I have enjoyed this class, the topics covered and the books were all very interesting.
Explaining to people that I was taking a Spanish class…but mostly reading and speaking English confused a lot of people…but now that we’ve finished all of the different books I’ve come to realize that reading books written by Latinas/Chicanas in English is really representative of the dual identities that these women and allows them to express all aspects of their identities through writing and reach a variety of different audiences.

I think that the fact that these writers (the women at least) wrote in English says a lot about their experiences. I’m mostly thinking about Sandra Cisneros and Carmen Rodriguez (but Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton and Julia Alvarez are also important).

Sandra Cisneros is a bit different because she was born in the U.S. but her writing is very influential in depicting the unique Chicana dual identity of being of both cultures.
Rodriguez presents a similar context in a different way, as having a dual identity due to immigration. Rodriguez presents a very personal view of what it feels like to live as an immigrant Canada – accepting the culture of the new country while maintaining connection to that of your birth country.

The past few months I have been working on a research project for America Latina al Dia (a radio show on Co-op Radio). We’ve been talking to a lot of people about what they think about the show. People think that the show, which is bilingual, should remain bilingual because by using English, the show is able to present a Latin American perspective to English speakers, who may not have access to this perspective anywhere else. I think that the same goes for these books in English – they make the stories of Mexican-American, Dominican-American, Chicana and Chilean-American women available to English speakers.

I think that’s all I’ve got for tonight. Also, if you guys don’t already listen to co-op radio, you should, haha. Especially America Latina al Dia, Saturdays 12-1:30pm, 102.7fm.