Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture and Identity of Central Americans in Los Angeles By Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D The history, culture and practices of Central American immigrant children (Lavadenz, Central America are inadequately addressed in 1994; 1991). Further work allowed the author to teacher preparation and professional find that traumatic war zone experiences for development across the United States, and Central American children, such as being witness especially in California based on my analysis of to violence, increased the likelihood that they teacher preparation (http://www.ctc.ca.gov/html., would have difficulty concentrating. Students 2001). Information about the histories, cultures who formed the case studies for my research on and practices add to the linguistic and pedagogic war trauma also reported that they daydreamed knowledge-base of bilingual and non-bilingual about the family members they had left behind, teachers of Central American immigrant cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents who students. To this end, this article documents the were not as fortunate as they had been in coming experiences of Central American immigrant to the U. S. The author also found that Central families residing in the Los Angeles area and American immigrant students were more likely includes analyses from focus group data, to be referred to special education, despite the participant observations and interviews collected fact that they were not “low performing at the Central American Resource Center, students” in regard to academic achievement. CARECEN, and with Central American families Suárez-Orozco (1989) attributed the living in this area of Los Angeles. Selected “achievement motivation” of Central American folklore and writing by Central American youth immigrant students to their success in school. in the Los Angeles area are interspersed within He found that students felt an increased sense of this article. Implications for practice conclude responsibility and obligation in light of the fact this study. that they had been able to escape the horrific war and violence of their native countries while their My interest in Central Americans began relatives had not. over 15 years ago while I was a bilingual, first grade teacher in Glendale, California, a suburb of Despite the time that has elapsed since Los Angeles. The elementary school had a Suárez-Orozco’s (1989) work, there continues to reading “exchange” program, where students be little evidence that Central American were sent to different teachers in order to be experiences, history, culture and language have taught in the first language (Spanish or English). been attended to in public schools. Teachers During one of the report card preparation receive little to nothing in their initial teacher meetings for the first grade teachers, a colleague preparation programs and Central American asked “And how is Ruth doing, she’s such a students and families do not see themselves space cadet?” This derogatory comment seemed represented in the curriculum, nor are their to be a common label for certain children of “funds of knowledge” incorporated into the Central American ancestry in our school. Ruth, discourse of the classroom (Vélez-Ibáñez & the young girl in my classroom whom the Greenberg, 1992). teacher referred to as a “space cadet” was not a poor student; after the author observed her more Sociopolitical Background closely, it was evident that she had difficulty paying attention and completing her work on Three decades of political and economic time. turmoil in El Salvador and Guatemala have resulted in unprecedented immigration to the This curiosity also led the author to United States. According to the United States focus her master’s thesis and doctoral work on Census, there are 3,372,090 Central Americans 16 living in the United States, accounting for 7.6% Following independence from Spanish colonial of the Latino population (2006). The two largest rule, the United States engaged in economic, immigrant communities from Central America in political and military interventions in those Los Angeles County are from El Salvador and countries that resulted in incredibly divisive, Guatemala (356, 952 and 206,284, respectively). destructive and chaotic conditions. Despite Their combined numbers comprise 98.4% of all requests from international and US based human Los Angeles residents from Central America. rights groups, the US denied giving refugee Los Angeles, the setting for this study, has the status to Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants largest Salvadoran and Guatemalan population (as opposed to the political refugee status granted outside of those countries. The largest number to Cuban and Vietnamese immigrants), resulting of Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants to the in large waves of unauthorized immigration Los Angeles area arrived in the 1980’s, at the (Menjivar, 2002). height of the civil wars in both countries. Figure 1 The seven countries in Central America. Figure 1, the Map of Central America, identifies the region that was once known as the United Provinces of Central America, immediately following independence from Spain in 1821. Between 1821 and1839 five countries, excluding Panama and Belize, formed part of this union. El Salvador independence from Spain (Clements, 1984). The families maintained control over wealth, mostly “Guanacos”, as the people from El in the form of agricultural land for coffee Salvador are nicknamed, have experienced a production, and subsequently power, in the long history of political, social and economic nation from the 1860’s forward. A quasi-feudal revolutions.1 As the smallest country in Central state existed between the rich landowners and America, the country was controlled by a strong poor peasants, mostly comprised of indigenous oligarchy; fourteen families owned major land peoples, and/or mestizos, who worked the lands and agricultural concerns following continuously until the disastrous depression in 1928. A very brief period of indigenous and peasant uprisings culminated in La Matanza (the 1 Interestingly enough, the in-group nickname Guanacos is Massacre) of 1932. The Massacre, an event that now being used in derogatory ways in other Spanish- is engraved in the collective consciousness of speaking countries. The term is roughly equivalent to being Salvadorans to this day, resulted in the killing of called a “country bumpkin”. 17 over 30, 000 indigenous peoples and virtually Spanish in a bilingual classroom. In the case of reinstated the shared oligarchy-military rule in the latter, Spanish would be the second language, Central America, which lasted until recent times English the third, both of which have important (Menjívar, 2002) implications for language learning and teaching. Teachers need to be aware that the diversity The involvement of the Roman Catholic within the Mayan community is central to their Church in the 1970’s and 1980’s resulted in indigenous identity (for example, the term communication and political involvement of the ‘indio’ (Indian) is derogatory to Mayans, as it clergy and a rising awareness on the part of negates the nature of belonging to the Salvadorans. The Catholic clergy’s political and community of origin, listed here in order of human rights involvement, along with the predominance: Q’anjob’al (51%), Mam (16%), increasingly complex economic and military Chuj (16%), and Jakatek (7%) (Billings, 2000). intervention of the United States, resulted in one The shift from being Maya in Guatemala and to of the hemisphere’s most violent periods. being Guatemalan in the United States marks a transformation of language and identity for this In the ensuing civil chaos in El immigrant community. Salvador, it was not uncommon for Salvadorans to experience and/or have first-hand or family In 1996, following a thirty-six year encounters with violence. Torture, mutilation period of civil war, a peace agreement was and disappearances of any person suspected of signed by the Guatemalan government. The siding with either the pro-government or guerilla conflict was a result of similar economic, social revolutionaries were everyday occurrences. and political imbalance as in El Salvador. Entire villages were massacred by these death According to Menjívar (2002), social networks squads, resulting in migration through Mexico to and organizations formed by indigenous the United States. The twelve year cycle of communities were met with strong suppression terrorism left an indelible mark on the by the government. The Guatemalan Salvadoran community, both in El Salvador and government, with support from the American in the United States (Menjívar, 2002). Today, government, believed the indigenous uprisings Salvadoran exiles provide the main source of were leftist in ideology and reacted with an revenue for the country, in the form of intensely violent campaign. Guerilla warfare remittances sent to remaining family members. resulted in the destruction of hundreds of village, the displacement of between half a million and Guatemala one million people, and estimates of deaths exceeding in the hundreds of thousands. Anthropologist Loucky estimates that Because children were particularly vulnerable to there are over ten thousand Mayan Guatemalans kidnapping and induction into either the living in Los Angeles (2000). Guatemala has the government or guerilla armies during the civil largest indigenous population of Central war, the separation of Guatemalan families is America, primarily Mayan in origin. Billings much more