Aisa Radoncic 813 Martin Espada Essay The poems, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877” all show power. Mostly it would show how people take advantage of their power. Martin Espada’s work really reflects his views on racism, discrimination, and power. He feels as if the typical ‘white’ person acts as if other cultures don’t matter to them. For example, in “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson” he expresses his feelings on how he feels when someone mispronounces his name. He starts by describing the look of Che Guevara. As if he is some sort of sign of rebellion. He goes on talking about how he hijacks a busload of white Wisconsin tourists, forcing them to chant anti-American slogans. Later he tells that the bilingual SWAT team begs him to be reasonable. (Figuratively of course.) His power is taken away by the ‘bilingual SWAT team.’ It is as if they are taking his culture and beliefs away. In “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” Martin Espada tells a story of how a English High School principal overhears 2 boys speaking Spanish in the bathroom, but the only word that he understood was his name. Later on, he banned Spanish in the bathroom. Martin now says sarcastically, “Now he can relax.” He is showing that the principal is both misusing and abusing his power. He shows this by saying that just because the principal heard his name in a conversation that he could not understand, he bans that whole language. Lastly, in “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877” he tells about two Mexican people being hanged in front of forty white people. In the end he tells about how after they’ve been hung in front of the crowd, they all crowd together to take a photo with the hung bodies. This poem shows the Mexicans getting their power taken away by white people, or even the white people abusing their power. The Mexicans are getting their power taken away by the white people because they were captured and forced to be hung. The white people are abusing their power because they know that the Mexicans can’t fight back because there are two of them, and 40 white people. Also, not only do they completely disrespect them because of their culture, but they also take a photograph, showing that what they did was some sort of an accomplishment. As you can see, Martin Espada’s poems, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”, all show of people either misusing or abusing their power. He also talks a lot about discrimination and racism.