Latinos in the U.S.: insurmountable cultural, social and language barriers?

Abstract

This paper aims to study literary production of Latino/a writers in the U.S., mainly insofar as their texts present a profound feeling of apparently insurmountable barriers in the daily life of Latino immigrants. Through the analyses of texts by Julia Alvarez, Pedro Pietri, Pat Mora, Gloria Anzaldua, and Gustavo Perez-Firmat, cultural, social and language barriers are examined in order to show that they are the main factors keeping this group in hazardous conditions of living, depending on the welfare state. The writings of these voices which have a history of being silenced departure from the notion of breaking up with stereotypes and prejudice which bear no relation to the social behavior and work force of these immigrants into the United States.