On Latino Literature and History

In an era that supposedly marches more and more emphatically to the drum beat of liberty, justice and equality for ALL, I'm appalled by how deficient our understanding remains of the Latino members of our society. I'm taking a U.S. Latino literature class as part of my final semester of college and what I'm reading now, I, along with every other U.S. citizen, should have been exposed to decades ago.

Yes, I still believe in this country and in its founding principles, even though our schools swing from idealizing the past to demonizing all of our british founders. We are a society obsessed with finger pointing, labeling and name calling, rather than solution oriented. Why can't we learn to adjust rather than destroy, include what's missing and phase out what's erroneous? NO ONE is perfect, no society or individual exists who is not riddled with failings, so why not simply acknowledge this and move forward?

Everyone who attempts to do anything realizes that hundreds, even thousands of adjustments and hours of practice go into any creation or accomplishment of value. The same is true of the human condition and how we perceive one another. I am taking 3 classes which emphasize the power of stories in shaping our lives, and in reading about U.S. Latinos, in literature written by the same, I am closer to empathizing with their culture now, after 3 historic fictions and 4 historic accounts, than I've been in the previous 5 decades. In fact, I wept at the end of "In the Time of the Butterflies," and found myself wishing I had daughters I could name after Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa! Cisneros' "Caramelo" took me inside a culture which grew up parallel to my own life and I cried when Celaya's father got ill and then died. Finally yesterday I completed my 3rd novel, "Bless Me, Ultima," which served as a conduit to my own early confusion over my Catholic upbringing and distant Cherokee heritage.


All, or most of us are a cultural blend from many nationalities and it seems that every U.S. school curriculum should include works from Native American, Latino, and African American authors, since these groups represent what and who we are. Our goal should not be to condemn anyone from the past, but rather to understand, adjust, and include all of what is best in proper context.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Time_of_the_Butterflies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramelo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_Me,_Ultima