Family Ties

In both Dreaming in Cuban and Bodega Dreams, the theme of family is prominent throughout the whole novel. In Dreaming in Cuban, the family theme deals with something different than previous novels in the class: it is a story of three generations of women. In Bodega Dreams, the theme of family is played out in the relationship between Blanca and Chino, but also the relationship between Willie Bodega and Spanish Harlem. Throughout both of the novels, there are different dynamics between families, and the families support each other in different ways.

In Dreaming in Cuban, a family of women is central to the novel. The family is split apart: Celia, the matriarch, lives in Cuba with her youngest daughter Felicia and Felicia's three children, while her oldest daughter Lourdes and Lourdes's daughter Pilar live in New York, far away from the influence of the revolution. The novel follows the lives of three generations of women, throughout the years following the revolution until 1980. The story follows the women through tribulations and hurt, revolution and freedom, as well as death. The novel is not a story of marital relationships, but rather they are the interactions between the different women. For Pilar, Lourdes’s daughter, the mother-daughter relationship is strained, and Pilar is much closer to her father than mother. It is almost a mirror of the relationship between Lourdes and Jorge, her father. Lourdes ad Celia never got along when they were together in Cuba, so Lourdes became very close to her father, much like Pilar and her father Rufino. Celia and Felicia begin to have a conflicting relationship in the book as well. Felicia is a woman that has many problems, even going as far as trying to kill her husband and son, Ivanito, on different occasions. Felicia sees the attempted murder of her son at least as an act of love. She does not want to be separated from him, and Celia is trying to pull them apart for the betterment of Ivanito.

In Bodega Dreams, Chino is the main character at the center of the familial relationships of the books. He is a young man living in Spanish Harlem, trying to support his new wife and unborn child. He becomes mixed up with Willie Bodega, a former Young Lord and current drug dealer, who has a dream of making Spanish Harlem a great place to live for everyone. In his own family, conflict is a common occurrence, since Blanca is a devout Protestant and Chino is apathetic towards religion. There is also Sapo, Chino’s best friend, who is for better or worse Chino’s brother. Blanca does not like Sapo or Bodega, and does not want Chino to be mixed up with them. She knows that Sapo sells drugs, and is afraid that something bad will happen if Chino continues to hang out with Sapo (16). She cannot seem to reconcile her religious beliefs with the actions of those around Chino, her husband and father to her child, and eventually Blanca leaves Chino. The theme of family deviates a little in Bodega Dreams from Chino and Blanca, and seems to fall onto Bodega. Bodega wants to make Spanish Harlem better by being available and helpful to all of the people that live there. In a sense, all of the inhabitants of El Barrio (another name for Spanish Harlem) become Bodega’s extended family. He is there for them when they need help paying rent or fixing their apartment or putting their children through college. All he asks for in return is that the people of El Barrio be there for him, to cry out in pain and anguish when he dies.

           

There is support for the families throughout the novels though. In Dreaming in Cuban, there is one great scene where Lourdes and Pialr put aside their differences, and act like a mother and daughter. When Lourdes opens a new bakery and asks Pilar to paint something patriotic for it, Pilar decides to create a punk Statue of Liberty. At the unveiling, many of the customers criticize the painting and Pilar, but Lourdes sticks up for her daughter and knocks a man out cold (144). In that moment, Lourdes and Pilar are the mother-daughter pair that they never were, and were close like family should be. In Bodega Dreams, Willie Bodega supports Chino and Blanca when they are out and down. After the fire burns down their apartment building, Bodega moves them into one of his buildings, proving that he does indeed care for everyone that lives in his part of the city.

             

Family is a very important aspect of Latino Literature and culture, and the theme is prominent in Dreaming in Cuban and Bodega Dreams. The families of each book have their own unique set of problems and perks, but they are also connected together on some levels. There is a sense of love and appreciation in both of the novels, and help is always around for the family members that need it. There are differing styles of family dynamics in the two novels, since they deal with not only different time periods, but also the difference between a matriarchal (Celia) family and a patriarchal (Bodega) family.

Magical Readings

                In Cristina Garcia’s novel Dreaming in Cuban, there are many examples of one theme that has been common throughout the novels we have read so far in the class: magical realism. Garcia incorporates a world that is real, but influenced by otherworldly phenomena in the context of Cuba, a country that has had a precarious relationship with the Western world.

                In the novel, one of the main characters Celia del Puente, has an experience with a ghost right at the beginning of the novel. She sees the ghost of her recently deceased husband, Jorge, walking across the ocean towards her, glowing as she kept a vigil for El Lider. She is surprised, but realizes that her husband, who she has not seen in almost four years, is dead. Seeing him is a momentous occasion for her, because due to her sighting of her dead husband, she pledges her life to El Lider, Fidel Castro, though surprisingly throughout the novel his name is never actually mentioned.

                Celia’s daughter Lourdes experiences spirits from the beyond in the novel as well. She lives in New York City, and that is where her father was because he was sick. After his death, Lourdes began to see her father as she returns home from work, and talks to him, since she does not have someone else to talk to. Lourdes’s husband and daughter have a special relationship that, in my opinion, mirrors the relationship Lourdes and Jorge had. Lourdes is left out of the loop, so for guidance and confidence, she sees her father’s spirit and talks about her life and what is going on. Jorge is an escape, a best friend, for Lourdes even though he is dead.

                Santeria is present in the novel, with the character of Felicia. Felicia is Celia’s second daughter, and in the novel, it becomes apparent that Felicia is mentally unstable. She tries to kill her husband by setting his face on fire, and she tries to kill her only son by crushing pills over his ice cream. Eventually, Felicia is taken away from her son, and she spirals out of control until she lands with her feet firmly in Santeria. Although Santeria is a religion, there is a sense of the magical around it. Santeria priests and priestesses believe in many gods, and the religion is rich with rituals and sacrifices to the gods. Communicating with the dead is another part of Santeria, although that type of communication is not present with Felicia’s character.

                Dreaming in Cuban is a novel rich in details, narrative, family struggles, and of course magical realism. The novel has been highly praised, and it is one of my favorite books from the course so far. I am glad that we had the chance to read another novel that dealt with the other-worldly, the magical.

Puerto Rican Obituary

If you have read, or are beginning to read Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quiñonez, you will have been introduced to excerpts from the poem Puerto Rican Obituary, a poem by PedroPietri, a famous Puerto Rican author. In Bodega Dreams, Quinonez uses the poem to highlight life in Spanish Harlem, where the poem and the novel are both set.

Pietri is a Puerto Rican poet, and is one of the founders of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a non-profit organization that is known for its involvement with the arts in New York City. It is primarily Latino performers, and has been in business since 1973 when it was founded. It was this cafe that was first introduced to Pietri's “Puerto Rican Obituary,” and the cafe is what gave Pietri the notoriety he gained in life.

The poem is a story of boricuans, the Taino name for Puerto Ricans, living in Spanish Harlem, trying to make their American dreams come true. However, the poem is permeated with sadness, because many of the characters in the poem do not accomplish their dreams, and leave this world hating their lives, and the other people around them. The line “All died/ waiting dreaming and hating” (line 46) shows the readers of the poem that even though Puerto Ricans come to America in search of a better life, sometimes the dreams fall flat, and the anger and bitterness are what are left for the relatives and children.

The poem is also a commentary on the life situation of a Latino in New York City. Even though Puerto Ricans are US citizens, there is a prejudice in this country against Latinos of all forms. Pietri points out in his poem that many of the Puerto Ricans who work here do not even know what the front door of the national bank looks like (line 22).

When I first read this poem, I will admit that I was a little put off by the fact it is quite a long poem, similar to an epic in the vein of Beowulf. But as I began to read further into the poem, I began to realize that there are many facts that I believed in, but was proved wrong. I have known for a long time that Puerto Ricans are American citizens, so because of this I always believed that they would have the same status as other Americans in the US. However, after reading Bodega Dreams and Puerto Rican Obituary, I came to the realization that mainstream American culture views Puerto Ricans not as American citizens, but as another Latino group, and due to this are not as understanding or accepting of Puerto Ricans into this country. 

Instead, many Puerto Ricans move to Spanish Harlem in NYC, and get jobs that no one else wants, because they want to live the American dream in America, and they will do whatever it takes (sound familiar?)

The Looking Glass

When I look into the mirror, I see a pale face, with hazel eyes staring at my own. A scraggly red beard, hence the pale face, bleeds the light from the surrounding room. Small brown dots freckle my arms and shoulders, blonde hairs almost invisible over the dots. I am young, in the prime of my life. I see the adventure of a fresh new day reflected in my eyes.

I continue staring into the reflective depths of the mirror. I see pine trees lining the backyard, pine cones littering the yard. Georgia heat shimmers and bends off the surface of my mirror. I can hear the twang of country music, the thwang of a sharp Southern accent. My mom has come home, and the smells and sounds of dinner waft through the small, cozy house.

More comes and stands in my mirror. Memories of my family, now long gone, remind me of where I came from. My grandmother stands behind me, smiling as she shows me where my life has been and where it will go.

As I delve deeper into the mirror, everything is laid bare. My dad sits in his Sunday best, praying at the head of the table. My mom flutters around the house, making sure everything is in order, everything is in its place. I'd forgotten how I missed the routine, until the mirror shows me once again how it was.

Then, far away from where I thought I would end, the mirror shows me subtleties that I hadn't noticed before, ideas not in my head until I grew up. My school is half and half: half African-American, half white. I grow up with friends who look different from me, and hear that they are different. I see dark skin, darker than the casper pale skin I have grown to accept as unchangeable. My parents reflections speak to me in the mirror, telling me that I am better than those people, the ones from the literal other side of the tracks.

In the reflection, I can see my family, all together, all laughing, feeling safe based on what they look like and how society views them. I am one of them, but I see something different: an new reflection, a new thought bubble. I am white, yes, and that comes with privileges I never knew existed as a child. But in my mirror, I can make whatever is right reflect back. I see the differences, I sometimes participate in the encouragements of those differences, but I know that they are not right. I can fix them.

I am not as familiar with where my ancestors are from as I am with how my family raised me. How they taught me to think, to act, to view the world, and that is the most powerful influence I have. Even if I am not sure what to think, how to act, or how to look at the world, there is that reflection in the mirror that shows me how my family does it. Maybe I don't agree, but at least I know they're there.