Social Identity Issues of the Latin America - Essay Example

Introduction Latin America is mainly inhabited by the Latinos. But there are also two groups of communities thatdo not belong to the Latinos, namely: the Anglo Americans and African Americans. The Latinos are also divided into groups, with one group calling itself ‘Latino’ and the other is known as the ‘Hispanic’. All the communities staying in Latin America have different social identities, and because of this, there are issues that are bound to rise. In this essay, the social identities issues discussed of the inhabitants of Latin America with reference to the four literary texts previously read, include culture, racial, gender, religious and ethnicity. Social identity issues of the Latin America One social identity issue evident is ethnicity. Africans are regarded as the low class people in the society who only do the poor man’s job like watering the roots of the trees. None of the non-African communities want to be associated with them. Not only Africans are discriminated upon, but their counterparts with the tag immigrants also do suffer the same fate. The immigrants’ first names are literally name of things. They are referred to names like honey, sugar and negra which are not an ideal name of human being. This is so because the immigrants do not have any idea of who their parents were. (Mark) Still on ethnicity, the Latin Americans of Caribbean descendants were never invited to dinner parties for they came from dirt where the cane was grown. A treatment only meant for the inferior in the society. The California Puerto Ricans are as well referred to as ghettos. Those who stay in ghettos are the poor who live separately from other people and are marginalized. Even when it comes to marriage, the ethnic issue is a problem. The white men who considered themselves as those of the noble stature never imagined getting married to those who are considered slaves. It doesn’t matter how much lovely the woman is. In addition to that, these women are referred to as carpetbaggers and believed to be creating too many illusions. The only thing that could happen in case the white man liked a slave woman was marry her to one of his subordinates without her consent. The European whites considered themselves superior intellectually, socially, and culturally. Also, the Indian culture was denied for a long time as the Mexican-Americans attempted to assimilate into the dominant culture. Those who are related to any European blood are politically powerful and socially prominent. They lived a privileged life like being educated at elite schools. The archbishops carried many secrets under their hats. The only person who rivaled them was a doctor known as Malsufrido. For one to be having family secrets he must be rich. Another social identity issue of the Latin Americas is to do with their culture of betrayal in exchange for a new life. Women sacrificed their sons when given threats of them being taken away to a foreign country. Their culture had so many superstitions. They believed that, there were images of a weeping woman who her children were murdered and therefore could not rest thereafter. Her spirits continued to roam, visible to those who rode or walked deserted roads, especially crossroads. This woman who had her sacrificed was the only women to achieve afterlife in the place of heroes, and she was highly respected by the warriors who believed that carrying the third finger of the woman’s left hand into battle would protect them. People also believed that this woman had supernatural powers, and witchdoctors would try to have her hair or her left arms. Her grave was guarded after death for her body to be not mutilated. After achieving the afterlife status, this woman became ghost, who lay in wait at crossroads, wishing epilepsy on children, and inciting men in unpleasant sexual acts. In addition to that, the mysterious forces of this woman combined, were thought to be responsible of children’s drowning, since she was linked to rivers and ditches as well as crossroads. Even today, the image of a weeping woman is the symbol on signs warning children to stay away from ditches. The killing of a man is not regrettable, but the death is. A man is to defend himself always when faced with hard situations. It is quite interesting to note that this belief is strongly held that one killing his brother does not appear to be a big issue. Even when confronted with a large number of armed policemen, a Latino will never be cowed. He may only opt to surrender when he has guilt in his conscience but not for the fear of being defeated or killed by another man. (Simmon) For the Indians in Latin America, their woman who had been taken by the conqueror (male Spanish) and raped by her historical and cultural circumstances was conquered. This woman also stands for the conquest of the Indian race by European whites. For the power structure, they always have to take into consideration their relation to the dominant culture. The Latinos also believed women were not eligible for intellectual study. Theirs was to accept traditional norms, get married, and have a family. The women’s fathers had the power to sell their daughter for marriage to whoever they wished at a fee. The Latinos believe that there is no reason to cry for the milk that has not been wasted, but cry for the spilt milk if by doing so they will learn how to avoid spilling more. Therefore, the Latinos culture allow making of mistakes so long as one is able to learn from the mistake. Wisdom is learnt through tears and if only the lessons learnt is not forgotten. A fool can only be a fool if he doesn’t see his errors. (Augerbraum and Harold) Taking government land is allowed for one to be not considered a squatter, but not making claims of a land owned by somebody else. In the latter case, you will be labeled a squatter. In Mexico, it is advisable to buy land directly from the owner and not through any other means. Religion is a factor to be considered when it comes to matters of marriage. It is difficult for a catholic and a protestant to get married without having the approval of a father. For the father to approve the marriage, he must be convinced that there is mutual love between the couple intending to get married. None of the partners is to be coerced to join the religion of the other partner. An agreement is also reached concerning the religion the children are to take incase the couple has children. After all the agreements are agreed upon by both parties, the couple receives the father’s blessing for their marriage. (Augerbraum and Harold) For land related issues, it is the attorney general who makes the final decision. Laws are strictly to be followed, whether one’s properties are being destroyed or stolen. An owner of the properties being destroyed or stolen cannot take law into his own hands in the name of protecting his properties. The problem with these laws is that they tend to favor one class of citizens against another class. For example, by these laws one can go plant grains in another person’s land without even fencing it. Then, when land’s owner cattle graze on the same plantation because of lack of fencing, they are confined and land’s owner is forced to pay damages per head the kept cattle. Other costs like of legal proceedings and other trumped expenses are all on the land’s owner head. While in cases where the grain fields are large enough to bring more money by keeping the cattle away, the settler can decide to shoot the cattle at any time without hesitation so long as no one is seeing him doing the act. Without any witness of such an incidence, the shooter can never be convicted. All these happen due to oppression by the Spanish (natives) who mostly dwell on agriculture, while the oppressed (Americans) are owners the cattle. (Literature) Though it is the duty of the law-makers to foresee the effect of the laws they impose upon people, the conquered remain a weak voice, which nobody hears. Pledged honors in treaties are violated and lands taken without formal legal process. In conclusion, Latin America is having many social identity issues revolving around culture, ethnicity and religion. These issues come up at different levels, with some even leading to loss of life and properties. It is also important to note that these issues are not only raised by one community but all of the communities in Latin America are involved. But of all the social identity issues, ethnicity seems to be the most dominant while religion is the least dominant. Work cited Augerbraum and Harold. The Latin Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to Present . New York: Heugton Mifflin, 1997. Literature, Hispanic American. An Anthology. Lincolnwood: NTC Publishing Group, 1998. Mark, Stefik. Internet Dreams: Archetypes, Myths, and Metaphors . Palo Alto: The MIT Press, 1997. Simmon, Edward. North of the Rio Grande: The Mexican-American Experience in Short Fiction. New York: Mentor, 1992. Read More