Lectures

Lecture 11

Background Information on Latino/a Literature

First, a word about terms: There is a great deal of debate about whether to use the term "Hispanic" or "Latino/a" to refer to writers in the United States of Spanish descent. Some prefer "Hispanic," but others feel that that term lumps all people of the various Hispanic cultures into one group. In my research, I have noticed that, although many writers refer to themselves as "Hispanic," there seems to be a growing preference, especially in the arts, for the term "Latino/a."

There are roughly five major groups of Latino/a writers:

• Chicanos, or those of Mexican origin;
• Central Americans;
• Puerto Ricans;
• Cubans;
• Caribbeans, including those from the Dominican Republic.

More than 90% of creative writing by Latino/a writers in the United States has been produced in Spanish; very little of it has been translated. Until World War II, Spanish-language newspapers published short stories, poetry, and local color articles. Spanish-language publishing houses flourished in larger population centers such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, and New York; San Antonio alone had 16 Spanish-language publishing houses during the 1920s.

The Great Depression and the forced "repatriations" of that time, when hundreds of thousands of Latino/as were deported, destroyed much of that publishing industry. After World War II, Latino/a communities turned their attention to assimilation and began to demand civil rights on a large scale. As a result, there was greater access to schooling and later to college for Latino/as, and thus, more use of English.

During the 1960s, however, there was a resurgence of pride in Latino/a culture and language, and a few Spanish-language or bilingual newspapers began to reappear, as well as small, alternative Latino/a literary magazines and publishing houses. They fueled a growing interest in writings by Latino/a writers in both Spanish and English.

By the 1970s, Latino/a literature was booming. Among the Chicano writers were Tomas Rivera (And the Earth Did Not Part, 1971), Rudolfo Anaya (Bless Me, Ultima, 1972), Oscar "Zeta" Acosta (The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, 1972), and Ron Arias (The Road to Tamazunchale, 1975). The 1980s and 90s brought writers such as Arturo Islas (The Rain God, 1983), Rolando Hinojosa (Klail City (1987), Victor Villasenor (Rain of Gold, 1991), and Sandra Cisneros (Woman Hollering Creek, 1991).

Among Cuban writers, one of the best known is Reinaldo Arenas (Farewell to the Sea, 1973, and The Palace of White Skunks, 1990).

Among Puerto Rican writers are Jesus Colon (A Puerto Rican in New York and Other Sketches, 1961), Piri Thomas (Down These Mean Streets, 1967), Nicholasa Mohr (El Bronx Remembered, 1975), Edward Rivera (Family Installmemts, 1983), Ed Vega (The Comeback, 1985), and Yvonne Sapia (Valentino's Hair, 1991).

Among Caribbean writers are Victor Perera (Rites, 1983), Jaime Manrique (Latin Moon in Manhattan, 1992), and of course Julia Alvarez.

Some themes which are common among Latino/a writers are

• the immigrant experience, especially including the anger and confusion of being ethnic in a country where ethnicity is not always valued;
• ambivalence about trying to live simultaneously in two cultures;
• the conflict between assimilation and cultural autonomy;
• the difficulty in choosing which language is more appropriate in which to express oneself;
• the conflict between native religions and Catholicism, which has in many places resulted in a hybrid: Jesus Christ is at the center of religious belief, but the Virgin Mary is idolized, along with myriad saints, who battle various illnesses and demons;
• political disaffection from the Anglo ruling class, and in more recent works, a growing sense of power and entitlement.

Migrant Farm Workers

In 1939, John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath brought graphic attention to the plight of migrant farm workers. But migrant farm workers had been in California for many years before the Dust Bowl migrants arrived. Thousands of Chinese and Japanese workers were brought to California to work in the fields and orchards. Later, after World War I, Mexican and Filipino workers were brought in. In the 1930s they were joined by the mostly white workers from the Dust Bowl. During World War II, the "bracero" program brought thousands of Mexicans to the U.S. to work as farm laborers. Today, there are over 3 million migrant farmworkers in the United States.

From the beginning, the work was hard and the conditions appalling. Pay was low, and was often manipulated to force workers to "behave"--that is, to keep them from demanding humane living and working conditions. Workers were given shacks to live in with no heat, water, cooking facilities, or toilets. Child labor was a given. There were strikes periodically, but they made only small and temporary gains. In 1962, Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Dolores Huerta, and their efforts made significant changes in the lives of migrant farm workers.

Nevertheless, the lives of migrant farm workers are still hard and dangerous. Today, there are about 3 million migrant farmworkers in the United States. Nearly 75% of them earn less than $10,000 a year; their median educational level is the sixth grade. No matter what their citizenship status (many are citizens of the U.S.), they face hostility and discrimination wherever they go. They rarely have access to workers compensation, Medicaid, food stamp programs, or Social Security benefits, although many of them qualify.

And then there are the health risks:

Exposure to the elements, pesticides and dangerous equipment are common in farm labor. Falls, heat stress, dehydration and pesticide poisoning are frequent injuries. However, agriculture is not subject to the safety legislation that protects workers in other industries. Laws have been put into place that allow small farms with less than 11 workers to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. Only recently has OSHA required employers of eleven or more farmworkers to provide toilet facilities or drinking water for workers in the fields. The EPA and OSHA regulate pesticide production and application and both require that workers receive comprehensive training. However, recent studies found that a significant number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers still were not receiving training. The EPA estimates that 300,000 farmworkers are poisoned by pesticides each year. ("Facts About Farmworkers")

Only 13% of employers in California provide health insurance or paid sick days for farm workers, so many health problems go untreated. Farm workers have a sharply higher rate of certain cancers, including leukemia, brain cancer, and stomach cancer.

28 billion dollars worth of fruits and vegetables are grown in the United States each year; 85% of the crops are hand harvested and/or cultivated. Without migrant farm labor, this would not be possible.

In an essay written during the 1930s, John Steinbeck asked, "Is it possible that this state is so stupid, so vicious and so greedy that it cannot feed and clothe the men and women who help make it the richest area in the world? Must the hunger become anger and the anger fury before anything will be done?"

Helena Viramontes

Helena Viramontes was born in 1954 in Los Angeles. Her parents met while picking cotton outside of Buttonwillow. Viramontes was one of nine children. She graduated from Garfield High School and then attended Immaculate Heart College. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of California at Irvine. She now teaches at Cornell University.

If you'd like more information on any of the topics covered in this lecture, go to the Links page. Enjoy!

Some of the information in this lecture derives from:

1. Nicolas Kanellos, ed. Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of the United States (Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage), 2003.
2. Ilan Stavans, ed. The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature, 2010.
3. "Facts About Farmworkers," National Center for Farmworker Health, http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-Facts%20about%20Farmworkers.pdf

Living in California adds ten years to a man's life. And those extra ten years I'd like to spend in New York.
~ Harry Ruby