History of Chicanos in Los Angeles

History Of the Chicano in Los Angeles

is widely considered to be a country of immigrants and its culture one that was created as a result of the mixture of different other national identities. From this point-of-view, it can be said that the Mexican immigrants have had a strong and consistent contribution to developing the U.S. into the form it is today.

The history of the Mexican immigration is dated from the 17th century, even before the actual constitution of the United States. In this sense, it is considered that "Mexicans first arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598 and founded the city of Santa Fe in 1610" (Immigration, 2005). This was one of the first places in which Mexican immigrants are registered on the territory of the present day U.S.. However, one of the most important aspects of the Mexican immigration is the 19th century war with Mexico and the U.S.'s eventual victory which certified the adherence of California, Texas, and New Mexico to the U.S. territory. From this point on, the history of the Mexicans in America represented a struggle for identity and emancipation as a distinct presence inside the American nation.

Seeing the turbulent times of the U.S. history, the immigrants that eventually created the American identity were faced with several challenges especially related to the issue of national identification. In this sense, in the context of the Mexican immigration and its history in the U.S., there were several terms that have been used along the time which reveal the sensitive tensions existing between them and the American people as a whole.

The notion of "Spanish" people was at times used. Generally speaking, "this term is used frequently in the United States to refer indiscriminately to any person that speaks Spanish. As such, it is imprecise and often inappropriate in that it includes people from more than two dozen countries, spanning the entire American continent, the Caribbean and Spain" (Mexican History Study Guides, 2003). However, from a historical perspective, this notion was used in a pejorative manner taking into account the fact that the Spanish had conquered today's Mexico through destructive actions and campaigns (Jenkins, 1997); this made the perspective on the term of Spanish to be a negative one. The term was used in particular during the war with Mexico because of the connotation it had for describing the negative attitude of the considered conquerors.

The terms used to identify dwellers of particular areas of what would later become U.S. territory varied according to the region in which they were employed. With reference to the Mexican case, the term of Californio came to be employed. It identified the Spanish Californians during the Mexican rule over the territory. Following the rebellious actions against the Mexican rule who had imposed very strict conditions and the Mexican rule of law on the Californian territory, the Californios eventually took hold of the Californian state and "in control of vast tracts of land and livestock" (California Historical Eras, n.d.). The term employed at this time tries to identify not necessarily the common dwellers of the peninsula, but most importantly the political forces it represented. In this sense, the Californios were people that had arrived from Mexico and after settling in California militated for the autonomy of the region from Mexico. This was largely due to the fact that the Mexican policy towards the region was an oppressive and destructive one, that included the strict control over the affairs of the area and of the potential it had. Despite the fact that the region was not an important demographic point, it represented the new found source for riches, gold in particular. Therefore, it was only normal that a need to restrict the control of the Mexican government on the peninsula was justified. However, the Californios, both as common dwellers of the region, and as political activists for the emancipation of the region played an essential part in the history of the Mexican immigration.

Another important term used to identify the Mexican immigrants and their road in the history of the United States is that of the "Mexican-American." According to a traditional definition, the term suggests "Mexican or person of Mexican descent living in the United States" (Word Web online, 2008). However, despite the fact that it is a generally acknowledged term, it may suggest a new evolution in the history of the Mexican immigration. More precisely, this notion may be interpreted as being a certain de facto acceptance of the Mexican population as part of the American cultural heritage. There are many discriminatory criteria which have marked the history of the United States. The nationality and the family descent was often a reason for social exclusion. Therefore, the identification of Mexicans as being Americans as well represented an important step in their integration in the society.

The notion of "Latino" has often been used especially in recent history to define "people originating from, or having a heritage related to, Latin America, in recognition of the fact that this set of people is actually a superset of many nationalities. Since the term "Latin" comes into use as the least common denominator for all peoples of Latin America in recognition of the fact that some romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, French) is the native tongue of the majority of Latin Americans, this term is widely accepted by most" (Mexican History Study Guide, 2003). Therefore, it can be said the notion refers to a general view of the Latin presence, especially in the U.S. However, the issue of whether one identifies himself with the notion is rather hard to assess. More precisely, identification with such a term would imply the historical heritage of all Latin countries. Form this point-of-view, some Latino origin people do not accept this labeling, and prefer a national identity rather than a cultural one.