Chapter 8 and the epilogue of “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream”

Chapter 8 and the epilogue of “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” by Sam Quinones were as good if not better then the preceding chapters. On the whole I found this book to be an interesting glimpse on a culture different from my own. This book really helped me to gain greater understanding of the sacrifice and struggle that many immigrants to this country endure.
Chapter 8 is a story about soccer in a small town in Kansas. The primary industry in the town is the meatpacking industry. The people who work in the meatpacking industry are primarily immigrants, mostly from Mexico. While reading Quinones’ description of how the industry came into existence I couldn’t help thinking about “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, but this story isn’t about meatpacking. This is ultimately a story of a town divided.
Garden City, Kansas is like most towns, in the South and Midwest, slaves to high school football. The football team in Garden City had seen success in the past but had recently fallen on troubled times. The soccer team had seen the opposite, starting as a struggling program and by the end of the story winning a regional championship. What is important is the attitude change that the success of the soccer team had on the people in town. The team was comprised of children of immigrants and had never been accepted by the community. Quinones presents us with a situation where self loathing and feelings of inferiority stifled the immigrant community, the success of the soccer team made huge strides to change that.
It is curious that the attitudes of an entire town can change because of a high school sports team. Having grown up around the idolization of high school sports (and being a willing participant) I guess I can understand it. It does make you wonder where our priorities lie. We pay little attention to each other until we can come together in the love of something. I guess that’s something that sports are capable of. I love sports but I can’t help but wonder if there’s another more efficient way.
The epilogue of the story was also good. I personally felt like it detracted a little from the rest of the book, kind of a drug story tacked on for good measure. That being said it was very entertaining. It never would have occurred to me that Mennonites could be drug users much less, drug runners and murderers. The whole story was beyond wild, where Quinones is essentially chased out of Mexico by the Mennonite drug mob.
Back to the dual existence in the soccer story, I have a good example of this occurring in my life. When I was a senior in high school I moved from western Kentucky to west Georgia. On the surface this doesn’t seem like a huge change both towns are in the south, but the truth is they are quite different. Here is my example of this difference. During my second semester at my new high school in Georgia the Prom came along. To my surprise there were two proms, one held in the girl’s gym for African American students and one held off campus in a ballroom for the white students. This still shocks me. I can’t believe that I attended a segregated prom. Granted it wasn’t officially segregated but there was some kind of understanding between the two groups that neither attended the other prom. It really is sad, friends from different races were unable or unwilling to spend one of the “highlights” of high school together. Things like this should not occur. The problem was that administrators could do little about it. The main issue was that the prom on campus was the school prom and the one off campus was a private gathering. Teachers and administrators need to do more to discourage this type of thing. It could be done by simply encouraging a stronger multiracial community within the school, instead of the divisions that still exist. It really does upset me looking back. Ultimately, I guess it is like the Quinones story where the groups stay separate by choice, at least I sincerely hope it is by choice.

Chapter six and seven of “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream”

Chapter six and seven of “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” continue the tales of a transitional time in Mexican history.
Chapter six is about culture and the city of Tijuana. Sam Quinones points out the origins of the city, how it sprung up as a suburb of San Diego. Tijuana quickly expanded to becoming a destination for many people from other regions of the country. A large number of people struggled to merely survive, leading to a lack of culture in the city. This story details the rise of opera in Tijuana.
One interesting story aspect was at the fall of the Soviet Union many skilled musicians looked to the west for new opportunities, and a few ended up in Baja California. Their arrival sparked interest in classical music and eventually influenced many locals to take up music as a passion.
Other parts of the story detail the lives of a few people from Tijuana and how they came into contact with music. One story is of a local man started an opera café. Another is of a woman who went against her family to explore a career in singing. The most interesting of these stories is of a former music teacher and writer of music. His story was that of tragedy, having fallen in love with music prior to the cultural boom and being an old man while the other events of the story were taking place. This teacher felt abandoned by his situation and turned his back on the up and coming culture. He took the attitude that if he wasn’t accepted in his younger years why should he accept them now.
In the end Tijuana had established a reputable music scene. This seemed to have a great influence on the community. No longer is Tijuana pictured as a disreputable haven for vice, but as an up and coming cultural destination within Mexico.
Chapter seven discusses a restaurant owning/operating Mexican immigrant culture around Chicago. Quinones tells us how these immigrants helped each other out and started many restaurants all over the Midwest. Interestingly all of the people in this story where from one small town in Mexico called Atolinga. Every person in the story swore that they were going to make money in America and then return home to Mexico, but the longer they stayed the deeper their roots became. It was funny one character spent a fortune building a house in Atolinga only to never sleep in it.
These immigrants abandoned their home town only to return once a year. They still frequently contributed money to Atolinga public works but never returned to enjoy them.
Of the two situations of abandonment in these two chapters it is hard for me to decide which is worse. I feel terrible for the music teacher but at the same time Atolinga is becoming a ghost town. If I had to choose I guess I’d go with the situation in Atolinga because it affects so many people. In Atolinga the economy is crumbling and Quinones tells us about the bitterness and resentment of the people that stayed behind. It is hard to imagine a town vanishing because of immigration, but that is what’s happening to Atolinga. With the death of a town so dies all their history and that really is a tragic thing.
All in all these two chapters were equally as good as the ones that preceded them. I’m really looking forward to finishing this book

Chapter 4 and 5 of Sam Quinones’ “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream”

Chapter 4 and 5 of Sam Quinones’ “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” were pretty interesting. The book continues to detail the relationship between Mexico and the United States. This book is continually presenting thought provoking real life scenarios that force the reader to reevaluate views on the lives of people in Mexico.
Chapter 4 of the book details how the velvet painting came to dominate walls in homes throughout the 1970s. This was before my time. I found it interesting that at this point in time people actually took these painting seriously. I also never realized that so many of them were hand painted. When I read this fact I instantly thought better of the velvet painting. The most compelling thing about this chapter is the economic dominance that the velvet painting industry had on these boarder town communities. Large percentages of the population were making a living as painters. Eventually supply overtook demand and prices dropped. This coupled with the dominant political group’s taxation and sales restrictions eventually lead to the end of the velvet painting age.
It’s a shame that the industry died. I would guess that there were some beautiful artworks from this era lumped in with pictures of Yosemite Sam simply because of the velvet medium. I’m not a fan of the velvet painting, but I love the idea of communities being supported by art. Regardless of what you think about velvet painting you have to concede that the creators were skilled. It is a tragedy that all this skill has been forced into other professions. These people should be heralded as artisans. Should a student present this as a family tradition we must let them know that they should be proud of this past.
Chapter 5 of the book returns to Delfino. It is the story of his crossing the desert to reach America. The story is from the Coyote’s point of view and it offers an interesting take. I have never seen a Coyote in this light. I actually found myself admiring Diez (the Coyote). Too often they are portrayed as exploitative evil people, when I would assume that many are like Diez. He is a flawed character. He does charge a large sum of money and he is doing something illegal, but at the same time he is offering a necessary service and seems to care about the people he is leading through the desert.
This story is not without tragedy. One of the members of the group dies and the others very nearly die. It just goes to show how difficult the route that many people take to come to America is. It is hope that drives them through one of the harshest terrains on the planet. The thing that I liked best about this story is that the author doesn’t present us with his opinions of what is right and wrong, but only points out the sacrifice and struggle of seeking a better life.

Response to first three chapters

The first three chapters of “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” by Sam Quinones were very interesting. When I opened this book I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was instantly taken over by a view of a culture that I had not previously seen. I have heard that familiar rhetoric for many years, “People come to America for a better opportunity.” This is true, but it is so much deeper then the statement lets on. Quinones shows us that these opportunities are not self centered. Mexican immigrants do not come to America to only better themselves, but to better their families and the communities that they are leaving behind. Quinones also shows us that many immigrants are political refugees, fleeing an oppressive ruling class.

The first chapter of the book is a story about a young man named Delfino. Delfino’s father is a drunk and struggles to support his family. Delfino decided that he must pick up the slack and go to Mexico City to find work to help support his family. He was just a child but Delfino managed to find work. He worked construction always sending a large portion of his wages back home to his family.

What is most interesting about Delfino’s story is his assimilation into big city life. When he first arrived in Mexico City he was an innocent farm boy. This quickly changed, Delfino experienced many things that would be expected of an unsupervised youth in a booming metropolis. He experimented with drugs, sex, and alcohol. He took on the dress of American city youth. When he returned home the adults of his village were disgusted but the youth saw him as a glamorous role model. Delfino eventually found his real passion in break dancing. Delfino used dance as a chance to stand out from the crowd. Eventually, he met a girl and married.

From dance to the way that he dressed America played a huge role on Delfino. Like many others he saw the opportunities in America as something to alluring to pass up. This story ends with Delfino making his way north to cross the border.

I think that the most compelling thing about Delfino’s story was the struggle. Working conditions are atrocious and the pay is poor. Delfino gave up everything for his family. There is something about a character that is flawed but extremely noble that just sucks you in.

The second chapter of the book is about a Mexican immigrant returning to Mexico to run for Mayor of his home town after decades of living in the USA. Andres Bermudez like many others came to America to work as a farm hand. Eventually Bermudez ascended the ranks and became a foreman on a large farm, but the owner of the farm refused to allow him to live in the foreman’s house. A short time later the owner hired his inexperienced son-in-law and gave him the foreman’s house. This enraged Bermudez. He quit and he vowed to make more money then the farm owner ever had. Bermudez’s vow came true when he invented a machine to make transferring tomato plants from the greenhouse to the field much easier.

At the same time, in Mexico, political change was taking place. Mexico had long been governed by a single party called the PRI. This political party was made up of wealthy people and they tended to look out for their personal interests instead of their constituents. Eventually, a new political party came into being called the PRD. The leaders of this party believed that leaving Mexico for the United States did not mean immigrants were no longer Mexican. The PRD also wanted to throw out the old ruling class in lieu of officials that would look out for the common man.

This brings us back to Bermudez. The governor from Bermudez home state came to California to visit immigrants. This visit resulted in Bermudez deciding to return home to run for Mayor. On the surface he was the perfect fit a blue collar hard guy that had made money through hard work, but there were problems. First, Bermudez was no longer a citizen of the town and second he was not a politician.

Immigrants had long been prohibited from voting in Mexican elections. Bermudez’s case caused upheaval among the immigrant community who wanted representation because so much of their money was going back to Mexico fueling the local economies. After legal and political battles Bermudez was allowed to run for office and won. This case garnered much publicity and eventually Bermudez got swept up in it. He seemed to forget that winning meant doing the job.

This story showed that immigrants see themselves as being part of two counties. Having lived in only one county myself I found this very interesting. The people in the story are completely American and completely Mexican and the same time. They want what is best for the communities in both places. I think that this attitude should be one that is adopted by all people, caring not just for their local communities but for the worldwide community.

The next chapter is about a small town government gone completely wrong. A suburb of LA called South Gate had a large increase in Latino population and eventually saw a change in the make-up of its local government. This was a welcomed changed until a man named Albert Robles came into power.

This honestly should be made into a movie. All the devious, slimy politics are such a great story. Albert and his cronies are suspected of being the culprits behind mailers used to slander the competition making outlandish claims, such as, child molester and drunk against political opponents. People in the community tended to believe what they read and it was a guilty until proven innocent scenario. These tactics got many ill-qualified people elected to office. Once in office they did a number of illegal and immoral things. They took kickbacks on contracts, gave themselves multiple jobs, and awarded themselves huge pay increases. They also are suspected of committing violent acts against political opponents. After bankrupting the city the community bands together and Albert and his crew are removed from office.

This story showed that a community of very diverse people can work together toward a common goal. What I found most compelling was the reaction of the community. The idea that we aren’t that different, that we all want what’s best for our city. I think that is an important realization that all communities should learn. The truth is that wherever you are people are people, most are good a few are bad. It is a shame that it takes a situation as terrible as this one to realize that truth.

These first three chapters were great and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the book.

Introduction

Hello, its my first time blogging, and I guess it would be best to begin with a short introduction. I am a graduate student working toward a M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in teaching ESL. I also work on campus as a graduate assistant. This blog will function as a means of reflection on the material of a course I am currently taking, and hopefully the my experiences with ESL methods beyond this class. Hope that you enjoy what follows.