Los Vendidos By Luis Valdez: Summary
Tayler Monroy
Judith Watry
WRT102
April 19th, 2014
World renowned author and playwright, Luis Valdez, carries a rich Mexican-American historical background that gives him the ability to integrate his beautiful culture in his writings. In 1940, Luis Valdez was born into a family of migrant workers along with his nine brothers and sisters. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography in an excerpt on Luis Valdez, he began picking crops at the age of six and was forced to travel around California’s San Fernando Valley, following the ripening of different crops. Growing up in a typical Mexican stereotype household, a low-class yet hard working family, Luis Valdez was able to obtain valuable and detailed experiences that he would later use in his writings such as “Los Vendidos.” Luis Valdez’s story, “Los Vendidos,” is a satirical Latino stereotype play where the author describes a day in the life of what seems to be a hardworking Latino man. The play …show more content…
illustrates five different characters, all of which are robots in the story, but are examples of the different Latino stereotypes. They include: Honest Sancho, Farmworker, Johnny Pachuco, Revolucionario, and the Mexican-American. Honest Sancho is the salesman of the story. He is the one to say whatever it is that people like to hear, as long as it means that he will have money in his pocket. Farmworker is one of the robot products that Honest Sancho is trying to sell, along with the other three characters. The author describes Farmworker to be basically what his name says; he works long hours in the field, picking crops, for hardly any compensation. Johnny Pachuco, otherwise known as the urbanized robot, comes off as a foul-mouthed, arrest resisting, disrespectful individual. He is the one who commits crimes and does drugs. Revolucionario is the Mexican immigrant who is not afraid to express his gratitude for Mexico. He rallies, protests and fights for his home country. Lastly, the Mexican-American robot is described to be college educated, polite, and is active in politics. It is possible that Luis Valdez used these specific types of personalities due to personal experiences or certain events that were occurring at the time of his writing. In the world of literature, there a several different types of literary criticisms that authors can use to critique another person’s writing. The book, Retellings: A Thematic Literature Anthology, explains the different types: biographical criticism, sociohistorical, postcolonial, and psychological criticism along with several others. Each of these is a kind of lens that authors can use as somewhat of a guide for reasons why an author chooses to write what they did. After reading Luis Valdez’s story, I came to the conclusion that there are two different types of lenses that can be used to review his story; biographical criticism and sociohistorical criticism.
Sociohistorical criticism focuses on issues related to the social movements and beliefs prevailing when a piece of literature was written. (Clarke, A-42) At times, this type of critic might consider how social and political events occurring in the authors time may have influenced the way he or she presents different characters, settings, plots, etc. Luis Valdez wrote his story in the year 1967, when a few years prior in 1965, he witnessed and was actively involved in the Delano Grape Strike. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, migrant farm workers had to endure unhealthy working conditions for several years. They worked long hours for extremely low wages and received no benefits. Finally, in 1965, migrant grape pickers in Delano, California decided to go on strike. These workers were supported by the labor leader César Chávez and the union he helped found, the National Farm Workers Association for migrant workers.
After a harvest in the fall of 1965 left boycotters with nothing to protest since the workers left the fields when the season came to an end, Chavez chose to approach the protests from a different angle. He sent two workers and a fellow activist to an expected grape shipment location and had the three people persuade the shipment workers not to load the crates. The group was successful. As a result, thousands of pounds of grapes were left to rot. This event led to several grape growers being unable to have their products sold at stores and markets causing them to lose hundreds of dollars. With this happening, grape companies were pressured in to answering the demands of the farm workers.
Hispanic people were constantly facing discrimination and were treated unfairly compared to the other several ethnic groups they were surrounded by. The Delano Grape Strike is only one example of how Latino workers stood up for themselves and defended their race. There were and most likely still are many other situations such as this where workers were too afraid to speak up for themselves. Instead, they stood back and let themselves be walked all over. No one will ever be able to know just how many discriminatory acts have happened in the workplace.
Not only was Luis Valdez an extremely talented writer but also producer, director, and story teller. One of his famous, well-known productions includes the movie, La Bamba. Although, despite the fact that Valdez was still writing and producing, he was not able to fully share his works due to the fact that Latino’s were looked down upon and would not be of much interest to non-Latino audiences. After having struggled long enough, the birth of a theatrical movement came along that took place in large cities around the country; El Teatro Campesino was developed by Luis Valdez and Cesar Chavez. El Teatro Campesino expressed Chicano culture to English and Spanish speaking audiences and conveyed the problems facing Mexican Americans. (Diaz) According to scholar Nicolás Kanellos, the roots of this theater, Teatro Campesino which translates to Pleasant Theatre, can be traced back to the small tents pitched by theater companies to perform for the workers. This theatrical tradition encouraged Mexican-American communities and its fellow workers to support El Teatro Campesino and the Chicano theater movement.
The Delano Grape Strike and development of El Teatro Campesino all have an effect on Luis Valdez’s writings. This relates to the criticism I had previously mentioned, sociohistorical criticism. These specific events left a mark in the Latino American history. Before any of these occasions, Latinos would have had to deal with the unfair treatment given to them. Because of these historical movements, Latinos can work without being mistreated due to their race or ethnic background. They can write and produce any type of Latino literature or media and be supported by their non-Latino community members and audiences just as Luis Valdez successfully did. As I imagine myself to be a socialhistorical critic, I can see how these events have influenced Valdez to describe the different stereotypes in “Los Vendidos” through his characters. What he wrote in his play was what he was witnessing during the time of his writings. This leads me to discuss the relationship between Luis Valdez and his play from a biographical critic’s perspective.
Biographical criticism focuses on the ways in which an author’s life might have influenced their creations.
(Clarke A-45) By knowing prior information about the author’s life, it is easy for their readers to understand the themes, characters, and settings presented in the reading. After researching Luis Valdez’s background, accomplishments and Latino civil rights movements, it became clear as to why he wrote “Los Vendidos.” Although, it is obvious that his story was written with obvious satire, I believe this idea was made to be purposely noticed. With the Delano Grape Strike incident and people’s negative thoughts about Latino literature, I believe Luis Valdez used the idea of satire in his writing to express his feelings on how the American government needed to become aware of Latino’s needs and be supportive of them. Being a Latino writer and community member himself, he was able to see and witness first-hand the pessimistic and downgrading things that the government pushed on the Latino
community.
Another detail that happened to catch my eye after reading the story was one of the personalities the author used to illustrate about the main robot characters. The first character that begins in the story, Farmworker, is described as a very dedicated field worker that picks any type of crop during the seasons. According to an excerpt on Luis Valdez from the World Biography Encyclopedia, during his childhood, Valdez picked crops with his parents and siblings in order to make a living. They would travel across the San Fernando Valley in California in order to keep up with the different picking seasons. I believe that he chose to describe this character first in relation to his childhood. He is using his personal experiences to write his story.
Luis Valdez’s attitude in “Los Vendidos” is noticeable due to the same idea behind biographical criticism; by knowing about an author’s life, the reader can understand the reason behind his or her themes. Just like the other hundreds of Latinos who were against the government’s actions towards them, Luis Valdez was included in that group. The way he describes each of the robots in the story depicts the different kinds of people the Latino race includes, meaning that not all of them are not worthy of having rights. He describes them to be hard working and dedicated people. This way, when the story is read and discussed amongst non-Latino audiences, they can have the change of mind that not all Latinos are the same and should be considered equal along with all other ethnicities.
In conclusion to my research, the different literary lenses that I chose helped me acquire knowledge about authors and their reasons for writing. For a long time I was lead to believe that stories were created from an author’s imagination. Now, I understand that there are almost always personal experiences, historical events, or other occurrences that lead to the reasoning behind an author’s motifs, themes, and characters. “Los Vendidos” by Luis Valdez caught my eye from the start. His use of satire and Latino background lead me to feel more interested in the story.
Works Cited
Bolt, Julie. "Teaching Los Actos of Luis Valdez." Radical Teacher 91 (2011): 71-73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Chávez Candelaria, Cordelia. "Latino Stereotypes." The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Clarke, Marlene B., and Arlene G. Clarke. "Los Vendidos." Retellings: A Thematic Literature Anthology. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 103-11. Print.
Diaz, Enrique Morales. "Teatro Campesino, El." Encyclopedia of Hispanic-American Literature. Luz Elena Ramirez. New York: Facts on File, 2008. 337-339. Facts on File Library of
American Literature: Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Literature. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2014.
Kanellos, Nicolás. "Actos." The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience. ABC- CLIO, 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Luis Valdez." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 399-400. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Judith Watry
WRT102
April 19th, 2014
World renowned author and playwright, Luis Valdez, carries a rich Mexican-American historical background that gives him the ability to integrate his beautiful culture in his writings. In 1940, Luis Valdez was born into a family of migrant workers along with his nine brothers and sisters. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography in an excerpt on Luis Valdez, he began picking crops at the age of six and was forced to travel around California’s San Fernando Valley, following the ripening of different crops. Growing up in a typical Mexican stereotype household, a low-class yet hard working family, Luis Valdez was able to obtain valuable and detailed experiences that he would later use in his writings such as “Los Vendidos.” Luis Valdez’s story, “Los Vendidos,” is a satirical Latino stereotype play where the author describes a day in the life of what seems to be a hardworking Latino man. The play …show more content…
illustrates five different characters, all of which are robots in the story, but are examples of the different Latino stereotypes. They include: Honest Sancho, Farmworker, Johnny Pachuco, Revolucionario, and the Mexican-American. Honest Sancho is the salesman of the story. He is the one to say whatever it is that people like to hear, as long as it means that he will have money in his pocket. Farmworker is one of the robot products that Honest Sancho is trying to sell, along with the other three characters. The author describes Farmworker to be basically what his name says; he works long hours in the field, picking crops, for hardly any compensation. Johnny Pachuco, otherwise known as the urbanized robot, comes off as a foul-mouthed, arrest resisting, disrespectful individual. He is the one who commits crimes and does drugs. Revolucionario is the Mexican immigrant who is not afraid to express his gratitude for Mexico. He rallies, protests and fights for his home country. Lastly, the Mexican-American robot is described to be college educated, polite, and is active in politics. It is possible that Luis Valdez used these specific types of personalities due to personal experiences or certain events that were occurring at the time of his writing. In the world of literature, there a several different types of literary criticisms that authors can use to critique another person’s writing. The book, Retellings: A Thematic Literature Anthology, explains the different types: biographical criticism, sociohistorical, postcolonial, and psychological criticism along with several others. Each of these is a kind of lens that authors can use as somewhat of a guide for reasons why an author chooses to write what they did. After reading Luis Valdez’s story, I came to the conclusion that there are two different types of lenses that can be used to review his story; biographical criticism and sociohistorical criticism.
Sociohistorical criticism focuses on issues related to the social movements and beliefs prevailing when a piece of literature was written. (Clarke, A-42) At times, this type of critic might consider how social and political events occurring in the authors time may have influenced the way he or she presents different characters, settings, plots, etc. Luis Valdez wrote his story in the year 1967, when a few years prior in 1965, he witnessed and was actively involved in the Delano Grape Strike. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, migrant farm workers had to endure unhealthy working conditions for several years. They worked long hours for extremely low wages and received no benefits. Finally, in 1965, migrant grape pickers in Delano, California decided to go on strike. These workers were supported by the labor leader César Chávez and the union he helped found, the National Farm Workers Association for migrant workers.
After a harvest in the fall of 1965 left boycotters with nothing to protest since the workers left the fields when the season came to an end, Chavez chose to approach the protests from a different angle. He sent two workers and a fellow activist to an expected grape shipment location and had the three people persuade the shipment workers not to load the crates. The group was successful. As a result, thousands of pounds of grapes were left to rot. This event led to several grape growers being unable to have their products sold at stores and markets causing them to lose hundreds of dollars. With this happening, grape companies were pressured in to answering the demands of the farm workers.
Hispanic people were constantly facing discrimination and were treated unfairly compared to the other several ethnic groups they were surrounded by. The Delano Grape Strike is only one example of how Latino workers stood up for themselves and defended their race. There were and most likely still are many other situations such as this where workers were too afraid to speak up for themselves. Instead, they stood back and let themselves be walked all over. No one will ever be able to know just how many discriminatory acts have happened in the workplace.
Not only was Luis Valdez an extremely talented writer but also producer, director, and story teller. One of his famous, well-known productions includes the movie, La Bamba. Although, despite the fact that Valdez was still writing and producing, he was not able to fully share his works due to the fact that Latino’s were looked down upon and would not be of much interest to non-Latino audiences. After having struggled long enough, the birth of a theatrical movement came along that took place in large cities around the country; El Teatro Campesino was developed by Luis Valdez and Cesar Chavez. El Teatro Campesino expressed Chicano culture to English and Spanish speaking audiences and conveyed the problems facing Mexican Americans. (Diaz) According to scholar Nicolás Kanellos, the roots of this theater, Teatro Campesino which translates to Pleasant Theatre, can be traced back to the small tents pitched by theater companies to perform for the workers. This theatrical tradition encouraged Mexican-American communities and its fellow workers to support El Teatro Campesino and the Chicano theater movement.
The Delano Grape Strike and development of El Teatro Campesino all have an effect on Luis Valdez’s writings. This relates to the criticism I had previously mentioned, sociohistorical criticism. These specific events left a mark in the Latino American history. Before any of these occasions, Latinos would have had to deal with the unfair treatment given to them. Because of these historical movements, Latinos can work without being mistreated due to their race or ethnic background. They can write and produce any type of Latino literature or media and be supported by their non-Latino community members and audiences just as Luis Valdez successfully did. As I imagine myself to be a socialhistorical critic, I can see how these events have influenced Valdez to describe the different stereotypes in “Los Vendidos” through his characters. What he wrote in his play was what he was witnessing during the time of his writings. This leads me to discuss the relationship between Luis Valdez and his play from a biographical critic’s perspective.
Biographical criticism focuses on the ways in which an author’s life might have influenced their creations.
(Clarke A-45) By knowing prior information about the author’s life, it is easy for their readers to understand the themes, characters, and settings presented in the reading. After researching Luis Valdez’s background, accomplishments and Latino civil rights movements, it became clear as to why he wrote “Los Vendidos.” Although, it is obvious that his story was written with obvious satire, I believe this idea was made to be purposely noticed. With the Delano Grape Strike incident and people’s negative thoughts about Latino literature, I believe Luis Valdez used the idea of satire in his writing to express his feelings on how the American government needed to become aware of Latino’s needs and be supportive of them. Being a Latino writer and community member himself, he was able to see and witness first-hand the pessimistic and downgrading things that the government pushed on the Latino
community.
Another detail that happened to catch my eye after reading the story was one of the personalities the author used to illustrate about the main robot characters. The first character that begins in the story, Farmworker, is described as a very dedicated field worker that picks any type of crop during the seasons. According to an excerpt on Luis Valdez from the World Biography Encyclopedia, during his childhood, Valdez picked crops with his parents and siblings in order to make a living. They would travel across the San Fernando Valley in California in order to keep up with the different picking seasons. I believe that he chose to describe this character first in relation to his childhood. He is using his personal experiences to write his story.
Luis Valdez’s attitude in “Los Vendidos” is noticeable due to the same idea behind biographical criticism; by knowing about an author’s life, the reader can understand the reason behind his or her themes. Just like the other hundreds of Latinos who were against the government’s actions towards them, Luis Valdez was included in that group. The way he describes each of the robots in the story depicts the different kinds of people the Latino race includes, meaning that not all of them are not worthy of having rights. He describes them to be hard working and dedicated people. This way, when the story is read and discussed amongst non-Latino audiences, they can have the change of mind that not all Latinos are the same and should be considered equal along with all other ethnicities.
In conclusion to my research, the different literary lenses that I chose helped me acquire knowledge about authors and their reasons for writing. For a long time I was lead to believe that stories were created from an author’s imagination. Now, I understand that there are almost always personal experiences, historical events, or other occurrences that lead to the reasoning behind an author’s motifs, themes, and characters. “Los Vendidos” by Luis Valdez caught my eye from the start. His use of satire and Latino background lead me to feel more interested in the story.
Works Cited
Bolt, Julie. "Teaching Los Actos of Luis Valdez." Radical Teacher 91 (2011): 71-73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Chávez Candelaria, Cordelia. "Latino Stereotypes." The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Clarke, Marlene B., and Arlene G. Clarke. "Los Vendidos." Retellings: A Thematic Literature Anthology. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 103-11. Print.
Diaz, Enrique Morales. "Teatro Campesino, El." Encyclopedia of Hispanic-American Literature. Luz Elena Ramirez. New York: Facts on File, 2008. 337-339. Facts on File Library of
American Literature: Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Literature. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2014.
Kanellos, Nicolás. "Actos." The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience. ABC- CLIO, 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Luis Valdez." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 399-400. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.