Chicano+Studies+Project

Yadira Cruz Chicano Studies

Walkout



When I found this image it reminded me of the gender roles played in many movies we saw. In this image it seems that the husband has just gotten back from work and the woman has been cleaning, taking care of the kids and getting dinner ready. This seems like a typical housewife that the man should work and the woman should stay home and do all the housework.

This image reminds me of the movie "Walkout", I remember when Paula wanted to go to college but her father suggested that she wouldn't. It kind of seemed that she should be a housewife and shouldn't follow her dreams. It seemed that she should be at home and be cooking for her husband and taking care of the children. That she should let the man do the working. And this picture symbolizes exactly what her dad wants her to be. This relates to the Chicano Movement because of what I've seen so far that Mexican women have a role of taking care of their husband and have dinner ready for them when they are home from work. That Mexican woman shouldn't work, stay home and take care of the kids. I remember when I was in sociology class and this girl, she was of Mexican descent, and she said that her father didn’t support her at all, about her going to college, that she was going to be a wife anyway, and she didn’t need education to be a wife. But she didn’t listen to him, and she kept going to college because she wanted to pursuit her dreams. And I think that Paula wants to do the same, she just wants to be accepted and she wants to get an adequate education. It seems that she wants her voice heard and she wants to be treated just like anybody else. Another point in the movie that really caught my attention was when the students were punished for using the inside bathroom during lunch, and also when they had to go, they went where they had to because the outside bathrooms were locked. It didn’t make any sense when the staff would punish them because they had to go, and the bathrooms weren’t even open. How were students supposed to use the bathrooms then? It just didn’t make any sense to me. I also feel that they didn’t take any interest in their education, just because they were of Mexican descent doesn’t mean that they can’t get the same education as a white student. Just because one person who gets involved in gangs doesn’t mean that the rest of the people of the same nationality mean they are gang members also. I think that this goes for all nationality because not everyone is the same. Another point I would like to discuss is about corporal punishment. I didn’t think that it was fair that they got hit because they spoke the language they grew up in. I know for me when I first attended kindergarten, I didn’t know English at all. And of course I probably spoke Spanish because that was the only language I knew. And if corporal punishment still existed then I probably would have gotten hit for speaking the only language I knew. I think that if people know two or more languages it is better because they can communicate more and can possibly get better jobs.

Mi Familia



In this part of the movie of Mi Familia, it seems that Memo's family is meeting his girlfriend's family for the first time. During the scene it seems that Memo is very uptight about his family being themselves. It seems that they have to talk proper English and behave like they are not in their own house. When his dad starts talking about his famous story about burying his dad in the backyard, Memo all of a sudden just stops him and says well, it’s actually not true it’s just a story he likes to tell. And his father seems taken back and takes a while for him to get the point that he’s not supposed to tell that story. I feel that it was very rude and that by his father sharing such a story shows that’s he's just being himself. I feel that Memo is trying to make his family be more American but in reality they are just being who they are and being proud to be Mexican.

Here is the link to the video: it the scene starts around 4:00 []



Another part of the movie that caught my attention was towards the end when Jimmy was talking with his father about moving to Texas because he was trying to so hard to get his son back, but he felt that he was never going to get him back so might as well just leave to other place. When Jimmy got out of jail, it seemed that he just went by his father’s house just to say he was out and didn’t want anything to do with his son, but after it seemed that he wanted to part of his life. He was trying to so hard to be of his son’s life that he would just do about everything, and it seemed he just wanted to give up and go away. And when Carlitos heard that he was moving away, it seemed that it got mad and started chopping all the corn his grandfather had planted. I especially liked the part where he starts telling about how they can still plant that corn and it would feed the rest of the corn. It is the exact same story his father had told him, and he is passing down the same story to his son. I also like the part where he tells his son that if he would like to come with him to try and find his father, but it seems all along that Carlitos knows that he is talking about himself and runs to hug him, it seems that Carlitos has come around to forgiving him.

Piñata’s

Piñata’s originated in the 14th century in China according to Marco Polo then he went back to Europe and shared the idea. Later in Mexico during the 16th century Piñata’s were used by the Aztec's. They used the piñata’s to celebrate the birthday of the Aztec god of war. What they used to make the piñata’s out of was pots; these pots were usually pineapple shaped. At first they didn’t decorate them but later they started covering the pots with colorful features and inside were tiny treasures. The piñata was used as a form to represent Satan. It was used to represent Satan because it usually wears attractive masks to attract humanity.



The most common piñata was a star with 7 points. The seven points represented the 7 deadly sins; Greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath, and lust. The piñatas are filled with fruits and candies, the fruits and candies represent temptations of wealth and earthy pleasures. Once the piñata is broken the candy and fruits are fallen down it means blessings and gifts for everyone. The Aztec had to be blind folded and spun around, sometimes songs were sung. They were blind folded because it represented to defy evil and being blind folded was being faithful.



As the years went along, it seemed that people have forgotten the real meaning of what a piñata means. Also since the 16th century the shapes of the piñata have changed, they went from star shape to now having cartoon characters. Here in the United States the pots have been replaced with cardboard. In Mexico, it is the same thing, but some people still use the pots. I think that when people have the piñatas at their parties; to them it just a way to keep the children entertained. I don’t think they really know why these piñatas were made in the first place. I’ve been to a couple parties where piñatas are still made and I still see the star used with 7 points. I find it very interesting that after many years that the shape of the first piñata made, it is still used today. After researching about piñatas, I think the meaning of the piñata is that it represents Satan and by them beating it up; it seems that they want to keep Satan away. And the treats are a sign that they have broken Satan and will be blessed.