So far, I feel like I have gained alot more knowledge about the Latino community/communities within the US. Prior to taking the class, I had known a few general ideas about some of the things that we have discussed. I especially enjoyed learning about the the Young Lords Party among the Puerto Rican community and their struggle and fight to get what they believed in. To me, this marks a crucial point in the history of all Latino Communities because it began building a true foundation for establishing a Latino voice in the US.
I have also enjoyed learning about the Cuban Exodus and Revolution recently. In my Spanish literature class we just finished studying the Spanish-American war and how the Cubans were involved with that. Now studying the aftermath of that and where the Cuban community has grown toward is really interesting to me, everything is tying in together. It makes what we are learning/discussing in Unit II more appealing, and makes me appreciate a little more the life we have here in the US after understanding the struggles the Cubans went faced/are facing.
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I would have to agree on a lot of your points made. I definitely feel that I have learned a lot more about the Latino history and culture within the United States, and I feel that my perception of what is "American" has changed quite a bit. Many people criticize Latinos for not trying to assimilate into American culture, but what exactly is "American" culture? We are a country of immigrants, and I'm curious as to when exactly it changed from a country with many different identities and cultures and fused together to become just "American". Also, I feel that many of the prejudices that people hold against immigrants limits them from assimilating into our culture. I just thought of this quote from the movie "Selena", in which Selena's father is preparing her for her first tour and press conference in Mexico. He said, "Being Mexican-American is the hardest. You have to prove to the Mexicans how Mexican you are, and you have to prove to the Americans how American you are. It's exhausting!" I feel like this quote, while meant to be funny, holds quite a bit of truth to it, and allows for more thought and discussion on the topic.
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