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      T he readings this week were closely related and vastly interesting pieces of information that I had not been exposed to before this week, much like Shaylih Muehlmann's experience in "A Narco without a Corrido Doesn't Exist". Although I spent most of my life in Houston,Texas where cultures often mingle and are admired by a very diverse population, I wondered why I had never been taught this subculture in class. My knowledge gained of narco-corridos felt akin to looking at an optical illusion image of an old woman and a young woman at the same time (you may be more familiar with the one that shows black and white vases). It was often more difficult for me to find the second image in the optical illusion until someone pointed it out to me. Sometimes by seeing the negative of an image, or what is left in the abstract space of it, we can learn more about the whole image itself. So now that I see what the United States has taught me about narco culture (or therefor l...

I found that "Cooking Lesson" by Rosario Castellanos demonstrated the dual wielding consciousness of the woman of her internal wants and what people expect from her. The main character in this poem is a married woman preparing a meal for when her husband returns. In between her fumbles at culinary prowess, she reminisces on stages of her marriage. The memories of her marital strife mirror the feeble attempt of preparing her dinner.  Her flower metaphors congeal cohesively to convey that the suffocating role of women as wives permeates every aspect of their lives, especially ones expected of traditional housewives. The craft of cooking is a cultural practice that requires discipline, attention, and time. The main character with her fantasies playing out of actions she wishes she could take as well as the fear surrounding being a failing wife distracts her from her meal just as it distracts her from her loss of autonomy. It makes sense that Rosario Castellanos would feel foreig...