Integration Essay-Religion in Characters

Religion is a huge part of the Latino Culture. It affects the people and their everyday lives. It influences them to make choices and decisions that are based in their relationship with God. The main religion in the Latino Culture is Christianity and the most common tradition of Christianity is Catholicism. There are also Evangelical traditions practiced. Latinos practice Christianity but how does it affect their lives? Religion can be the main influence in someone’s life. It can be to the point that it will actually run their life completely. Every word, move, or action that takes place can be all about Jesus Christo or La Virgen de Guadalupe. This is not the case for all Latinos but there are some that do have a lifestyle like this. If they do not, they at least recognize the fact that they are Christian. Therefore they practice their faith traditions. I want to explore how religion affects Latinos in the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Dominican cultural groups. Three novels will be the basis of the research with each novel being in the three cultural groups. A character will be explored that demonstrates how religion has influence their lives to the point where it is or will be the basis of who they are. Bless Me, Ultima, provides the character Antonio who is influenced so much to become a priest in the Catholic Church. At a young age, Antonio thinks and wonders if being a priest is for him. This novel brings in insight to religion through the family and Antonio in the Mexican Culture. Bodega Dreams is a Puerto Rican novel that provides the Character Blanca. She is a Pentecostal who lives and dies by the word of the lord. Since she was a young girl, her life was already given to her faith. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a Dominican novel that brings the character La Inca. The novel is a bit different than the other two. It does provide a character that shows that she is in her faith but it doesn’t provide how an in-depth look into how religion is the basis of her life. It provides a snippet of Catholicism through prayer. These three characters will be explored to demonstrate how religion is the basis of their lives.

             Religious identity serves a big role in Antonio’s life. So much so, that it is a role-player in understanding his self-identity. Antonio is one child who is willing to let Catholicism lead his life. His mother influences him to become a priest, which is a tradition within the Luna family. The males take part in Catholicism by becoming priest. His mother’s influence has so much control where it causes the family to move in the city for Antonio to educate himself. There are many factors that play a role in his growth as a person. His family, friends, and Ultima all have an effect on his decisions. It makes him wonder whether being a priest is his destiny. He goes through different experiences that influence his decision. A scene in the novel shows Antonio pretending to be a priest. Many kids are going to him so he can be their confessor. The kids confess their sins and he puts forgiveness onto their souls. At this point, Antonio has power. However, when Florence confesses that he has no sins, Antonio also forgives him. The other kids are not pleased because Florence doesn’t believe in any God. They beat up Antonio for forgiving Florence’s sin. Antonio’s life and his religious identity are being questioned. It does take a part of who Antonio is. This action that Antonio has done has caused some thoughts to run through. Florence, Antonio’s friend, says, “You could never be a priest,” (Anaya 227). After this Antonio goes on to his first confession which he has been waiting for. He agrees with the statement saying no. This signifies that at this moment, Antonio doesn’t know if being a priest is what is best for him.

            Another experience that helps influence his destiny is the scene at the Golden Carp which is a non-Christian belief. Antonio is told the story of the Golden Carp and sees the carp in the water. He is amazed at what feelings he gets that it causes him to think about his own God in the Catholic Church. He says, “I had witnessed a miraculous thing,” and “and I though the power of God failed,” (Anaya 119). At this moment, he believes that maybe God’s power isn’t all that powerful and that Ultima or the Golden Carp have powers that are not recognized in the church. His mind is being scattered by the experiences he goes through as a young child.

Antonio is a young boy and his destiny is still unwritten. In regards to becoming a priest, he will soon find out whether it is what he was meant to do. Being a priest does take a process of mental and physical growth. In an article by Dominick D. Hankle, he states that being a priest requires a transitioning phase that “needs to make shift so that the participant could believe this is what he was to become,” (Hankle 210). Many priest or soon-to-be priest were interviewed and asked questions about what they thought about priesthood and what influenced them to choose priesthood. The most important comments that were said were under the theme: developing an understanding of what it meant to be a priest. One priest comments that he, “wants to become some man of God, man of the Church, and so it was slowly, for me, the way god worked with me as slowly clarifying what that meant,” (Hankle 211). This sounds like what Antonio is going through. He wants to be a man of God and this process of experiencing other events is slowly clarifying whether he is to become a priest or not.

Blanca is a Christian in the Pentecostal denomination. The Pentecostal tradition is a religion of the people in the Hispanic Culture (Santiago-Vendrell 136). In an article by Santiago-Vendrell on popular religion, he states that the Pentecostal people “experience their faith as a living encounter with the Spirit of Life,” (Santiago-Vendrell 136). He also states that Pentecostalism is “an oral religion that enables its participants to share in communal experiences with liberty and joyfulness,” (Santiago-Vendrell 136). He later goes on to talk about how singing and testifying is a huge part of the faith tradition. Looking at Blanca, the Pentecostal faith definitely is shown through her actions. She sings, attends church, and was part of the church tambourine group. In her marriage with Chino, she tries to put her faith into his life since he is a non-believer. This annoyes her husband but she did not care because she wants him to be saved. She cannot control what her faith wants. It all starts off when she was a young girl in school. Religion was a big part of her life then as it is now. Chino’s observation was clear when he says, “she always carried a Bible with her and never talked bad about anybody and at school she only hung around with her Pentecostal friend” (Quinonez 9). At a young age Blanca’s life has been directed towards the path of Christianity. Later on in the novel, Chino describes the church as Blanca’s source for anything. Chinos says, “her only source was the church,” and, “when Blanca grew up she never shook it but embraced God even more,” (Quinonez 63).  Through thick and thin, Blanca always has and wants the church to support her. Blanca’s life is definitely run by her religion. Through Chino’s observations and her actions, the Pentecostal tradition has made Blanca’s life be filled with knowing that she can be saved. Blanca is a prime example of how the Christian tradition has made her life the way it is.

            La Inca is a strong character in the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Her daughter, Beli, seemed to ignore her mother and go against what La Inca wanted. However, like any mother, she would always be there for her somewhat rebellious daughter. Her daughter has gotten into some trouble with the Trujillo family. Trujillo is the dictator of the Dominican Republic during this time and Beli has been in an affair with a member of the family. The Gangster is what they called him and he was married to Trujillo’s sister. This caused the beating of Beli and the death of her unborn baby. During the time of her beating, La Inca gathers a prayer group to her house and prays the rosary all night. After some time, it is just La Inca and her neighbor. In Catholicism, the rosary is a significant prayer. Many believers pray the rosary every day. Mary is a very important figure in the church. For all Catholics, they hold her at a high status alongside with Jesus. Women hold her to an even higher status calling her the “Queen of Peace, Mother of the Universe, and most importantly, Mother of Christ,” (Carso 49). In an article by Paola Carso in the U.S. Catholic, she writes that “if we can’t pray to her, to whom can we pray” (Carso 49). This statement signifies the importance of Mary in the Catholic tradition. The article goes on to talk about how important the rosary is to the hard working class of women. They use the rosary to “allow the hands to be moved by the spirit” (Carso 49). La Inca is a hard working class woman who prays the rosary to give her peace when she is in a struggle. Her daughter is nearly beaten to death and La Inca has no idea what is happening to her. Her only resort was to call a prayer group and do the rosary. Diaz writes that, “she did what many women of her background would have done. Posted herself beside her portrait of La Virgen and prayed” (Diaz 144). There is a vivid image of La Inca holding the rosary through her fingers, “like line flying through a doomed fisherman’s hands,” (Diaz 144). The praying session is very intense with many women in the group. When looking at La Inca, there is an image of strong woman praying the rosary because the rosary is mad for the hard working class people. Women hold her to a high status and that is what La Inca does.

            These three different characters have a different use of religion in their lives. Antonio uses religion to influence his decision on becoming a priest in the Catholic Church. Being a priest means that religion is your life and nothing else. Blanca is a joyous Pentecostal who has been into her faith tradition since she was a young girl. Everything she does is by her faith and she tries to put that into Chino’s life. The church is her life. La Inca is a bit different that the other two. The scene of her praying the rosary shows that she believes that Mary is a source of healing. There is a special connection because La Inca is a woman. Her praying group is filled with women. La Virgen is the symbol in which a hard-working La Inca believes in. In each of these three Latino Cultures, they present someone who represents religion in their own cultural way. The use religion differently in their own lives but all use religion as the basis of what they do.


Sources: 
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya 
Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 

Carso, Paolo. "Take Prayer Into Your Own Hands." U.S. Catholic. Oct 2003: 49. Print.

Hankle, Dominick. "The Psychological Processes of Discerning the Vocation to the Catholic Priesthood: A Qualitative Study." Pastoral Psychology. 59.2 (2010): 201-219. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Santiago-Vendrell, Angel. "Popular Religion as a Unifying Factor in the Latino/a Religous Community: A Pentecostal Proposal in US Latino/a Ecumenical Theology." Journal of Pentecostal Theology. 12.1 n. page. Print.

Oscar Wao

It is amazing to see Oscar finally getting the wish of being in a relationship, which ultimately gets him killed. His whole life has been one big dream of being in love with the one girl. There are numerous times where he is hurt because of the false hopes he receives with women. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't find someone to love him back. You would think that he would realize that maybe there is something about him that isn't appealing for a woman to love him back. Yunior recognizes the fact that Oscar needs to change his image from the inside out. He tries to get Oscar to be more like him, someone who can get chicks and have a good time. Oscar gives up. At this moment, he realizes who he really is. He is a big guy who loves science fiction.

Why isn't it okay for Oscar to be the way he is? Why does he have to be this macho man who can score chicks? Although he does want to score chicks, he is not a Yunior. He is not the Dominican who is a womanizer, a charmer, and a sweet talker. Oscar is not the stereotypical Dominican male and because of this, he is not accepted. He doesn't have the game to get with many ladies and people will not accept the fact that he is this loser. That says something about the Latino Culture. I see the same thing in the Mexican Culture. It's not just woman that is a part of a man's life but it's his lifestyle, his toughness, and his "machoness". Oscar doesn't possess these qualities but he does know who he is.  He understands what kind of guy he is and the great thing to know is that he understands that he will always be a Dominican.

Why does he want a lover so bad? His Dominican culture is the reason why he wants a lover. Oscar knows that Dominicans are to love women. When he was a boy he had two chicks, not one, but two of them. He had the pretty girl and the ugly girl. His uncle pushed him on a girl to dance with and he went with it. Oscar had the qualities of a stereotypical Dominican. He had swag, game, girls, and confidence. In a matter of a week he lost all of that. It has haunted him for the rest of his life but he still wants to possess what he once had.  He wants that machismo back. Oscar just cannot physically get it back. Eventually, his desire gets him killed. One thing that  dies seem like a positive is the "final letter." It does seem that he died a happy man. He finally had sex and it was the best thing he has every experienced.

Looking at this novel as a mirror, I can understand the entire machismo in Latino Culture. I was always told never to cry, don't let anyone mess with you, get as much girls as you can, and marry a beautiful lady to do all the chores for you. If you are a Latino man, you will experience this in one way or another.

Religion in Characters

The theme that I have chosen works with religion and how that has influenced a characters life to the point where it is their life. Religion plays a huge role in Latino Culture and you can see that through the characters in each piece of Latino Literature that I have read. In each novel before, I have worked with characters that are Catholics. Catholicism plays a huge role in the novels but the island novels do not display the full characteristics of Catholicism.  These two novels are different. They both display different types of religious traditions that affect the choices of certain characters. There Pentecostal tradition is represented in Bodega Dreams. This tradition represents more of an active environment that has people singing, yelling, and very upbeat. The character Blanca is the Pentecostal here who influences the main character Chino. The Santeria tradition, which is somewhat different from any Christian tradition, is represented in Dreaming in Cuban. It does represent some characteristics of Catholicism but it also has a mixture of other traditions. The character Felicia is influenced by this faith tradtion and has definitely changed her. These two traditions impact certain characters from the novels, which helps shape the role they play.

In Bodega Dreams, Blanca is a character that is Pentecostal. This Christian tradition is basically her life and she lives every day as if she were in the church. From the beginning of the novel to the end, her Pentecostal tradition has influenced who she is, how she acts, her marriage, and her responses to a husband who is a nonbeliever. Chino knew that religion was a big part of her life. His observation was clear when he says, “she always carried a Bible with her and never talked bad about anybody and at school she only hung around with her Pentecostal friend” (9). At a young age Blanca’s life has been directed towards the path of Christianity. Later on in the novel, Chino describes the church as Blanca’s source for anything. Chinos says, “her only source was the church,” and, “when Blanca grew up she never shook it but embraced God even more,” (63).  Through thick and thin, Blanca always has and wants the church to support her. Blanca’s life is definitely run by her religion. Through Chino’s observations and her actions, the Pentecostal tradition has made Blanca’s life be filled with knowing that she can be saved.

In Dreaming in Cuban, we see a new kind of religious tradition. The tradition of Santeria, which is a mix of Yoruba, Catholicism, and West Indian Traditions, is seen through the character Felicia. This novel deals with characters that have some sort of mental illness. Felicia is a character that is depressed. It is to the point where she is going to kill her husband and son. This unstableness causes her to reach into the religious tradition of Santeria. It has calmed her. Towards the end of the novel, Felicia writes a note to Herminia saying that she wants to be buried as a Santera (214). A Santera is a full believer of Santeria that is a priestess. During the last section of the novel she is buried through the ritualistic process. Although Felicia does suffer from some mental illnesses, she does find peace through the tradition. It says that, “she finally found her peace” (188).” This means that through the tradition Felicia has done things in order to become at peace. It says that,“Felicia did everything she was supposed to as a novice Santera.”Her commitment to the religion was show as she practiced the rituals of the tradition.

            The theme explored in these two novels presents characters that use religion to influence their lives. It is present within Blanca and Felicia. These characters use this to keep them going and help influence choices they make. In Bodega Dreams, Blanca is the one who integrates the Pentecostal tradition into her life and her marriage. Through her actions it is seen that the religion has taken ahold of what influences her life. In Dreaming in Cuban, Felicia is the one who embraces Santeria. Even though she has some mental illnesses and goes through several deathly missions, she ends up finding peace, through Santeria, towards the end of the novel. Her commitment to the religion demonstrates that she does want Santeria to influence her everyday decisions.

Dreaming In Cuban

What does it mean to be "dreaming in Cuban?" In class we discussed that it involves an aspiration of using our dreams to fulfill the needs of a Cuban. Their is the revolution, Celia's love for Gustavo,  or Pilar's desire to go back to Cuba. These dreams involve being apart of Cuba. When I read this novel, I tried to compare the dreams in here to my personal life. What does it mean to be "dreaming in Mexican?"

How can I be dreaming in Mexican? I haven't been to Mexico in nearly 10 years. The last time I went my cousins wanted to fight me. They didn't like me. For 10 years, I haven't had the desire to go and visit my family down in Zachatecas, Mexico. It was mostly my father's side that went to Mexico and I wasn't really close to him. When I read this novel, I thought about this. However, I feel like I am thinking about it in the wrong way. I take pride in being a Mexican from America, especially during a time where being a Mexican is depicted a an illegal.

So I guess I should be thinking, what does it mean to dreaming in "Mexican American." I see the similarities in dreaming like this like it did in Bodega Dreams and the mirror essay. My aspiration to not disappoint and make something of myself is my dreaming in Mexican American. The different generations in my family have influenced me. I took all the negative and positive and use it as a driving force to build a new path. I also recognize that my ethnicity plays a huge role in this. The brown skin says plenty about me. There is so much that goes into the skin color. The culture, values, and dreams are apart of the skin color. That is what makes it dreaming in "Mexican American" than just dreaming.

Dreams

I related to Bodega Dreams much more than I thought. Coming from a Mexican heritage, I thought that a Puerto Rican culture would be very different but there are some similarities. There are some differences like the location of Puerto Rico and where the Puerto Ricans settled in the mainland. However, they stick together much like the Mexicans that I grew up with. I rarely saw people go out and do something different from the norm in my culture. No matter what we always had a support system. If you didn't go to college you had a job in the factory with the family. If you didn't have money you had people to help you. If you didn't had food you had a table to eat at with anybody close in the family. I saw this kind of system within Bodega Dreams. Chino supported Sapo, Sapo supported Chino, Bodega supported the whole neighborhood, and Blance tried to support Chino. Mostly everybody had each others' backs.

That makes it hard for people to leave and pursue a higher education. One of the main reasons is that it is very difficult for people from a cultural group to cross into another culture. Crossing into another cultural group's boundaries can make a person uncomfortable, unwanted, and ultimately wanting to go back home. Many people in my culture do that. They cannot handle the difference and so it makes them make the decision to go back home. I saw this boundary not being crossed in Bodega Dreams. With the exception of Blanca and Chino, not many people tried to reach their potential. If the people in Spanish Harlem needed something they went to Willie Bodega. He provided a support system for the community which made it hard for them to leave. Although it wasn't a clean system, it provided plenty of breathing room for the community.

That is one of the benefits of the support system in the Spanish Harlem community. You got his back and he/she has yours. However, it does have its downfall. To be honest, I do not know it it's a downfall. It is nice to have a support system. I just would rather see people cross boundaries to see that we can be together in peace. There doesn't have to be a feeling of uncomfortableness, being unwanted, and resentment towards another culture. Chino and Blanca try to reach their potential and people recognize that. Now if we can get that recognition in the community rather than just two people, then we can eliminate some of the prejudices or stereotypes.

Looking Into The Mirror

I look into the mirror. What do I see? I don't just see a physical appearance. I see many layers that each describe a part of who I am. First, I see a tall, skinny man. There is a hairy face with bushy eyebrows. A close to almost shaved bald head. There are two popped out ears that each have its own shape. They aren't the same. I also see a smile. What I am wearing is either a v-neck shirt that is black or a long sleeve shirt. There are gym shorts on with long socks and some basketball shoes. My skin is brown and my hair is black. I look more Arabic than Mexican. That's is what my mom used to tell me and what all my friends say. It's the hair all over my face. I have on a necklace that my mother gave me. It looks like a Lord of the Rings chain. The ring on the necklace has a prayer on it. It is a special necklace. It reminds me what I am here to do on Earth and that God is always watching me. He loves me. I see a basketball in my hand. It is what I am most passionate about. I know that if I work hard, then it will pay off. I see that my time is short with basketball and hopefully my hard work will pay off soon.

When I look into the mirror I see a very special person. She is my hero, my role-model, my mentor, and most of all, the one that will love me no matter what. My mother, Anita Loredo Parral, was a single mother who raised all five of her kids. She always had to work to support us. It was too the point that we were tired of her working because we wanted her to hang out with us. However, she was a strong person and did what she needed to do in order to keep this family under a roof, keep food on the table, and keep clothes on our back. I wish she had more support from us. She has God which gets her through any obstacle. When I look into the mirror I see her doing the rosary while she sews all the luggage for work. Her hard work and strong-willed personality is in me. I am glad that she gave me that since day one.

When I look into the mirror I see the other half that was born with me on May 16, 1991. My twin sister, Corina Parral, has been with me in every struggle, fun time, and situation that involved my personal life. No matter what she was there by my side. It was hard for me to come to Goshen because I knew I was leaving my family and my twin sister. Just imagine all the positive characteristics in my personality. Now multiply that by ten and you will see who my sister is. We don't look like twins though. We have similar facial features but she is way shorter than me. Plus, she has glasses.

When I look into the mirror I see myself being the person that breaks the chain of disappointment for my mother, family, friends, and the Mexican American community. My mother was always disappointed in the decisions that my brothers and sisters made. She was disappointed at my father not being the husband she dreamed of. She was disappointed at my father for not being the dad that his kids dreamed of. My family was disappointed in him too. Many of my friends looked at each other and said they wished they would have done more with their lives. Only a few have broken the chain and did something different. The rest go on to live their lives talking about the few that have broken the chain. The Mexican American community looks upon good leaders. I hope to be the leader that the community needs. When I look into the mirror I see the person who will make a difference, big or small, in people's lives. That picture with my brother and sisters are the people that I want to not disappoint. I want to make them proud. Family is the most important thing to me and with their support I can be the person that they want me to be and need me to be.

That is what I see in the mirror.

John Olivares Espinoza

(Photo courtesy of John Olivares website and Lucero Arechiga)

The poems by John Olivares Espinoza in The Wind Shifts are geared for the hard working class of Mexican Americans. They explore different life situations that deal with the struggles and/or hard work of the Mexican American community. Each poem tells a different story but they all relate to the Chicano heritage of working to support themselves or the struggles they endure to live. Also, these poems are a mirror into John’s personal life.

In his poem “Aching Knees in Palm Springs,” it shows two working people pulling weeds all day. John is one of those two people pulling weeds and they are working with their dad. Their father owns a landscaping business and they are always on the knees working. These two boys always work with their father and you can see the hard work in them. Some quotes show how long and tiring it was to work the yard; “At the eight hour of kneeling. The weight on my knees was too much for me. For each fistful of grass, I stood up to stretch.” John continues on to talk about how this line of work doesn’t compare to the people who make much more money. His father goes on to tell him that “it’s the only way to put you through school-this oily sweat.” This is very intriguing because this is his father’s only way to support his family. He uses this to help his son finish school so he can make a better life for himself.

In “Contemporary American Hunger,” you see a different struggle. Money is an issue and John tells it right away in his first sentence; “We were the newest broke Mexicans to settle in Indio.” The poem goes on to portray John’s poor situation at a McDonalds. His second stanza shows his mother’s lack of money when she pulls out “two dull quarters, six dimes, five nickels, and three parking lot pennies.” She could only afford two cheeseburgers and she ended up saving the leftovers for later. John paints a great picture of him and his brother playing. He compares his situation to other kids playing in the ball pin. He writes “their stomachs full of Big Macs or Happy Meals.” Right after he doesn’t seem too distraught by thinking about how full they are. Rather, he says they are “happy too-better than staying at home on a Saturday eating potato tacos.” He is a kid. He doesn’t really have to worry about their situations. However, his mother does and you can see it when he writes “I only remember her fingers neatly wrapping the remaining half.”

In “I Go Dreaming, Raking Leaves,” you see how much his work at the landscaping business has effect him six years after he has held a rake. John dreams of raking an endless pile of leaves. It is engraved in his soul. Working with his father at a young boy shaped how he was and the hard work makes him dream, after six years, about leaves. “It’s been six years…and still I’m raking leaves during my sleep.” That quote says it all.

There are other poems that explore his life experiences growing up. In an interview with the Delkalb Public Library, John states a few reasons why his poems reflect who he is. John worked with his father at his landscaping business and he worked every Saturday while the other kids in school slept in and watched tv, John worked all day with his father. John says, “I’m glad I wasn’t those kids who stayed home on a Saturday watching cartoons—what would I write about?” This part of his life is an important piece to his poetry. Reading his poems, I see a side of John that shows him working really hard.

Another reason is that John wants people see the Latino side of his life. As a minority poet, John states that “it is about capturing and documenting that said minority’s experience living in America today.” I think this is very important for literature. People do need to see the inside of the Latino Culture. Latinos are a growing population but people rarely understand these people. Reading this poetry brings in a side to the Latino community that many people do not get the chance to see. These poems catch what John wants for his works. He does a great job in introducing his experience with his culture.

Overall, I felt a personal connection to John Espinoza’s poetry. While reading his works, I was seeing a mirror to my own life. His poem “ Las Cucarachas,” connected to my own experience with roaches down in south Texas. “Contemporary American Hunger,” was a mirror to my own experience where I had to pay for things in change. I remember seeing my mother pay for a gallon of milk with nothing but pennies. I remember paying for gas in nickels and dimes. Not to say that I was embarrassed about the situations, but I knew that we were living in rough times. John’s experience of working with his father at his landscaping business made a mirror for me. I remember as a young boy, having worked every Saturday doing something around the house. My dad used to wake me up and I would dread coming out of bed. I had to work though and I remember cutting grass, raking leaves, cleaning the garage, cleaning the house, and fixing things around the house. Without this experience, how could I live alone if I couldn’t take care of myself? These are a part of me and this connects with John’s poetry, as his experiences and poetry are a part of him.