Week 9—Bless Me Ultima (part i)

I struggle with reading. In fact, I have in the past said that I hate reading, but that is simply because I struggle with it. I can zip through a ‘good’ book without batting an eyelash, and I flip the pages of a ‘not-so-good’ book as if I were shovelling heavy snow. This is how I felt when I started Bless Me Ultima. To start with, I found the Introduction, which the author Rudolfo Anaya provides as really arrogant, reminiscent of the likes of Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood—two Canadian authors who think very highly of themselves. Why tell me how great your book is before I read it? This takes away my agency as a reader to figure out whether or not I like it before I even start…never mind the audacity of including discussion questions at the end of it for me to ponder. It makes me think the writer has little faith in his reader. Alice Munro, the Canadian author I mentioned previously, says in an essay called “What is Real?” that authors are often asked “very naïve questions…by people who really don’t understand the difference between autobiography and fiction, who can’t recognize the device of the first-person narrator”. Yuck. Anaya’s Introduction made me think he has the same lack of faith in his readers that Munro does. Let me, the reader—your reader—decide for myself whether or not your book is good. My imagination is well sufficient.

So this is how I felt starting the book.

It wasn’t until chapter Tres when I started to relate to the narrator and forget about the arrogance I had interpreted at the onset. It was when the narrator said that he would be forced to speak only English when he started school, according to his sister, it dawned on me that this was a little boy speaking his story. I began to turn the pages with a little more ease.

It was one of our midterm topics—language, and here it comes up again in this novel…‘the classic novel’, per the cover. Language plays such a formidable role in sociocultural aspects of our lives. I began to understand that the narrator was a Spanish-speaking little boy in New Mexico, whose only language is Spanish, conveying his thoughts in English from the mind of an adult.

I also began to think of something I read about Down These Mean Streets while preparing for our impending wikipedia assignment. Schools used to insist that English be the only language spoken. Kids, who came from families which didn’t speak English at home, struggled. They were evaluated in comparison (or contrast) with the other students who did speak English at home and already had achieved some sort of fluidity with English. This caused the impression of stupidity and laziness in students, simply because English was not their first language. These stereotypes developed with them into adulthood. This caused tension for the students who struggled to express themselves in a foreign language…despite being so close to their home.

So from this, I started to get into the book a little more, and I have almost forgotten how I felt when I started.

I’m including a song this week that I often share with students I tutor…a Spanish version of The Beatles’ song ‘Amarillo Submarino Es’ by Los Mustang (I believe they were from Barcelona). Songs, poems, thoughts can be translated from one language to the next, often with little tweeks of change that don’t have a significant impact on the overall meaning or mood to capture something similar to the original language in which it was written or thought. I was reminded of this version of the song when I realised that the narrator was thinking in Spanish despite the words being in English; the melody remains the same and I understood him.

Bless Me Ultima (Part 1)

I think that this text is one of the most interestingly written out of the texts we’ve read thus far. It seems to be written in a “wandering” manner, meaning, the book is an exploration of Antonio’s thoughts and in a manner that is not afraid to stray away from the topic at hand, instead venturing into a distant memory or thought then to be regrouped to the original topic. I think this strategy really helps to get in the mindset of Antonio and how his brain works, especially as a quizzical young boy.

What I also find interesting is the overwhelming distinction between the vaquero lifestyle that is favoured by Antonio’s father and the Luna family lifestyle that is favoured by his mother. This seems to be a deep-seeded conflict between his parents’ marriage, making Antonio essentially stuck between the two different lifestyles and cultures. It is clear that the two ways of living are quite different; while the vaquero lifestyle manifests in love for the llano and seems to value freedom, mobility and independence, the Luna family lifestyle wants to build towns and fences around the llano, valuing  family, stability and productivity. These concepts are brought up very early on in the novel, and also very early on in Antonio’s life, as he is only six years old. As such, it seems that his future is already hanging between two competing cultures, which each have unique expectations. Early on in the book, we read about Antonio’s dream of his birth. In this dream, he expresses his uneasiness around his future and whether he will become a vaquero or a priest. This reveals his overall anxiety that surrounds the culture conflict. We also see pressure coming from his parents; while his father talks about the llanos, his mother cries “if only he could become a priest…just think the honor it would bring our family to have a priest” to which his father replies “Be sensible!”, clearly demonstrating their conflicting views on the topic. Although Antonio does not seem to vocalize his anxiety of the situation to his parents, or even to us in the text, it comes out in his dreams (which seems to be a way to show Antonio’s interpretations and feelings towards the thoughts and experiences he has, and how that affects him as a character). Also, it is clear that Ultima is a guiding figure in Antonio’s life. So, her role may very well be to guide Antonio throughout this process of coming to terms with his heritages and embracing both of the cultures into his life.

Topic: Community

Throughout this course we have learned about various essential concepts that are demonstrated in the books that we have read. One of them being community. In Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas and With His Pistol In His Hand by Americo Paredes, we see this word and its meaning exemplified throughout both texts. A community is formed by those who have a sense of connection and belonging with each other. It is created through a sense of fellowship and people having commonalities with one another.

The first text that I will analyze will be the one by Paredes. In his text Paredes takes a corrido dedicated to Gregorio Cortez a Mexican American who shot a sheriff and defended and fought for his right with his pistol in his hand. This corrido dedicated to this hero brings a sense of identity and connection to the people of the Rio Grande. This sense of being able to relate to a figure such as Gregorio Cortez, as he has suffered and witnessed injustices and ill-treatments due to his race is a way of forming a community. These people are able to use a corrido which is sung throughout history to bring them together and remember figures that are known for their strength and perseverance and with which they are able to identify with. These corridos and the idols that make them, create a sense of community where people can come together and remember figures that represent something for them.

In Down These Mean Streets, we encounter Piri Thomas, who is in search of his community. Piri is looking for a place where he belongs. After moving to various areas such as the Italian neighbourhood in New York, Long Island, and the South Piri starts finding comfort with himself and identifies the place where he feels at home the most, which is Spanish Harlem. Throughout his moves to different areas in New York and in the country and later on in jail, we find a Piri who is always longing for his return to the place where he feels at home and comfortable. For Piri, his community is this neighbourhood. As it is explained in the book, he feels a sense of comfort and identification with the people, sights, smells, and sounds of Spanish Harlem. For Piri, the search for his identity and belonging somehow always brings him back to this neighbourhood, the place where he grew up in and from then on has always played a role in who he is.

Topic: Community

Throughout this course we have learned about various essential concepts that are demonstrated in the books that we have read. One of them being community. In Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas and With His Pistol In His Hand by Americo Paredes, we see this word and its meaning exemplified throughout both texts. A community is formed by those who have a sense of connection and belonging with each other. It is created through a sense of fellowship and people having commonalities with one another.

The first text that I will analyze will be the one by Paredes. In his text Paredes takes a corrido dedicated to Gregorio Cortez a Mexican American who shot a sheriff and defended and fought for his right with his pistol in his hand. This corrido dedicated to this hero brings a sense of identity and connection to the people of the Rio Grande. This sense of being able to relate to a figure such as Gregorio Cortez, as he has suffered and witnessed injustices and ill-treatments due to his race is a way of forming a community. These people are able to use a corrido which is sung throughout history to bring them together and remember figures that are known for their strength and perseverance and with which they are able to identify with. These corridos and the idols that make them, create a sense of community where people can come together and remember figures that represent something for them.

In Down These Mean Streets, we encounter Piri Thomas, who is in search of his community. Piri is looking for a place where he belongs. After moving to various areas such as the Italian neighbourhood in New York, Long Island, and the South Piri starts finding comfort with himself and identifies the place where he feels at home the most, which is Spanish Harlem. Throughout his moves to different areas in New York and in the country and later on in jail, we find a Piri who is always longing for his return to the place where he feels at home and comfortable. For Piri, his community is this neighbourhood. As it is explained in the book, he feels a sense of comfort and identification with the people, sights, smells, and sounds of Spanish Harlem. For Piri, the search for his identity and belonging somehow always brings him back to this neighbourhood, the place where he grew up in and from then on has always played a role in who he is.

The law: the perpetuation of inequalities

One concept that is central to the three books we studied is the concept of law. I would like to talk about a concept that is omnipresent in Marxist literature (for example in Gramsci’s philosophy), namely law as an element representing the social hierarchies. More than this previous aspect, according to the Marxist current, law is the instrument of the dominant social class and can only represent and pursue the interest of this dominant class.

In the books The Squatter and the Don, the author precisely describes a series of laws that cause the social downfall of Mexican families such as the Alamar families. Indeed, the law is profoundly illiberal in the sense that it favours squatters, who are Anglo-American, against the inhabitants of the southwestern territories, who are mainly of Mexican origin. The laws represent social hierarchy in that they are an expression of the political and numerical domination of Anglo-Americans over Mexican-Americans. More interestingly, the law is the instrument of a perpetuation of political inequalities that are rooted in historical events, principally Mexico’s defeat in the American-Mexican War and the subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The law, by questioning the validity of the propriety titles of that population and allowing de facto and de jure settlers to take the occupied lands according to the concept of Terra Nullius, is a crucial variable that explain the social downfall of the Mexican Families. More importantly, these laws are the first step in creating a pattern of economic inequality. Therefore, the laws perpetuate this domination by giving Anglo-Americans the instrument that allows them to consolidate their position in the expanse of Mexican America. Political inequalities are transformed into social inequalities which then perpetuate themselves.

In the Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, the Law is not criticized per se, but the unjust application of the Law represents an extension of the deeply illiberal character of the Law. In fact, the law, although expressed in general and non-discriminatory terms, does not appear to be applied in the same way to Anglo-Americans and Mexican Americans. For the former, the presumption of innocence seems to be respected, while for the latter, a presumption of guilt seems to be applied. Moreover, throughout the legal process, we can see how the application of the law is ambiguous and depends on the bias of the juries and the court. Moreover, not all the actors are not subjected to the Law. In fact, paradoxically, the executor of these laws, the Rangers, carries out extrajudicial killings against peaceful citizens for the sole reason that they are Mexican. This shows that the law empowers one class of citizens against another, perpetuating a pattern of discrimination. Social inequalities are thus the mere consequences of political and legal inequalities.

Last but not least, in Down These Means Street, the treatment of the law is subtle. In fact, it is not the application of the law against Piri that is criticized because he is a criminal who is punished fairly for these offences. Rather, the book narrates the social consequences of these legal discrimination. In fact, one point of critics is the tolerance of discriminatory and racially motivated actions and behaviour. Indeed, for example, when Piri is denied a job simply because he is black, this situation is quite unbearable. The application of the law in this context is flawed, as there is no mechanism to prevent this type of discrimination, which is at the root of the perpetuation of socio-economic inequalities.

 

Aurélien

It’s okay to be sad :)

The most interesting aspect of two of the books that we have gone through so far is the incorporation of the role of memory in them. We see both in “With His Pistol in His Hand” and “Down These Mean Streets” the impact, of not just personal but also communal memory, holds.

We are taken back to different times as we are told about the lives of Gregorio Cortez and Piri Thomas. Paredes goes through the history and legacy that Gregorio Cortez has left behind in a community unique to the border of Mexico, having their own culture. His memory does not just die with him but lives on as people admired the way he lived his life. He has served and continues to serve as a hope to those people who are like him because it shows how ordinary people are able to stand for themselves. He symbolizes the hope that it can be done and anyone can do it. The corrido is passed on to commemorate him and to keep a sense of pride for the people who are like Gregorio Cortez.

Piri’s telling of his past and his story of “redemption” have had different effects on everyone in our class but I think that is another manifestation of the power of memory. Similar to what we have mentioned in class, our background and context affects the way we look at Piri’s life and the circumstances he had to endure. Both had committed crimes to defend themselves. Cortez might have been seen as a symbol of hope throughout his narratives but one can argue that Piri did not have that “role model” image for the most of this particular biography. However, it shows in a greater depth that anyone can redeem themselves through acceptance of others and themselves.

Even though we were not there, we are fortunate enough to have been transported back to the past through the power of words and the memories of the writer, may that be the person himself or countless witnesses to these stories. The way I would contrast these two is that Paredes’ account of Gregorio Cortez’s life has impacted generations of the “border culture” whereas Thomas’ biography has affected even us who are just in a classroom of students studying Latino/Chicano literature on a level that even we had to explain it to understand each other better. Some were sad, some were broken-hearted, and some were inspired. These books have been able to inspire simply just by recounting memories that are out of our present context and gives us a more in depth understanding of history and the “sad” reality of what people had to go through back then and even until now.

Language and Meaning


Each language expresses meaning in a different way. Words are chosen to express thoughts and feelings within specific cultural contexts. I think we can find this in the books we have read so far. This falls under the field of linguistic anthropology, of which I don’t know much of. But the collection of books we have read pinpoint main pillars of meaning in each of the communities they focus on, and how that meaning is conveyed. Down these mean streets puts a lot of emphasis on how race can be changed through language; Squatter and the Don we can denote the power of the accent and how it influences social prejudices; in this novel as well we find that being rich surpasses an accent; and, overall, we notice the trend that all three authors specifically choose not to translate certain words.

First, in Down these mean streets we find that being Puerto Rican and a Spanish Speaker classifies Piri as a non-Black man. This is how he is granted access into the brothel, in pretending that he didn’t understand English. This magically “erases” the fact that he is black, his appearance is transformed through language. The opposite occurs when he forcefully imitates a southern accent to irritate his father. His father was in denial of the American conception of being black, which was immediately associated with the South. Gerald is another character that has the power to change his appearance through language. Because he has some Puerto Rican ascendency and knows some Spanish, he claims it as his identity. He has a wider range of choices due to being of “lighter tone” as well. On the opposite side, a character like Brew shows us how solid identity can be, for apparently has no choice to choose to be something he is not, and that is what he advocates for the whole time. Only speaking English and being from down south he checks all the boxes for the stereotype set for him by society, and he wants Piri to be the same.

Second, in Squatter and the Don there is the part where Mercedes goes to a Ball. She is advised to imitate a French accent because she and her family would be recognized for, they would immediately be associated with their accent. She is advised to either do an Irish brogue or a French accent. Even among accents there is a hierarchy as to which is more refined, “she passed herself of as a stammering French girl, who was very talkative, (…) maintaining her rôle so well (…)” (ch.21). When her family lost all their prospects, they were immediately rejected from their social circles and forever pinned as foreign due to their accent and language, which stereotypically labels them as aliens. Here language serves as a tool for either inclusion or alienation.

Lastly, we see that in both of these novels there are sets of words in Spanish. These are kept because if translated to English the phrase or expression would lose its meaning, its purpose in a specific context. Piri mentions the importance the barrio de noche in the prologue and his mundo, these words used in Spanish evoke emotion in a different way than in English, not only that they might be also used by an insider community, by other boys and men in the barrio. Words evoke sense of community, of belonging. We see this in the use of the diminutive for personal names and nicknames Carlito, Negrito. As we noticed in both these books, language outlines the barriers between cultures. Piri is reminded of that constantly, the same goes for the Alamar family.

Language and Meaning


Each language expresses meaning in a different way. Words are chosen to express thoughts and feelings within specific cultural contexts. I think we can find this in the books we have read so far. This falls under the field of linguistic anthropology, of which I don’t know much of. But the collection of books we have read pinpoint main pillars of meaning in each of the communities they focus on, and how that meaning is conveyed. Down these mean streets puts a lot of emphasis on how race can be changed through language; Squatter and the Don we can denote the power of the accent and how it influences social prejudices; in this novel as well we find that being rich surpasses an accent; and, overall, we notice the trend that all three authors specifically choose not to translate certain words.

First, in Down these mean streets we find that being Puerto Rican and a Spanish Speaker classifies Piri as a non-Black man. This is how he is granted access into the brothel, in pretending that he didn’t understand English. This magically “erases” the fact that he is black, his appearance is transformed through language. The opposite occurs when he forcefully imitates a southern accent to irritate his father. His father was in denial of the American conception of being black, which was immediately associated with the South. Gerald is another character that has the power to change his appearance through language. Because he has some Puerto Rican ascendency and knows some Spanish, he claims it as his identity. He has a wider range of choices due to being of “lighter tone” as well. On the opposite side, a character like Brew shows us how solid identity can be, for apparently has no choice to choose to be something he is not, and that is what he advocates for the whole time. Only speaking English and being from down south he checks all the boxes for the stereotype set for him by society, and he wants Piri to be the same.

Second, in Squatter and the Don there is the part where Mercedes goes to a Ball. She is advised to imitate a French accent because she and her family would be recognized for, they would immediately be associated with their accent. She is advised to either do an Irish brogue or a French accent. Even among accents there is a hierarchy as to which is more refined, “she passed herself of as a stammering French girl, who was very talkative, (…) maintaining her rôle so well (…)” (ch.21). When her family lost all their prospects, they were immediately rejected from their social circles and forever pinned as foreign due to their accent and language, which stereotypically labels them as aliens. Here language serves as a tool for either inclusion or alienation.

Lastly, we see that in both of these novels there are sets of words in Spanish. These are kept because if translated to English the phrase or expression would lose its meaning, its purpose in a specific context. Piri mentions the importance the barrio de noche in the prologue and his mundo, these words used in Spanish evoke emotion in a different way than in English, not only that they might be also used by an insider community, by other boys and men in the barrio. Words evoke sense of community, of belonging. We see this in the use of the diminutive for personal names and nicknames Carlito, Negrito. As we noticed in both these books, language outlines the barriers between cultures. Piri is reminded of that constantly, the same goes for the Alamar family.

Community

Thus far, in our survey of various border literature, I am most fascinated by the concept of community. Depending who you ask, community can mean different things, whether it is their local neighbourhood, the cultural identity to which one relates or on a larger scale it can represent a larger county, province or country. The Cambridge dictionary defines community as: “the people living in one particular area or people who are considered as a unit because of their common interests, social group, or nationality”. Community has been addressed in each of the selections we have discussed in SPAN 322; however, for the sake of time restrictions, I will keep my discussion to two of the three selections: María Amparo Ruiz de Burton’s The Squatter and The Don—A Novel Descriptive of Contemporary Occurences in California and Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets.

Foremost, is the reference to places in each of these selections’ titles: the first references California in the subtitle, while the second refers more generally to ‘streets’. And while geographic places, such as California or more generally ‘streets’ denote a specific area, as mentioned in the Cambridge definition of community, the subject matter of both books focus more on the community to which the characters belong.

Ruiz de Burton (RdB) takes on the subject of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which intended to define peace between the United States (US) and Mexico after the Mexican-American War. National borders were redefined by this legislation regardless of the traditional or familial ties to land ownership. Thus, in RdB’s novel, the reader encounters the Alamar family, who has for some time owned the vast expanse of land on which they live and farm. We then encounter the ‘squatters’, namely the Darrell family and others, who arrive on Alamar family land and assume portions of it for their own use. So within one geographic area, two communities are established: those with traditional ownership and affiliation with the land and those who are new arrivals. Of course, this causes conflict, especially when the division between the two communities is blended through marriage.

The notion of community in Thomas’ book, on the other hand, is on a much smaller scale. Piri, the main character, lives in Spanish Harlem, or what he calls El Barrio. This is where he feels he belongs. This is where he is among people with whom he shares a cultural identity, namely the Puerto Ricans. When Piri’s family is relocated to the Italian part of New York, Piri is considered an outsider; he is no longer in El Barrio. While this division of cultural identity occurs at the same time as a geographic change, Piri’s sense of community, that is, as a Puerto Rican, remains strong. Furthermore, Piri’s family moves again to a suburban New York neighbourhood which is predominently white. Piri’s identity as a Puerto Rican is further tested because of his darker complexion. The community does not see him as white, he is seen as black. Thus the sense of belonging within his community causes Piri to seek his own self-identity, driving the plot of the entire book.

The notion of community and what it means is not as simple as establishing clear-cut boundaries. Rather the sense of self identity provides one’s sense of belonging with in which ever community the feel affiliated. Whether based on traditional or legal boundaries, or cultural and racial affiliations, community is not a label that can be prescribed. The boundaries of communities, both visible and invisible provide each and everyone of us with a sense of belonging.

On a final note, and in the interest of continuity within my series of blogs, I’m including a link to one of my favourite pieces of music, “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin. This piece, not only takes me away to a place of sheer bliss when I need an escape, it also demonstrates the unity of two musical styles…or communities: classical and jazz. The conductor and pianist in this video is Leondard Bernstein, who composed West Side Story, the musical from which we jump started our journey through border literature. This piece is long (nearly 20 minutes), but trust me, it is worth it…treat yourself to the escape. And to that end, wouldn’t it be amazing if we lived in a community that fused together and celebrated all that is different in one harmonious rhapsody in blue?

Territory & Boundaries

I’d like to focus on territory and as a subset, boundaries. We see this as a theme in all three books. In The Squatter and The Don we see the disruption of territory as the Squatters move on the Don’s land, in Gregorio Cortez we see the emphasis on the physical border between Texas and Mexico, and in Down These Mean Streets we see territorial boundaries between different neighbourhoods and the northern and southern states. It is interesting to see how these territorial lines play a role in the motivations and behaviours presented in the books. In many ways, none of these books could have happened if not for these boundaries, and the trespassing of these boundaries.

In The Squatter and The Don, for example, the story is centred around how the squatters unrightfully – or rightfully, in technical terms – claimed territory that was already owned by the Don. If it wasn’t for this action, this trespassing, then none of the subsequent events would have been possible; the Don would have kept his land and cattle, Clarence would not have met Mercedes, they would not have travelled across the US nor gotten married, there would not have been a collision between the Anglos and Californios, etc. It is interesting to think that so many events could be centered around what seems to be a simple, and somewhat trivial, part of the book. It almost seems too simple…

In Down These Mean Streets, on the other hand, we could argue that the territories in which Piri lived drove his behaviours throughout the autobiography. In the barrio, for example, he strived to be macho and fit in with the other barrio kids. Upon moving out to Long Island (I think it was?) he was forced to realize he did not fit in there, causing his out lash and subsequent desire to go to the South. When in the Southern territory, we see him adopt the black man’s mentality, driving him to execute actions that he may have not done otherwise, such as take advantage of a women in order to feed his pride. When in jail, we see him go through a transformation. I argue the jail is another territory; a territory and boundary that separates people from freedom, one that separates the old Piri from the new. But I also believe that Down These Mean Streets holds another layer of boundaries; the physical to mental, the territory of the inner mind vs. the territory of action. We discussed this last week, in how Piri seemed to go through life almost on autopilot – he acted like he thought he was expected to act, did things because of who people told him he was and not who he thought he was. He acted in the physical space and the “territory of action”, so to speak. But in jail, we see him venture into his mind; he explores the territory of his thoughts, his feelings, the psychology of his mind. Perhaps this is a stretch for some people, but I believe that these territories, these boundaries, that Piri explores throughout the book are fundamental to his self discovery. I’m curious to know what you guys think!