Martin Espada Essay

            Martin Espada is a Spanish- American poet who expresses a lot about racism and discrimination in his poems. His poems talk about the racism against Spanish people and why it is wrong. The three poems I chose to focus on were “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School’, and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”. These poems are inspirational and show the horrors of prejudice in different and creative ways.
            “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson is a poem about someone who is angry because people keep mispronouncing his name. The poem states that the man wants to “buy a toy pistol, but on dark sunglasses”, and then “hijack a busload of Republican tourists from Wisconsin and force them to chant anti-American slogans in Spanish”. I can infer that the man feels that his name represents his culture, which is why he’s so angry when his name is mispronounced. I also think that this poem is about stereotypes, because Spanish criminals are thought of as mysterious and sneaky, but loud and not afraid to make a scene, and that’s what the man in the poem is acting like. Also, most Americans are seen as “Republican tourists from Wisconsin” to people from other countries, so he’s saying how America is stereotyped as well. All in all, this seemingly simple poem is very deep because it expresses a lot about prejudice and the way different groups of people are perceived.
         The poem “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” is about a principal who bans Spanish from school bathrooms because he hears kids talking in Spanish and doesn’t know Spanish, so he only hears his name and is scared that the kids are making fun of him. The poem is told in third person, but focuses on the principal. This shows firsthand how prejudiced the principal is, because he makes kids abandon their heritage for his own benefit. I think that this poem shows a lot about our own personal prejudices and how desire can turn into ignorance.
      The poem “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”, is about a tragic event where Mexicans were killed simply for their nationality. The poem expresses the horror that happened that day, and how prejudice can get out of hand and lead to violence. The poem describes the Mexicans being lynched. It disturbed me a lot, so much that it hurt to read it. However, that’s most likely what Martin Espada was trying to do when he wrote this poem--greatly disturb people so they will become aware of what terrible things have happened because of racism. I think that this poem raises awareness very well, and can even make people want to make a change. At the end of the poem, many people who were watching the lynching crowd into a photograph. I can infer that they are a little stunned and a little scared that something so terrible just happened right before their eyes, but were too afraid to speak up or even walk away. I think that many of them don’t really care about the Mexicans that were lynched, and only want attention for being part of a lynching. The poem shows both the fear and the pride associated with this lynching.
       In conclusion, Martin Espada is a poet who expresses a lot about prejudice and racism in three of his poems: “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School”, and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”.