LAS RONDAS CAMPESINAS

In Spanglish Brooks incorporates some of the cinematic narrative strategies prevalent in classic Hollywood films that marginalized Latinas but uses them instead to challenge traditional assumptions about Latinas by

providing space where different perspectives are articulated and renegotiated. For instance, by the way Deborah has the upper hand and is thusly privileged in her relationship with Flor, Brooks encourages us to empathize with Flor but to also consider the various perspectives of each character. At first it is easy for us to read Deborah’s character negatively. She is wealthy, arrogant and self- centered; yet she too has personal and emotional difficulties to solve, as the film reveals. On the other hand, we have no problem sympathizing with Flor who initially appears to be at a disadvantage in every respect. As a

housekeeper in the Clasky’s household Flor does not work from a position of power. In addition, Flor’s inability to speak English effectively silences her for much of the movie. Her reliance on others to translate also makes her appear less powerful in an Anglo environment. Her status as a single parent working for a nuclear, though dysfunctional, family also puts her at a disadvantage. All

of these characteristics combine to make Flor appear weak in relation to Deborah who is physically taller, reflects Anglo notions of beauty and is

economically more powerful. This combination of attributes gives Deborah the erroneous notion that she can make better decisions about Cristina’s future then can Flor.

However, once Flor decides to learn English she literally and figuratively finds her voice and eventually renegotiates her relationship with the Claskys to take back control. By first positioning Flor as a non-English speaker working in Anglo society, Brooks presents us with an easily recognizable and marginalized character—a Spanish-speaking illegal immigrant. However, his narrative then provides a mechanism to help empower Flor by having her learn to speak English and become more adept at navigating in a new cultural setting. Though this does not change her class status it does enable her to interact differently in an Anglo world because she now has the ability to communicate and to negotiate a new identity.

Classic Hollywood narratives often include a love triangle featuring an Anglo male lead, an Anglo female protagonist and a Latina love interest.

Following a romantic relationship with the Anglo male these films generally end in one of two ways; with the Latina dying and leaving the Anglo male with the Anglo female or, with the Latina being rejected by the Anglo male as he comes

to his senses realizing he belongs with the Anglo female.18 _{These Latinas were}

often constructed as promiscuous, exotic, erotic, or otherwise unworthy while the female Anglo representation often reflected more acceptable character traits like purity often associated with whiteness (Ramirez Berg 2000). Though

Spanglish makes use of this same strategy with the triad of Deborah, John and

Flor, in a surprising twist it is Flor, not John, who is empowered and makes the decision about the track their relationship will eventually take. Flor’s

empowerment toward the end of the film is reflective of a new and hybrid Latina who has learned to navigate in a new culture.

The love triangle is set up by John and Deborah’s marital difficulties and Deborah’s summer affair. As a consequence, John and Flor are together in the evenings at the beach house. Toward the middle of the film Flor confronts John because he paid Cristina for gathering sea glass on the beach without

consulting her first. Cristina serves as the translator between Flor and John. In this scene it is Flor who is privileged because she is standing and John is sitting and she is the aggressor in the confrontation. As she verbally dresses John down she is talking animatedly and as Cristina translates back and forth between the two Flor seems to become more and more intimidating. The scene takes on a comic tone as Flor speaks quickly in Spanish and Cristina

18 _{In his book Latino Images in Film, Charles Ramirez Berg discusses the various ways that} narrative and cinematography have been used over the years to exclude Latinas/os and other “socially marginalized” groups (e.g., the poor, gays, working class, and women, etc.). He cites Flying Down to Rio (1933), In Caliente (1935), Colors (1988) and Seven Days and Six Nights (1998) as some classic and more recent films that use these conventions to privilege Anglos,

translates back and forth between English and Spanish. Once Flor has finished venting about all the ways Deborah and John have interfered with Cristina John turns the table reminding her that she also interfered when she altered

Bernice’s clothes.

Through this exchange Brooks provides us with a dialogic opportunity to evaluate both situations as the perspectives struggle for viewer empathy. Flor’s interference appears justified because it made Bernice feel good about herself, especially since her mother had gone out of her way to make Bernice feel bad about her body. Deborah felt that taking Cristina for a day of fun and exploring would make her feel welcome. John had asked his kids to pick sea glass from the beach and he included Cristina to be nice. To Cristina, picking up glass was an opportunity to earn more money than she had ever imagined. Though well- meaning, in each situation the adult did interfere with another person’s child.

The camera cuts to a headshot of Flor who is thoughtfully considering John’s observation. After further reflection Flor agrees that she has also interfered and apologizes—marking the first time in the film that John’s

opinion is acknowledged. In the beginning of the film we see John and Deborah having an argument about an incident with their son Georgie. Deborah keeps yelling at John telling him they have to be on the same page, meaning that he has to agree with her. They also argue over the clothes incident with Bernice: Deborah tells John they both have to work to get Bernice to lose weight,

begins to see her differently after this exchange as something more than their housekeeper, as a reasonable person. Brooks has successfully humanized Flor transforming her from ‘hired help’ to someone recognized as kind, considerate and fiercely protective of Cristina, the antithesis of Deborah. In this sense Brooks constructs Deborah’s character negatively in many respects. This construction highlights the positive characteristics of Flor but also helps to articulate difference. By the film’s end, we see Deborah’s flaws as human shortcomings as she realizes the importance of her family.

As Flor becomes more fluent in English she and John begin talking and interacting more, eventually becoming attracted to one another. Flor decides to pick up Cristina and to cut all ties with Deborah and John after Cristina stays overnight at the Clasky’s instead of coming home. Once at the Clasky’s Flor decides to pick up Cristina the next morning. As she is leaving Flor runs into John who is also leaving the house because Deborah just told him she had been having an affair. John insists on taking Flor home. This is a convenient

narrative ploy to get John and Flor together for what is expected to be a

romantic interlude. When they are in the SUV John asks Flor if she will agree to ‘hang out’ with him for a while. John, a chef, takes her to his restaurant. The restaurant is closed so only the entry is softly lit creating a romantic

atmosphere. Flor stands in the entry and stops before stepping into the sunken dining room. John, who has gone ahead, turns around to look at Flor. Before going any further she takes control of the situation and tells John that nothing

can happen. He reluctantly agrees, empowering Flor. John walks up to Flor and puts his arm around her for a minute then goes to the kitchen to cook for her.

The act of cooking the meal becomes a sensuous experience. Food is especially symbolic of Latina/o culture: it nurtures and sustains the body but can also arouse all the senses; especially smell, taste, touch. Brooks may be drawing from other Latina/o films such as Like Water for Chocolate (1992) to create an emotionally rich scene without the physicality generally associated with romance. In Spanglish, John’s act of cooking represents deep feelings for Flor that cannot be expressed physically. As the camera cuts to shots of Flor eating the meal we see her tasting and touching the food, we hear the crispness of the asparagus as she takes in every sensation.

Brooks challenges our expectations on a number of levels throughout this entire scene. First, in popular films romance often takes the form of sexual encounters. Yet, here Brooks’ use of restraint and subtle interaction itself becomes romantic. After the meal Flor and John briefly kiss but stop before it gets out of hand. They sit together on a couch. A close up shows Flor with her arm around John’s shoulder. They sit and talk for a long time and just before she hops off the couch and runs out the door she whispers that she loves him. Secondly, Brooks confronts notions of male and female roles and issues of empowerment. While men are widely accepted as chefs, they are seldom seen in films cooking in this way. The preparation of food as a symbol of romance by a man is an unusual and surprising twist on popular narratives.