Is Mamacita a
Bad Mother?
I
n Vocabulary Class, we
read a short story by
Sandra Cisneros called
No Speak English. It
comes from the novel
by Cisneros called The House
on Mango Street, which is in
the library. I wrote this essay
in response to the question:
“Is Mamacita a Good Mother
or a Bad Mother?” The story
is about a woman (Mamacita)
and her baby boy who emigrate
from Mexico to the United
States. She begins by showing
dysfunctional conduct, which
makes us question whether she
is a good mother or not. Per-
sonally, I could identify with
this character and think other
immigrants will too, since we
have all, at some point, felt
like Mamacita. On one hand,
we feel driven to get ahead; on
the other hand, we feel over-
whelmed by internal conflicts
that push us down and make
us feel “bad” about ourselves.
We cannot say that Mamacita
is a bad mother based purely
on the fact that she doesn’t al-
low her baby boy to speak in
English. This is only an isolat-
Johana Granados
ed fact that cannot be used to
identity her as a bad mother.
It’s also clear that she misses
her country and has not been
able yet to accept the idea that
now she, her baby, and ev-
erything that represents home
for her have already changed.
What we can say, however,
is that this is a very bad situ-
ation for her to face, and that
she is going through a very
difficult time in life. Besides,
we can say that this is merely
about what she does here and
how her behavior and manners
have been affected by this sit-
uation. Her actions and experi-
ences here do not change who
she actually is in essence, as a
person, as a woman, or even as
a mother.
So, who is Mamacita really?
Well, Mamacita is a person
who bravely made the decision
to leave everything she knew
in order to pursue a suppos-
edly “better life” in a faraway
country. Mamacita is a moth-
er who boldly took her baby
with her and jumped into the
unknown, not knowing that it
was going to be harder than
36
anything she had imagined.
Mamacita is a woman mis-
judged and labeled as a “bad
mother,” when the real truth
is that she desperately longs
for her home. So, here is the
thing: is it right to call “bad” to
a woman just for getting sick?
For Mamacita is simply that, a
brave, bold, and good woman
who is just sick.
She is homesick; she is sick
at heart. Her nagging nostal-
gia has embittered her life and
those around her. “¡Ay, caray!”
[Not again!], her disgusted
husband says.
She must learn to deal with it
since her child has already be-
gun to talk, and it might seem
like she could affect him with
her problem by demanding,
“no speak English, no speak
English.” The more she per-
sists in hanging on to memo-
ries and refusing to let the past
go, the harder it will be for her
to overcome her illness. For the
time being, she has one streak
of hope, which is to return
to Mexico. “¿Cuándo, cuán-