Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

314 reframing latin america
figure 17.3 Memo adjusts his Anglo look in Mi familia
Anglo fi ancée, Karen Gillespie, and her parents to meet the whole family
in East L.A.—their fi rst visit to the barrio though they are native to Los
Angeles—Memo ends up denying facts about the family’s history. When José
speaks of his great uncle El Californio being buried in the backyard, Memo
vehemently contradicts his father by complaining that those are simply old
family stories made up and nurtured by his father’s vivid imagination, while
using his tone of voice to implore his father to agree. In this way, Memo
becomes aligned with amnesiac U.S. history taught in the textbooks that he
furiously studied as a boy. This history dismisses any inconvenient versions
to maintain one that is official and untainted. His denials prompt the spectator
to condemn him not only as a traitor to his family but to all Chicanos.
Paco prefaces this scene with a telling voice-over narration that undermines
Memo’s success. Just before the visit from the in-laws, Jimmy’s refl ection in
his prison mirror is seen dissolving into Memo’s—as if Jimmy were looking
in the mirror and seeing Memo. While Memo smugly straightens his tie as
he leaves his office, Paco narrates that Jimmy is the true backbone of the
family. By carrying the family’s burdens, Jimmy has made it possible for