A Day without a Mexican

The movie A Day without a Mexican was an interesting movie, to say the least. I actually don't know if I really liked it. Yes, I understand that a lot of it was said in a way to show the racism that really exists. However, I still felt as though a lot of it was a little too much. The movie covered a lot of interesting topics. One that I found most interesting: the movie discussed a lot of people’s feelings and problems with the Latino population, and immigrants in general. When the Latinos disappeared, some people were happy at first. They were glad that the people who “had taken their work” were gone. However, once a short amount of time passed, many people realized how hard they worked and how many things depended on their hard work. This appeared within several of the families in the film. First, the family that owned the farm: the farm owner was unhappy from the beginning. He appreciate the hard work of his workers and treated them as they were employees, not based on their race. However, his son had a different view. He was happy that the Latinos were gone. He had a view as if they shouldn’t be here in the first place so why not get an American to do the work. However, when they tried this, the prisoners ran off and the others weren’t hard workers. This made the owner appreciate his employees that much more and it never seemed to change the son’s mind.

Another example of this is the Abercrombie family. The Senator was very racist against the Latinos. His wife hired painters to paint their house, and trying to keep it within the budget she had been given. However, when she brought Latino’s home to have them paint, he automatically assumed they were illegal and threw them out. Then, once all the Latino’s disappeared and reappeared, he realized how much could not run without their work and began to see them as humans not just Mexicans, especially since not all of them were from Mexico. These are just two of the many examples from the movie.

The movie was supposed to be a humorous exaggeration of the racism that occurs against Latinos. One thing the movie made me realize is the prejudices that some people actually have. I cannot imagine judging a person based on their race. We all come from different backgrounds so how does that change our ability to work and function in society? The movie opens my eyes to the many prejudices that people act on every day and it makes me sad that people are being judged like this when many people come simply to find a job to be able to support a family.

Bless Me, Ultima

Bless Me, Ultima ended up being better than I expected. Normally, I am not much of a reader. I read kind of slow and struggle to find books that I am interested in or even finding the time to look into them. However, this book ended up being a book I wanted to finish. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I wanted to keep reading.

The story was very interesting. The struggle Antonio had throughout the book seemed to be that of many people. He was trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to be, a very common struggle, especially during college years. Antonio was introduced to two very different choices early in his life. His mother was a Luna. She was very religious and wanted Antonio to become a priest. His father was a Márez. He didn't seem to have much faith and wanted Antonio to follow in the footsteps of his brothers: fight in the war. Antonio was torn between the two. Then, he began to grow closer with Ultima. Ultima seemed to be a caregiver to the family but she had something special: she had healing power. Antonio then sees this third option of learning the ways of Ultima. Throughout the book, his parents seem to be pushing him in their direction while he remains in learning the ways of Ultima. I find this very interesting. I can see some mirrors in this situation. Parents raise their kids and sometimes hope their child will grow to be in a certain profession. My dad is an engineer. My mom has an engineering degree but is a stay at home mom. My parents wanted me to pursue something with math, possibly engineering, because I love math. However, there is something nice about being able to choose your own life. I chose a different route entirely: something I didn’t hear from my parents but from family friends. It sometimes seems more exciting or captivating to choose something my parents didn’t suggest.

Another thing that struck me was the knowledge Ultima seemed to have. Towards the beginning of the book, Ultima is called upon to save Lucas. The family is desperate to keep him alive, no matter the cost or result. Ultima almost seems to hint at a result her healing could have. Before she agrees to heal Lucas, she asks them if they are willing to accept the results of healing him. She does mention that it may change some things in the future. They agree to accept the results and so she proceeds with the healing process. This healing process seems to have an impact on the three witch sisters. They begin to die. This causes Tenorio to develop a deep hatred for Ultima and a desire to seek revenge. In the end, this is what kills Ultima. This makes me wonder, if they wouldn’t have agreed to the consequences, or if she wouldn’t have healed Lucas for some other reason, would Tenorio have found a reason to hate Ultima? Would Tenorio’s three daughters still have gotten sick and passed away? This was something I found very curious: it seemed as though she knew what could happen and that it may put her life in danger. Yet, she agreed to help and fulfilled her journey here on earth.

The book was very interesting and had many aspects that would be interesting to discuss. However, to keep this post at a reasonable length, I will keep it at these two things.

Sor Juana

The movie, I, the Worst of All, was an interesting movie. As we were watching, I felt that I saw many more windows than mirrors. Part of that is because I come from a non-denominational church background whereas most of the traditions found in that movie are found in the Catholic Church. But, even beyond that, the struggle that women had then is foreign to me. Yes, I have heard about such oppression. However, I have not experienced it in the way Sor Juana did. She was told that women should not have the knowledge she did and that there was only one path in her life: to become a nun. Now, I have absolutely nothing wrong with people choosing to become a nun. However, I question the thought that it is the only way to be a servant of God. But that is a whole different discussion. But, I have not experienced most of the oppression that Sor Juana did. I am not a writer. However, if I were, I would not be ridiculed for writing as a woman. The constant desire to hold in her thoughts and knowledge seems unfair. That draws me to the interest of why people thought women should not think, have opinions, or learn. Why? Why are women superior to men? I do believe that there are some things that usually one gender can do better than the other. There are always exceptions to this but generally, I find this to be true (I might be sheltered but who knows). However, how would we be able to live if only one gender existed? Once again, I seem to be getting lost on a tangent…

Sor Juana’s life journey throughout the movie seems to be sad. I understand humbling yourself before the Lord. I believe that all of our gifts should be used to glorify God. However, I also think that critiquing other beliefs is how we actually form our own. It is how we learn about out relationship with God, not just believe things we are told. Human nature questions the unknown. So, usually, people have to discover things for themselves to actually believe them. I have found this idea to be true in my life so I find it interesting to see how it was criticized in Sor Juana’s life. The lifestyle seems to be very hierarchical, minimizing the life of individuals.

The end of the movie also makes me wonder how she lived throughout the rest of her life. Did she ever go back to her literature? Did she stay in the convent for the rest of her life? Did she follow her confessor for her life? The movie provided me with a lot of curiosity and questions about the lifestyle, especially in regards to the ritualistic aspects. But that will be saved for another day.

My Name

My parents named me Krista Marie. They almost named me Jennifer. Jennifer isn't a bad name but leads to nicknames. One reason I know my parents didn't choose Jennifer was because my mom didn't want me to be called Jen. Then, my mom liked Victoria, but the same thing: she didn't want people to call me Vicki, she wanted me to be called the name she chose. Most people don't shorten Krista. It's short, simple, and easy to learn how to write. So, my name is Krista. It became interesting when I started school. There were two other Krista's in my grade and in third grade, we all ended up in the same class. One was spelled Krysta and then myself and the other were spelled the same: Krista. So, we had to do something. We had to have a distinction between the three of us. Krysta became Krysta with a y. Why people were willing to say that and not say Krista R. and Krista S. I do now know. So one of us had to have a nick name. one of us was about to become Kris. As much as my mom didn't like nicknames, I now had one. I can't say that I remember much about how I felt when it happened but I do remember in 5th grade trying to get people to go back to Krista. Thankfully, I haven't been called Kris since, thankfully.

My middle name is Marie. It seems like a pretty common middle name. It is one of the first guesses people have when trying to figure out someone's name. Except mine has more meaning than just another middle name. My middle name was passed down to me through my dad's side of my family. Marie is the name of my ancestor that brought my dad's side of the family from Italy to the United States. I love how my middle name has meaning behind it.

I lived in the Dominican Republic for three months as an alternative to SST. My time there was the time of my life. My name there was different than it is here. I said my name was Krista. However, when you look at my name and are thinking in Spanish, the pronunciation is a bit different. The "i" turns into a long "e" sound. My name in the Dominican Republic became Kristal. I am not sure how the "l" got added on the end but as I got introduced people started putting an "l" on the end. Maybe it is a more common name or maybe it is easier to say. But that became my name. My favorite part of my name changing: my 4 year old host brother, Luis, was always very excited to see me when I got home. I think that excitement came from the fact that I played with him and his cars, and always let it go the way he wanted. However, when he said my name, he accented the "i" and made it an extra 2 syllables and slightly louder and higher pitched. I could hear and see the excitement every time I saw him. Every once in a while, my dad will say my name like Luis. It makes me miss my Dominican family.

The different pronunciations and different nicknames tell me what part of my life people are from. It is fun to remember the differences in my name and remember times, especially my time in the Dominican Republic, that are near and dear to my heart.

I am taking a class about Latino Literature. This is just one way we will be able to share thoughts and reflect on our readings.