Rebirth: Mexican Los Angeles from the Great Migration to the Great Depression

 

Douglas Monroy’s Rebirth: Mexican Los Angeles from the Great Migration to the Great Depression is an extremely important book when it comes to study of the history of Los Angeles, especially concerning Mexicans in the area. It provides a clearer understanding of the experiences that Mexicans had in the twentieth century in rich and diverse ways that humanizes the experiences that these individuals had in the city of Los Angeles. It provides a means through which to show the reader the diversity of opinions concerning the various issues and day to day life that Mexicans had to experience in an environment where they were both at home while at the same time not being fully accepted as part of society. Under such circumstances, it becomes possible to draw a clearer picture of the different experiences that Mexicans had based on the cultural, political, and economic contexts of the time to show that the Mexican experience in Los Angeles is an essential aspect of the story that forms the identity of the United States today.

One of the most important aspects of this book is that it examines the way that Mexicans were essentially marginalized labor in the city. It shows that there were attempts aimed at making sure that there was the Americanization of Mexicans in the city through the development of programs that sought to bring about greater control over them. The various industries in which Mexican laborers worked sought to exert control over these individuals to ensure that they were not only forced to give up their own cultural identity, but also conform to the type of labor provision roles that American workers had conformed to. Monroy also shows that the process of coming to America and settling down in Los Angeles significantly changed the culture of Mexicans because they ended up forming a synthetic culture that essentially made these individuals practice a synthesis of Mexican and American culture. Furthermore, he shows the way that the children of Mexicans tended to become different from their parents through their delving into American popular culture.

The significant marginalization that Mexicans faced outside their homes made their homes a refuge. This is because it was a place where they felt safe in the presence of their families. However, Monroy discusses the way that the home could be a place of generational conflict, with Mexican parents often believing that their children had changed and become so different from them. This new generation of Mexican Americans sought to adapt to the best of both sides of their heritage in such a way that promoted their new identity. Furthermore, Monroy discusses the way that Mexicans in Los Angeles fought against their marginalization through their mobilization as workers. Furthermore, they sought to ensure that they created their own spaces that created a sense of home, or el Mexico de Afuera. Thus, while these individuals may have lived in Los Angeles, their continued marginalization ensured that they ended up reaffirming their nationalist ties to Mexico.

In the writing of this book, Monroy uses a blend of cultural studies and historical methodology. A consequence of this situation is that there is the use of a diversity of sources in order to develop an understanding of the Mexican experience in Los Angeles. In some chapters of the book, Monroy writes in a way that remains very close to his sources so that he is able to develop his narrative from the bottom to the top. The use of this method is critically important because it ensures that future scholars on the same subject can make use of the foundations created to further their own studies. This method can be seen in discussions concerning the position that Mexicans occupied in the secondary labor market, the generational conflicts, as well as the responses that they had towards efforts towards their Americanization.

Moreover, Monroy is able to ensure that there is the advancement of a situation where he promotes his credentials as a cultural historian. This is seen through the way that he juxtaposes different events with one another in order to enhance the arguments that he is making. An example of such a situation is where there was the promotion of the idea that the city of Los Angeles was one where individuals within ended up burning their cultural roots. This new image often failed to consider the often discriminatory and brutal past of California, such as the genocide of Native Americans in the area as well as the wrong impression that Mexicans were only recent arrivals in the United States. This significant failure on the part of the elite of the city is addressed by Monroy in such a way that enhances the need for a more critical study of the history of Los Angeles and the state of California as a whole.

Monroy’s use of juxtaposition can be seen through his analysis of two events, The Railroad Worker’s strike, and Fiesta Days. He shows that the Fiesta Days were used in order to promote a romanticized version of the history of Los Angeles through the use of parades, and decorations. However, before this event, the railroad construction workers went on strike because they demanded to have a living wage, which their employers denied them. The responses to these demands showed the manner through which Mexicans were disenfranchised. The juxtaposition that is used by Monroy shows the manner through which ethnicity or ethnic identity could play an extremely central role in the projection of the image of Los Angeles while at the same time being used as a means of relegating ethnic communities to the periphery.

In his discussion of the diverse processes of ethnic formation, Monroy seeks to show the way that Mexicans ended up becoming Mexican American. This was a process that involved coming to terms with what it meant to be Mexican. Prior to coming to the United States, Mexicans tended to identify with their respective regions in Mexico. However, once they had immigrated, all this changed because in the United States, it did not matter what region one came from. Instead, these individuals had to learn to transcend their regional identity and adopt a national one. This is exemplified in sport, where Mexican-Americans tended to identify with Mexican boxers, and this enabled them to ensure that they developed a national identity that transcended their regional ones (Monroy, 1999, p. 59). Therefore, the formation of national identity started at such every day levels as sports, where Mexicans only played in teams that emphasized their national identity as Mexicans rather than the regions in Mexico from which they originated.

In the process of painting a picture concerning Mexican Los Angeles, Monroy is able to put together the use of historical analysis and cultural theory. An example of this situation is in the instances where he seeks to discuss the generational conflicts that occurred because of acculturation. He shows that a considerable number of migrant families had to cope with a diversity of changes in their lives, including their marginalization in the workplace. Furthermore, he seeks to show the way that immigrant Mexican families ended up being weakened through the emphasis of individualized labor, which would replace family labor. The disconnection between family and labor in the new environment essentially delegitimized patriarchal authority in such a way that the younger generation felt free to be able to make its own decisions. Therefore, Monroy seeks to make sure that there is the advancement of an understanding of the manner through which Mexican families ended up changing in such a way that there was generational conflict through an analysis of the extensive documentation concerning the experiences of younger Mexicans in Los Angeles.

Monroy uses a unique approach in making sure that there is the development of the various subjects that he discusses in the book. His approach is one that ensures that there is the provision for a diversity of historical interpretations concerning the history of Los Angeles and the Mexican role in it. It further ensures that there is a rich narrative that makes it possible for new directions for scholars to understand and enhance their understanding of the early twentieth century and the manner through which Los Angeles was made richer because of its Mexican history.