Cloe Powell

Veronique Kaemermer

English 110

10/14/20

The Art of Fitting In

“Se Habla Espanol'' is a literary narrative by Tanya Maria Barrientos on her stumbling path to

fitting in. Barrientos starts her writing by telling us about her struggle to learn spanish, after

years of running away from spanish. She talks about how she has signed up many times to

learn spanish and everytime she said her last name people wondered why she, ​Guatemalen by

birth, Latina was signing up for her sixth time to learn spanish. Everytime she signed up she felt she had to

give an explanation, tell the teacher why she needed to learn spanish to fit in. When so many expected her to

already know spanish, Barrientos presents her story in a way that keeps readers intrigued, she gives a reason

for both sides. Why when she was younger she wanted to be far away from the “latina stereotype” she wanted

to be seen as more. Barrientos keeps readers paying attention by going to different times in her life, she

explains how her mother and father stopped speaking spanish to each other after they moved to America they

would speak nothing but “english”.

Barrientos also adds a lot of vivid and telling details, she elaborates on how her childhood brought her

to where she is. Whether good or bad, her parents had a big impact on her future. She shows both sides to the

story, how when she was younger she did not want to be known as “Mexican” or a “Latina” because people

would associate her with being poor. Also though, when she grew up she did not fit in with all the Latinas,

society had changed and her whole outlook on not wanting to be seen as a “poor Latina” was totally turned

around into just wanting to fit in. Barrientos uses many vivid and descriptive words in “ Se Habla Espanol”

She uses a spanish name to give a little insight on what her narrative is about. She uses little bits of spanish all
over her narrative, without a translation. This impacts the reader's whole take on the narrative before they start

reading.

She expresses how after she realized that she was an outsider just because of her non ethnic way of

speaking, people started putting up walls around themselves, She would be asked a question in spanish and she

would have to answer in english, that divided herself from the rest of the Latinas she knew. The Narrative was

so wonderfully written Barrientos used the key features of a literacy narrative very well, her writing is very

eye-catching and makes it where the reader does not want to stop. Barrientos uses both sides of her story to

put yourself in her shoes. She makes you think of what you do or do not do that could put you in the same

position. She uses her experiences to make you think about your life in telling you about her struggles with

fitting in, she also makes you take a step back from her story to apply it to your life

In the middle of her story, she tells the reader about how she and her brothers first day of elementary

school. The first day she went to that school people were not the most cordial towards her brother and her, the

register said “your children are already behind and you have the nerve to bring them in late?” and her mother

answered “my children will be at the top of their classes in two weeks.” That one statement by her mother

“my children will be at the top of their classes in two weeks.” Her mother showed confidence in her children,

she did not agree with the register. She showed that there was something more to her children then the rare

occasion that they are late.

In the final part of her story, she is now an adult and things have changed. She is no longer the

teenage girl trying to escape her Latina language. She is running after it, after she spent all those years trying to

get away from the Latina family “stereotype” she has found she is not only very far away from the family but

she is an outsider among everyone. She spent all those years avoiding the language her parents spoke, avoiding
the language that was expected of her. To realize many years later that not only us she missing her way into the

Latina community. Not only did she separate herself from the Latina community she did not have another

group.

In her final paragraph of “Se Habla Espanol,” she says that maybe they're just like her, and this adds a

lot of definition to her last paragraph. She used a key factor and related to the reader. Her last paragraph tied

her whole narrative together. Throughout her whole story she always came back to the fact that she was born

Guatemalan, she reminded her reader every paragraph why it was such a strange thing for her not to know

spanish.

In her last paragraph she says “I wish we all had the courage to come out of our hiding places and claim our

rightful spot in the broad latino aspect, without being called hopeless gringas without having to offer apologies

or show remorse. If it helps I will go first, Aqui estoy spanish challenged and pura latina.

Right there her ending paragraph made this narrative, she showed that she not only was a pure Latina she was

proud of it. She did not show remorse at the end for not knowing it. Her narrative was very well done, and it

was a very good story.