Sociology

Cynthia Bejaranos Que Onda Urban Youth Culture and Border Identity provides an ethnographic study that focuses on the identity formation of Latinos residing near the geographical border of the United States and Mexico. Aimed at identifying the factors that determine identity formation, Bejaranos text posits that the different ethnic identities that Latinos call their own are dependent on the hierarchy of discriminatory practices towards Latinos resulting from their location in conjunction to the border.

In line with this, the following discussion provides Bejaranos arguments for associating Latino ethnic identity with an individuals geographical location. The discussion focuses on three major aspects in relation to Bejaranos claim, these being (1) the politics of identity along the Mexican Border, (2) the factors that influence the identity development of Latinos along the border region and (3) the influence of identity construction on the lives of the Latino youth in contemporary American society. It is important to note that the term Latino in this discussion will be used to refer to the Chicano D a s and MexicanoD a s in Bejarano s study. In addition, the term  borderland  will be used to refer to the geographical boundary between Mexico and the United States.

Bejarano s argument is based on her four-year ethnographic study of Latino identity at Altamira High School. According to Bejarano, there is a relationship between social, cultural, and geographical factors in the process of forming an individuals identity. She states,

(Y)outh identities are created and directly influenced by the complexities of the geopolitics and so-ciocultural implications (e.g. culture, language, social groups and social hierarchies, internal colonialism, racesD  ethnicities, and citizenship and residency issues) circumscribing their lives. (Bejarano 3)

In the case of Latino s, she claims that the influence of these factors is apparent in  the largely unspoken and unexplored divisions among youths of Mexican descent whose border identities are located along a wide continuum of Mexicanness (Bejarano 4). Using the Border Theory as the foundation of her argument, Bejarano points out that there exist both a physical and a metaphorical border that influences a Latinos identity development (27). Such an interpretation of physical space is possible in the Border Theory since it is based on the view that the border represents a boundary that distinguishes two different views of reality (Benito and Manzanas 1-2). Gloria Anzaldua explains this distinction well as she states,

The psychological borderlands, the sexual borderlands and the spiritual borderlands are not particular to the Southwest. In fact, the Borderlands are physically present whenever two or more cultures edge each other, where people of different races occupy the same territory, where under, lower, middle and upper classes touch. (19)

The border thereby symbolizes two different locations that represent two different views of reality which embodies the views of the entities residing at the opposite ends of the border.  In addition, the border also represents the location where views from both realities intertwine in order to create a new perspective of reality. In the case of Bejaranos study, this union between two different viewpoints can be seen in the various ethnic identities that have resulted from the Mexicans passage to the United States. The politics of Latino identity formation thereby is determined by the Latinos situatedness in the border. For example, Bejarano points out that the social stratification of Latino students in Altamira High School was dependent on their reproduction of Anglo-American practices (33). The distinction between ChicanoD  as and MexicanoD a s was due to the former s reproduction of Anglo-American practices and the latters practice of Mexican traditions (Bejarano 33).

Other manifestations of how the politics of identity along the Mexican border affect Latino identity were given by Bejarano as she traced the factors that affect the process of Latino identity formation. It is important to note that she places the different factors affecting Latino identity formation into five broad categories, these being (1) cultural customs and trends, (2) language, (3) social stratification, (4) citizenship, and (5) historical and familial ties (Bejarano 6). Cultural customs and trends affect identity formation as certain sub-groups of Latinos tend to develop their own practice, customs, and mores that determine membership in their group. An example of this can be seen in the Chicanos use of the Hip-Hop style as a means of distinguishing themselves from the Mexicans (Bejarano 38). The same aspect that involves the development of specific practices and customs is also applicable in the case of Latino identity formation as a result of language. Since language is seen as a tool to capture and create reality, Spanglish has been developed by Latinos in order to compensate for their initial inability to speak fluent English. Spanglish, which is a combination of Spanish and English, becomes a factor in the identity formation of Latinos as it determines their capability to speak English and to a certain extent the period that they have stayed in the United States. Bejarano points out that the distinction between Chicanos and Mexicanos can be seen in the extent of their command of the English language (50). She states, Chicanaswill use more popular American youth sayingsTheir language selection serves a twofold purposeto communicate in their natural languagesand to speak exclusively within their group (Bejarano 50). This aspect of creating exclusive practices within a group also provides an example of the social stratification resulting from a Latinos closer relationship to the borderland. This relationship to the border, on the other hand, is determined by the level of a Latinos separation from Mexico. A Chicano for example, according to Bejarano, typically belongs to a fourth generation immigrant from Mexico (45). As opposed to this, a Mexicano typically belongs to a first generation to third generation immigrant from Mexico (Bejarano 45).

Despite the conflicts caused by the factors affecting identity formation amongst Latinos, Bejarano ends her text with a positive note as she argues that the influence of identity construction on the Latino youth allows the continuous expansion of the boundaries of Mexicaness (127). She argues that although it has resulted to the creation of hierarchies in the Latino community, these hierarchies may be overcome if the youth recognize their similarities with one another, that being their shared Mexican heritage. By recognizing this heritage, it is possible for the youth to overcome the effects of their desires to completely blend in with the culture of Anglo-Americans. This will also allow them to develop their own cultural practices which will further enable them to expand the boundaries of what it means to be a Latino and a Mexican-American.

Within this context, the following discussion has traced the relationship between the social, cultural, and geopolitical factors that affect the creation of an identity. In the case of Latinos, the relationship between these three aspects is more complicated as they are forced to consider the different ways of enabling the union between their Mexican heritage and their American heritage. In the case of Bejaranos text, the students in her study seem to find it difficult to create this union as they either deny their Mexican heritage or their American heritage. The possibility of a union however is not far off as they only need to recognize their indebtedness to both cultures and their immediate relationship to one another in order to create a more solid Latino culture in the United State.