Hector Vasquez, Evelin Mejia

Jesus Barriga-Sanchez, Julissa Espinoza

English 1A

Professor Lewenstein

Fall 2016

                             “El Inmigrante” in The Tortilla Curtain: A Song of Struggle

Looking for the Better Life

In the “Tortilla Curtain” we see the struggles of Candido and his wife America in the United States. The song I chose is also about a seventeen-year-old teen that comes in to the United States looking for a better life. One part of the book I chose was were America is scrubbing the budhas and the corrosive is hurting her hands and she just keeps scrubbing. This part is essential because in the song it explains that the jobs in the United States aren’t easy yet a person never quits. This part of the song and book are important because in this point of the story America was pregnant and that didn’t stop her from working to earn just enough to eat. Another way that the book relates to the story is the age of America and the guy in the song they are both seventeen and they both came looking for the wealth people talked about back in Mexico that was in the streets of the United States. “She’d walked nearly eight miles already, down out of the canyon to the highway along the ocean where she could catch the bus to Venice for a sewing job that never materialized.” (page 18). “No han prometido tantas cosas y no nos han dado nada” (They have promised us so many things and they never gave us nothing.) this two quotes go one in one because they talk about a promise and a promise that was never kept. America was promised a job yet she could never find one. This song was meant to be the cover for this book because it literally explains the struggles that candido and America went through. I believe I made the right decision in choosing this song because I can also relate to the stuff the song talks about.

No Quit

 The song I chose to write about to compare to the Tortilla Curtain was Caliber 50s song “el Inmigrante”. This song is an example of the struggles that many illegal immigrants like Candidio and America face when coming to the United States. The song correlates with the book because it’s the story of a seventeen-year-old kid that came to the United States to gain money to help his mother. He soon realizes that this will be harder than he expected and that in order to help his people back home in Mexico, he is going to have to do excruciating work. This part of the song is pretty interesting to me “El trabajo aqui ha sido muy duro pero nunca me he rajado” this basically translates to the work hasn’t been easy but I never quit. America and Candido had to do jobs that weren’t really easy but they never quit, all they knew was they needed the money to survive. Just like many Latinos I have done work where it was hard but we needed the money so we never quit or complained. The artists of this song really take into consideration of all the obstaclehan prometido tantas cosas y no nos han dado nada” this states they have been promised so many things but they have never gotten anything. Many people hear of the promises of wealth in the United States and come thinking that if they cross the border they will be sweeping money from the floors. They don’t realize that they are going to have to earn their keep living in severe poverty. Just like America and Candido they both dreamed of a house, a car, wealth and they soon realized that it was all an illusion. They were going to have to earn their keep, living in severe poverty they could never quit because they both had to work in order to survive. This is why I chose this song because it literally represents America and Candido’s life story of the struggles they faced and how their dreamed of a better life led them to the United States.

Lyrics to Text Comparison Chart:

El Inmigrante by Calibre 50 “El trabajo aqui ha sido muy duro pero nunca me he rajado y las cosas que yo he conseguido con esfuerzo me he Ganado” ” No han prometido tantas cosas y no nos han dado nada” “Sacarla de la pobreza me quemaban las noches de frio”

Translations The work here hasn’t been easy yet I never quit and the things I have with my strength and will I have earned. They have promised us so many things and they never gave us nothing. To take her out of poverty the cold nights would burn me.

Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle “She held her hands up to the light then saw that the skin had begun to crack and peel and that all the color had gone out of the flesh.” (page 131) “She’d walked nearly eight miles already, down out of the canyon to the highway along the ocean where she could catch the bus to Venice for a sewing job that never materialized.”(Page 18) ““The nights were cold. And where was his son going to be born—in a bed with a doctor looking on or in a hut with the rain driving down and nobody there but Cándido with a pot of water and a rusty knife?” (pg. 249)

 

Taste for Music

Rodolfo Edén Muñoz Cantú was born on September 25 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. He is the youngest of the four sons of Isidora Cantú and Rodolfo Muñoz; His brothers are Edgar Iván, Sandra Elena and Daniel Ernesto. Since he has use of reason, he says, Eden is aware of his taste for music; At the age of eight, Rodolfo “ya hacía pininos con la guitarra” which translates that he would already made songs with his guitar. At the age of 13 he worked with the musical group that entertained the diners of the seafood restaurant owned by his father in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, a city to which the Muñoz Cantú family migrated in 1995.

He wrote some corridos in 2007, but his first recorded composition was, “Ya me sirvió de experiencia” interpreted by Banda Carnaval. Edén Muñoz describes his work as "versatile; I like to talk about joy, love and lack of love, in a novel way. I focus the lyrics of my corridos to social issues, I try to always have some message or something that marks or reaches the listener.”At the moment of composing, Edén is inspired by the woman in all her expression, mainly his mother, who he describes as being his motor. He also explains that he is accustomed to writing anywhere but, without a doubt, the place where most songs he writes is where he spent most of his childhood and teenage years living. His parents' house is his favorite place because he feels very comfortable working there.

He considers his creative process to be magical: "God gives me everything, I only transcribe the letters". For Eden, all his compositions are special and important because they are part of his life; They are like the children, he says. Among the artists who play their songs are Caliber 50 (Were he is the lead singer and song writer), Banda Carnaval, La Estructura, Julión Álvarez, Roma Roma, La Limon Banda El Limon, Band MS, Canarios de Michoacán, La # 1 Banda Jerez, La Adictiva Banda San José de Mesillas And Gerardo Ortiz, among others "colleagues and friends with whom I have had the fortune to work and who have collaborated so that my subjects make history".

El Inmigrante

 

 The Caliber 50 group launched their song titled "El Inmigrante", which is a hit among the Hispanic community. The song itself grabs the attention of many immigrants who come to the United States because it talks about the experiences an individual faces when he crosses the border. "El Inmigrante" comes out of his album "Corridos de Alto Calibre" which has 14 songs in which includes the single to promote, so that this grouping has already left a mark in the taste of the public with its corridos. The corrido tells the story that every day immigrants in the United States spend all day and everything they have to live just for not residing legally, when all they do is work hard! To be able to send money and thus to help to their families that live in Mexico. Alongside this an immigrant sacrifices a life alongside his family and his loved ones, in exchange for that they are treated like delinquents.Simply a story that lives more than an immigrant, that is why Caliber 50 has marked a hallmark that today has led to success.

We believe.

…Since a big part of Americas Population is formed my Hispanics, we thought a Spanish/ Mexican sung song would be perfect. Besides the fact that two of the main characters are Mexican. The song “El Inmigrante” is not only a song written by Mexican but also sung by Mexicans. They weren’t just Mexicans, they were also immigrants who sung from experience. Like many of us, they came to the US for a better future. Yes, they are now artist and they came here to actualize their dreams. They are some of the lucky ones. I say this because not everyone is lucky or shell I say strong enough to reach their goal to make it to America. Just like in our story, America And Candido had some struggles while crossing the deserts that separate Mexico and USA. Not only did they encounter bad people with bad intentions but they were held up by their own people. As we can see, that is clearly a fair enough reason to flee into the US. Basically, this song speaks for those who are good people looking for a better living.

Scene Analysis:

Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

“She held her hands up to the light then saw that the skin had begun to crack and peel and that all the color had gone out of the flesh.” (page 131)	As America cleaned Buddha’s around the house, she began to feel a stinging sensation. America had realized that the fat man had failed to give her the gloves she needed. Soon enough she realized that due to the neglect, her hands were being affected by the chemicals. It was no wonder why Mary had complained about her hands; the chemicals were strong.
“She’d walked nearly eight miles already down out of the canyon to the highway along the ocean where she could catch the bus to Venice for a sewing job that never materialized.” (Page 18)	The day Candido was hit by Delaney, America ended up going out to search for work. Candido was in no condition to work, therefore America felt as if she had to step up. America went out in search of a job, although she felt hopeless when she saw a man begging for money in his own country. Leaving America to question what were the odds of her making any money.
“The nights were cold. And where was his son going to be born—in a bed with a doctor looking on or in a hut with the rain driving down and nobody there but Candido with a pot of water and a rusty knife?” (Page 249)	Candido began to worry as America’s pregnancy neared its end. The idea of his child being born in a bad place got him thinking. Candido wondered what would the odds of his son having a doctor around or being born in a a hut. He worried for the wellbeing of his child.

 

Works Cited

50, Calibre. "El inmigrantre ." Corridos de alto calibre. By Rodolfo Eden Munoz. Culiacan , 2013. Disc.

Boyle, T.C. The Tortilla Curtain. New York City: The Viking Press , 1995.