Cultural Diversion

Dominguez’s poems depict minute details of his marriage, job and inner outlook concerning his life. The prevalent Latino culture, both at work and in everyday life, places Dominguez as an uncertain man attempting to place his culture as he struggles with internal turmoil about his worth as a man and husband. In his poem Fingers, he reacts to the loss of coworker Julio’s finger by reflecting upon himself and wondering “would I have screamed, could I have taken the pain(?)” Dominguez expresses feelings of subordination in his poetry, particularly through small details such as “my wife doesn’t like the mango I bought her” in Framework, speaking to his feelings of inadequacy as a husband. In Roof he notes how the Mexican men he works with “have names for (him): poncho, gringo.” Dominguez is placed as an outsider and feels constantly on the edge of cohesion with his Latino coworkers, yet is unable to achieve adequate familiarity.  I found Dominguez’s work particularly evocative in that he does not speak to his emotions, yet carefully selects details that induce inadequacy, cultural otherness and uncertainty in his roles as a man and husband.

The other text that stood out regarding cultural uncertainty was Luna’s collection. In Two Girls From Juarez, girls inquire about the race of a book character, asking “was she white or black?” This serves as a testament to the need to place oneself and others in racial categories, underlining Luna’s confusion in standing in between races. Like Dominguez, she feels that she is on the edge of her culture, lamenting “quiero aprender espanol” in Learning to Speak. Luna describes herself and others as carriers of history, her Latino history broken by her shift to English. Luna notes that her body feels to be “an invisible border,” a testament to the conflict she experiences as one culture becomes dominate to the other. The works read this week all stood out as incredible, but Luna and Dominguez captured cultural uncertainty with an attention to detail that was relatable and compelling.

--Casey Vittimberga