Richard Blanco, a famous Cuban-American poet who became the first Latin American, immigrant, and openly gay Inaugural Poet in 2013, wrote a variety of works based off his life and all the things that were going on in it. In Richard Blanco’s, “El Florida Room” and “The First Real San Giving Day”, Blanco provides the readers with a look into his personal life with information about his family and some characteristics of his life. Dealing with many different societal issues due to his culture and even his sexual orientation, Blanco describes what his life was truly like, more specifically geared towards his culture; being Cuban-American. Through his use of a chronological storytelling in his memoir and a reflection on the past in his poem, …show more content…
“Not a family room, but the room where my father twirled his hair while listening to eight-tracks of Elvis…where my mother learned to dance alone as she swept…” The quirks of the room are what remind him of the happy times he and his family had together; the times he seems to wish he wants back. In his poem, “El Florida Room”, Richard Blanco appreciates all the moments he had and all the memories that were created with his family in this room, especially with his parents and brother. On the other hand, in Blanco’s “The First Real San Giving Day”, he mentions his Abuela many times more than he does the rest of his family. As explained in the previous paragraph, the poem contained more of an appreciation towards his parents and siblings, while the memoir takes a turn and appreciates his Abuela. “Every week, Abuela made sure he [his Abuelo] took home double or triple his sugar quota.” While this action made by his Abuela did not affect him directly, he still took time to appreciate her and the caring personality she had towards others. “She sold her confections on the black market, and in two years made enough money to buy visas and pane tickers to get the whole family out of Cuba.” This was one very important event in Blanco’s life because it was his Abuela that got him where he is today. “When my parents had wanted to move from New York City down to Miami, she ‘gave’ them ten thousand dollars for a down payment on a new house with a
In the novel, The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, Richard Blanco writes about his childhood growing up in Westchester. Many themes throughout the novel applies to my everyday life but one recurring theme in specific not only applies to my life but also applies to my college experience. The recurring theme of identity is one that I can relate to throughout my college journey. Throughout the entire novel, Riqui finds himself in tough situations where he doesn’t really know who he is. As a college student, we struggle finding ourselves in this mass community of diverse people.
Tato Laviera, a great Puerto Rican poet, writes one of his most famous and prideful poems called "AmeRican" majorly composed of metaphors, where he dreams of a time when his people, the Puerto Ricans, can create, or how as he states in his poem "give birth" to a perfect race in which we live in peace and happiness; where all cultures are welcome because we ourselves are forged by various races and cultures, and we do not judge others by mere race. Hence, comes the name of “AmeRican”, because we can make the American society a better place. The main subjects that I will focus on are the meanings embedded in the poem discussing only the most important parts, the relationship of the American and Puerto Rican culture and the tension that lies between them. I will also focus on one of the main ideas of the author: a utopian society conveyed by Puerto Rican culture.
As a person who came from another country to the USA. learning how to read and write wasn’t easy. At the beginning, I found it so hard to read and write I would sit for a long time trying to read one page and most of the time I didn’t understand what was it about. writing one complete sentence was very difficult I had to learn read and write for that reason I feel that I have a lot of similarity with Jimmy Santiago who also had a hard time reading and writing and he had to teach himself how to read and write. I have a lot of similarity with Jimmy Santiago Baca. Jimmy Santiago was born in poor Mexican Family.His dad was addicted to alcohol and his Mom left him when he was a kid because of the financial problem they were facing and married a rich man. Regardless the struggles that Jimmy Santiago Baca faced he was able to cope with them by teaching himself how to write poems. Jimmy found a place for him in the community and he felt that by writing poems he was able to connect with people. He found a place to stand. A place that he was always searching for and he mentioned that in his book,“ A Place to Stand The Making of a poet.” by saying,“I was searching for something to make me feel more a part of the world, I couldn’t share with anyone the pain that still drove my exploration to find a place to stand comfortably in my skin.”, also, he was able to get rid of his anger that he was born with wrong skin color. reading, writing, and becoming a poet helped Jimmy Santiago get
Richard Rodriguez had faced a lot of problems that most students in America do not have to deal with. Richard had to deal with parents that couldn’t help him in school and wanting to be successful academically. He had become embarrassed of his background and where he came from and did not want to embrace his culture.
Richard Blanco is the son of two immigrants from Cuba: he grew up in a Cuban cohort in Miami, Florida. It was instilled in him at a young age that his ancestry and America were one in the same. They were both magical. His foreign home was talked about often, never condemned, while America was their physical home and their place to earn a better life than their previous one could afford them. Blanco’s poem, “One Today,” exhibits his cultural pride, optimism, and gratitude for life and his country: The United States.
Author, Pablo Medina, in his reflective memoir, “Arrival: 1960” illustrates his transition from Cuba to New York as a young boy. Medina describes how his first impressions differed from what he thought he would encounter. He faced new challenges, involving his race, that never occurred back in Cuba. By reflecting on this experience in a first person point of view, Medina depicts the disappointment that he and other immigrants face while adapting to their new world.
Gary Soto, a Mexican-American author, was born in 1952 in Fresno, California. His parents were both Mexican-American. Soto did not expect a lot from his life; he imagined he would "’marry Mexican poor, work Mexican hours, and in the end die a Mexican death, broke and in despair’" (Lee). Instead, he became a great writer of poems and short stories. James Sullivan describes Soto as “one of the most important voices in Chicano literature” and Don Lee counts Soto as “one of the best Chicano poets of his time” having published over twenty books. Soto, an established writer, uses experiences from his life and his observations of his community to write stories about life in a Mexican-American community with characters and conflicts that are relatable.
In the “The Achievement of Desire” and “Para Teresa” Richard Rodriguez and Inez Avila describe the troubles of balancing life at home and at school. Rodriguez conveys the difficulties he had to face separating from his own culture to achieve academic success. His article portrays the cultural world and the educational world as separate institutions that cannot coexist in America. Throughout his text Rodriguez provides detailed experiences in order to explain his thought process. Inez Avila however presents her article as a letter dedicated to a school bully. In contrast to Rodriguez perspective Avila wrote her poem in English and Spanish to appeal to Mexican -American culture. She walks the reader through an argument between her and a fellow classmate as she was cornered in a bathroom. Her poem depicts how children who share the same culture discriminate within their own community. Both these articles are told from a Latino-American point of view yet they radically differ from each other.
Richard Rodriguez was born in Sacramento, California and his parents are immigrants from Mexico. He went to a private catholic school and was a scholarship boy which means that the other parents that had their kid there had to pay a little extra for Richard to stay. Richard read a lot in his classes and he never understood why reading was so important when it came to his education, but
Julia Alvarez is the narrator and author of this book, in which it describes her and her families life adjusting their immigrant ways to their new life in the United States. Alvarez has grown up with her Dominican culture but throughout the book she tries her very best to fit into
The author first makes readers feel cozy when he says, "Within its walls, my young parents created our traditional Cuban home, the very heart of which was the kitchen." The tone that the author uses makes the reader feel warm, giving them the joyful image of the cozy Cuban home. Then Rodriguez continues, "Here, the innocence of childhood, the congregation of family and friends, and endless celebrations that encompassed both formed the backdrop to life in our warm home." The author describes his young life to his readers, making them feel warmth by depicting the memory of the innocent and happy gathering of loved ones. Finally, Narcisco Rodriguez sets a warm mood by recalling his memories of how everyone helped each other out in their times of need. He says, "It was a close-knit community of honest, hardworking immigrants who extend a hand to people who, while not necessarily their own kind, were clearly in need." The thought of such a well-woven community of kind people spreads a warm feeling amongst readers' hearts. This relates to the thesis in the sense that the immigrants created a sincere environment for Narcisco and family. In brief, the story portrays a mood of warmth to its readers using its kind and joyful
As I read the “Hunger of Memory” I noticed that we share a lot in common with the protagonist Richard Rodriguez, who is also Mexican and faced a similar situation like Thai immigrants (Rodriguez, 1-5). In fact, we have a couple of common interests and ideas regarding education, race, and language. As the prologue begins, Richard narrates how he feels a disadvantaged boy due to the tension between the public and his private identity. He regrets having adopted the English language the fact that is has reduced the intimacy
A novelist and a poet, Julia Alvarez is considered to be one of the greats when talking about American literature. At her current age of 64, she has a numerous amount of writings and has won many awards. Personal life experiences from her youth to the Civil War to now have highly influenced her works (Heredia). Descriptive and influential, it is clear why Alvarez’s publications have influenced society the way they have today.
This novel reflects what life was like to be born into slavery and also life after abolition. Esteban Montejo serves as a lens to help readers connect to Cuban culture. Montejo gives his life story to the public, reading his story certain points suggest that Cuban culture was affected by slaves after it ended.
Literary magazines were not remotely interested in publishing Gilb’s stories, which focus primarily on the professional and personal struggles of working-class Mexican Americans. But his unapologetic stories about working-class Mexican Americans have made him a voice of his people (Reid130). Gilb’s short stories are set vividly