English practice 38

Enriching the American Tradition

The Mexican-American War, with its many conflicts and compromises, represent⁴⁶ a largely overlooked part of the history of the United States, but its importance in the current shape and culture of the United States cannot be overstated. Certainly, it is difficult to imagine the present-day United States without the list of former Mexican territories, which includes⁴⁷ Texas, Arizona, California, and others, but it is equally difficult to imagine America's vibrant multicultural society without the influence of Mexican-Americans.

But despite the obvious richness that Mexican-Americans have brought to American culture, one aspect of their⁴⁸ contributions, to American arts⁴⁸ is often overlooked: literature. Although the names of many famous Mexican-Americans are identifiable in film and music, many Americans are at a loss to name even a single Mexican-American author. Carlos Santana, a musician born and raised in Mexico, has achieved widespread popularity in the United States.⁴⁹

A major landmark in early Mexican-American literature came in 1885, when author, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton,⁵⁰ published her second novel, The Squatter and the Don. In addition to being the first major novel written in English by an author of Mexican descent, The Squatter and the Don was also noteworthy for its revolutionary perspective. María Amparo Ruiz de Burton helped to acquaint American readers⁵² with and introduce them to⁵² an as yet unfamiliar group through her fictional family, the Alamars. A family of landed gentry living in San Diego, nearly all is lost to the Alamars⁵³ after the American annexation of California during⁵⁴ the Mexican-American War. As a result of the lopsided Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico lost nearly forty percent of its previous territories and many, like Ruiz de Burton and her creations the Alamars, were uprooted from their previous comfort and made citizens of a new nation. Ruiz de Burton's wish that⁵⁵ her works would speak for the many Mexican-Americans who felt the same concerns. The Squatter and the Don marked an early and important exploration of many themes that Mexican-American authors continue to explore⁵⁷, including themes of personal integrity, identity, and the relationships between individuals and collective history.

[1] Poet Ana Castillo has been publishing well-received novels and volumes of poetry prolifically since 1977, and her work has been essential in bringing issues of Mexican-American women, particularly those living in urban places such as Castillo's hometown of Chicago, to a larger audience. [2] Sandra Cisneros is the author of The House on Mango Street, which has sold over two million copies since its original publication in 1984, and her work, including the novel Caramelo, published in 2002, has helped give voice to the often difficult position of living between two cultures that Mexican-Americans face. [3] Ruiz de Burton's writings and that of⁵⁸ other authors remain important parts of American literature today. [4] Along with many others, these authors⁶⁰ continue to expand the boundaries of American literature, just as Mexican-Americans all over the country continue to enrich and challenge accepted notions of what we call "American culture."