America's Dream

"To her, the scar is not invisible. It irritates her when people pretend it's not there. It's a reminder of who she is now, and who she was then....They're there to remind her that she fought for her life, and that, no matter what how others may interpret it, she has a right to live that life as she chooses."

America's Dream by Esmeralda Santiago was November's pick for #ReadPuertoRican book club. In this one, Santiago highlights Puerto Rican women while at the same time giving you important Puerto Rican history such as: U.S. occupation and bomb testing in Vieques, birth control and sterilization of Puerto Rican women, and rise of tourism from the slave system and haciendas. Santiago's main focus was on machismo and domestic violence. show more Although this book published in 1996, it relevant still today as Puerto Rican femicide and gender violence led to a state if emergency being declared in Puerto Rico as gender based violence continues to rise and has historically been a huge problem in the Caribbean.

Santiago gives us a nuanced perspective on domestic abuse through America Gonzalez's eyes. She shows us how difficult it is to get help while being in and even after leaving the relationship. She shows us the push-pull mentality as Puerto Rican women grapple with wanting to pursue freedom through feminism but at the same time upholding the very same beliefs that are the cause of their oppression. For many women poverty forces the cycle of violence and machismo to continue. She shows how mother-daughter relationships are strained through mixed messaging and not being able to openly talk about machismo without feeling like they're assimilating or abandoning their culture. She shows us the ways they cope with abuse and trauma, from total denial of depression, numbing through alcoholism and learning how to be in survival mode on a daily basis.

What I found interesting about Santiago's writing is how she places the status of women within the greater context of the colonial status of Puerto Rico. The state of ambivalence the women display directly mirrors the mentality of Puerto Ricans when is comes to their relationship with the U.S.
They've been abused for so long, they've almost become passive. They know they need to change in order to survive but the roots of trauma and abuse are embedded so deeply through Puerto Ricans that at times, it feels almost impossible to come up for air. But the Puerto Rican resilience and will to survive has sustained despite all the tragedy. For many change has come from exposure to living in the diaspora but more importantly by holding on to language, refusing assimilation and empowering the next generation to become changemakers. Essentially, the fate of Puerto Rican women depends on the fight for Puerto Rico's sovereignty. América Gonzalez, as a character reminds us that although we may be battered and bruised, we are not broken and there is much work to do in the areas of decolonization, unlearning machismo and gender violence and solidarity in liberation movements. Siempre pa'lante but never forgetting what it means to be a Puerto Rican survivor. show less

audio fiction (12h,23m - read by the author) - America, a 29 y.o. hotel maid (and mother of pregnant 14-y.o. daughter Rosalinda, whose father is violently possessive/abusive) contemplates moving from her small island town in Puerto Rico to a large home near Mt. Kisco, New York when a tourist family offers her a live-in housekeeper job.

Beautiful, descriptive prose and lots of perspective, easy to listen to (though also horrifyingly, terrifyingly suspenseful towards the end).

This book made me laugh and cry. Much of it reminded me of my mother learning and trying to speak English. The story is full of hope and inspiration for anyone who is just trying to make it in this world, regardless of where you come from.

Really great debut novel! Although the ending should have been different. Maybe a sequel?

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América Gonzalez es empleada de un hotel en una isla en la costa de Puerto Rico, donde limpia los cuartos de extranjeros ricos que miran de reojo. Su madre alcohólica le tiene resentimiento, su novio Correa, quien es casado le pega y su hija de catorce años piensa que su vida seria mejor en cualquier otro lugar menos donde está América. Así que cuando le ofrecen la oportunidad de trabajar como criada y niñera para una familia en el municipio de Weschester, Nueva York, América cree que ha encontrado una puerta de escape. Pero al mismo tiempo en que disfruta del lujo relativo de su nueva vida atreviéndose incluso a querer a otro hombre que no sea Correa, América tiene que luchar contra la constante sensación de que nunca podrá show more escapar su pasado, no importa lo que haga. show less