Caribbean Literature- Across the Wire (Preface Alone) Summary

 

Across the Wire

- Luis Alberto Urrea

Luis Alberto Urrea is a Mexican- American poet was born on 20 August, 1955 in Tijuana, Mexico. His first book Across the Wire, was named a New York Times Notable book and won the Christopher Award in 1933. His significant works include The Hummingbird’s Daughter, and Queen of America.

The book, Across the Wire reports the lives of people living in and around Tijuana and the border between Mexico and California. It is as much an overview of Mexico as a tour of the South Bronx is representative of the entire United states. Luis Urrea tells his preface that this is a book of fragments, stories of moments in the lives of people most of us never see, never think about and don’t know whether they exist. He calls Mexicans as “huddled masses” who are conspicuously allowed to enter into USA, an illegal journey across the wire. In the Preface to the book, Urrea makes no apology for having a definite point of view towards those want to cross the border.

Urrea deals with his experiences in parts of the Borderlands that no tourist will ever see. He says it is subjective and biased. He doesn’t call his people “noble savages” but lays bare their abject poverty. “Poverty ennobles no one; it brutalises common people and makes them hungry and old”. The people living in the Borderlands urged the author to write their pathetic stories so that the world would know them. they do not want simply to fade away.

“Tijuana” is Mexico’s cast-off child” remarks the author of his birth place, where the tragedies, brutal crimes, murders, addictions, and the unimaginably difficult everyday lives in this collection take place. In spite of horror and pain the poor people of Tijuana continued to live there. Learning about their poverty also teaches about the nature of their wealth.

Promoters of Tijuana always maximize the many wonders of the Borderlands. Urrea, on the services rendered by the missionaries to the poor Borderland people, no doubt commends their assistance and help, is also doubtful of their dedication. “The role of missionaries is a subject of serious question on many counts”. He makes it clear that his stand against the missionaries is not intended as a sweeping overview of spiritual service, but here he wanted to focus on the activities of betrayed group. He acknowledges that most of his manuscript was squeezed from about fifteen- hundred pages of notes gathered on his travels with the missionaries from 1978 to 1985.

Luis Urrea writes in the preface that he became a writer for the San Diado Reader in 1990. The book gave him an opportunity to disseminate those dark secrets of the Borderlands to the people of California. He feels depressed and remarks that even San Diegans living nearby, across the border have no idea of the life of Tijuana people. Even their own countrymen, Mexicans are indifferent to the Borderland people although they have seen the poverty of Tijuana people.