28 thoughts on “Asynchronous Assignment on the Latinx Visions Podcast’s Interview with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio”

1. From the podcast it is clear how much Villavicenio genuinely cares about the stories and people she writes about; her tone throughout the podcast matches that of the chapter “Staten Island.” In the introduction Villavicenio reads, her tone—the cursing and the bluntness—parallels the tone of the chapter and shows the motivation behind why she is telling these stories. In the podcast, she emphasizes that undocumented people are more than laborers, more than bodies used for work without names or faces. She talks about how she wanted to be someone the people she writes about could trust by not recording them, which is something we see in the novel as well; she goes out to eat with them, she has conversations with them, and makes them feel less lonely. She made it her goal to ensure her “subjects’” tone was conveyed in her translations, making sure their stories are told the way they want them to be told. I really like when she says that she “Didnt write it for you to like it” because it shows that her work is not meant to sugarcoat undocumented experiences; she doesn’t want to tell you the stories you’ve already heard about the ones who make it, the ones who achieved the American Dream. And this is also visible in her the chapter we read. Villavicencio wanted to learn more about them as people—not workers, not heroes, not dreamers—just people. She also says, “People have dreams and most people dont get to achieve their dreams,” which is another thing that is emphasized throughout the chapter we read; she writes about people who have not achieved their dreams, and may never.

   1. Hello Brianna i agree that Villavicenio tone matches that of that book. It was nice to know that Villavicenio didn’t just interview the immigrants that she wrote about but she created a bond and a friendship with the interviewees and like you said she treated them like people and not just another biography in her book. She also spoke about how the older woman she interviewed didn’t allow her to cook and Villavicenio said that it might of been because she talked only about her dog. In my family usually when we have a guest over it’s a sign of welcoming the guest with the host cooking and the guest only worrying about eating!

   2. Hi Brianna, I agree with your point in stating that Karla Cornejo Villavicencio genuinely cares about the stories and the people she writes about. In the podcast I remember her saying that the writing she makes is not meant to appease anyone. In her saying that there is truth in that because when you try to appease the reader in this context, you will try to end the story with an end of achievement or something that is a result of hard work. Rather what Villavicencio is demonstrating is that the hard work still isn’t over for a bigger portion of undocumented immigrants and they are still working under harsh conditions to make the bare minimum in this country. She does not want to mention the experiences of those under DACA because she feels that those under DACA won’t share the same experience as those who are working as delivery personnel or those who are working in construction. As she continues to mention, as Brianna also quotes is not to sugarcoat anything which I agree with as well. In doing so not only it will show a portion of undocumented immigrants that is not talked about which is the aspect of those will most likely work thier entire lives with little to no reward and though it is not talked about enough should definitely recieve mention as it is just as important to note.

   3. Hello Brianna, I like your point about how blunt and to the point Villavicenio can be in her writing. Her effectiveness is important because when telling her story it’s important to pay attention to the demeanor of how one tells their story. I think her parents leaving her at such a young age plays a part in how she carries herself or how she feels about New York in general. I get the sense that in this story she feels like an outsider who is welcomed but she feels this way to a degree. She acknowledges that not all of New York is necessarily the same with people in some boroughs being more diverse, she speaks on Staten Island and how they aren’t really too accepting on other culture. Hate crimes ran rampant and we had a president who was not a help. I think her tone and nature is normal for someone who has had such a life.

   4. Hi there Brianna,
      I completely agree with your comment, I think so too. Villavicenio’s care for the day workers and undocumented people she meets is rather sweet and fulfilling yet also heartbreaking to hear. She knows they have seen the many stories people have recorded of their lives and their work, and the interpretations of their stories have many times been told, whether intentionally or not, through the perspective- or rather the opinion of the one who documented what they told. They haven’t been painted well or right, labeled as “workers” as if that’s the only good they are, or worse, frequently framed as offenders, either way, taking away their humanity so that they could be more palatable to the audience that doesn’t particularly care or know enough about them. Villavicenio was aware of all of this, and so she didn’t approach them with only her intent for her book, she wanted to reach to them first as People, just like you said, she didn’t appear with notebooks or voice recorders, nothing technical nor an all-mighty nosey presence to create a barrier between them. She talked to them, with all sincerity, and made true friends with them as she got to know them. She didn’t care if people liked what she wrote or not, she documented them as they were.

2. OPTION ONE:
   My overall response to the episode is that it is very eye opening since it gives insight into not just her book, but insight into the lives of “undocumented workers” like the fact that they struggle for the American dream but are still unable to achieve it, the fact that kids get separated from their parents causing trauma, and many others. I like that this author had a platform to actually speak on her experience with the “undocumented workers” which helped her write the chapter. This interview complements the chapter I read since it shows how she got the information for her chapter—by talking, translating, and working with a lot of these people. She explains in the interview for her writing that she was told to write what has not been written before—instead of showing the achievements of hard work, she instead decides to showcase the hard work itself, which she explains in the interview. The part in the interview where she says that someone needs to pay her for the American dream and will do it for the New Yorker, which complements the chapter since the chapter is the opposite is shows the American “un-dream”, dealing with language barrier, discrimination, etc.

   1. Hi Mohammed, I agree that this podcast episode was very interesting to watch. I also, found it interesting on how Carmen Maria Machado expresses on she pours the experiences with these workers who are undocumented as she interviewed them.I also love how she uses horror factors like the Silent Hill game franchise to come up with ideas that would guide her in creating her stories as a writer who is influenced by horror stories and urban myths/legends.I also agree with your point that her interviews with the workers compliments the chapter as, it makes the chapters relatable to immigrants who went through their struggles because there are or were undocumented.I like how she spoke of her experience in Cuba where, her family originate from and how she thought that she have passed through a gay club. I felt that part of her trip was a keypoint of her trip because it could suggest that there are Cubans who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community but perhaps have not fully come out to express it as it was known to be frowned upon.I found that interesting because queerness in the Latin X community I feel isn’t fully talked about like how queerness is talked about in the United States.

   2. Hello, Mohammed. I agree that the podcast episode was very insightful. It was interesting to listen to Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s idea of the American “un-dream” for undocumented workers because of how it opposes the narrative of the American Dreamer, an immigrant that creates a better life for themselves by doing things “the right way.” I think this connects to a passage from “Staten Island” in The Undocumented Americans because Karla Cornejo Villavicencio discusses the crimes of the U.S. government against immigrants and connects them to the meaning of the American Dream. “I felt crazy for thinking we were under attack, watching my neighbors disappear and then going to school and watching the nightly news and watching award shows and seeing no mention. I felt crazy watching the white supremacist state slowly kill my father and break my family apart. I would frantically tell everyone that there was no such thing as the American Dream but then some all-star immigrants around me who had done things ‘the right way’ preached a different story and Americans ate that up.” (52). Karla Cornejo Villavicencio reflects on her traumatic experiences when she was growing up due to white supremacism. AmeriKKKa uses the American Dream as a form of brainwashing to justify its threats and crimes against immigrants in order to uphold white supremacism, and to destroy immigrant families and identities.

   3. Mohammed,
      I admire how your able to analyze the hardships that many undocumented workers have and still go through till this present moment. As we see throughout the book, we not only witness the perspectives of what undocumented individuals endured, however, how raw it’s illustrated through emotion and the feeling of struggle. Further, I like how you made the connection between the interview and chapter section where the author dives a little deeper into the meaning of an “American Dream”. I feel that my takeaway from that is really just the discrepancies that the author sees in the real world. More emphasis on the reality of the American Dream, the unfairness, and mistreatment that undocumented people have to struggle through to live an American Dream that is only just corrupted. Awesome response!

   4. Hello Mohammed,

      I completely agree with you that this episode on the podcast is eye opening. Not only are we getting insight on the chapter, like you said but we also receive insight directly on undocumented workers. I would also like to add that we received insight on the perspectives of the external people interviewing Karla Cornejo Villavicencio on the “American Dream”. That is also when she taps into discussing the older undocumented people and what they wanted to achieve and couldn’t. Another very insightful commentary that she brings up during the episode is the difference between the two gyrations of immigrant parents and children of immigrants. It was important how she discussed how the older generation still thinks that the dream is possible to achieve through b their children. She also touches base on socioeconomic mobility and how difficult it is for those living under the “Nightmares” along with expressing the contribution of Dreamers to upholding the “American Dream” Expectations.

3. I think it very interesting that Villavicencio incorporated the universal experience many children of immigrants experience which is growing up translating for their parents. She mentions how she incorporated this experience during the process of this book by translating what was said by the interviewee on the spot which I think adds to the overall tone of showing this rawness and brutal reality of the life of undocumented workers. Villavicencio goes on to mention how she feels about the American Dream, she says that “you have to keep believing in the American Dream otherwise the whole thing falls apart.” Those who make it have to prophetize this romanticized version of the American Dream where we only hear success stories of people’s hard work paying off like in Dan-el Padilla Peralta’s “Undocumented”. But the harsh reality is that not everybody gets “lucky”, some will spend their whole lives working hard and not ‘make it’ in America— many don’t get the chance to achieve their dreams. Villavicencio’s work brings light to the disadvantages many undocumented people experience like language barriers, discrimination, lack of knowledge/resources, finances, etc. Her works also show how undocumented people are more than just their labor, they’re real people with stories and dreams.

   1. Hi Jessica, I also find it very interesting that Villavicencio incorporated the experiences that many children of immigrants because in a way we all share something in common. While reading the chapter “Staten Island” and listening to the podcasts episode you notice just like you mention her rawness and I like it like that because she tells it how it is. She is straight up. It’s interesting that you mention Dan-el Padilla Peralta’s book because not every immigrant’s life story is successful. A lot of immigrant’s story are filled with brokenness, loneliness as well as being such a hardworker to provide for their families back in their home country. Overall, Villavicencio opens a different perspective to the readers and therefore sheds lights to those immigrant stories that are not often talked about or seem as not important to others. But in a way children of immigrants can also relate to this story because they see everything firsthand. They notice the discrimination, the language barrier that an immigrant has and the lack of resources. They notice it all.

   2. Hi Jessica!

      Similarly I found very interesting the way in which she describes being an immigrant, because like you said, she paints the picture not many talk about. She tells things as they are, and that is that a sadly not all immigrants achieve the “American Dream.” Having her tell things in a very blunt way is like you said, what makes her work stand out. I personally loved that she humanizes immigrants, for so many people unless they have come across someone who is an immigrant and gotten to know them, they don’t know the extent of the struggles they face. Villavicencio paints the true picture of what being an immigrant really is, the picture that most people avoid showing. Like in “Undocumented” by Dan-el Padilla; even though, he showcases the struggles of being an immigrant, not many immigrants have the support that he had in advancing his studies. Most immigrants have to find any job that they can to support them, and if they are younger, they have no choice but to give up on learning and work. Villavicencio shows us a part that is often left from the media, as we always hear the stories of the immigrants that made it, barely ever do we hear about the immigrants that are struggling.

   3. Jessica, I chose to reply to your post as you brought up a lot of the points that interested me as well. To start, the idea of the American Dream is something that comes up often in both the reading and the podcast. Villavicencio brings up how the American Dream, though universally understood, is actually rare to come by. Many families have to deal with certain societal, economic, and emotional hardships for decades and never achieve the exact image of what they imagined their hard work would come to. I like how the podcast offered a sense of community by bringing up shared immigrant experiences. Like you mentioned, translating for family members is one of the many things children and grandchildren of immigrants have to do. Overall, both works are giving latinx people and the rest of the country an accurate depiction of what immigrant life is like, yet more information needs to be shared.

   4. Hi Jessica, I can agree with the idea that you mentioned about some people not getting “lucky” when they come to the U.S for a better life. It’s sometimes a hit or miss because not everything is guaranteed. The way some employers are and how they treat workers when they find out their immigrant status also plays a role into this. Immigrants are always getting the scraps and treated the worse. It’s upsetting because they’re still human and they shouldn’t be treated any differently especially when they’re willing to work much harder then an American. Villavicencio’s experience on translating is also very relatable because I grew up reading legal documents for my family or going with them to their appointments, etc. Your views on not all immigrants not getting to experience the “American Dream” is also important because once you come to the U.S and see the work you have to put in, the only way to fulfill that American dream is to keep pushing for it.

4. Listening to this podcast made me reflect more on a point made in class regarding the relationship between Villavicencio’s work and Dan-El Padilla Peralta’s “Undocumented.” I think Peralta’s novel itself aligns with Villavicencio’s central goal of carving out a platform for the stories of ordinary undocumented Americans who are silenced. The first chapters of Peralta’s memoir give a candid look into the dilemma many undocumented Americans and, more generally, immigrant families face. Peralta’s family having well-paying jobs and eventually dividing once his father chooses to return to the Dominican Republic doesn’t align with the mainstream narrative surrounding immigration that Americans want and are conditioned to hear.
   Where Peralta’s memoir clashes with Villavicencio’s is in its reception from American audiences, who have canonized stories like Peralta’s into that of “dreamers,” which Villavicencio points out comes with dangerous connotations for undocumented Americans as a whole. The categorization of some undocumented Americans as “dreamers,” deeming them of being worthy of citizenship and acceptance and others as “parasites,” creates this unjust binary among all undocumented Americans. Villavicencio’s book attempts to subvert the canonization of these stories and tell the genuine, original stories of undocumented Americans outside the mainstream narrative, which serves to silence the ordinary lives and struggles she hopes to amplify.

   1. Hi Gabriel, I agree with your viewpoints toward this podcast. I found it interesting where Peralta’s memoir clashed with Villavicencio’s and how it was in its reception from american audience. It can be seen that these undocumented americans are being categorized because of where they came from and I find that extremely unjust. Additionally, the narrative that these individuals are being put under creates many concerns for immigrants and undocumented americans living in America.

   2. Gabriel,

      Your analysis of Villavicencio’s work and spoken points in the podcast is amazing. You’re correct in saying that Villavencio’s work is made to give ordinary undocumented Americans a voice, but I don’t think it is because they are silenced more of that they are not heard. To me, there are differences in actively being silenced and actively not being heard, in this case I believe undocumented Americans aren’t heard. I do like how she focuses on the idea of ordinary, in her words “underground” just because I do see how the idea of “dreamers” is harmful to undocumented Americans as a whole and instead of pushing generations forward and embracing all undocumented immigrants America chooses to only embrace the ones who (in their POV) are considered to work the hardest.

5. Throughout the podcast i noticed the author had a attitude of I wrote what I wrote and I’m not apologizing. I feel as though that’s a good attitude to have with such a important subject matter. Undocumented students deserve as much rights as anyone else in this country. Not one thing should be taken away from them because of the mistakes of parents. This podcast made me think of what I can do as a American citizen that can make the lives of people coming from different countries smooth sailing.

6. One thing I’ve learned about the chapter “Staten Island” is how the borough really is trash. I already knew that the borough sucked because many New Yorkers don’t even go there nor do they mention it. It’s as if Staten Island is its own separate state or country. I’ve learned that Staten Island is very conservative and almost 80 percent white which makes me directly think of racism. I now understand why that trashy island voted for Donald Trump during the 2016 election. One thing I’ve learned about the podcast episode with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is that she might have been one of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard. I find that to be pretty impressive and it makes me feel so proud of her. Villavicencio is once again proving that immigrants come to the U.S. to seek a better future for themself. Racist people like Trump disapprove of immigrants because they see them as “criminals,” but all the contrary. I’m pretty sure MOST of the criminals in the United States are American-born citizens.

7. After listening to this episode, I can make a connection between Carmen and Karla, both author didn’t go with traditional way of writing, as to telling stories along the plot, they chose to write separate or short stories and connect these stories and intertwine with their overall main idea. For Karla, the interviews with day laborers all seem random, the one identical thing or identity between the people she interviewed, is that they are all Latino, but through reading these reportage, we can understand that no matter what kind of Latino they are, rich or poor, they all went through discrimination and are often seen as outsiders, for example the part when Karla is on the bus, the lady’s saying of “these people should learn how to speak English” while she is holding an English textbook. This action shows how the stereotype of Immigrants, that they do not speak much English, is blinding people from seeing reality. For Carmen, she said the short stories is a way of compact form of dedicating her main ideas, the way the short stories brings the reader in and after telling them what she wanted to say, quickly pushes them away, this also relates to the way Karla uses when she wants to represent her interviews. She brought out how people’s indifference toward Latinx society, when Latinx helped to rebuild the city after Hurricane, helped the government to save people during the 9/11 event, but these things didn’t bring them any benefits, they even lost their job after helping out during 9/11 because he do not want to be fined by the immigration department.

   1. Hi Jiaqi,
      I agree with you and your insight on bringing in the stories and perspectives of Latino undocumented day laborers. I think it’s important to note how Villavicencio was looking to dissolve the narrative of the “good” and “bad” immigrant, and the dichotomy of a success story amongst the community of undocumented people. I think she raises an interesting point of if these narratives are humanizing these people, rather than being a sob story, or success story, but to note that these are the lives of actual people, with actions overlooked if they do not fit into the typing of a “good” or “bad” immigrant.

8. After listening to the podcast episode, I’d like to reflect on one particular statement by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio that stood out to me. She notes that when she speaks to undocumented Latinx immigrants, they often express that the people who have hurt them the most have been other Latinos. She says that we want, over and over again, to believe that people who look like us won’t hurt us, but they do. I connected this statement to a few related stories. My father once told me a story of how he was robbed and assaulted within his the first few years in the U.S.; back then he was undocumented and didn’t speak much English, he worked a very low-level job and was often coming home at very late hours, making him a vulnerable target. The most shocking part of this experience to him was that the people who beat and robbed him to the point of needing surgery were themselves also Latinos. I also recently read a news story about a Latino man who got into a fight with another Latino man on the platform of a train station in Queens and was subsequently pushed onto the tracks and killed. It also connects to the class discussions we had regarding the Poet Slave of Cuba, where the overseer, who was one of the people who directly inflicted the most pain and damage onto Juan, was actually also black. I found it very striking to consider that we as Latinos often feel safest around others from our community, but that when found in a situation where the power dynamic is against us, these other Latinos, people who look like us, are the people most likely to inflict harm upon us.

9. Option Three
   Something that surprised from reading and listening to Villavicencio’s words is the fact that so much of the work undocumented immigrants put into their communities is under appreciated. In the reading, Villavicencio shares with us that undocumented immigrants were part of the task force that helped out in ground zero, yet that is never part of of the conversation when talking about 9/11. I have never heard someone publicly thank the undocumented population of New York that showed up that day and worked side by side with first responders. Something else that really stood out to me while listening to the podcast was when Villavicencio said that a lot of mistreatment undocumented immigrants receive comes from the hands of Latinos. This is really sad to hear because this is a community that is usually very unified and strives for the same things. It is one thing to not be accepted by people of different backgrounds, but when that hate and abuse comes from your own people, that must hurt a 100 times more. It really makes me think that as other immigrants become accustomed to living in this country, and sort of assimilate to it, a disconnect occurs in these communities and hate ends up winning.

10. In the chapter “Staten Island” and the podcast episode “Latinas and Art-Creative Non-Fiction with Karla Cornejo Villavicenico,” both share short stories. Among these short stories, the author shows the horror of being part of the world. Being accepted for being undocumented or sexual orientation. A lens that really hasn’t changed throughout the years. Just the fact of being different, scares the world a little. Apart from being scared, the day laborers did their best to learn the English language to at least understand their job duties. I do see her point of view of the day laborers, because I have seen them myself . I understand their struggle, oftentimes they are not able to find a job for the day. I also see how her life has revolved around them because she is undocumented herself. Karla in her podcast, also implies her life into the stories in the same way as the reading of Staten Island. Both authors bring the topic of isolation of both groups, but honestly they’re both seen as “aliens” or outsiders. Anyone can connect to these short stories either through personal experience, a family member, etc.

11. I thought it was really interesting to see the similarities between Villavicencio’s and Machado’s writing styles and attitudes towards their writing. They both used real situations and their own experiences as a basis for a more creative style of writing. I liked the description Machado gave in the beginning of the interview about her writing being like a scatter plot, where there were several different stories but a common line that relates them all together. I also noticed that both writers have the same unapologetic attitude about their writing. They use their work to talk about topics that aren’t discussed enough and bring light to issues that are often silenced in a creative way. I really appreciate the way both authors utilize tools from different genres to get their message across, in a way it makes us a readers think about these topics from a different perspective and consider these important issues in a different light that we normally wouldn’t.

12. When listening to this podcast it becomes very clear how important it is for Karla Cornejo Villavicencio to tell the stories of immigrants in a way that is real and raw. It is one that does not glorify the working class community and does not tell their story based solely on their usefulness, but rather focuses on how immigrants live in the United States each finding their own unique place within this country. She states “when you are an undocumented immigrant with undocumented family writing about undocumented immigrants… it feels unethical to put on the drag of a journalist, it is also painful to focus on the art, but impossible to process the world as anything but art.” This really solidifies the connections that she tries to create with the people she writes about, using their stories to show the juxtaposition of negative and positive emotions. The interview complements the chapter that we read “Staten Island” because she builds on this idea of how part of adulthood is realizing that while everyone has dreams not everyone has the means to achieve those dreams, and that even through hard work their goals will not come to fruition. This reminded me of the section where one of the day workers – after crossing the border four times to see his children, and because of the distance he had to separate from his family, he still had dreams of having his own child who would have a better life than him. However, because of his circumstances, he had to realize that this might not become a reality. Villavicencio also adds to this by sharing her own personal experience on how because she was able to receive this higher education and achieve a level of upward mobility she is told to encourage children to achieve the same thing. She recognizes that because of the systems put in place the reality is a lot less encouraging, but immigrants with better circumstances are told to keep on believing in the American dream otherwise “everything falls apart”. Overall this interview offers a deeper insight into Villavicencio’s background, and how that allows her to write these pieces about immigrants who often get overlooked.

13. This podcast episode opened up your eyes to the immigrant experience that most people would never understand. Karla Villavicencio provides more context to the last chapter we read before as we realize the immigrant experience is structured in a way that it is impossible to succeed without a relentless prowess. One example includes being having to learn English to succeed in the country, you have to have an education as well it is very hard to receive an education when you are not documented in the United States of America. These undocumented people work very hard and try their hardest to succeed harder than the average U.S citizen worker. Karla emphasizes the point that it is a message that needs to be spread that even if an undocumented person works every cell and part of their soul that they will sometimes never find success or the “American Dream” since they are who they are to this country. All they are seen as is the labor they provide that is pivotal to the state of the U.S economy, but them as a people they are nothing. There is a lack of love for the undocumented. One example are the 9/11 workers that some were undocumented people helping out but this is one idea that not even I ever heard of. I always had this notion that it was firefighters that helped out but it was a community effort but the community effort doesn’t matter when the community are people of color and not citizens.

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