Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. [Vol. 3.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 23)

STUDIES - András Tarnóc: Ethnic Consciousness in Chicano Literature: The Voice of "La Raza".

pre-Americanism with a Euro-Western worldview (Shirley and Shirley 15). Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzalez's "Yo Soy Joaquin" (1967) became the flagship poem of the Chicano movement. Gonzalez, founder of Crusade for Justice, a Denver-based organization, wrote this poem in 1967 to promote Chicano consciousness and political activity. According to the author his purpose was to demonstrate "the psychological wounds, cultural genocide, social castration, nobility, courage, determination and the fortitude to move on to make new history for an ancient people dancing on a modern stage" (Pérez—Torres 70). The title character, symbolizes the Chicano caught up in the whirlwind of history. The poem is a call to arms for the Chicano movement. Joaqúin, integrated into American history due to his valiant conduct in U.S. wars, not only stands for the demonstration of ethnic pride, and of the maintenance of historic roots: "I am Cuahtemoc. Proud and noble leader of men," but attempts to fight the prevailing stereotypes of Mexican-Americans through the imposition of Aztec and Mayan heroes and demigods in place of the "docile, indolent Mexican." The poem is an apt manifestation of Chicano consciousness as Joaqúin becomes Anaya's New World Person, an individual emphasizing community needs, radiating ethnic pride, and demanding cultural empowerment. "Yo Soy Joaqúin" bears a resemblance to literary works produced during the Harlem Renaissance. Gonzalez's work corresponds with Langston Hughes' "Negro" as both poems start with a heartfelt demonstration of ethnic pride, followed by examples of the group's heroic and turbulent past with the African-American appearing as a slave, worker, and a victim of colonialism and the MexicanAmerican emerging as an agricultural laborer, a former tyrant, and slave. Chicano Renaissance or El Movimiento poetry displays three main figures: the "migrant worker," the pachuco, and the pinto. The "migrant worker," a personal manifestation of liminality is present in Abelardo Delgado's "el immigrante." Being exposed to economic and political forces beyond his control, the migrant represents territorial 74