IDENTITY in Postcolonial Latino Literature

For much of its history, Latin American countries have experienced great deals of oppression from elites and higher class groups in societies. Because of this extremely oppressive and unfair treatment of Latinos by Europeans, these conflicts created a dependency on European and U.S. culture for Latinos to find some sort of Identity. I wanted to explore the theme of Identity in Latino Literature; how do the writers and their novels address Identity we have read? How does this theme of Identity mirror my own culture? What can be done to address this issue of identity and will it ever have an opportunity to be less prevalent in Latino Literature? These are questions that arise for me in exploring the major theme of Identity within Latino Literature.

            In the many novels that we have read in class, there are  few that address identity specifically, but there are common themes within all Latino literature that somehow address this lack of knowing oneself or their culture. There are many conflicts within the Latino culture, especially amidst themselves because of the cognitive remapping of cultural terrain.(Augenbraum, 39) Because of the effects of colonialism, many Latin American countries were split and borders were created to deteriorate or limit the communication between the many diverse cultures that Latin America embodies. For example, the voyages of Columbus, Spanish Conquest, creating the Encomienda system that practically destroyed the Taino race; a racial and cultural hierarchy establishing itself: Spaniards, Criollos, Mestizos, Indians and Blacks. The Spanish language became a mediator or commonality for many cultures in Latin America that shows the influence of the Europeans. Trujillo’s regime, the mass killing of many and not being able to express the dislike of these events, also created a distance between Latinos. The different religions, family values and teachings, especially of categorization of cultures, brought by Europeans, created struggles within the familial and cultural values and having to choose one’s own path in life, definitely made it difficult to find an Identity within Latin American society.(Meztizo, Wikipedia).

In Rudolfo A. Anaya’s, Bless Me Ultima, it is not difficult to see how identity plays a major role, as one of the major themes is the influence of culture on identity. The protagonist in the novel, Antonio/Tony, is struggling to find a definitive answer to questions of his own identity. He is conflicted and influenced by many, even others within a different culture. (Ultima).  Antonio’s struggle to reconcile the complexities within his identity and religious experiences, ultimately allows him to conclude that he must make his own decisions in life, which Ultima helps him with this. One of the major conflicts he faces is that of his parents’ influence in their idea of what Antonio should become. His vaquero father Gabriel, wants him to ride the IIano, just as he did, while his Luna mother Maria, wishes for him to become a priest and bring honor to the family. In chapter 3, Gabriel and Maria are arguing about the influences that the world (cultures) brings upon children; “it is a sin for boys to become men” says Maria, and Gabriel contests, saying “it is part of life, boys grow up to become men, it’s inevitable, “it’s the way of the world”. Maria says, “ If Antonio becomes a priest, he will be spared from the corruption of life.”(Anaya, 56)  This particular scene in Chapter 3 was really interesting because it shows how influential his parents are in his life, having an open argument/discussion about what he should be, in front of him, definitely makes it difficult for Antonio to find his own answers and his own path.

In Bodega dreams, Chino has been searching for an identity for as long as he could remember. “To have a name other than the one your parents gave you meant you had status in school, had status on the block. You were somebody. If anyone called you by your real name you were un mamao, a useless, meaningless thing. It meant that you hadn’t proved yourself, it was open season for anyone to kick your ass.” (Quinonez, 4). Chino admits to wanting to have proven himself, getting recognition from the streets. This would give him the identity that he wanted. Another instance in which identity plays a major role in the beginning of the book is Chino describing how the teachers would treat them, they already were looked at as failures and this created tension in the student/teacher relationship, but also amidst themselves because they had no identity within their own families/cultures.

:“To white teachers we were all going to end up delinquents” “ I get paid whether you learn or not”, they would tell us”.

: “So, since we were almost convinced that our race had no culture, no smart people, we behaved even worse”

: “So we hated ourselves and fought every day. And finally, after a while, when I lost the fear of hitting someone else (not the fear of getting hit, but of hitting someone else), I looked for fights”.(Quinonez,6-7). Chino is listening to Willie express his dream, wanting to become the biggest slumlord in New York City, helping people was his thing, but making money was his identity. As a part of that dream/ identity, Willie needed Chino to represent him and to do that well. In return, Willie helps Chino acquire an apartment. I believe Chino really takes to Willie because he is showing him what he can potentially become.

: “ People remember you as someone who tried to make the neighborhood a better place. And that’s good. And now they see your in school and that’s good too, bro. (Quinonez,36).

             To anyone who is search of an identity, you tend to go along with what makes you feel important at the time, you have a tendency to become engulfed with making a name for yourself. This is how Chino becomes linked up with Willie, he feels that through him, he can have his own identity. 

            In Cristina Garcia’s novel Dreaming in Cuban, Garcia does a fantastic job in depicting the struggles faced by these marginalized Cuban immigrants, with her character Pilar. Being both Cuban and American, she has strong attachments with the island as well as with the U.S. But because of the political and cultural boundaries that separate families, construction of psychic borders and historical bridges(Augenbaum, 89) the Puentes family experiences identity loss. Pilar’s efforts to accept her Cuban heritage, while forging an identity as a Cuban-American woman stands out the most to me in this novel. Pilar is a young woman who is working to create an identity that addresses major issues such as language, morality, religion, gender and place what she herself identifies as the purgatory of biculturalism. She is the one character in the novel that must blend the past with the present, her Cuban heritage with her American life. The other major characters in the novel do not face nearly the same struggle, for Celia can only be Cuban, while Lourdes can only be American. Struggling with her language, Pilar’s Spanish suggests how the politics that separate Cuba and the U.S. have been introduced into the family relationships. Because she grew up in America, Pilar’s Spanish is hard-edged and awkward.

: “Pilar’s eyes, Celia fears, are no longer used to the compacted light of the tropics, where a morning hour can fill a month of days in the north, which receives only careless sheddings from the sun. She imagines her granddaughter pale, gliding through paleness, malnourished and cold without the food of scarlets and greens” (Garcia,7).

Later on, despite Pilar’s recognition of her love for her mother, she has yet to fully develop a string sense of identity. Pilar’s art is representative of her fragmented identity.

:” My paintings have been getting more and more abstract lately, violent-looking with clotted swirls of red” (Garcia,29).

If art is representative of the artists’ sense of self, then Pilar’s work shows clearly the struggles in which she faces. Pilar must reconcile her two worlds, Cuba and America, to fully develop her identity as a Cuban-American. Pilar’s development of her identity is central to the novel’s theme. I remember her asking, “why don’t we read about this is history books, who chooses what we should know and what is important? (Garcia,28). These questions give us premise to see Pilar’s interest in history and also how the historical constructs are patriarchal and this reflects her mother’s strong will that she inherits. Pilar discovers that no matter how she views things, history has shattered her family. Lourdes not speaking about her rape, Rufino dwelling on his memories of Cuba and not able to adjust to the U.S., makes it difficult for Pilar to piece together her own history, therefore making it difficult for her to find her identity!

For many of the Latino characters in the novels discussed throughout the semester, we see the struggles and conflicts within the family, community, society and most importantly within themselves. After reading these novels, viewing the films on Latino cultures and analyzing Latino Literature along with my classmates, I have found many ways in which the Latino culture and my own culture as an African American are linked. Just as Latin America had been colonized and oppressed in many ways, such is the case of Africa. Much of our culture has been fragmented and picked apart by society, creating psychic dislocations within our ideals and psyche. We are in constant search of identity, having to what I call, “Chameleonize”, ourselves in order to fit society’s standards. I can definitely make connections with the characters in the novels; trying to find themselves an identity based on their own personalities, their own beliefs, and their own way of figuring themselves out, which seemed to be problematic and major conflicts. Although we have discussed many interesting things over the course of the semester, and we have covered many aspects of Latino literature that I could relate to, I find that one project in particular was the defining moment for me. The moment where I realized that African American and Latino cultures cross paths. This project was former Goshen College Spanish professor Rafael Falcon’s “Reflection of My Essence”. This project served as a rich tool for helping me think about my face, my features, and my family; taking a historical analysis as to where these came from; as well as thinking about my culture, the connections to others, and “gaining one’s rightful place”!(Augenbaum, 176) I can only tell you that through this course, I have learned so much about Latino culture, literature, and most of all, I learned a great deal more about myself and now have a new found IDENTITY that I am very proud of!    

WORKS CITED:
1.Augenbraum, Harold, and Olmos Margarite. Fernández. The Latino Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to the Present. Boston, [Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print.
2. Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Warner, 1994. Print.
3. Quiñonez, Ernesto. Bodega Dreams. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2000. Print.
4.  García, Cristina. Dreaming in Cuban. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print.
5.  "Mestizo." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestizo>.