest but some have described it as being as far away as China. To the Chicano Movement it didn't matter where it was at but it documented its rebirth in Chicano thought recognizing Aztec heritage.

Somos Aztlan by Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado: tells us about Aztlan and when the Aztecs left it and when the Mestizo was born. When Chicanos are told to go home Mexicano, go home, it is absurd, for the Mexicano is already home; he has returned to Aztlan, only to be treated like strangers in their land. Chicanos are Aztlan, the future. Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado's writing is simplistic but beautiful and deep. We will be using many of his writings in this class. He was born in the state of Chihuahua and moved to the United States during World War II. You have part of his autobiography and can learn about his childhood. On November 2, 2000, Mayor Webb proclaimed Denver Abelardo Delgado Day. He is also an activist whose work on behalf of migrant workers is well known in the U. S and outside the U. S. For his efforts he was awarded the 1993 El Sol Human Rights Award, the 1995 Colorado Human Rights Award and the 1997 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Services and Peace Award.

Quetzalcoatl by Burciaga - comparison to Christ; parallels to Christianity are many; he was gentle and life giving;

La Virgen de Guadalupe by Burciaga - Interpretation of the image. Comparison to Tonantzin. Another goddess at Tepeyac, Coatlicue, the woman serpent. What does the serpent mean to ancient Mexicanos? Interpretation of the drama- the collective conscience of the new race. She has become an icon. Whether truth or myth, She gives Chicanos a sense of unity, power and belonging; encourages self dignity, confidence and direction; facilitates reconciliation and cooperation without losing identity; inspires confidence, faith and love.

Handouts: The Mexican Revolution;  The Ludlow Massacre; Three Stories by Mary Helen Ponce: Campesinas: Onions, and Granma's Apron; Pachucos by Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado; Read Pachucos and the Taxi Cab Brigade, pp. 59-71; Colores, pp. 165-169 in Burciaga.

More symbols and characters of Chicano Literature

1. Malinche (Cortes' mistress and translator - depicted as traitor; treated in a derogatory manner

2. Juan de Onate led the first colonizers of New Mexico in 1598. Traveled on the Camino Real

3. Father Miguel Hidalgo y El Grito de Dolores; Mexican Independence September 16, 1810

4. Social Bandits and Resistors: Joaquin Murieta; Tiburcio Vasquez; Juan "Cheno: Cortina; Elfego Baca; Gregorio Cortez; Espinosa Brothers

5. The Santa Fe Ring and Tomas Catron - a group of people, who through unscrupulous methods, took the land from Chicanos in New Mexico. Some were bankers, merchants, and elite Chicanos, but the ringleader was Tomas Catron who became very rich.

6. Borderlands - the southwest United States

7. Rinches (Texas Rangers)

9. Mexican Revolution -Porfirio Diaz, Emiliano Zapata; Pancho Villa, Rurales; Soldareras (women soldiers)

10. Mines, railroads, farm fields and places that provided menial labor with very low wages

11. Deportation, repatriation; segregation

12. Pachucos; Braceros; Operation Wetback

13. The Chicano Movement
 
Discussion: Cultures Meet and Collide in the Borderlands - read handout
Video - The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. This is a prime example of the cultural barrier between Mexicans and Texans.

Study Guide: Know symbols and characters that appear in Chicano Literature. What sources did Chicano authors use to get some of their writing material? In addition to English and Spanish what other languages or dialects are included in Chicano Literature?
 
Readings:

The First Thanksgiving: When was the first European Thanksgiving in the U. S.? Does it matter? What were the English thankful for? When did the Indians celebrate their first Thanksgiving?

What's in a Spanish Name

Evolution of language - Resementicization - transculturation or adaptation of words in cross cultural situations - new words by necessity for survival -- when the Americans occupied what had been Mexico, those who became citizens by default were presented with new words and situations they knew no words for. Examples are money; they did not know the word for nickel so they invented a new word by extending the pronunciation to nicle. Other examples are bisquete for biscuit; craques for crackers; lonche for lunch,e tc. The same thing happened in Texas with Americans. They ran into Spanish words that they changed. Examples are Viuda (widow) was changed to Buda; vacquero (cowboy) to buckaroo.

Murieta on the Hill by Sergio Elizondo; Elizondo was an undocumented worker until 1953. He then went to obtain an education and got his Ph.D. in 1964. Elizondo channels the anger of the Chicano youth of the early 70s into the recreation of Joaquin Murieta, who exacts payment for all injustice.

Discourse of the Severed Head of Joaquin Murieta by E. A. Mares; What does Murieta see out of the bottle his head has been preserved in?

The Oral Tradition, HAL - lullabies, songs, games, stories, riddles. These lessons and memories are interwoven into who we are, what we have been and even what we will be as we get older. What makes a culture? Stories songs, food, clothing humor, language, legends, myths, heroes, and heroines make up the texture of a culture. Oral tradition enhances a sense of belonging.

Oral tradition for Spaniards took the form of the eight syllable verse ballad which they called romance. Later, they organized them into stanzas of four making it easier to set the 32 voiced syllable to music. They sang them in a run-on fashion or a romance corrido until reaching the end of the stanza. In time it became known only as a corrido. They relate the stories of the deeds of heroes or heroines. They strengthen and define an identity. For some it is an opportunity to revisit home through an encounter with one's ancestors.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez - Americo Paredes grew up in Brownsville, TX. With Pistol in His Hand is about Gregorio Cortez. Paredes examined the cultural conflicts that have been part of life in the U. S. - Mexican Borderlands- the southwest As you will see in the video about Gregorio Cortez, language was one of the barriers that made a great impact on day to day life.

Corridos - Maria Herrera-Sobek has collected modern day corridos that illustrate life for migrant workers. The three corridos express different viewpoints. Poor Illegal Immigrant Women - shows the exploitation with no protection. The Legal Immigrant Woman is uppity but keeps the same wages; Modern Day Girls - don't want to do any work; pity the poor husbands who iron their own shirts.

La Llorona has many versions. This particular reading tells us of her in Mexico; in California; and in Texas;

Malinche: The Archetype of the Feminine -traitor or victim or very smart.

Tuesday, January 29;

Handouts:Corridos by Augustine Lira - Juan Cortina; Los Deportados (the Deportees); Excerpt from Revolt of the Cockroach People; The Spraying by Helena Maria Viramontes; Readings on the Chicano Moratorium: Overkill at the Silver Dollar; Eulogy for Ruben Salazar; Chicano Moratorium by Patricia Rodriguez (age 7)

Readings:

On the Mexican Revolution

The Ludlow Massacre, Trinidad, Colorado, April 20, 1914

Several authors have captured the migrant's story. Good examples are the three stories by Mary Helen Ponce: She speaks about the women migrants going from camp to camp, thus the title, Campesinas: In Onions, she captures poverty and hunger, two reasons people moved north from Mexico. Granma's Apron captures a young man remembering the sacrifices his grandmother made by picking cotton in San Joaquin.

Pachucos by Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado - young Chicano men and women going through a right of passage, not drug addicts or criminals or gangsters.

Pachucos and the Taxicab Brigade - The Zoot Suit Riots started on June 3, 1943, in Los Angeles, and lasted for ten days. Ironically, it was called the Zoot Suit Riots, even though the sailors started them and soon others from the armed forces joined in. The riots were supported and encouraged by the police, the media, the people of L. A., and the Government. They humiliated young Chicanos who were found wearing a Zoot Suit by stripping them and leaving them beaten and half naked on the streets. In the end it was found that it was a race riot against Mexican American youth. Burciage tells us the riot left us with a new hero, the Pachuco. He was the preeminent Don Quixote of Aztlan. Some of the last words in Zoot Suit by Edward James Olmos was The Pachuco lives and he does. Most important, Burciaga tells us that the Pachuco along with the Chicano soldiers who fought in world War II helped to build the foundation of the Chicano Movement by refusing to be treated like second-class citizens.

Colores - Chicanos don't come in pastels. Vibrant colors that come alive describe the Chicano culture. Carlos Santana states that Color has sound. How can we hear colors? Indians attribute certain colors to each of the four directions. Color is found in art, music, dance and drama, the first subjects to go when schools are financially strapped, without realizing that aesthetics is tied to ethics and science.
 
Handouts: Reies Lopez Tijerina; Poll Tax, an excerpt from Making of a Militant by Jose Angel Gutierrez; A Walk in the Sun by Delfino Varela; From Assault With a Deadly Weapon by Roberto Rodriguez;

Readings:

Excerpt from Revolt of the Cockroach People - This book is a masterpiece. Oscar Zeta Acosta was one of the lawyers who defended the L. A. Thirteen. In this book he covers his defense along with many other first hand accounts of the Chicano Movement.

The Spraying by Helena Maria Viramontes; In this reading Viramontes takes us to a spraying of pesticides while two young men are up on a tree. We feel the physical reaction to the spraying. Viramontes was a follower of Cesar Chavez. Before Chavez died he made his last fast to protest the spraying of pesticides. Farm workers were being exposed to these pesticides and clusters of cancer were popping up all over California.

You will be given five readings on the Chicano Moratorium which should have been self-explanatory. The Chicano Moratorium of August 29, 1970, has been described as the Apex of the Chicano Movement. A popular journalist, Ruben Salazar, was killed in a very careless manner as well as two other Chicanos. The Movement was shaken and disheartened, on that day, especially in California. The readings are: Overkill at the Silver Dollar; Eulogy for Ruben Salazar; Chicano Moratorium by Patricia Rodriguez (age 7); A Walk in the Sun by delfina Varela; and From Assault With a Deadly Weapon by Roberto Rodriguez

Reies Lopez Tijerina - This reading is about Tijerina and the Tierra Amarillo, New Mexico, Courthouse Raid of June 5, 1967

Poll Tax, an excerpt from The Making of a Chicano Militant by Jose Angel Gutierrez - Most of us take voting for granted. In this excerpt Gutierrez talks about the difficulty Mexican-Americans had to go through to vote in Texas, including paying the poll tax. He shares the ways in which money was raised in order to pay the tax for people to be able to vote.

Test Review - You can find most of the definitions and characters in the test review in my past notes. We have gone through almost everything in class or will today. You are expected to read the assigned readings. It helps if you do it before class time so you won't be lost in the discussions. I have assigned the readings in a somewhat chronological order. We started with the first recognized piece of Chicano Literature in the sixties, I Am Joaquin; followed by examples of poetry by the first noted Chicano Poets: Alurista, Lalo Delgado and Ricardo Sanchez. You should be reading the short biographies about these authors either in the books or in the handouts. Most notable is the success they have achieved in spite of several obstacles in their lives. They serve as good Chicano Role Models and were an inspiration to the Chicano Movement.

Because of the importance of Mestizaje - the Indian and Spanish mixture - in Chicano Literature we went back to pre-Columbian history and came forward. Broken Spears is an Aztec Poem expressing despair by the Aztecs after the conquest by the Spaniards. You were given reading assignments that introduced you to terms and important symbols in Chicano Literature and historical events such as: Aztlan, Quetzalcoatl, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Juan de Onate; Social bandits such as Gregorio Cortez and Joaquin Murrieta; The Mexican Revolution; the Ludlow Massacre, the Zoot Suit Riots and Pachucos; making a full circle back to the Chicano Movement, ending with the Chicano Moratorium of August 29, 1970, at which time Ruben Salazar was killed. Some of the readings gave you examples of journals such as the one by Cabeza de Vaca and chronicles by Gaspar Perez de Villagra; Corridos; cultural conflict and Chicano labor.

All these readings have not only been a history lesson but examples of Chicano Literature with a historical focus. It is hard to understand Chicano Literature without a basic understanding of the history of the Chicano. The rest of Unit I will introduce you to some cultural traits which are also very important in understanding Chicano Literature. The importance of understanding Chicano history and culture will become evident when we start Unit II, analyzing Chicano Literature in Rudolfo Anaya's Heart of Aztlan.

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