On Friday, in Spanish class, we listened to a sad song titled “Mojado” by Ricardo Arjona (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VikjLwZKy1Q&feature=fvsr).
Mojado is the word wet (you may recognize it from signs warning: Piso Mojado. However, we learned that it is also used to describe people attempting to cross the border into the US. There is a derogatory term in the US that also includes mojado, but on this side of the border (here in Oaxaca, for example), the word does not have the same negative connotation. In class, my nose pinched a little and my eyes were about to water at the thought of the awful words I have heard people (sometimes thoughtlessly, sometimes hatefully) call others, and then we studied the words to the song.
Controversial, this song address the challenges people face in the pursuit of the American Dream (or Myth).
We discussed the song stanza by stanza, and then we created a list of the benefits and challenges/dangers of crossing the border illegally. Then, we created a socio-drama to act out these challenges. In the highly improvised theater piece I played the mother of the son planning to go to the US and the employer of this son in the US. Each of my classmates played two parts. My husband was also my right-hand man on the job. My daughter was also the girlfriend of my son. It got very confusing at times.
As I am imagining losing a son, I think of a boy I saw riding an electronic horse outside of a market, how he threw his head back with joy, how hard it is to know what is best.
It is not surprising that as we are discussing the culture and challenges of Mexico — and Oaxaca in particular — we should be grappling with these issues. What is excellent is that our class is composed of: one Mexican, two Californians, one person from New Mexico, and two people from Sweden (who have a mother from Mexico), so we have a nice variety of ideas about borders and identity and culture. Still, there is no way to know what is best.
shewhodaresnothing 