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".

While the literary image of the "migrant" emphasizes his humanity, and integration into nature, the prisoner is separated from nature desperately struggling to preserve his human dignity. The "migrant" symbolizes economic deterritorialization, the pinto stands for social alienation, and the pachuco functions as a cultural rebel. The figure of the pachuco sporting a specific hairstyle, clad in distinctive oversized suits and flamboyant hats, reflects cultural separation. The very name, a calo designation of El Paso, anticipates a special jargon not accessible to Anglo-Americans. The debate over the origin of the term anticipates the role of Chicano culture as a bridge between numerous cultures. "Pachuco" can be interpreted as a Nahuatl (Aztec) expression for the residence of a chief, and a Spanish term indicating something being overripe (Pérez—Torres 288). The first version emphasizes the movement's historical links, a sort of invocation of "mythic memory," and being overripe could refer to the patterns of cultural dispossession and economic segregation prompting the outbreak of the movement. The physical appearance is a rebellion against mainstream America's organized social order, the criminal activity, as the pachuco is the loosely defined equivalent of Anglo-American juvenile delinquents, represents the rejection of the mores of the dominant society. However, of greatest importance is his cultural stance as "the pachuco movement was one of the few truly separatist movements in American history" (Pérez—Torres 124). While the "migrant" emerges from south of the border, and the pinto derives his existence from the violence of the border, the pachuco is the product of the barrio, a manifestation of cultural, economic, and physical ghettoization within the border. The pachuco rebels against cultural dispossession by fashioning a style of apparel, a language, and a search for linkage with Mexican-American history. He is the forerunner of Chicano consciousness as he "does not want to become a Mexican again, at the same time he doesn't want to blend into the life of North America either. His whole being is sheer negative impulse, a tangle of contradictions, an enigma" (Shirley and Shirley 86). 77