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Manuel Sigüenza

Mr. Damaso

Honors English II, Period 7

3 May 2010

The Best of Both Worlds

I began writing when I began thinking.  And thinking is a release from facts.  It’s

where you do something with them.

From an interview with Alberto Ríos, April

5, 2010

                 In this world, people face divides and do not belong to either side of these borders. 

Immigrants who enter illegally face Arizona Senate Bill 1070, a bill that denies entry of illegal

immigrants and pressures law enforcement to decide whether someone is in Arizona illegally

only if there is reason to believe so (Rau, Pitzl, and Rough).  For the most part, it seems as

though this law targets immigrants who come from the Mexican border specifically because of

the large population of Hispanics in Arizona.

                 A third world is made in the song “Icky Thump” by the White Stripes when the singer

talks about going to Mexico and leaving and learning how to clean bathrooms on his own.  He

continues on by saying that “White Americans” are immigrants like the Mexicans he refers to

when going to Mexico; he tells the Americans they should not kick anyone out (White).  Arizona

Senate Bill 1070 and the White Americans in “Icky Thump” are the cause of destruction of a

predominant theme in Mexican-American poetry.  The poet who writes about this theme is

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Alberto Ríos, a 58 year poet born from a British mother and Mexican father (“Alberto” 1).  He

not only writes poetry, but also short stories and also lived in Nogales for the beginning of his

life in the 50s (“Alberto” 1).  Some of his work includes “Day of the Refugios,” “Nani,” and “Mi

Abuelo.  In these three poems, Ríos incorporates a new third world after coming from two

different cultures.

                 Ríos’ fairly local life in Arizona keeps him in tune with the imagery and themes he

presents in his writing.  He was born on September 18, 1952, in Nogales to Alberto and Agnes

(“Alberto” 1).  He lived in Nogales most of his life and attended college there, but quickly went

to U of A with a full ride scholarship (Ríos).  He is now the Regents’ Professor of English at

ASU and is involved in many Hispanic and literary programs (“Alberto” 1).  As a child at his

elementary and junior high school, he was forced to stop speaking Spanish and at the same time

forced to speak Spanish at home (Ríos).  As he began writing poetry, his parents were supportive

of him, but were unsure of what kind of art he was doing (Ríos).  He began writing in second

grade, for he was a good student and had extra time to use his imagination and expand it with

images he saw and interpreting them in his own way (Ríos).  As his life was inspiring to his

theme of three worlds, he was able to incorporate it into his writing.

                 Ríos’ writing is as unique as it is cultural.  In his works, he tends to go towards free

verse writing, but at times turns to sestinas that he modifies.  What makes his writing unique is

his use of imagery present in his past and also his ability to create poetry that has no rhyme

scheme or meter.  Some of the themes that are evident in his works include the fact that borders

create a third world, there are more ways to communicate with someone else other than

language, and isolation causes one to ponder about his or her life (“Island” 5).  Some personal

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notes that influenced his writing include the fact that his family was predominantly Hispanic and

they lived on the border and how his neighbors were of many mixed backgrounds, from Swedish

and Mexican to an assortment of different culminations (Ríos).  Also, his parents never came to

his poetry readings, giving him a change to say what he needed to in his work without having

any sort of embarrassment; if his parents had gone, he would have played it safe and never would

have gotten his work out (Ríos).  His work is so unique due to the history he has gone through in

his lifetime.

                 The history that Ríos has gone through is evident in his work.  Maquiladora factories

that were along the Mexican-American border brought work to many people on the Mexican

border, but did not pay well (“Maquiladoras” 5).  Immigration from the 50s to present day has

increased over the years because of the lack of jobs on the Mexican side of the border

(“Maquiladoras” 3).  In the case of immigration, Ríos saw this from his own family who lived on

the Mexican side of the border all the time (Ríos).  Having this present in his life made it easy for

him to create his imagery in his poetry, whether it be in regards to language or different

viewpoints.  Also, coming from a family of immigrants, British and Mexican, he has the

opportunity to be able to speak specifically to an immigrant group of audience.  This audience is

so large due to its large group of different people from around the world.  Even though his

images only come from the border he grew up with, people can relate his vision of the border

and immigration to theirs.  With the history he has gone through, Ríos is able to share his theme

to the public.

                 Ríos developed a third world that is a culmination of the Mexico and the United

States.  In order to create a third world, two worlds must exist prior to it.  While he was able to

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see things from the border in Nogales, he was able to take what he was given and make

something out of it.  His product became a new perspective of the world.  And with that

perspective came a new breed of Mexican-Americans living on the border, thinking similarly to

Ríos.  In his poetry, Ríos explores his perspective that he shares with this generation that came

from the 50s.  And with this shared perspective, he is able to draw back from it and use it in his

poetry.

                 “Day of the Refugios,” “Nani,” and “Mi Abuelo” are poems that express the theme of

a third world in the middle of two societies.  “Day of the Refugios” is about different holidays on

the same day in Mexico and the U.S. (Appendix A), “Nani” is about the struggle with language

and how something else can be its substitute (Appendix B), while “Mi Abuelo” is about how

Ríos wants to be the opposite of his grandfather and tell the truth (Appendix C).  In “Day of the

Refugios,” Ríos reflects on how anything can be put into more than one perspective, including

his own.  Also, he shows that love can diminish the challenge of language in “Nani”.  Lastly, he

expresses how one’s perspective of a respected role model can change after witnessing their acts

and looking at the effect of the actions.  Some of the critics of Ríos’ work include José Saldivar,

a Latino who received a Ph.D. in English from Stanford University; Chris Semasnsky who is a

writer who has been published in several literary magazines and journals; Richard Vela, a

professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke who received a Ph.D. from UNC at

Chapel Hill; and Joseph Deters to name a few.  These critics are able to interpret Ríos’ theme

and style of writing.

                 The combination of different holidays on the same day brings a meshing of both the

Mexican and American cultures.  Because Ríos was on the border, he is able to experience the

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two holidays in his own way and creates an even more special day out of it.  In “Day of the

Refugios,” (Appendix A) Ríos says, “I was born in Nogales, Arizona/On the border

between/Mexico and the United States/The places in between places/They are like little

countries/Themselves, with their own holidays/Taken a little from everywhere,” (Lines 1-7).  He

specifically claims that he is from the border and that there is a creation of holidays that are taken

from bits and pieces of other countries.  According to Joseph Deters, he claims there is a

celebration of the unique distinction of this new holiday Ríos has created (Deters 1).  This unique

creation of Ríos shows that he felt almost like he was trapped between two worlds.  He was not

sure of what to follow, so he decided to mix the two cultures in front of him together.  While the

holidays were mixed, languages no longer become a barrier.

                 Languages’ importance is not as nearly significant as the language of love in Rio’s

new dimension.  The relationship between Ríos and his grandmother is able to function without

language because they share love.  He explains in the last three lines of “Nani” (Appendix B)

that, “She ask[s] [him] if [he] wants more/[He] owns no words to stop her/Even before [he]

speak[s], she serves” (Lines 37-39).  Even though he explains earlier that he cannot understand

her and she cannot understand him, they share this loving relationship:  she serves him food and

he keeps her company at home.  Although language is a boundary that keeps people from

communicating together, Ríos and his grandmother were capable of making a third language

(Vela 3).  This diminished language barrier brings ties with Ríos grandmother while looking at

the past and present reveal the truth about another relative of Ríos.

                 By looking back at the past to his grandfather, he is able to grasp the reality of who his

grandfather was.  By being able to see the lies his grandfather had said or committed after he

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died gives him the image of truth about his grandfather in “Mi Abuelo” (Appendix C).  In the

poem, Ríos tells his grandfather, “An abuelo should be much more than a man/like you!,” (Lines

17-18) and his grandfather responds, “I am a man/who has served ants with the attitude/of a

waiter, who has made each smile as only/an ant who is fat can, and they liked me best, but there

is nothing left,” (Lines 19-22).  The attitude in which his grandfather has towards being a

grandfather is that of being indifferent but pretending to show care.  It seems awkward to bury a

man who in his best suit when he does not care to be part of the family (Salidvar 1).  The past

and present are essentially borders, and Ríos goes in between the two to find his grandfather’s

true self.  Since the theme of a third world created by two different societies is present in his

poetry, there are also other forms of art that express this same theme.

                 My Family is a film made in 1995 by Gregory Nava about first generation Mexican-

Americans living in East Los Angeles facing everyday struggles (See Appendix F).  The

characters in this film are part of the third world Ríos implies in his third world, for they are

faced with a mix of culture from their parents and society they live in.  Paco, like Ríos, is an

author who has found conformity in his life; Jimmy, the youngest, has no care for anything but

obeys his parents; Memo, the successful lawyer, is unwilling to go towards his family’s roots;

and Toni becomes a nun and returns married with an ex-priest and fights for social justice.  For

the most part, Nava does work that relates to Mexican-Americans (Ebert).  My Family (Mi

Familia) was made in 1995 about a Mexican family who immigrates to the U.S. and grows up in

Los Angeles (Ebert).  However, conflict between the parents and children, culture, and

antagonizing characters bring despair.  But in spite of the negativity, the family is able to pull

through and bring everyone together.

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                 The characters born in the United States in My Family culturally are in a third world

because of their Mexican heritage and their residence in the United States.  The film is about

family sticking together in a country with a different culture, making up for lost time, and doing

justice and finding love afterward.  Toni, after going to become a nun, returns married to a man

who was a priest and works to fight social justice issues.  This example of Toni shows that

although she is not a part of the religious order, she still struggles to help others and is married. 

The time the film takes place is during the 1950s up to the 1980s, roughly thirty years of Ríos’

life.  Also, the narrator, Paco, is a writer from Mexican descent living in the U.S. like Ríos.  Like

Ríos’ family, the family in the film is very large and shows their culture in the Mexican and

American fashion.  As the family expresses Ríos culture and background, the murals on the

Berlin Wall literally present the third world through artistic beauty.

                 The murals on the Berlin Wall were made during the Cold War and are currently

being restored (Moore 1).  The artwork on the wall serves as a third world between East and

West Germany (See Appendix G).  Most of the artwork was made by unknown artists who came

from all over the world.  Most were made while the whole wall was up.  Others were painted

after 1989, when the majority of the wall was torn down.  One of these murals was that of Soviet

leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing East German leader Erich Honecker (Gobel 1).  It was made in

1990 by Dmitri Vrubel who was devastated to see his work of art covered up in graffiti after

several years (Gobel 1).  Since there is no specific date of when all of the art was made, it cannot

be suggested as to how many years it took to create all the different murals.  Although the murals

do not have a single artist, they all can relate to Ríos’ poetry because of where they are and the

opinions they express.

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                 The murals on the Berlin Wall, like Ríos poetry, create a third world, art on the border

itself.  The art on the wall was made by several different artists, both known and unknown.  For

the most part, it consists of graffiti, but large portions of the wall are murals.  Although this is

true, graffiti is still evident on top of the murals, which is reason to renew the murals that stand

to this day (Moore 1).  Some of the murals show the artists’ personal opinions of separation of

Berlin and Germany and also express how they felt about communism.  The murals show one’s

personal opinion voiced through their imagination similarly to how Ríos expresses his third

world in his poetry.  Also, the wall itself can be seen as imagery for Ríos’ work.  As the wall and

its artwork connects and relates to Ríos’ art, so too can the world develop new worlds.

                 With Ríos’ experience on the border, he was able to influence his future poetry and

give and receive inspiration to and from other artists to draw in a world made of a mixture.  With

borders, Ríos envisions a new humanity in between two countries.  Arizona Senate Bill 1070

deteriorates the mixed world of people by scaring immigrants from the Mexican border away,

decreasing the number of people who can share and have this new culture.  Without a border that

allows entry of people who want to work, this new culture will vanish from the face of the

Earth.  Disturbances that create separations ultimately bring two viewpoints on a topic;

somewhere along the line, an idea that is a blend of the previous two comes about, bringing in a

new perspective of life.

 

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Works Cited

"Alberto (Alvaro) Ríos." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature

Resource Center. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://go.galegroup.com>.

Ebert, Roger. "My Family." RogerEbert.com. RogerEbert.com, 3 May 1995. Web. 24 Apr. 2010.

<http://robertepert.suntimes.com>.

Göbel, Malte. "Kiss of Death: Officials Erase Historic Berlin Wall Mural." Spiegel Online

International. SPIEGELnet. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. <http://www.spiegel.de>.

“Island of the Three Marias.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 11. Detroit: 

Gale Group, 2001. 78-98. Poetry for Students. Web. 9 Apr. 2010.

<http://go.galegroup.com>.

Moore, Tristan. "Berlin Wall Gets Fresh Lick of Paint." BBC News. BBC, 21 Apr. 2009. Web.

22 Apr. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk>.

"My Family (1995)." The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. Web. 26 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.imdb.com>.

Rau, Alia B., Mary Jo Pitzl, and Ginger Rough. "Angst Rises as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Mulls

Immigration Bill." Arizona Central. The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Apr.

2010. <http://www.azcentral.com>.

Ríos, Alberto. Telephone Interview. 5 April 2010.

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Saldivar, José David. “Denver Quarterly.” Denver Quarterly 17.2 (Summer 1982):  141-144.

Rpt. In Poetry Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol 57. Detroit:  Gale, 2004.

Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://go.galegroup.com>.

White, John A. "Icky Thump." Metro Lyrics. Metro Lyrics, 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

<http://metrolyrics.com>.

 

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Appendix A

“Day of the Refugios”

I was born in Nogales, Arizona,

On the border between

Mexico and the United States.

 

The places in between places

They are like little countries                                               5

Themselves, with their own holidays

 

Taken a little from everywhere.

My Fourth of July is from childhood,

Childhood itself a kind of country, too.

 

It's a place that's far from me now,                                    10

A place I'd like to visit again.

The Fourth of July takes me there.

 

In that childhood place and border place

The Fourth of July, like everything else,

It meant more than just one thing.                                     15

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In the United States the Fourth of July

It was the United States.

In Mexico it was the día de los Refugios,

 

The saint's day of people named Refugio.

I come from a family of people with names,                      20

Real names, not-afraid names, with colors

 

Like the fireworks: Refugio,

Margarito, Matilde, Alvaro, Consuelo,

Humberto, Olga, Celina, Gilberto.

 

Names that take a moment to say,                                     25

Names you have to practice.

These were the names of saints, serious ones,

 

And it was right to take a moment with them.

I guess that's what my family thought.

The connection to saints was strong:                                  30

 

Mu grandmother's name--here it comes--

Her name was Refugio,

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And my great-grandmother's name was Refugio,

 

And my mother-in-law's name now,

It's another Refugio, Refugios everywhere,                       35

Refugios and shrimp cocktails and sodas.

 

Fourth of July was a birthday party

For all the women in my family

Going way back, a party

 

For everything Mexico, where they came from,                40

For the other words and the green

Tinted glasses my great-grandmother wore.

 

These women were me,

What I was before me,

So that birthday fireworks in the evening,                         45

 

All for them,

This seemed right.

In that way the fireworks were for me, too.

 

Still, we were in the United States now,

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And the Fourth of July,                                                      50

Well, it was the Fourth of July.

 

But just what that meant,

In this border place and time,

it was a matter of opinion in my family.

 

 

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Appendix B

“Nani”

Sitting at her table, she serves

the sopa de arroz to me

instinctively, and I watch her,

the absolute mamá, and eat words

I might have had to say more                                                 5

out of embarrassment. To speak,

now-foreign words I used to speak,

too, dribble down her mouth as she serves

me albóndigas. No more

than a third are easy to me.                                                     10

By the stove she does something with words

and looks at me only with her

back. I am full. I tell her

I taste the mint, and watch her speak

smiles at the stove. All my words                                           15

make her smile. Nani never serves

herself, she only watches me

with her skin, her hair. I ask for more.

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I watch the mamá warming more

tortillas for me. I watch her                                                    20

fingers in the flame for me.

Near her mouth, I see a wrinkle speak

of a man whose body serves

the ants like she serves me, then more words

from more wrinkles about children, words                             25

about this and that, flowing more

easily from these other mouths. Each serves

as a tremendous string around her,

holding her together. They speak

Nani was this and that to me                                                  30

and I wonder just how much of me

will die with her, what were the words

I could have been, was. Her insides speak

through a hundred wrinkles, now, more

than she can bear, steel around her,                                        35

shouting, then, What is this thing she serves?

She asks me if I want more.

I own no words to stop her.

Even before I speak, she serves

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Appendix C

“Mi Abuelo”

Where my grandfather is is in the ground

where you can hear the future

like an Indian with his ear at the tracks.

A pipe leads down to him so that sometimes

he whispers what will happen to a man                                  5

in town or how he will meet the best

dressed woman tomorrow and how the best

man at her wedding will chew the ground

next to her. Mi abuelo is the man

who speaks through all the mouths in my house,                   10

An echo of me hitting the pipe sometimes

to stop him from saying my hair is a

sieve is the only other sound. It is a phrase

he says, and my hair is a sieve is sometimes

repeated for hours out of the ground                                      15

when I let him, which is not often.

An abuelo should be much more than a man

like you! He stops then, and speaks: I am a man

who has served ants with the attitude

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of a waiter, who has made each smile as only                        20

an ant who is fat can, and they liked me best,

but there is nothing left. Yet I know he ground

green coffee beans as a child, and sometimes

he will talk about his wife, and sometimes

about when he was deaf and a man                                        25

cured him by mail and he heard groundhogs

talking, or about how he walked with a cane

he chewed on when he got hungry.

At best, mi abuelo is a liar.

I see an old picture of him at nani’s with an                           30

off-white yellow center mustache and sometimes

that’s all I know for sure. He talks best

about these hills, slowest waves, and where this man

is going, and I’m convinced his hair is a sieve,

that his fever is cooled now underground.                             35

Mi abuelo is an ordinary man.

I look down the pipe, sometimes, and see a

ripple-topped stream in its best suit, in the ground.

 

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Appendix D

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Appendix E

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Appendix F

My Family, Gregory Nava, 1995

 

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Appendix G

Berlin Wall

 

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Appendix H

“A Small Motor” by Alberto Ríos

 

The easiest sadness is a boy   

Watching another boy

Walk with a barefooted girl, clean

 

Perfect feet, that kind of nose,   

Eyes like those he’s dreamed   

In the dream that comes back.

 

A boy watching another boy lucky   

Gets an ache

That is a small motor.

 

In me there is an animal,   

And in that animal   

There is a hunger.

 

I remember the boy   

Watching a boy.   

It was me.

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Watching, I was a little bit   

The boy walking.   

I was both of us.

 

That’s how it felt.   

What I could not have,   

That’s what I was

 

Inside, an ache   

Coming as I stood   

Too many places.

 

 

 

“A Tiny Engine”

 

After Alberto Álvaro Ríos

 The sorest anguish is a manWatching a grown boyStroll with a gorgeous woman, nice Beautiful feet, special cheeksAnd eyes that one would travel to seeBut can only find in distant dreams unimaginable. A man awkwardly watching a lucky boy

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Gives him heartburnThat is a tiny engine. Inside of me is a beast,And in that beast,A thirst is present. I can recall the manWatching the boy.He was me. Staring, I essentially was theThe boy strolling.I was two in one. Or at least I felt that.What I couldn't have wasWho I was Deep inside, a painEntering as I lieToo few places