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Chapter 3: Blending In
- The University of Alabama Press
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chapter 3 BLENDING IN 46 we were supposed to hold on to our argentine identity. and someday, resume our lives in buenos aires, back in the bosom of extended family, we weren’t meant to put down roots in alabama. back to the barrios, [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 47 back to the life a girl in argentina would’ve followed, starting with la escuela primaria, then the liceo for young ladies, next university, and then... it’s a blank, the latent image forever hidden. and although for some years mama and daddy would say, “when we go back,” it never happened. we stayed in the U.S. and lived a different life. ? 48 it will rot your teeth. it will rot your tongue. it will rot your mind. my parents took a hard line against the undesirable ways of our new culture. [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 49 we were supposed to be in america but not of america. we must be dreaming! and I learned how to sneak. for instance, my brother and i flipped for batman, which we watched at a neighbor’s. my father never caught on. truth is, there were compromises. 50 after my mother taught me to read in spanish, i devoured the magazines for kids sent from argentina by our aunts. I had little use for the english-speaking world in those days. and to think: i started off an innocent. but soon... the realities of first grade threw me straight into it. in fact, it scared me. [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 51 as I resisted my native tongue, it began to recede into dusty corners. ha ha ha I can’t explain how, but it seems as if comprehension came to me all at once. now, blending in was possible. Lila, can you say something in spanish for us? Yeah, it sounds funny! no, I don’t speak spanish strange. I thought you did. english! 52 but my parents felt no such hesitation. They kept speaking spanish at home and in public, *translation: very nice tomatoes. let’s see what else we need. milk, eggs, oil. honey and oatmeal. as if it were the most normal thing—which in marion, it was not. ? Miel y avena. MUY LINDOS ToMaTeS.* á a ver que mas nos falta: leche, huevos, aceite. [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 53 *and where is your brother? á á Lila, y donde esta tu hermano?*¿ why can’t they at least lower their voices? 54 Mama baked french bread, knitted sweaters, and prepared gastronomic delights like ravioli. at home, where I didn’t care what language was spoken, creativity flourished. she also painted portraits for clients all over alabama and points beyond. * what a delicious smell! supper’s ready! coming! nelly, you did a great job. it looks just like her! Que rico olor! * ! [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 55 I often lost myself in making art. Mama passed these lessons on to us, her children. for this, I owed much to my grandfather, who taught his daughters the rigors of draftsmanship. girls, observe the proportions of the face. 56 and the face isn’t composed of flat shapes. instead, every plane, every feature, is a fully dimensional structure whose appearance varies depending on the angle of view. and the only way to draw it correctly is to look— really look. you always began with an idealized face. as you progressed, new concepts were introduced: the lesson Real faces don’t obey those rules. They vary like crazy! eh? that’s not me. [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 57 as you learned to look— really look—you began to see the wishful thinking behind that formula. Lissy and I were nowhere near relinquishing those ideals when we laid eyes on the ravishing elke sommer, a screen star of the 1960s. the rule of thumb: eight head lengths from top to toe. the lesson continued with proportions of the human body. wow! she’s gorgeous! 58 we persuaded mama to draw a paper doll for us based on elke. we drew and colored her glamorous wardrobe. á á we gave her chanel for the champselysees . [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:22 GMT) 59 something warm and cozy...