after reading esperanza rising, i was inspired to read lupita mañana, the story of a girl who also immigrated illegally to the united states and works in the fields. i read it in jr. high and figured, it would be a nice reread. i do have to admit that prior to my rereading, i did not recall any details from the story. the only memory i had was how "lupita mañana" became a slang word for my high school friends and i, a new term we used instead of "wetbacks". i know its so horribly racist but you have to give us credit for being so clever and for our literary slang. and in our defense, i am sure the girls we called "lupita mañana" probably called us horrible names behind our backs as well, it was high school.
oh and before i go on, there was some debate as to when our teachers assigned this book. i thought i had read it in jr. high, but when i posted it as a #literarythrowback on my instagram, some people said it was high school. i am going to claim jr. high because from what i can recall, it was jr. high because we had to explain who lupita mañana was to our friend mona, who did not go to jr. high with us. also i can't imagine being assigned lupita mañana and great expectations, in the same year, which would have happened if i did read it in high school.
but back to the story. lupita mañana opened the same as esperanza rising, with the death of a father. however, unlike esperanza, lupita's family was poor. despite the class difference, both girls had hearts of gold, throughout the novel i was impressed by lupita's devotion to providing for her family. i could not imagine myself being that selfless (probably because i am not). since luptia's family was poor, the mother decided to send lupita and her older brother, salvador, to indio (all of my treks out to coachella helped me visualize the setting for the book. also i must add my grandfather also worked in the fields in indio as well) to live with her rich sister in america. due to their poverty, the family was unprepared to send lupita and salvador to america, they could not afford a coyote or the forged paper to help them across. they didn't even have a car to drive them to tijuana (where they would cross the border into united states) instead they walked from ensenada (which after googling, i discovered is 89.3 miles!!!). they travelled with only a few pesos, eggs, tortillas and bottles of water . . . and they actually made it to america. i didn't think it would happen because it seemed impossible, especially since they were so young and inexperienced but they both were clever and by the grace of god (lupita did pray alot) they made it across the border. it was even more of a miracle that they actually found their aunt. today was are so reliant upon gps that i could not imagine just being pointed in a direction and told to find someone., it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, impossible, partially because it is.
reading this as an adult, i had a lot more anxiety about lupita and salvador's traveling than i did when i was in jr. high. the violence that did occur was appalling, the men trying to rob them in mexico, and the gringos shooting at them on their way to indio, but i was constantly worried something worse was going to happen. even though this book is a children's book, i was scared of lupita and salvador becoming victims of sexual violence. there were so many situations in which that could have occurred. lupita mañana was written in 1981, when tj was still "safe" (i have family in chula vista and we would go all the time to tj when i was a kid), but today there are so many stories of violence in that city since it is a border town. i saw every man lupita and salvador encountered as a predator. if this book was rewritten for today, i am sure that this would have been an issue. though i know it was not occured, i was worried lupita would be attacked at the park when she waited for salvador. even when they arrived in colton and the man befriended them, i was sure it was to have them as part of a sex slave ring i know it could never occur in a kid's book, but still i worried.
i even got a weird vibe from lucky. i got the impression he wanted to be salvador's novio. my gaydar went off with him but again that could never happen in a kid's book.
this is really horrible but i also worried about lupita falling victim to her aunt's husband. with his alcoholism and resentment towards lupita as another person in the home, i was scared of him abusing her. i kept on waiting for him to come into the room when she was sleeping and being inappropriate. i know it sounds weird for me to be that paranoid but i am sure sexual abuse is an untold experience of immigration especially, illegal immigration to america.
back to the story. i could not believe how salvador abandoned his sister and family like he did. beatty did foreshadow his immaturity, incompetence, and disoloyalty but i hoped his behavior in mexico was to be a foil to how he rose to the occasion in america. this did not happen. though i guess salvador's irresponsibility acted as a foil lupita's hard work and dedication to her family. i was impressed how she even supplemented salvador's contribution to her mother. it was horrible how salvador wasted his money on his novia and clothes instead of helping out his family. i know this may sound harsh but i was happy that salvador got caught by la migra and deported. instant karma for his poor behavior. (i must add this book also added la migra to my vocabulary.) i also enjoyed lupita telling off lucky!
i loved the ending, lupita understanding the importance of learning english despite the others telling her it was unnecessary. it melted my heart that irela decided to teach her. it was a very sweet ending to the book and demonstrated how lupita mañana's optimism helped her survive in america. on the topic of optimism, i find it interesting how both girls esperanza and lupita mañana both had hopeful names. esperanza meaning hope and mañana was lupita's nickname because she always believed that tomorrow, mañana, things would be better. mañana also reminded me of the quote from on the road,
sure baby, mañana. it was always mañana. for the next few weeks that was all i heard--mañana a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.
before i go on, i have to add that learning english is very important for immigrants to the united states. i don't understand why americans are viewed as racist for expecting immigrants to learn our language. if i immigrated to paris, i would need to learn french, or japanese, if i moved to tokyo. learning the language of my new home is not an intrusion upon my ethnic identity but a necessity so that i can function in my new country. people should learn the language so that they may have the best quality of life, which is why i admired lupita for her desire to learn. living in delano, i deal with people that make no attempt to learn english and then hold me in contempt for not understanding spanish. last time i checked, i lived in america was english was the primary language. majority of these times, these people that expect me to speak in spanish for them, speak english and/or at least understand it. i understand that english is a difficult language to learn, i have worked with early readers, teaching them phonetic sounds and rules and grammar rules are confusing for so many, but there is not a single good excuse for not learning the language of the country you live in. how do you speak to 911 when you have an emergency if you don't know the language? how do you help your child's education if you don't understand the language they are being taught in? working in the school system, i think this should be the number one reason that an immigrant learns a language. before i go on, i have to clarify that i am am not advocating english as the only language. i think children should learn english while maintaining their parents' language. i hate how my family lost my grandfather's language and my grandma lost her parents' language. however, i do think that if you are in america, you need to speak english, and i think we need to stop catering to the needs of those who can't. it is one thing to help them with learning the language, its a completely different thing to have a society in which knowing the english language is not a requirement.
like esperanza rising, this book is loosely based on real people. beatty heard the story of the real lupita and salvador from their older brother, victorio and then wrote this story as to what could have happened to them. in the author's note at the end, does explain the immigration situation to make it digestable for kids. again i am torn on the issues that beatty addressed. on the one hand, being the grandchild of an illegal immigrant, i see illegal immigration as a means for a better life. i mean i would not be here today if my grandfather did not come to america. however, i see in delano, how illegal immigrants abuse the welfare programs that are put into place to help citizens. i hear stories of illegals using fake social security cards to collect welfare or to collect welfare using multiple names, or qualifying for food stamps for their kids. in the novel, we see lupita's aunt worried about losing her welfare check and not being honest in her reporting so that she does not jeopardize her check. my frustration with this abuse of welfare programs is that these people on these programs do not contribute to the pot from which they take. most illegals are paid in cash since they are illegal which means their money does not get taxed like the rest of us, so they do not contribute to the programs that they benefit from. it all may seem contradictory but my grandfather though illegal never went on welfare, he slaved away in the fields to provide for his family. i know that this might sound contradictory, but i am okay with illegal immigrants who come and do the menial work that most americans would not do, but i do have issue with illegal immigrants who come to america and abuse the welfare programs that we have. i understand there would be no america without immigration but everyone should contribute to the country versus taking away from it. i am sorry if this little rant offended anyone and if i come across as a racist or an insensitive bigot, but i also come from a community where i see immigrants draining our society instead of helping to lift it up.
back to the novel, i am glad i reread lupita mañana, it was an interesting contrast to the experience i had read about in esperanza rising. hopefully schools will have students read both books to allow for two different perspectives of the immigrant experience.
