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.
I like what you said about how the system of supporting your friends (“having their back”) going beyond just a single friendship and into a wider community. Since you mentioned it, I can definitely see how the Barrio community tapped into the support of everyone around them. Willie Bodega operated according to this value, as he relied on those he helped to spread the word to help out their family and friends, and so on until everyone knew his name. It’s ironic, then, that the reciprocal relationship he wanted with the Barrio’s inhabitants didn’t turn out all that well for him, as his death did not bring about any of the demonstrations he so desperately wanted. I wonder if that’s a commentary on how the protective system doesn’t hold up in larger contexts, or just a commentary on how it needs to hold up.
ReplyDeleteTavo, I also could relate to the support system seen in "Bodega Dreams," but in a slightly different context. Growing up, my church family did a good job of helping each other out when someone was sick or needed some extra money, etc. These relationships helped me to put trust in my community at home.
ReplyDeleteLeaving a supportive community, though, can be really difficult. Even though I didn't really have to cross cultural boundaries to come to Goshen, transferring here wasn't easy, as I didn't really know anyone or know what to expect. Crossing any type of boundary is hard. I think that's why so many people tend to stay in their own community, because stepping outside of their comfort zones makes them vulnerable. I agree, though, that this is what has to happen in order for people to erase stereotypes and accept people that are different from themselves!
Tavo, thanks for identifying some of the benefits and downfalls of being part of a support system like that in Spanish Harlem. When I read your post, I immediately, just like Steph, thought about how I have felt a similar support system in my home congregation. My church is a larger church that helped encourage me in my gifts and passions. Within the church, I felt an especially strong connection with my youth group, which has now become the young adults group. These people want to help me grow and in turn I am eager to hear about their own lives and how I can support them.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I thought of while reading your post is that support networks seem to be changing in our technological society. Everyone knew of Bodega through word of mouth, but today people learn about others and find out the latest news through social media, facebook, and Twitter. If Sapo lived in our current society, would he have texted Chino instead of showing up at his doorstep? How our friendships and the meaning of "pana" changing today, if at all?
Tavo, I’m grateful that you highlight some of the similarities between experiences and cultures. I think it’s important to remember the unity of the latino experience in the U.S. While we are being intentional about not lumping all “latinos” together, and at the same time experiencing some prejudices in the books we are reading against other latino groups (Puerto Ricans vs. Cubans esp.) I think it’s important to not forget that, regardless of differences, all experience the same challenges at the hands of the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you in saying that the whole community needs recognition, not simply those who have become the most assimilated to U.S.A.-an culture. To recognize someone for who they are, valuing their culture, is something far more powerful than just valuing who is like you.
The support system was very strong in this book, the whole idea of having a “pana” and no matter what they would do anything for each other no questions asked. I like your comment about not crossing the cultural borders, and the role that this support system plays in that. When you have such a tight knit community, it makes it very difficult for others to come in and not feel like outsiders. I think this is one of the down falls of the support system, it creates a dependence on people from your community and doesn’t let you branch out as much as you might if you had to rely on others outside your community.
ReplyDeleteTavo, your insights into the tight social organization of Latinos are highly relevant to the course, and it's clear from the responses that your post was helpful to many people in the class.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering what happens when we translate this "insider network" of support to the Mennonite context. There's also a tight sense of mutual support (and critique) that is part of Mennonite culture--shared by roughly half of the students at Goshen College. But such strong community support also has its drawbacks, as Lynn suggests, above--in that "it makes it very difficult for others to come in and not feel like outsiders." It also makes it difficult to branch out from the support group.
One of the challenges of community and loyalty is how to negotiate the border crossings and still keep connections. That seems like what a lot of the main characters in the novels we have been reading are trying to figure out.