Blog Post #5

            I thought the guided activity and the readings fit well together this week because they all focused on struggles and hardships, the importance of heritage, and the determination for a better life.

            The Los Hilos de la Vida activity really helped me understand the significance, purpose and interpretation of the many quilts displayed. As displayed in “Death Lives in the Desert” and “Mexican/American Dream,” the journey to travel across the border from Mexico to the United States is a difficult and sometimes impossible one. In “Death Lives in the Desert,” I noticed that the figure of death was a dominant figure. The figure caught my eye due to its size and its color. Compared to the other colors in the quilt, the figure is dark; the black color represents death. Luz Maria, the maker of the quilt, includes “about 36 people die in the desert every month. There in the desert, dreams die… The only winner is DEATH, who never leaves with empty hands. Similarly, “Mexican/American Dream” also incorporates figures of death. The river contains people drowning and skeletons in order to emphasize the difficulty of this journey. However, despite the difficult journey, the two quilts emphasize the Mexican’s perseverance and determination for a better life. Would you migrate to the United States if you knew that death was a large possibility? These women create these beautiful quilts by expressing their true feelings and emotions.

            “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” focuses on black women in the South. I believe this reading ties in with the guided activity because it displays the struggles of black women in the past and their expression and emotions through artwork. The quote about black women in the “Post-Reconstruction South” really stuck out to me. Black women were “exquisite butterflies trapped in an evil honey, toiling away their lives in an era, a century that did not acknowledge them except as the ‘mule of the world.’” Similar to the immigrants mentioned above, these women experienced an extremely difficult life but attempted to shine in order to better their life. The author then focuses on her mother. She discusses the difficulty of her mother’s life when mentioning “her day began before sunup and did not end until late at night,” and “there was never a moment for her to sit down, undisturbed, to unravel in her own private thoughts.” “Whatever shabby house [they] were forced to live in,” her mother would decorate the outside with beautiful flowers. Despite the darkness in her life, she embraced the good things. She maintained a positive outlook and displayed her strength. The quote that I believe expresses these ideas states, “Guided by my heritage of a love of beauty and a respect for strength—in search of my mother’s garden, I found my own.” It’s a shame that these many talented and determined women from the past are considered “anonymous” in today’s society.

            “Ana’s Choice,” also ties in perfectly with the guided activity and other readings because it focuses on the migration of Mexican’s to the United States. Ana and her family decided to illegally travel to the United States due to extensive poverty and the hopes of a better life. The article explained the main struggles with immigration including family stage migration and mixed-status families. The article also focuses on the aspect of deportation. The author includes, “about 350,000 immigrants were deported from the U.S. in the first nine months of 2008.” These statistics and stories really helped me realize the struggle displayed in the quilts. Typically when discussing immigration, members of our society look at it as a bad thing. However, this article really opens your eyes to immigration reform. Immigrants “want and deserve more.”

            I actually read “Everyday Use” in high school and I was happy to read it again because this weeks activity and readings helped me understand the story in a new light. Quilts are important to one’s culture and heritage. Maggie understands the importance of the story behind the quilt instead of just focusing on the way the quilt looks. Similar to the quilts in the guided activity, these quilts displayed the struggles of family members in the past and the importance of understanding them.