So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans

The pattern of the refrain in Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans” is one of the powerful symbols in the poem. This refrain is like a retelling of the same myth or mindless gossip that is repeated by many Americans without thinking about what it really means. Baca uses the refrain to show the irony that Mexicans are NOT taking jobs away from Americans.

Initially, Baca suggests that perhaps the taking is done by force. If this is true, then why don’t the Americans defend themselves from this violence? Or could it be done in a sneaky way and Americans don’t know about it? Baca suggests that it is not either by force or sneaky but that Americans are busy doing many other things—some illegal and can’t be bothered with the work that the Mexicans are “taking.”

Then Baca describes the politicians that continue to perpetuate this myth that Mexicans are taking jobs from Americans. The violence is not done by the Mexicans but rather the whites. This is especially upsetting when the white farmers are actually controlled by big business interests totally unfamiliar with the lives of white farmers or Mexican farmers. The situation divides the world into the “haves” and the “have nots.” The imagery of being underwater is especially powerful suggesting the poor are under pressure from the wealthy and searching for “pearls” in their “dreams” and “holding their breaths” while the poor try to get out of poverty. Baca does a great “job” of helping us understand the problem as a human issue rather than an economic issue.