Martin Espada Essay

Martin Espada is a Spanish poet whose main themes are discrimination and racism towards the Spanish. In his first poem, "Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" shows a description of the ecstasy of  white man crowd at two Spanish men being lynched. The second poem, "The New Bathroom policy at English High School", the Spanish language is banned in a bathroom because someone does not know the language. In "The Revolutionary Spanish Lesson", a protest is held out of rage due to not being recognized. These poems all contain a discriminatory theme, and the opinion on discrimination is the same in all the poems; they are not supporting discrimination.
   First of all, his poem "Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" had an extreme focus on discrimination. The poem is about exactly what the title says. The poem states, "remain the faces of the lynching party...a high collar boy smirking, some peering from the shade of bowler hats, but all crowding to get into the photograph." This means that everyone was trying to take a photo with the two dead Mexicanos. This describes how excited and amused the people are now that Mexicanos were dead. Very discriminatory, because it shows how no one cares about two dead men if they're Spanish. This is very unfair, and cannot have any theme and opinion other than being anti-discrimination.
    The second poem, "The New Bathroom Policy at English High School", is also a discriminatory work. The poem states, "So he decides to ban Spanish/ from the bathrooms/ now he can relax." This poem and quote illustrate a lack of confidence in people that others cannot understand. This also proves that unless people know exactly what is being said by anyone, they will not trust that person. These two pieces of evidence show that people will forbid others from being who their are for their own satisfaction and integrity. Espada wants you to feel disgusted at this behavior, because it is selfish and fearful, and goes against years of promises and history of the U.S., which is not keeping it's promise of letting everyone live in it equally.
  The third poem, "The Revolutionary Spanish Lesson" is also discriminatory. The poem shows extreme disrespect because people will not pronounce foreign names correctly, and having to pay for it. The poem states, "Whenever my name is mispronounced, I want to buy a toy pistol......hijack a busload of Republican tourists in Wisconsin, force them to chat anti-American slogans in Spanish,", showing him getting angry at the people who mispronounced his name and made his life a hell. This poem is more about the justice in the Spanish man's eyes, because it seems as though he thinks of himself getting his revenge on the people who sought to segregate him. This poem is very discriminatory because it shows how the tables were turned, when people who don't like Spanish are forced to say anti-America slogans in Spanish. This poem has a deeper meaning than just a mispronounced name, but that meaning is still as discriminatory.
  These three poems all have their own ways of expressing their opinion on discrimination. Regardless, what the author tries to get you to take away from this is the same in each poem. The discrimination shown in these poems can be described in today’s light given all the recent events having to do with racism and discrimination. Discrimination is shown in a very negative light in every poem, and the techniques the author used are all very moving. They make you think of discrimination as a hideous thing.