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Final
There is a lot I have learned in this course, but one thing I did not know previously was the sheer amount of literature by Latinx and Chicanx women that exists already. It seemed previously that literature and writing was meant for white people, specifically white men, only, and that writers of Latinx descent were only just beginning to find a voice. I knew already of some of the traditional writings from a very long time ago, but did not realize that there were women still writing and telling their stories in a contemporary manner.
“He’ll Never Love You (HNLY),” from the part of the story where Kimberle rejects the idea of having a threesome with the narrator and a man.
“The Chain,” “Nebraska,” and “no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)” were chosen for their affective quality. This is what I feel like living in that town would sound like.
“Strangers” was chosen for when Kimberle says “There is no us” to the narrator. The song talks about a relationship where one person was led to believe that there was something there, when there wasn’t.
“Seven Devils” was also chosen for its’ affective qualities, although this time relating to the killer that haunts the town. No one is sure who is taking young girls or if it is even an individual or a collective.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-28/once-prisoner-cuba-transgender-cuban-woman-vows-never-return
This article is about a transgender woman from Cuba. She had spent much of her life in Cuba in jail for being transgender and had tried committing suicide 8 separate times. This very well could have been the fate of the narrator in “Sexile,” given that it seems as though the narrator of “Sexile” and the subject of this article grew up in Cuba around the same time.
This article also talks about how Cuba is changing. The daughter of President Raul Castro is an advocate for LGBT+ advancement and has even led marches against homophobia in Havana. She is the director of the National Center for Sex Education.
I liked how both of the texts from Natasha Carrizosa and Natalie N. Caro used religious references imagery when speaking of heritage. It is interesting to see the traditional religions coming through in “Pennies in by Blood” and then seeing the introduction of Jesus Christ in “Dear White People.”
La Fiesta de los Linares is included for its’ representation of Latinx queer women as they most often exist: in the shadows with only a hint of their existence that is only picked up on by those who care to see the signs. The attraction that exists between Dulce and Amelia is never directly acknowledged, although it is seen in the way Dulce watches Amelia dance and in the ceramic figure of the two women at the end of the story.
My mom calls her friend to ask about the weather. She tells her about the trees, the rain, the sunshine and the wind. She tells her of a hurricane that has just passed, the missing cattle and roof tiles. Some things never change. My mom's friend tells her about her family. The parents that are getting old, the brothers who married young, the sister who brought home a woman. They envy her, with her education, her love, her strength, her name on the title of the house. Some things never change.
Final
- What have you learned in What have you learned in this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class? The answer to this question can be the screenshot of a conversation, a voice recording of a reflection, a video speaking, a piece of art, or a diagram. Express your answer in the manner you want.this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class.
I learned a lot throughout this course. But something I learned that I had no previous knowledge of was who Malinche was. Before this class I had never even heard of her name or her story. I found it really interesting how she was considered a traitor by her people for bearing Cortes´children and creating mixed race people. To me, it seems she was also a victim. I can understand why her people were upset with her as it caused their race to become extinct. I also find it so powerful that just one woman was to create a whole new race.
- After reading “A Xicana Codex 0, 1, 2” by Cherrie Moraga, record your voice ( just audio) speaking for 1 or 2 minutes about how this reading relates to you.
- Create a playlist on Spotify that matches the short story “Kimberle”, by Achy Obejas. Explain the connection of the songs to parts of the reading and specific quotes.
I thought the song ¨Oblivion¨ by Grimes was very fitting for this reading because the singer shares her experience of assault after being followed home at night which made me think of the murderer on the loose targeting women every fall. ¨Gotta gimme your love¨ and ¨Justify My Love¨ are just sensual songs that I think really capture the sexual nature of Kimberle and the main character´s relationship. In ¨Kissing a Fool¨ George Michael sings ¨fooled me with the tears in your eyes. Covered me with kisses and lies.¨ This line especially connected to the story because the main character takes in Kimberle because she is suicidal and wants to keep her safe, however she had been deceived this whole time because in the story’s final moments, it is revealed that Kimberle was the killer all along. ¨Here Comes the Rain Again¨ is a song that reminded me of the main character slowly falling in love with Kimberle as it has a happy and hopeful tone for new love. ¨Tears Dry on Their Own¨ tells of a lover left brokenhearted at the end of their relationship. It reminded me of the main character breaking up with her boyfriend and worrying about her next relationship and whether she could even connect with another human on that level again.
- Find a newspaper article online that relates to Sexile, by Jaime Cortez (Pages 11-27 in the pdf). Explain the connection.
The main character in ¨Sexile¨ is a transgender woman from Cuba. But the reason this news article resonates with the story is because before the character transitioned, they were a gay man. And when they got drafted to fight in the war, they purposely showed up to intake dressed in effeminate clothing which caused them to be considered ineligible for service. The article above describes the different tactics men used to avoid being drafted in the Vietnam war. One of those ways was pretending to be a member of the lgtbq community because in the 1970s homosexuality was discriminated against and the military would not allow openly gay men to join.
- Choose an literary image from a specific poem by Natasha Carrizosa and another from Natalie N. Caro. Write a paragraph or record voice/video analysing a comparison.
Natasha Carrizosa and Natalie N. Caro both focus on ideas of culture and identity in their work. In ¨Pennies in my blood”, Carrizosa makes references to oshún, the goddess of water, purity, fertility, and love in the Yoruba religion. She also mentions the act of cleansing herself with an egg which is a practice used in santeria to cleanse one’s aura of bad energy. She further references the Yoruba religion by mentioning yemayá, a water spirit, elleguá a deity, and shangó, the god of thunder. Carrizosa connects herself to her ancestors through the practices and root of her culture. In ¨Cruz¨, Caro refers to her identity as a curse because of the discrimination that comes along with it. She talks about her brothers´ curse being their brown skin that makes them a target of oppression in an anglo society. She also explains ¨something to keep them still¨ when she talks about doctors in white coats which implies medication prescribed to them to keep them silenced.
- Include the short story La fiesta de los Linares, Janete Arelis Quezada . Why would you include this poem on your blog; in relation to what?. Post it next to a movie clip that relates to it. Quote pertinent parts.
La fiesta de los Linares would be included because it deals with the idea of what it means to be someone who is queer and a part of the latinx community. Throughout the story we get little hints as to what the characters feel through their actions. For example, Dulce always watches Amelia from across the room when she is dancing; almost admiring her. It’s apparent that these two have a history together based on the flashback of them dancing alone in the back of the store and that they still both want to be with each other. But ultimately Amelia marries a man she does not have interest in because she will be judged by her family if she were to reveal she was not heterosexual. At the end, the woman explains she is capturing the shadows no one has seen before. Meaning that the two women must hide their love from the public and can only express it when they are completely alone.
- After reading Jennifer Maritza Mccauley: Poetry blog about Jennifer Maritza, Blackout , write a short story or a poem that relates. No less than two paragraphs.
I hate the way men look at me as if I were created
solely for their amusement.
Unwelcomed, uncomfortable stares.
Skeevy eyes that send shivers down the spine
and make the skin crawl off my body.
I wish I could just bury it in mountains
of oversized shirts and sweatpants so that I never
have to have these encounters again.
Too provocative.Too inappropriate.
Repress the curves that bind your femininity.
Otherwise, you´re basically asking for it.
Men beg to see these bodies
yet when they do we are deemed loose.
That is the life of women.
They always ask
what were you wearing
when it happened?
But never question
why he did what he did.
And once again
we are blamed
for the violence against us
that they have created.
Final
- What have you learned in What have you learned in this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class? The answer to this question can be the screenshot of a conversation, a voice recording of a reflection, a video speaking, a piece of art, or a diagram. Express your answer in the manner you want.this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class
I have learned several things from this course. The most obvious that I learn is that by writing literature, we get to tell our story. Certain people out there, it may be certain people from a social class or the government, have silence and erased our history, but it is our responsibility to not forget it and to make sure that the future generations know about it. Another thing that I have learned form taking this course is that our story is out there. Many writers have written about their experiences, experiences that may be the similar to the ones we face today. We simple have to ignore the censorship and look for them.
- After reading “A Xicana Codex 0, 1, 2” by Cherrie Moraga, record your voice ( just audio) speaking for 1 or 2 minutes about how this reading relates to you.
- Create a playlist on Spotify that matches the short story “Kimberle”, by Achy Obejas. Explain the connection of the songs to parts of the reading and specific quotes.
I chose this pre-created Spotify playlist because I think it’s crazy how Kimberle is this loose serial killer and how her friend, the narrator, doesn’t realize it. It is twisted that Kimberele reflects herself as someone suicidal and the narrator, who is doing a good deed to Kimberele, brings her into her house unknowingly. The simple fact that Kimberele feeds the narrator a lot of meat is just crazy to me.
- Find a newspaper article online that relates to Sexile, by Jaime Cortez (Pages 11-27 in the pdf). Explain the connection.
Many times members of the LGBTQ+ community face oppression. If we see this oppression in the United States, simply imagine the oppression LGBTQ+ people face in Latin America, a region where machismo exists. One thing that has been the forefront of the battle for equality for the LGBTQ+ community is marriage rights. Slowly we see how many Latin American countries are beginning to allow its LGBTQ+ citizen to civilly marry. In Sexile by Jaime Cortez, we see how the Cuban main character is denied the opportunity to fight in the military (although the main character did not want to join the military) and fired from his teaching job for being gay. This type of discrimination does exist in Latin America and, like the main character says, “I just felt like I had a right to be whoever I wanted to be. Punto.”
- Choose an literary image from a specific poem by Natasha Carrizosa and another from Natalie N. Caro. Write a paragraph or record voice/video analysing a comparison.
The two poems that I choose is Mejiaficana by Natasha Carrizosa and Dear White People by Natalie N. Caro. I feel like these poems are interconnected in a way. In Caro’s poem, the poet thanks white European people for giving us, people of color and those indigenous communities that inhabited the Americans before the arrival of the Europeans, for the knowledge and understanding. From my understanding, the one thing that the Europeans omitted from teaching us is the ability to speak up. That is where Carrizosa’s poem comes to play. Carrizosa’s poem is about a Afromexican woman who speaks up and praises herself for being a black Latinx woman. The narrator in Carrizosa’s poem learned how to speak up and is speaking up.
- Include the short story La fiesta de los Linares, Janete Arelis Quezada . Why would you include this poem on your blog; in relation to what?. Post it next to a movie clip that relates to it. Quote pertinent parts.
- After reading Jennifer Maritza Mccauley: Poetry blog about Jennifer Maritza, Blackout , write a short story or a poem that relates. No less than two paragraphs.
The date of when it happened is unclear to me. I think it was the summer because it was hot. The thought and need to remember that day is so traumatic that it is painful to remember. I was waiting for the subway at 34th Street when out of no where it went dark. It was a black out.
It was only for a few minutes, but those minutes changed my life that followed. While walking towards the exit, a man walked up behind me and placed his large hands on my breast. I was in shock and scared. In this plain dark someone touched me. When he took his hands on I turned around to slap him, but I only swing my hand in the air.
I held myself to make sure that this man didn’t do the same again. I started breathing heavily and frighten. And then, the lights turned on. That night, I went home, cleaned myself, and cried to bed. Why? Why did this happen? Was it me? Was it my dress? Was it my shoes? Was it my posture? I never spoke about it again.
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