Gabriella Dachs Assignment 1
Spa 154S May 22, 2015

1. Who are the Latinas that you have interacted with in your life (i.e friends, relatives, workers)?
I have interacted with various Latinas in my personal life and my professional life. First, there is my friend, Arielle, who I’ve known since I was in high school. She is a kind and thoughtful friend and I truly value our friendship and her opinions. Her family is very traditional and prefer to speak Spanish at home, while she is more of a rule breaker and prefers to speak English. Next, there is my brother-in-law’s, father’s girlfriend, Jenny. While I don’t know her well and have only interacted with her a handful of times, she is extremely nice and also a Speech Therapist, like my sister. She is bi-lingual and works with young children in Latino communities. Lastly, there is a woman who works at the Spa with me whose name is Susana. We are very very close and have known each other for over five years. She loves to cook and share her recipes, listen to Spanish music and share information about her culture.
2. What have you been taught about Latina women in your classes? Through popular media?What have you learned on your own or through your family and friends?
Truthfully, I haven’t been taught anything about Latina women in my classes as I’ve only taken Psychology and English courses this far. One of the reasons I chose this class was to learn more about different cultures and expand my knowledge. Through popular media I’ve learned about different Latina issues such as being criticized for not being fully Latina from Christina Aguilera and other women who have more than one heritage, the current Miss Universe who is Latina and people making assumptions about Latinas based on how they look or sound (i.e assuming they speak Spanish). While I haven’t learned about Latina women directly, through the people I listed above, I’ve learned about various holidays, like Cinco De Mayo, Semana Santa and Navidad. I’ve also learned the names of different Holidays that I celebrate like Ano Nuevo (New Years Day), Dia del Padre (Father’s Day), Dia de las Madres (Mother’s Day) and Nochebuena (Christmas Eve).
3. What do you know about Puerto Rico?
I mostly know the historical information about Puerto Rico. It is a United States territory that is located in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico is considered an archipelago which includes the main island (Puerto Rico) and a few smaller islands. I also know that Puerto Rico has great weather all year round, mostly consisting of tropical, warm temperatures. It also has two official languages, English and Spanish with Spanish being more commonly used. The Puerto Rican flag is similar colors to the American Flag with a different design.
Below is my reaction to “How to eat a guava.” The Prologue.
The prologue begins with a proverb that means in English “a ship that doesn’t sail, never reaches port.” I believe this to be very fitting to the prologue and next three chapters as it means if you don’t begin something, for example, a life journey, then you’ll never finish or accomplish anything on the way. This saying references her journey from Macun to the city and other places to New York. The prologue flashes between the past and present, allowing us to get to know Esmerelda as a Puerto Rican child