Moran 1

Michael Moran

Professor Shahrazad Encinias

CAS 115

20 October 2022

Transnationalism and Identity Issues of Central American Immigrants

In search of a better life for them and their children, Central American migrants come to

the United States with a number of challenges awaiting them. Culture shock, language barriers,

and undocumented statuses are a few of the many struggles Central American migrants face

upon arriving to the United States after leaving their lives in their motherlands behind. This

series of struggles is not one sided, though. Not only do immigrants themselves experience

challenges while navigating their way through their new lives in the United States, but so do

their U.S. born and raised children. Children of immigrants are navigating between multiple

identities and cultures. Some children of immigrants stay in tune with their heritage from a very

early age and grow up learning their mother tongue, while others are pushed away from their

culture, usually a decision made by their parents, as an effort to assimilate into American society.

Transnationalism, in simple terms, is the flow and exchange of ideas and policies that occurs

beyond more than one nation. Identity is what makes us who we are - they are the unique

characteristics that define us (ethnic background, social class, morals, etc). Central American

immigrants and their children face transnationalism and identity issues tied to the unique

struggles they face from sharing two diverse cultures with different lifestyles and sets of values.

In the memoir by Edgar Gomez, High Risk Homosexual, Gomez talks about his different

identities being a half-Nicaraguan, half-Puerto Rican gay man. The struggles with his identities

are each individually tackled with different examples in the text that provide examples of issues
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on transnationalism and the struggle of being a gay man in cultures dominated by machismo. For

many, being an immigrant or the child of immigrants comes with the responsibility and struggle

of preserving their culture while assimilating into American culture. Gomez experiences this

with the added burden of being a gay man in cultures full of machismo that exclude and shame

people like him. He is challenging machista behavior by being unapologetically himself.

For many immigrants, coming to the United States means drifting away from their culture

in order to assimilate into American culture. Immigrants and their children often suppress their

heritage. Many do this willingly in order to live an “American life” and blend into society in the

states. Some also do this out of fear of deportation or being seen as an outsider. In Expressions of

Maya Identity and Culture in Los Angeles, it states, “For instance, many Maya women are unable

to wear their traje in public out of fear of deportation. Furthermore, continuous discrimination

and marginalization within the Guatemalan community against indigenous people has caused

some to assimilate into the Latino population.” (Batz 45). This excerpt from the text indicates

that Maya women are afraid to wear their traditional, cultural clothing out of fear of being

deported and spotted as a potential illegal immigrant. Especially as an indigenous Maya, they

face further discrimination from the Guatemalan and Latino community for not knowing

Spanish. Some even use derogatory terms toward them like “indito” to label them as an “indian”

or indigenous person. This is an issue of transnationalism because it indicates the struggle that

new immigrants face, especially indigenous Maya, coming into the United States, having to

oftentimes keep their culture behind closed doors or stray away from it completely in order to fit

in with the larger demographic.

Additionally, in High Risk Homosexual, Gomez faces similar issues of suppression of his

identity by being ashamed of him being outly gay. He gives examples of this throughout the text
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including a chapter dedicated to “Straight Acting.” He wants to show his mother he can be gay

without changing who he is, but in reality he is just remaining in the closet and not being proud

of his identity. In the chapter “Straight Acting,” he states, “Even though people mostly left me

and Angel alone, boys like Drew, who wore a rainbow puka shell necklace everywhere, were

asking for it. You can be gay without being gay was more than a theory; it was a rule. No one

was shocked when Drew got jumped walking home from school one afternoon.” (Gomez 79).

This line from the chapter shows how he is not surprised the “out” gay from the school got

assaulted and harrassed after school. It just normalizes the discrimination that gay people face,

and this shows similarity with the discrimination undocumented immigrants feel when being

public about their culture or heritage.

Furthermore, another instance that shows the suppression of identity and culture that

Central American immigrants face is the invisibility of Central Americans. Due to the

overwhelming Mexican population in the United States, specifically Los Angeles, it is common

for Central Americans to feel underrepresented and ashamed of their culture being the odd man

out. In Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture and Identity of Central Americans in Los Angeles,

Marlon Morales speaks about his experience with telling a classmate in fourth grade about his

heritage when asked where he was from. “I was going to say Mexico, add, ‘but born here’ and

leave it at that. My mom said I’m supposed to say this all the time, even at the Union Avenue

Elementary School. Anything Salvadoran like pupusas, pacaya, flor de izote and Spanish was

always left at home, never in public.” (Lavadenz 23). In this piece of the text, Morales hesitates

to proudly speak on his culture given that his mother has told him to leave everything Salvadoran

at home. This includes his mother tongue, Spanish, his cultural foods, and everything that makes

up his ethnic background. He is told by his mother to say he is from Mexico but born in the
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United States, like many Chicanos in the area are. This is an example that shows the invisibility

of Central Americans and how immigrants and future generations suppress their heritage to fit in

with the larger demographic in their communities.

In an effort to fix malcriado behavior, or bad behavior, misbehaved children are often

sent to their home countries in order to fix behavior parents deem unfit or bad. In Alla en

Guatemala, it states, “Much of the research on the transnationalism of 1.5- and

second-generation Central-American children and youth focus on their being sent back to their

or their parents’ home countries because of their ‘misbehavior,’ participation in U.S. gangs, or

because of parental fears of such societal dangers.” (Ek 69). Immigrant children are often sent

back to their motherland as a way to fix their behavior. Oftentimes, parents believe bad behavior

is a result of their surrounding environment. Sending their children back to their home countries

is done as an effort to correct the way they are acting, almost similar to boot camp or going away

to live with an aunt over the summer.

In High Risk Homosexual, Gomez experiences this first-hand after having a prolonged

stay in Nicaragua after his mother leaves him in the country with his uncle and extended family

for a while longer. In “Malcriado,” he states, “Tío Alvaro said we were going to the gallera, his

cockfighting ring, this weekend, and Tío César told me he was sneaking me into a bar for some

‘boy time’ the next … I wanted to be left alone. I wanted my mom.” (Gomez 27). He does not

want to do these traditionally masculine things. He does not want to go to the cockfighting ring

and go to the bar to have “boy time” (which is obviously machista behavior). He wants to be at

home with his mom. And he is being kept in Nicaragua to experience this, probably with efforts

to correct his behavior of being gay. After his uncle attempts to peer pressure him into hooking

up with a girl from the bar, he begins to wonder why he is being so persistent. “The
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neighborhood watchman, paid fifteen bucks a month to roam the streets making noise so burglars

would know not to come here. I wondered if he did a good job scaring thieves, why my uncle

was so insistent on me having sex with this stranger, why he had to lock the door. Didn’t he trust

that I wanted this?” (Gomez 40). He recognizes his uncle is being a little too persistent with this.

It is almost like he is being forced to do this. He realizes his uncle is doing this in an effort to

correct the “gay” in him and make him straight. In the text, he also states, “It hit me: This wasn’t

just about me losing my virginity, which is what I’d guessed back at the bar. He knew. They

knew. I was meant to lose something else entirely.” (Gomez 40). This behavior rooted in toxic

masculinity is the uncle’s way of bonding with his nephew. It is flat out inappropriate, but there

is more to it. Gomez’s uncle was trying to fix his gay behavior by peer pressuring him into

having sex with a woman.

Immigrant children also face pressure to preserve their paternal culture, identity, and

values while figuring out an identity of their own. In Expressions of Maya Identity and Culture in

Los Angeles, it states, “Children of immigrants of all backgrounds are a growing population in

the United States who face difficulties in preserving their parental language, culture, identity, and

transnational ties to the home country. These challenges can be attributed to the educational

system, intergenerational conflicts, media, anti-immigrant environment, and poverty.” (Batz 45).

These values, especially the intergenerational conflicts and parental identity, are evidently seen

in High Risk Homosexual as Gomez details the struggle of acceptance he had to face with his

mother and step father coming to terms with his sexual orientation. While eavesdropping, he

hears a conversation between his step father and mother talking about their worries of him being

gay. “‘Put him in sports! Send him outside!’ he’d scream. ‘Or do you want him to end up a—’ ‘A

what?’ Mom would shriek back. ‘I know what I’m doing! He’s fine! You don’t know what it’s
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like for him without his—’ ‘So you’re going to let him run around like some—’ ‘He’s not. If he

were . . . I’ll deal with it!’” (Gomez 30). Immigrant parents, especially older generations, have a

difficult time finding acceptance or coming to terms with being gay. Many, if not most Hispanic

and Latino communities are deeply rooted in machismo. Machismo shuns and looks down upon

any man that does not fit their traditional manly values. Gay people especially are seen as

inferior and are the opposite of machistas, which becomes a problem for communities that uplift

toxic masculinity. After coming out to his mother and telling her he is gay and hearing her later

be upset with an aunt on the phone, he talks about his efforts in wanting to repay her with

showing he is still the same. In other words, he wants to show her that he is not going to fit the

traditional gay stereotype and will still act and portray as straight. “I got it in my head that I

could repay her for her acceptance by proving that my being gay didn’t mean I was going to

change. If she waited a little, I’d show her I was practically still straight. Within a week I hung

up a Miami Dolphins football calendar in my room, threw out all my rom-coms, packed my

flamboyant clothes into a suitcase and hid it under my bed.” (Gomez 98). In this moment,

Gomez probably experiences inner homophobia and thinks about what his mother will feel like

when he starts to portray more “gay.” He wants to show her he is the same boy she has raised,

but he realizes this is useless upon him coming out. He wants to preserve these paternal values

his mother and his culture has taught him, but he acknowledges that he is his own person and in

order to truly feel like himself he needs to proudly, unapologetically be free in his own skin.

Central American immigrants and their children face a number of setbacks tied to

transnationalism and identity. Many struggle to find a medium of blending in with American

culture while preserving their heritage, while others stray away from it completely due to

invisibility, discrimination, and assimilation. In High Risk Homosexual, Edgar Gomez details his
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life experiences growing up with a culture that excludes and shames people like him. His identity

as a gay man is something he learns to feel more comfortable in, similar to immigrants and Maya

preserving their culture instead of straying away from it. Children of immigrants living in

American society learn to navigate through a transnational world. Exploring multiple cultures

and identities can be burdensome for some who choose to leave their heritage behind, but others

find it essential and necessary to fully become who they are. Coming to terms with one’s identity

involves culture and heritage, so it is essential for all people to feel represented and comfortable

with their background and all the unique traits that make up who they are. Central American

immigrants face numerous transnationalism and identity issues with having history in two

different countries, but it is one’s own special journey to appreciate the culture they have in both.
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Works Cited

Batz, Giovanni. (2010). Expressions of Maya Identity and Culture in Los Angeles. Teresa Lozano

Long Institute of Latin American Studies. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from

https://canvas.csun.edu/courses/117238/files/18307184?module_item_id=5109488

Ek, Lucila D. (2009, April-May). Alla en Guatemala. The High School Journal. Retrieved

October 13, 2022, from

https://canvas.csun.edu/courses/117238/files/18307183?module_item_id=5109489

Gomez, Edgar. (2022, January 11). High Risk Homosexual. Soft Skull. Retrieved October 13,

2022, from https://books.apple.com/us/book/high-risk-homosexual/id1562607354

Lavadenz, Magaly. (2008). Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture and Identity of Central Americans

in Los Angeles. Loyola Marymount School of Education. Retrieved October 13, 2022,

from https://canvas.csun.edu/courses/117238/files/18235914?module_item_id=5070128