Elisa Lopez

54321 Crib Ave.

Carson, CA, 90810
Richard Blanco
12345 Crib St.
Beverly Hills, CA, 90210
September 8, 2014
Dear Richard Blanco,
After reading your poem America I felt myself relating to the main character in many
aspects. A majority of my aunts and uncles as well as my parents and grandparents were
all born in Mexico. Whereas all my cousins, siblings, and myself born here. Being that I
was born here but all my family came from Mexico we have a combination of both
cultures. Especially during the holidays we like to combine the two even more. The
collaboration was incorporated through food and rituals during the holidays. Growing up
I thought it was strange eating tamales on Christmas not to mention all my American
friends celebrated on actual Christmas but not my family, it was always Christmas Eve.
Also my family would have posadas, which you would go to someones house and sing a
traditional song asking to be let in just as Mary and Joseph did when asking for shelter so
she could give birth to Jesus. This happens for nine days leading up to Christmas Eve,
Noche Buena and in English The Holy Night. In my family it was tradition to at least
hold one and I was accustom to having posadas since I was little. However, many of my
friends that werent Hispanic and of the same religion didnt have posadas or even knew
what it was. I liked that your poem was extremely relatable in that way. Whether Cuban,
Mexican, or any other culture for that matter, a large portion of people have gone through
a similar experience. Almost like this confusion as to why their family did things
differently. The technique you used of the addition of the Spanish language made it much
more enjoyable and interesting to read. Overall there wasnt anything in particular that I
didnt like. Although I feel as if this piece of literature could be used to stereotype people
in the sense that people of other cultures dont try and learn the English language. Ive
noticed people are very judgmental and critical of that. The poem portrayed to me a
family coming to this country with anticipation and excitement of living the American
dream but not being able to live up to their expectations they had dreamt up. Most
people come to this country in hopes of a better life and living conditions for themselves
and their families than those accessible in their countries. When they get here and realize
it isnt as easy as made out to be in their minds they starts to settle. I felt like the adults
had accepted their reality but the children were confused and didnt understand why all
they were promised hadnt happened. Even though Ive never gone through a transition
coming from a different country the poem was so well written that I was able to
sympathize with the character, as my parents migrated at very young ages with my
grandparents looking for the American Dream. Youve allowed a reader to put him or
herself in place of the character and understand their thoughts and truly feel their
feelings. In my opinion it is key to have that ability. If a reader cannot relate in one-way
or another to a piece of literature I find it uninteresting and not very well written. The
careful detailing of the home and interaction between the family gave me perspective as
to how the family lived literally as well as interactively. It honestly felt like sitting in my

grandmothers living room watching my family during the holidays. Coming from a
Mexican family I know what it is like to have family members criticize meals as if they
could do better. Ive also noticed the unwillingness to try new things and shoot them
down, by the older crowd. I really liked that you are so descriptive with every little detail.
It isnt dry reading it is entertaining to read dialogue. Not only dialogue but also bilingual
dialogue can transform writing. Just by those few Spanish phrases has added so much
more worth to your writing. To be completely honest I was nervous and kind of dreading
having to read a poem just because all the ones I have read in the past have had elaborate
meanings and super difficult to read. I greatly appreciated and was refreshed by the
simplicity and easily understandable of your poem. I wasnt scratching my head at the
end wondering what I had just read. I loved that just because it was simple and easy to
understand it wasnt any less than any other poem. I think because there wasnt a rhyme
scheme it read more like a story than typical poems. Also it was written in real English!
No Shakespearian writing style that makes me forget what it even is that Im reading and
just sit looking at a screen like what. Im so very appreciative of being able to understand
this poem. I dont see any flaws or how anyone could find this poem flawed. I was the
person to immediately be turned off by poetry but reading your poem and loving it as
much as I did came as such a surprise, a good one at that. Thank you for writing this
poem because I have found a piece of literature I related too in so many ways and more
than probably anything else Ive read.
Sincerely,
Elisa Lopez
Elisa Lopez