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.