Madonnas Of Echo Park - Essay Example

Madonnas of Echo Park “We slipped into this country like thieves, onto the lad that once was ours” (Brando Skyhorse Pg Thisis the first sentence of Madonnas Of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse. The author uses these sentences to show the characters in the novel that came into United States to achieve the American dream even though they were originally from the U.S. Most importantly, the author is trying to illustrate the essence of Americanization as a form of success as well as being accepted by the society.

The characters that appeared in the novel show the transformation of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles. There is one specific scene in the novel about how couple of girls and their mothers went to a place called El Guanaco, a Mercado in Echo Park. This scene is related to the title of the book “Madonnas of Echo Park” because El Guanaco Madonna’s preference site where she shot her video. From this scene, we can point out many arguments on identity Americanization and pop culture. The novel can also assume the title Amexicans since it illustrates the Mexican immigrants.

However, “The Madonnas Of Echo Park” would be a better title because it shows the creativity and theme of the novel. The title Amexicans only gives the reader the idea of Mexican immigrants, but Madonnas Of Echo Park gives the reader the idea of losing identity and becoming part of American and how pop culture plays a big role.Americanization has made miscommunication between the main character Aurora and her mother Felicia. Since Aurora has become completely Americanized, her mother Felicia is forced to use English as a form of communication something that she is not used to.

“ Sientate delante de tu madre, por favor,’ right next to Alma, so she would be the same height as the rest of the girls. ‘I don’t want to, ‘ she said in English” (Skyhorse 48). This quote illustrates the story’s theme of Americanization. Aurora has become completely American, hence her English response. This does not mean that she cannot speak her native language Spanish but it is because of the American influence. Aurora has lost her identity and became American to achieve the American dream.

Even though, the title “Amexicans” describes the races and the transition of Mexicans becoming Americanized to achieve American dream. The idea of this title would be how Mexicans live in their lives in the United States. Yet it does not give the readers the main theme of the novel, which is not the races, but the Americanization. Every character in the novel is mostly related to the main character Aurora. Aurora is a girl does not like to be Mexican. Through her journey, the culture of pop has helped her to become more American.

The title of The Madonna Of Echo Park shows the readers the effect of pop culture to the characters in the novel. “Alma wore an adult-size white T-shirt with Madonna’s face on it and a pair of hot-pink tights (Brando Skyhorse Pg 48). In this scene, Aurora’s mother Felicia, invites her friends and their daughters to the place called El Guanaco, telling everyone that it would be fun. On the day of the trip, all girls are dressed up in Madonna outfits, just like what Aurora did when she was the same age as the girls.

The scene indicates that everyone who wants to become part of America or wants to achieve the American dream follows the pop culture. Madonna was a world pop star. She has all the money and the life that all girls want. These girls look forward to become Madonna, the top star in America. Same as the main character Aurora, she wants to become American and the pop of culture is one of the way people follow to have Americanization. The title shows the important theme of pop culture and the effect of pop culture to the people who wants to achieve American dream.

The book “The Madonnas of Echo Park“ is a novel that has many themes, that is why a significant title is needed to illustrate these ideas. Both titles have very important details that show the meaning of the novel. However, the title Amexicans is only focusing on how Mexicans live in their live in the United States. The Madonnas Of Echo Park includes many themes of the novel, which are the pop culture and Americanization.Works CitedBrando Skyhorse. The Madonnas of Echo Park. Los Angeles: Free Press, 2011.