Reflections along the Frontera

Throughout the semester we covered many important aspects of what it means

to be Mexican-American as well as the hardships they faced from fellow natives as well
as Americans, and although many areas are equally important, I found that the
struggles of racism as well as cultural identity was a factor I would love to elaborate
more on. As many of these individuals cross over into this new frontier that they believe
is full of opportunities as well as freedom their faced with a hard reality on how the grass
isnt as green as they thought it would be; From segregation in the work environment as
well as schools, to racism between their own race from light skinned to darker skinned
individuals. Of course let us not forget about the very premises of identity and how
some of these individuals are troubled between whether or not they should assimilate
into this new found society or hold on to their heritage and culture even though doing so
might limit them as to how far they may go in terms of progression in their social
standing. All of these aspects and more will be brought to light in order to better
understand what struggles and influences go through the minds and thoughts of our
fellow Americans who inhabit our countries southern border.
As we begin to dive into this cultural entity, its best to start off at the beginning
from where our fellow Americans first make their journey into this nation in order to seek
better opportunities as well as freedom. Over the years weve seen more and more
immigrants migrate over from different countries, either Asia, Middle-East, and of course
Central and South American countries, we take note on one specific class of citizens,
that being Mexican-Americans. Mexican-Americans have come far and wide over the

vast majority of Mexico in order to seek a suitable future for themselves as well as their
children. Although as many cross over, regulations grow stricter in order to limit
migration as well as the changes in border security. These policy shifts have been
accompanied by a pervading sense of fear and panic, approaching paranoid levels, at
and around borders due to the increasingly restrictive approach to border crossing
(Shantz 7). One important factor of immigration is that many of these individuals do
some illegally because of poor financial situations or because of how long the process
to come legally takes; sadly these individuals are what are known as illegal-aliens,
although we wont cover the racial aspect of this situation just yet. Many of these
individuals face perilous journeys across the desert for example in order to make it into
the nation undetected. It just goes to show you the extremity in which some people will
take in order to achieve a better life away from poverty and corruption within the
government. Unfortunately some states, for example Arizona have passed a law, SB
1070 to be exact, is designed to strengthen the ability of the states law enforcement
agencies to identify, prosecute, and deport non-status migrants (Shantz 8). The law
goes to the extreme of requiring its citizens to carry along immigration documents in
order to safeguard themselves from being detained. Many individuals were upset with
this law, showing how unjust the system was in segregating and ethnic profiling one
particular race; this law has contributed to the heightened climate of fear and distrust
towards our government. This move by these officials is closely related to the actions
that were taken by Nazi Germany in which the Jews also had to identify themselves to
the authority as well as faced heavy persecution. But once again let us not dwell on
these facts just yet, lets shift our attention towards those individuals who have

successfully migrated into the U.S. and have made a living for themselves along the
border. One of the most common jobs Mexican-Americans find themselves partaking in
is that of Agriculture. Along the border as well as in the northern states, these individuals
work the fields whether it be harvesting or picking crops by the masses. They work long
hours and receive about an average pay in order to support their families for education
as well as living expenses; others join factories or find similar jobs that most Americans
dont want. One great limitation to these workers is that most unfortunately lack the
proper education as well as suffer language skills both reading, speaking, and writing in
order to achieve higher standards of work in their social class. Part of this class focuses
primarily on making money that education isnt an important aspect to them. Because of
this factor, you hardly see any of the older generations performing jobs that are of admin
quality or technical. Some individuals never acquire the ability to speak English even
though theyve resided in the U.S. for many years. Education was unavailable or cost
too much for these early generations because of financial issues or the need to support
their family and support their childrens education. This factor isnt true however for all
Mexican-Americans; some individuals that were born and raised in the U.S. are
accustomed to the American way of life and speak primarily English. As anthropologist
Fredrik Barth argued, ethnic groups are defined by the boundaries that distinguish them
from one another (Jimenez 140). This brings another aspect into light of migration to the
border, in which fellow immigrants and those born in the U.S. segregate themselves
within their own little groups and only associate themselves in a work environment. So
not only are they in a country that is unfamiliar to them, as well as struggles of

education and employment; but they also must face prejudice from countless sources of
people, including their own.
Racial and segregation are two momentums that have seemingly always plagued
many cultures and races. Mexican-Americans in particular have run up against many
implementations in which persecution has prevented them from advancing into a higher
social class, or from integrating themselves into their fellow community. The United
States has a long history of housing segregation, and even now U.S. cities remain
highly segregated; Discriminatory practices that demarcate racial groups by establishing
racial boundaries that exclude racial minorities from educational, workplace, or social
arenas on the basis of their assumed inferiority are found in many instances (Vasquez
128). Some of these instances can be found within the races own community in which
envy and hatred towards a lighter or darker skin individual as well as those that have
assimilated themselves into society versus those that still hold onto their heritage and
culture. Because of the envy or distaste for a certain individual, division has formed
between the people to the point that different ethnic groups have arisen and tend to
associate themselves with their fellow class and idealists. This detachment from their
culture and heritage has severely damaged Mexican-American identity as a whole, due
to the fact that they allow themselves to be assimilated into northern society in order to
advance and gain better opportunities most typical Mexicans wont ever achieve due to
their cultural upbringings or their lack of education. Members of the past generations
were targeted for discrimination on the basis of specific nonpersonal features such as
name, skin color, and physical appearance (Vasquez 129). Individuals that continue to
practice their heritage and culture can be found to also hold racism towards the

individuals who have a determination to implement themselves into northern culture and
way of life due to the fact that they freely give up their identities and no longer associate
themselves with their fellow kin, thus they become disowned from their very families and
looked down upon with a sense of superiority. Employment has also undergone
persecution and segregation of civil rights and opportunities towards advancement due
to the confinement of industrial jobs towards Hispanics. Since the vast majority of
individuals lack the proper education as well as necessary skills for admin work or other
high level of technical jobs, they must fall back on to positions and employment that
most educated Americans dont want. Examples of these can be seen in your local
community such as your individuals that work fast food and have stayed in the same
starting position for a countless number of years with the same level of pay only getting
an increase when the cost of living rises, and are never given the opportunity to
advance themselves, or theyve been in that customary position for many years that
they grow attached to the simplistic daily routine and no longer seek the need to move
further. Even the education system has undergone segregation in the past, for instance
the banning of speaking any language other than English on school vicinity. Students
that rebelled against this rule were expelled rather than given the opportunity to be
given equal opportunities as well as preserve ones culture significance rather than be
punished for it. Fortunately later due to the outcry of many individuals towards the board
of education, the rule segregating the use of other languages was removed and the
freedom of speech was implemented within the school system. Foreign culture and
practices are also factors that have seemingly been discarded, merely mentioned as a
way to inform students but never covered in depth as to provide a deeper understanding

and clarity as to why these societies act the way they do. It seems the education system
nowadays focuses primarily on preparing its students for integrating themselves into
American society in order to get a better job and disregarding or vaguely mentioning
historical events as well as cultural significance. It isnt until the college level where
students can be introduced to different forms of literature classes based on other
cultures. Ultimately even these courses are undergoing changes in which some due to
lack of interest or participation are being removed from the colleges curriculum; thus no
matter what day or age, one will always encounter some form or segregation or racism,
whether it be in the work environment, education, or even within ones very own
environment. Even though the laws are changing and allowing for better protection,
there will always some form of prejudice towards an individual or group of individuals
because of a sense of superiority or past experiences in which they themselves were
persecuted and seek vengeance or compensation however best they see fit.
One of the other most interesting subjects on which to cover would be that of the
importance of equality within genders. As many of the readings have shown, woman in
Hispanic culture have always been seen as more of property than actual beings.
Whether it be for housework or procreation, women were never giving the opportunities
or privileges men had until recently. They were subjugated into a lifestyle of servitude
and many suffered at the hands of abusive, controlling husbands as well as stripped
from the ability to seek education or employment. Silly, you men so very adept at
wrongly faulting womankind, not seeing youre alone to blame for faults you plant in
womans mind (Qtd. in Rea 2004). A look in the upbringing of a traditional Mexican
woman showed that they were brought up to support and take care of the man in

multitudes of ways, from cooking and cleaning, to taking care of the children while the
man was away for work or any other reason. It was never in a womans power to
question her man either, so whether or not he was truthful to her did not matter. Many
instances showed that men would show dishonesty towards a woman and do as they
pleased with another woman without any thought of repercussion or concern. They
were also seen as weak and incompetent compared to the men, thus the thought of
equality seemed preposterous at the time. Most women were also married off to older
men at a very young age, not given the chance to choose for themselves who they
would rather spend the rest of their life with, a common practice for Middle-Easter
women as well. Because of this act, most women would be stuck with men much older
than they were and who were more physically demanding and expecting. Women had
to learn their roles and duties at an early age in order to fulfill their requirements as a
wife. They also didnt have the opportunity of an education for some time and when they
did finally get the opportunity, if the family was undergoing struggles it was up to the
women of the family to quit their education to help support and maintain while the male
would continue his education. Another unfortunate occurrence for women would be their
very own abuse by men to show dominance and power over them. Seen merely as
property and no care for their actual feelings rape and abuse was a concept hardly
thought about or concerned men, unaware of the damages they were causing;
Victimization, in other words, puts women through a series of different psychological
and physical traumas that cause them to take action whether it be against themselves
or in retaliation towards the offender, most times towards themselves because of the
inability to cope with such an act or to continue to be victimized by the individual. As

time moves on however, and equal opportunities as well as rights have given women a
better control over their own life; women are now seeking education and job
opportunities to better themselves as well as grow independent from men and the
power house they were confined under for countless of years.
Last area of interest that would be great to implement would be the idea of the
third space. This is an area in which Mexican-Americans force themselves to adapt and
survive in a space between cultural and national aspects of both the U.S. and Mexico.
They attempt to mediate the sense of displacement and other stresses raised by their
daily existence as members of a racialized and marginalized minority in a region they
had long considered to be their ancestral homeland (Gutierrez 13). Areas known as the
barrios or other rural places were often seem as undesirable, but at the same time seen
as a haven in which they could communicate in Spanish, and continue to practice most
of their family customs, religious practices and teach their children to express
themselves based on their culture. These areas became a center of which to express
themselves freely and would also be the beginning of the emergence of new forms of
ethnic identity based on the mixture of two cultures coming together. One prime
example of emergence of new aspects in society would be the integration of the two
languages, Spanglish to be more precise. These individuals that reach this new level of
awareness are introduced with a wider perspective on the social differences between
the two nations as well as a sense of enlightenment. Based on the readings we came
across a few characters that dwelled in this third space, unsure of which side to
ultimately reside in; whether to honor their culture and practices, or to integrate into
American culture and let go of their individualism. It is indeed a difficult space to be in

because ones family expectations and traditions are held into the balance; one will
either continue the legacy of their family or start a new era being the very foundation of
a new generation within the family.
In society ones identity is a factor that helps represent who you best are as well
as your cultural ascendance and whether or not you decided to integrate yourself into
society or choose to preserve who your family made you to be growing up. Covering all
these different aspects has hopefully brought a greater idea on what hardships
Mexican-Americans face in their upbringing within this great nation. From experiencing
the migration from one society to another, as well as the policies and limitations that
pushed these immigrants to take the extreme measures to seek a better opportunity in
life. The concept of whether or not to retain their identity or to assimilate into a society in
which culture and language is far different from their own. To living in that third space
and reaching a new level of awareness, and let us not forget that ancient plague known
as racism that has seemingly survived despite the efforts of many over the years, and
finally the struggles women faced in their own epic journey to become who they are
today; we as a Hispanic people have always faced some trial or another but as long as
we come together, were able to overcome these obstacles in order to preserve our
future and culture in this world. If it wasnt for this course, my own question of identity
and history would never have played into an important factor in my life and I never
would have seen what troubles people faced in order to get to where we are today.