A Journey Around Our America: A Memoir on Cycling, Immigration, and the Latinoization of the U.S.

235 Pages·2012·28.285 MB·English

by  Louis G. Mendoza

a journey around our america
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louis g. mendoza
a journey around
our america
A Memoir on Cycling, Immigration,
and the Latinoization of the U.S.
University of Texas Press Austin
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Copyright © 2012 by University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2012
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713– 7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
○∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48– 1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Mendoza, Louis Gerard, 1960–
A journey around our America : a memoir on cycling, immigration, and the
Latinoization of the U.S. / by Louis G. Mendoza.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(The William and Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and
culture of the Western Hemisphere)
isbn 978-0-292-74208-6 (cloth : alk. paper)—isbn 978-0-292-74387-8
(paper : alk. paper)
1. Hispanic Americans—Social life and customs. 2. Immigrants—United
States—Social life and customs. 3. United States—Civilization—Hispanic
infl uences. 4. Social change—United States. 5. Mendoza, Louis Gerard,
1960– —Travel—United States. 6. Cycling—United States. 7. United
States—Description and travel. 8. United States—Social life and customs—
1971– 9. United States—Emigration and immigration—Social aspects.
10. Latin America—Emigration and immigration—Social aspects. I. Title.
e184.s75m454 2012
973—dc23 2012020601
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To “dreamers” across the nation who actively and courageously seek full
inclusion as part of “our” America
To Marianne Bueno for her extra-diligent friendship and support while
I was on this trip, most especially for being there when I needed help or
to hear a friendly voice
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people travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination,
the kind of people they ignore at home.
Dagobert D. Runes
travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
Mark Twain
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contents
acknowledgments ix
introduction 1
part one 13
preparation
part two 37
the start of a journey: ready, set, go!
part three 95
redeparture: from the heartland to the new south
part four 161
redefining the borderlands: uncharted waters
in familiar territory
epilogue 211
notes 217
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acknowledgments
This project would not have been possible without the support of
the University of Minnesota’s faculty sabbatical program. Additional assis-
tance was received from the College of Liberal Arts, the Offi ce for Equity
and Diversity under the leadership of Vice President and Vice Provost Rusty
Barceló, the Department of Chicano Studies, and a McKnight Foundation
Summer Research Grant.
Edén Torres, Edna Day, Lisa Sass Zaragoza, Miguel Vargas, and Jen-
nifer Nevitt of the Department of Chicano Studies provided much-needed
logistical support along the way. My beloved parents (Joe and Mary Men-
doza) and siblings (Rosemary, Mary Ann, Robert, Beatrice, Margie, Cyn-
thia, and Gilda) as well as their spouses and my nieces and nephews pro-
vided support, encouragement, and faith in me. Many of my dear friends
provided me with lodging and/or emotional nourishment along the way.
Among these are Marianne Bueno, Ben Olguín, Sandy Soto, Miranda Jo-
seph, Sherry Edwards, Jennifer Caron, Emiliano Compean, Omar Valerio
and Cathy Komisaruk, Yolanda Chávez Leyva, Verónica Carbajal, Ralph Ro-
dríguez, Luis Marentes and his wife, Negar, and their children, Kasra and
Katayoun, Sheila Contereas and Salah Hassan and their daughters, Paz and
Noor, Rita Alcalá and Raúl Villa and their son, Joseph, Tamara Belknap,
Kisa Takesue, Brent Beltrán, Consuelo Manríquez, Antonio Díaz and Beth
Ching and their son, Antonito, Cristal Casares, Kelly O’Brien, and George
O’Brien.
Even after I returned from my travels and completed writing the man-
uscripts for this project, it has continued to live in numerous ways. A spe-
cial thanks to the many people who have provided me with opportunities to
speak about this project at academic conferences, universities, K– 12 schools,
and community settings.
At the University of Texas Press, editor-in-chief Theresa May and her
staff deserve thanks for their skillful guidance in preparing the manuscript
for publication. Research assistants Naomi Ko and Fartun Abdi assisted me
with preparing photos and obtaining permissions.
Finally, it must be said that above all other types of support, this proj-
ect absolutely depended upon the willingness of strangers to meet with me
and trust me with their stories. Likewise, there were many, many people
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