Summaries

=Latino USA =

Part One
Stavans’ Latino USA: A Cartoon History, is divided into four distinct sections. Conquest and Exploration, Into the Cauldron, Upheaval, and In Search of a Mainstream are the titles of the different chapters in the book, named appropriately after what that section dealt with. Naturally, Conquest and Exploration began with Columbus and his unprecedented journey to the Americas in 1492, and moving through the 16th century by introducing figures like Cabeza de Vaca;a soldier who wrote the first major commentary on the exploration of North America and claimed lands like Louisiana, Florida, and Texas for the Spanish crown. The book mentions how distorted Cabeza de Vaca’s and other prominent authors’ description of the natives were and a few of the myths that developed from the spreading of this inaccurate information. Further on, the book’s author discusses how “new” the New World actually was after being colonized, redefined, subdued, and renamed by Europeans. The emergence of new racial groups like Criollo, Mestizo, Sambo, Black, Indians, Spaniards, and Mulattos also played a role in defining how the exploration of North America occurred and was recorded. Expansion continued until 1680, when Pope’ led a revolt of the Pueblo Indians, which eventually resulted in the mass murder of the native group by the Spaniards. Missiones continued to spread throughout the American Southwest and parts of modern day Mexico, until 1810 when Mexico finally seceded from Spain and Portugal, becoming an entirely new yet struggling country. Within a decade of Mexico’s independence, Florida was taken from Spain by the Americans and became a state. In 1835, the Texas Revolution began, in which Texans were fighting for their independence from Santa Anna, Mexico’s dictator. Expansionist policies led to the Mexican- American war under President James K. Polk. The U.S. army defeated the Mexican army in 1847 at the Castle of Chapultepec, and the war officially ended with the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty- a sale of 2/3 of all the Mexican land to the White House for 15 million dollars. At this point, Latino history becomes even more interesting as many Mexicans find themselves now living within American borders and banditos like Cortez, Cortina, Vazquez, and Murietta emerged, playing Robin Hood-like roles as they resisted Anglo oppression. As did most of America, the Southwest became more industrialized in the latter half of the 19th century as rancheros were established. This concludes the first section, lending itself naturally to the beginning of a new one: Into the Cauldron.

Part Two
Into the Cauldron, Latino USA’s second section, begins with a quick look at how Latinos were being perceived by society. This included a synopsis of the racist and inaccurate portrayal of Hispanics in “The Three Caballeros” by Disney, an explanation of the Good Neighbor Act in which Latinos were allowed to choose their own government which only wound up causing more tension, and the introduction of the phrases “first” and “third world”- which wasn’t a helpful division because it wasn’t always that simple to identify countries in that manner. Soon, the concept of slavery and how it affected Hispanic people is introduced, and the reader sees how the Spaniards went from imprisoning natives to importing slaves from Africa as a more humanitarian solution to outrage over how badly the natives were being treated. Also talked about in this section: Nationalism, as South America’s countries begin to gain independence; The Spanish American War in which Spain became influential in Puerto Rico and Cuba, increased hatred of Spain by the U.S. due to spreading stereotypes about their inhumane history of violence, Jose Marti and his contributions to literature and journalism, the rebellion in Cuba, and the American response to it. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, as well as gaining a reputation as a military power were all among what came from that period of time. In 1901, the book shows how Puerto Rico begun a new era in search of identity as either Spanish-speaking Caribbeans or Spanish-speaking Americans, the transaction of Guantanamo and the controversy it started in Cuba, as well as the lure of immigration to many Latinos. New Mexico became an American state in 1848, and in 1910, the Mexican Revolution broke out against its dictator, Diaz. Thus began decades of mass immigration of Latinos to the U.S which brought movements like Muralismo and artists like Posada, Rivera, and Orozco into the public eye. Spanish theater, media, and literature emerged as well, further coloring the United States with rich culture and traditions. Puerto Rico became a commonwealth of the U.S. in 1917, causing a lot of confusion for Americans, Caribbeans, and Puerto Ricans about the actual status of the land and its citizens, causing many to immigrate to America in search of an “entire” identity. Hispanophobia, however, remained prevalent because of movies and inaccurate depictions of Hispanics in the news worldwide and the glorification of Spanish influences. The unfair fear and hatred of Latinos continued throughout the depression and WWII, causing many riots. Despite being beaten and discriminated in the West, Mexicans did begin to appear often in sports, especially baseball, including greats such as Dihigo and Torriente. Of course, the section is capped by a nod to Latino performers like Ricky Ricardo and Desi Arnaz.

Part Three
Part Three: Upheaval covers the last part of the 20th century in which Mexican culture began to mainstream in America as Latino dishes became favorites and musicals like West Side Story were popularized. In Cuba, however, times were still violent as Fidel Castro overthrew and took control by way of guerilla warfare. Despite fighting for peace and justice, Castro put bans on certain religions and promoted specific industries while Americans continued to consider the island a huge casino and vacationed there heavily. Cuba’s communism concerned the US, led to a huge American embarrassment known as the Bay of Pigs, and eventually all diplomatic relations to the country were ended by JFK. The following influx of Cuban refugees in America caused bilingual education to begin in Dade County, FL, in 1960. El Movimiento occurred simultaneously with the Civil Rights Movement also, in the hopes of finding equality for Latinos in America as well. The hippie generation ushered in many years of protests and rebellion. Fueled by years of injustice, Chicanos sought to form a political party known as La Raza Unida which would fight for the advancement of Chicanos in American culture and government. Cesar Chavez also emerged as an advocate for Latino rights in the migrant worker community, leading a strike known as La Huelga and becoming the first Chicano to appear on Time Magazine’s cover in 1967. The Chicano Movement began, raising consciousness in America about Latin culture and history as well as other groups having formed like the Brown Berets and Puerto Rican Young Lords, all of whom sought revolution and justice for the Chicano in America. Oscar Zeta Acosta also became famous for defending Latinos in American courtrooms. Democracy spread through Latin America while American Latinos noticed an unfair increase of Hispanics being drafted and began to protest the government’s apparent internal racism. The years covered in part three were a whirlwind of exciting, terrifying, rebellious, and revolutionary times for America, especially Hispanic Americans.

Part Four
The fourth and final segment of the book dealt with the time since 1977 until the present. In it, the author brings up how “winning” would involve creating a society in which racism is simply unacceptable. The sixties were full of radicalism and reform and new thinking, while the seventies were years of recession and more conservative thought. Because of this, American Chicanos began to lose their class roots in favor of “making it” in the modern nation. The building of the Panama Canal under Jimmy Carter further convinced America that upheaval was over, and the future would be one of restraint. Cuba spiraled downward as Castro’s intolerance for opposing political parties and homosexuals ended the country’s reputation as a country for other Latin American nations to emulate. Affirmative action in the United States, however, served as a way of ensuring Latinos and other minorities representation in the schools and job market. With this, bilingual education and television continued to grow, making the Spanish language one heard frequently in America. Of course, this advancement didn’t go far without some opposition from the English Only Movement, which argued that English was America’s great equalizer and that all of its citizens should be required to speak it. Civil unrest continued in Central America, causing even more people to leave to find peace in America. At one point, half of all Salvadorans lived in the U.S! As the eighties began, pan-ethnic relations characterized the decade as Latinos of all backgrounds began to bond and accept each other as one large group. Salsa replaced ketchup as the best-selling condiment in America, the lowrider fad came into vogue throughout the country, more well-rounded Hispanics were depicted in Hollywood characters and everyone began to speak Spanglish. Still, the U.S. fought immigration with cruel beatings, raids, and deportations of incoming Latinos. Writers, singers, and performers of Hispanic heritage continued to flourish, however, making equality for Chicanos in America look more possible than ever. In the book’s epilogue, Stavans goes on to explore bigger concepts involving Latinos, such as whether or not they are truly better off in America and if there is anything to learn from the Latinos’ struggles. The book was a unique while still sophisticated and in-depth look into the Latino culture and its history, and provided insight about where it may still be headed in the years to come.

=The Devil's Highway =

Part One
The Devil's Highway, a true story written by Luis Alberto Urrea had three different parts. Part one was called Cutting the Drag, and part two was Dead Man's Sign and part three was In Desolation. Each part connects together with the over all story. It is amazing to see the different struggles that each person lives with and the journey to Devil's Highway. Within this book Urrea discusses each hardship of each person. He also looks back to Mexico and its roots: Native American tribes, Spanish explorers and missionaries, and smugglers and human traffickers. This demonstrates a lot of different subjects within one culture, which is great for readers! They are able to see the different difficulties of the Mexican culture.We would say that between Soup, Salad, and Salsa that this particular section of reading would be Salad. Everything is jumbled together, yet it works. Different types of people are put together, to accomplish the same task, which is crossing the boarder to try to have a better life. A question that crosses our mind is that sure, in America there are more opportunities and there may or may not be a better chance of succeeding, however how much greater could it really be? Is it worth risking your own life to try and make a better one? Are the Mexicans making the right decisions by crossing the boarder? Ultimately, is it worth it? Part 1, Cutting the Drag was the introduction to the situation of the members that tried to make it to Devil's Highway. From the deep description in the text, it seemed awfully brutal. The men were in crucial pain and seemed as if none of them were even close to making it. Illusions were occurring as well as scars and pain, the heat had much to do with this. The Devil's Highway, which is a desert in Arizona was resembled as BAD MEDICINE. Clearly, these immigrants knew that this was going to be tough, and we give them props for even trying to make it across the border. With the borderline patrol, this was very tough. It was tough enough to make it through the desert, let alone trying to make it past the American patrol. This land was known as the most horrid place in the world. Over 400 people have died on this land! As the text says: Bones were scattered everywhere. Part one introduces some characters. The coyote, which would be Melchior for the Yumas led the group on this journey. Even though America's culture is going to be completely foreign to their understanding, they want to make it there. They want to live on the edge, they want what they think is a better life. In the financial aspect of things, sure, America could be better, however the way we view it...there is no place like home. Wouldn't you be overwhelmed with having to live in fear?! We sure would!

Part Two
Part 2, Dead Man's Sign covers 8 chapters. It begins with the history of Veracruz. This is where the group Yuma14/Wellton26 originated from. The conditions of Veracruz were not to charming. Basically, nothing was ever good enough. People could not do their job well enough, they could not cut enough crops good enough, there was NEVER enough of a product. There was NEVER enough money, there was NEVER enough food. Families would suffer, they would starve. This region was very poor. The people that made it to the US would return to Veracruz driving cars loaded with products that they would sell for more money than what it was actually worth, causing jealousy and hate towards one another. The poor people would want to become part of this dream, which led to illegal immigration. In this part, the first Wellton26 begins, Don Moi is the recruiter for the Welltons, he charges each member an outrageous amount of money to travel with him and people actually did it! It explains that the Coyotes are hated by many. So why do they do what they do? To have a better life. Many different times of people are recruited, relating back to the Salad part of this. It continues on to how the Coyotes are being publicized that they are only doing this for business and they do not care. Personally we would agree that yes this is what it comes off to be. But those who decide to join ultimately make their own decision. They know the extra baggage that comes alone with joining this group and attempting to make it across the border. Flashing back to the journey, there were outsiders who helped these people continue the journey, and for people to notice you, you would almost have to die! The people who were caught got interrogated while they were so beat up from the journey that they were not even able to think straight. Saline was dripped into these people by an IV, they could barely speak. The rest of this part covered the lives of the people. More and more people were getting caught and the routs that the rest were taking were being tracked. It was not looking to promising, however some did make it alive. Mendez was a big part of this part. He was sketchy, but smart. They would typically walk at night, as the text says they had walked 40 miles one night, as they dreaded the heat that the morning sun would bring. The journey continues on to be long and dreadful. Words really can not even describe this situation. The men had to resort in drinking their own urine just to stay alive. Due to the lack of nutrients that your body needs, your whole body shuts down and you are gone. To us, this is not worth it. It is said that anyone is able to do anything that they put their mind to, however this seems merely impossible. Some do make it, so clearly it isn't. However the question comes up again, why would they want to do this...their answer is to have a better life. So far, this does not seem as if it is a better life.

**Part Three**
Part 3, In Desolation. their journey continues. Some thought they were lost and were going to end up somewhere totally opposite of what they wanted. However, they kept moving. After they seemed to take a considerable amount of rests in this part of the journey, they were all starting to lose hope and they all thought that they would soon die with each morning that was going to come. Everyone was harassing Mendez, if you were in that position would you? Clearly it is hard to take control of a group of people. It is hard to satisfy everyone when you have nothing but hope and faith to satisfy them with. This journey was more than a struggle, it was almost as if it was hell on earth. Helicopters came to try and rescue those who were left, but for example, Edgar died on the scene. Just a little to late. Part 4, Aftermath. Although these immigrants wanted a better life, they were causing our government great financial issues. If they were in a life or death situation they would be brought to the hospital without immediate arrest. They were now Americas problem due to the fact that they were on our land. The amount of money that was used to prevent crossers was not worth it due to the fact that people still got across. In the end, Mendez, whom was alive pleaded guilty for all charges and was sentenced to prison for life. The Mexicans,Border Patrol, and the US Government were all explained on how they relate to one another in the last chapter. After this incident was over with, a station was set up in the middle of The Devil's Highway. Which personally, we feel is a good idea. It will ultimately save lives and money. Overall, The Devil's Highway lives up to it's name. It is not a walk in the park. It is a walk through hell. We believe that these people were almost stupid for their attempt to cross the border. It may take more time to do it the legal way, but in the end it will be worth it and it will be good enough! You will not have to live in fear if you are legal, it will be just as long of a journey as it was if you were to do it the illegal way, but without the suffering and pain.

=Article Sets = In the opinion of Michael Jones, author of the article “The Hispanic Challenge and the Logic of Empire,” America could do with a little bit of a salsa taste. He pretty fiercely attacks Samuel Huntington’s book //A Clash of Civilizations.// Huntington states that America is identified by culture and by its creed, but Jones argues that Huntington and the people he is in coalition with have actually destroyed the only culture that would make America identifiable in the first place. According to Jones, “Huntington and his colleagues in the Psychological Warfare Establishment have been waging war on American culture far more effectively than any Mexican could” (Jones 15). In essence, Jones is calling Huntington out on being hypocritical and ironic. Huntington believes that Mexican Americans will soon have enough mass to “preserve their distinctive culture indefinitely.” That would allow them to challenge the existing political, cultural, legal, educational systems and much more (Jones 11). Huntington is not a fan of this, and Jones clearly thinks that he is being racist and hypocritical for feeling the way he does.  Jones thinks that as long as the United States has a strong desire for cheap labor, immigration will continue and American cultural extinction will occur (Jones 13). As America’s cultural extinction starts to occur, different cultures will start to form a new one. It is very likely that the Hispanic culture will begin to have a large influence on the United States. Michael Jones seems to hold that attitude that the immigrants are here, they are helping out, and we should treat them equally. From his stance on the issue, I would say that he possibly does want a salsa flavored America. He bemoans the upper class and people like Samuel Huntington who are in favor of white nationalism and a lower percentage of ethnic minority groups.  There are others in America who also wouldn’t mind a bit of salsa, or at least some salad. In the article “Immigration Reform and the Catholic Church,” by Donald Kerwin, a church Cardinal instructed people to ignore provisions that made it illegal to assist immigrants. Church bishops began a “Justice for Immigrants” campaign because they have a reverence for undocumented immigrants as God’s children. Many Catholic church members have also taken part in plans to help conditions in other countries that would force immigrants to leave in the first place. I think that is a pretty smart idea.  In the article “Pathetic Tradeoff” by Joel Belz, harsh Republicans are criticized for their attitude toward immigrants. He reveals a statistic that shows the states with the biggest increase in immigration as having the best statistics regarding unemployment, poverty, and crime. Clearly, Belz believes in a place where immigrants are accepted for who they are, people who have come to work hard and contribute to society. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> The El Mojado music video also revealed people who were in favor of immigrants. The video paints a picture of a loving husband and father who unwillingly leaves his family in hopes of a better life for him. The music video is in Spanish, and it would make sense to assume that those singers would be in favor of salsa. Of course they are in support of their own people, as we are in support of our people. That video was really beautiful and really spoke to the heart about the lives behind the undocumented workers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> The article by James McKinley about the Mexican manual is also similar to that music video. It is Mexicans in support of other Mexicans. Although we can see the reasoning behind the manual, it still seems a little strange that the Mexican government did it in the first place. Someone in the article stated that Mexicans would not want us teaching our citizens how to violate their laws, so we shouldn’t do it to them. That seems to be a decent point, but it is a difficult issue because there are, unfortunately, too many lives of Mexicans being lost because of immigration. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Although there are people who are in favor of immigrants, there are others who are not in support of immigrants living and working in America. In the article entitled “Law and Orders” by Emily Belz, a new law passed in Alabama is discussed. According to the article it is the strictest immigration law in the country. The law requires ordinary citizens to be the enforcers by requiring them to ask suspicious people for their paperwork to prove citizenship. Many think that the law encourages racial profiling. The law has also scared many Hispanics out of leaving their homes, for fear of being asked for paperwork that they do not have. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">The state of Arizona is trying to pass a law that allows state enforcement of immigration laws, bypassing federal enforcement. The law may actually be unconstitutional, because Arizona is trying to take the place of the federal government. However, the law is already on its way to the Supreme Court. It will be left in their hands after that (Carcamo). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">From doing these readings, it seems clear that no easy answer is available to the immigration problem. We all agree that it is a problem that cannot be ignored, and something needs to be done about the 12 million immigrants that are already living and working in America (Dean.) One of the suggestions for what to do is in the article by James Dean. Some people feel that immigrants should have to pay a fine for their crime, learn English, and then go to the “back of the line” to earn American citizenship. As it is right now, it is very difficult for them to even obtain temporary work visas. Farmers in America that are hiring the undocumented workers are bypassing the system because it is too difficult, and are going ahead and hiring them illegally. Many people think Obama needs to help create a better process to obtain temporary work visas. That could be a good plan. It would give the immigrants a good start and allow them to settle in and then possibly apply for citizenship. However, it seems fair that they should try and apply for citizenship in the first place, instead of violating American laws. Rubio’s DREAM act also seems like a decent idea. This act would allow young illegals to stay in America as long as they join the military or go to college (Fox News Latino).That way, they would be giving back to the community and actually pursuing the “American dream” that they originally came to work for. This seems fair and is a way to “honor both our legacy as a nation of laws and also our legacy as a nation of immigrants,” as quoted by Rubio (Fox News Latino). These plans would all seem to work in favor of an American salad. Each part would be tasty and unique, everyone would recognize each other’s distinctions, and it would allow everyone to live in the same place. Although it is easy to accept the immigrants here now, the best solution does not seem to be to open the borders to anyone. The flow needs to be regulated and something needs to be done to make sure more immigrants are obeying the law, rather than breaking it.


 * Introduction**
 * Connections**
 * Conclusion**