Looking to the Island

I have decided to take the path of writing a research project instead of an integration essay. After my trip to Puerto Rico and reading the book Bodega Dreams I saw a large impact drugs had on this specific cultural group. I wanted to further explore the relationship of the Puerto Rican people in Puerto Rico and how influential drugs play in their life. In Bodega Dreams we saw just how involved Puerto Ricans living in America were involved with drugs.  (Just in the book) Willie Bodega sells  drugs and becomes so successful at it her can finance reconstruction projects in East- Harlem, then rent them out for below market value to fellow Puerto Ricans who are in need. The question I want to uncover in this research project is who is to blame for drugs being such an impact in the Puerto Rican cultural?

Pointing any one finger at a person for a countries problem with drugs is just not possible. The drug business, just like any businesses, it has an established system that runs it, and the destruction of that business is near impossible. I want to uncover through research and interviews how people of the island are affected. Thus far in my research I have uncovered how America may be a large consumer and thus fueling the drug business in Puerto Rico. Bringing the questions I would like to answer in this paper, how are drugs influence and affect Puerto Ricans, but how specifically Americas influence on the drug war in Puerto Rico.

I do not have much research done at this point, but I am very excited that a 20 year old Puerto Rican has agreed to let me interview and ask them questions about the drug war on the island. I met him while I was in Puerto Rico and he actually took me around and showed me different areas where the drug cartel was located. I can remember how scared I was not only seeing all the guns around that people had with them, but hearing the gun shots at night. Reading about the impact Willie Bodega had on people and the impact drugs played with him has made me interested in looking to see if this is something that stems from the island and if that’s true, then are we fueling there drug war? 

My name

My name is Jessica Elaine Reed. I am my parent’s first child and they got a bouncy baby girl. My name was decided on by both my parents. They picked it purely because they liked it. They did not know at the time how it would become the most popular name for my age group. Thanks Mom and Dad! =) No, I actually really enjoy my name. I think it fits me and have never felt any shame because of it. I do get annoyed however when a teacher calls Jessica and 3 of us look in her direction.

My middle name came from my aunt, my mom’s sister. This is my mom’s best friend and she has been a big importance in my life. I can remember making the trip to Aunt Jackie’s house many times with my mother. She was not so fortunate like my mother who had 2 boys, 2 girls, she had all 4 boys. My mother being so close to my aunt is what gave me my middle name.

As for nicknames I have tons; Mouser, Jess, Reed, Reeder, J-rizzle. You name people have probably said it. The one nickname I did have a problem with was Jessie. I have a guy cousin on my mother’s side whose name is Jessie.  That was the only nickname I could not stand just because that wasn’t my name it was my cousins. The funny thing that I have learned through growing up is that most people who call me Jessie are older men and woman. So I do not try and correcting them because I do not want to think I am rude. I have learned to bite my tongue, but if my brother or sister trying calling me that I always beat them up. 

Dreaming in American

We have discussed in class the book Dreaming in Cuban, but we were given the question what does it mean to be dreaming in Cuban.  I began by looking at this question not through Cuban but American. So I faced the question what does it mean to be dreaming in American?

America is the land of the free and home of the brave. I have been taught that being American means you can accomplish anything. Anything you can dream to do you can do. In many places are not so fortunate to be able to have such a choice.  In the book Dreaming in Cuban we see how Pilar, Celia, Felicia, ect. We read about the lives of these women and how they view the world.

I began thinking about how I view the world and how being American has affected my sight. Goshen College has allowed me to meet many different people from different places. If I was asked this question my freshman year I probably would not be able to answer it. I have taken classes and talked with people to learn that people go through many different experiences. America has not taught me fear as the woman in the book was taught. I have not need to worry about food or money they way many Latinos are forced to fear.

My family is a large happy family. I’m babysitting my cousin’s kids. Go shopping with my aunts and love getting our big family together for holidays. The farm helps to keep us close, but taught me about hard work and responsibility. I view he world as my playground and with hard work I can accomplish anything. Now that college is coming to an end I cannot wait to see what new dreams I will uncover with my journey. 

A Good or Bad Man

Bodega Dreams is a tale of a man who uses the drug game to make large amounts of cash to help his people by creating housing. People may look at him like a bad man for selling drugs or a good man for how he used his cash to create homes for people who needed them. Early in the week my group was asked the question of was Willie Bodega a bad or good man. I did not know how to answer that question but referred to one of the most popular drug cartel men ever, Pablo Escobar. He was the richest and most powerful drug lord ever. He was from Columbia and the drug was called, cocaine.

             Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a cocaine trafficker. He became so successful he bought airplanes, luxury cars, houses, everything he wanted. He moved cocaine all over the world including hundreds of tons into the United States. New York City and Miami were his two big ports in the US. The reason I compared Pablo Escobar to Willie Bodega was because of the work e did with the poor. Pablo created jobs for people who would have no their way to make money. He gave them money and gifts and houses to the poor people of Columbia. Hot only that he built schools and hospitals for the poor of Median. To the people he became Robin Hood. He was worshipped like a god.

            Though Pablo Escobar may have used his money for good things, he killed many, many people in order to get where he was. He shot and killed many authority figures, to keep himself out of jail and destroy any evidence against him that could put him away. Many people talked about how he killed the beautiful and peaceful city of Medellin. They moved to having the highest rate of assignation. He became public enemy number 1. So can a drug lord be a good man? I don’t believe just because you do small acts of good can change your choice of occupation, especially if it is illegal. 

My Mirror

As I sit and look in the mirror I look and see white. I see a white face followed by two blue eyes that appear and a round crooked nose placed on my face. My lips don’t quite match as a bottom has a little plump and my top is flat. I see the blonde fine hair trying to peak threw where once they flourished, covered now by a faded red. Two small dimples appear as I begin to smile. My mother and father can both be found in my face.

 I began to stare intently at the mirror now. Soon my face fades and I see the farm, I hear the cows mooing, the rosters crowing, and hear the old loud tom cat as he wakes to start his day. Corn can be seen on all sides of my house and if you’re lucky you’ll see a white tail deer run across. The tractors can be seen going all threw the summer’s night harvesting the corn. I also catch that cold breeze the blows on a late winter’s night, stinging your nose and feet.

The mirror begins to show my family. I see my mom down at the barn helping with the animals. My dad out back, teaching me how to throw a softball. And I can see my uncle on the big John Deere tractor tilling the field. I see my sister cleaning the house, constantly cleaning. My brothers constantly playing their games, always kicking me out. I see my family all together on a big Reed family Christmas. Eating till our stomach burst.

I hear the sweet sound of country music and the tapping of the wooden soles of cowboy’s boots.  I feel the wind upon my face and feel the sun against my back. I remember the sweet taste of corn on my taste buds and the fresh cold feeling as milk hits my tongue. I smell the fresh bread rising in the grandmother kitchen and the taste of her famous eggs. I remember my siblings and I sneaking into my grandfathers papa chips. This crunchy cheesy goodness was also known as Doritos. I remember picking tomatoes in my mother’s garden and taking that big juicy bite.

I began to look strongly in the mirror and began seeing the German and Irish decent, followed by a hint of Native American snuck it. The tan begins to come out in my skin during the warm months. The blonde hair blue eyes show the German from my grandmother. I also see the deep western roots that have been instilled in my family for generations and generations. This is who I am. 

Sheryl Luna

Sheryl Luna is a famous Latino poetry writer, for her book, Pity the Drowned Horses. She was born and raised in El Paso, Texas.  After high school she went and attended Texas Tech where she earned her BA.  She then went and attended Texas Woman’s University and earned her MA in English. Then continued and got her PhD in Contemporary Literature from the University of North Texas. In 2004 is when she published her book of poetry called, Pity the Drowned Horses.  It was published by the University of Notre Dame Press. Her book went to win the first Andres Montoya Poetry Prize.  The award was sponsored by the Institute of Latino Studies and the creative writing program from the University of Notre Dame. It also went to be one of the finalists in the National Poetry Series and the 2006 Colorado Book Awards. The final judge of the Andres Montoya Award, Robert Vasquez, commented this about her book of poetry, “her syntax—sometimes raw and edgy—creates a tableau where everything rushes toward ‘our wild need, all sweat, all shiver. The overall effect is simply mesmerizing.’”

Luna’s poetry discusses tends to discuss cultural identity and barriers between the U.S. and Mexican border.  This reflects where she grew up living in El Paso right on the Mexican American border.  However, her poetry in the book, The Wind Shifts, did not share the same themes. The three poems that had an impact on me were Her Back, My Bridge, Slow Dancing with Frank Perez, and The Colt. All three shared the sense of a story and all discussing a daily life of a Latino as well as showing the common theme of identity. Themes ranged from age to rape and from love to the scene of the city. Her writing style with these poems in the book goes through life and what we experience in life. She also shows how Latino experiences life and certain things that they deal with.

Her Back, My Bridge begins with a young girl describing her features and outfit. It shows what young Latinos were into and enjoyed doing in the area. As the poem continues it shows the girl aging. It begins describing the frailness of the women and the horrible features that comes with age. It shows us how once we are nearing our time, what becomes important to us. As a child she wished to receive jewels from GI’s wanting to get older and grow up and get married. The old lady has her mirror covered in pictures of herself as a child. All she can think about is she wished she could go back, be young again. It shows how as child we wish to age fast and grow up, but when we are old we just want to be young. This poem caught my attention because of the close details and the clever writing abilities of Luna. One of my favorite lines was when she is describing the old lady, “she’s breathing thin now, her veins too think, her bones to hollow.” She is able to put a vivid picture in my mind while making it flow beautiful throughout.

The second one if found to be wonderfully done was Slow Dancing with Frank Perez. In this poem she goes back to discussing the life of a young female. The girl begins by talking about a man and how he kisses like a fish. She goes into detail to describe himself into detail and the detail of the way he kisses. Unfortunately he dies in a parachute accident.  He will never get the chance to grow old. One of my favorite lines in the poem goes like, “memory does this, help us live.” Just like in her first poem she discusses the important to life and what is important to us as time changes. Memories and images change with age and we hold on to the memories that we hold dear. I believe n the poem she compares life to slow dancing. While we are living in the day it seem to last a life time, but when we look back, it seems as if it has passed by in a second.

The Colt, was the third poem I choose from Sheryl Luna. This poem was different then to two other ones I chose.  This one described nature and the colors of nature. It also describes a colt and the belly and hair of the colt. The reason I enjoyed this poem so much is the detail Luna puts in to describing the scene.  She describes the spotted mare, the dogs running, and the barren field. She writes about the call of hungry and the child that stood like God. Her flow and use of words is what caught me. Describing to the “T” what is happening. We can easily imagine our self there because of all the details. Here I believe she is describing her Latino home in El Paso in this poem. She is describing her home to use. I appreciate Sheryl Luna style and themes she uses throughout her writing. She shares with us such visual messages of her home and the Latino community.