43 pages • 1 hour read
Javier ZamoraSolito
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context: Latin American Migration Literature
In his poetry collection Unaccompanied, Javier Zamora states that one reason for his poetry is to remind Americans that the words of poets are “tied to a history of people who have literally risked [their lives] and died to write those words” (Unaccompanied, back cover). For this reason, both his poetry and memoir fit into the category of migration literature, which is defined as literature by or about migrants and their experiences of migration. In the US, books by Latin American writers about these experiences are popular because the works personalize the often politically fraught topic of immigration. Migration literature crosses all literary genres and includes poetry, short fiction, novels, memoirs, and essays. Zamora joins other contemporary Latinx and Latin American writers who focus on immigration or migration experiences, such as Mexican writer Reyna Grande, author of the memoir The Distance Between Us (2012), Luis Alberto Reya, author of The Devil's Highway (2004), Karla Cornejo Villacicencio, author of The Undocumented Americans (2020), Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana (2019), and Colombian American writer Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of the novel Fruit of the Drunken Tree (2018).
The themes of migration literature often focus on the circumstances that make it necessary for the author or protagonist to embark on their journey and include uncertainty, dislocation, violence, and the fragmentation of identity. As in Solito, migration literature often includes codeswitching—incorporating terms from multiple languages while preserving the linguistic structure of each one. This technique aids the authors in telling their stories by conveying emotions and experiences using the words that feel most authentic to the writer.
Sociohistorical Context: The Salvadoran Civil War and Gang Violence
El Salvador’s civil war lasted from 1979 to 1992. While Zamora’s memoir begins in 1999, the effects of the Salvadoran Civil War lasted long after the peace accord was reached between the Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a left-wing coalition. The war left tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Many sought refuge in nearby countries, but others sought a new beginning in the United States. The economic impact of nearly two decades of war left a devasted economy in which few people could lead a safe and stable life. This is reflected in Zamora’s parents’ emigrating to the US in the hopes of being able to bring him with them once they become established in their new country. The memoir details the difficulty of traveling to the US by legal means, even for those who have legitimate reasons and the appropriate contacts. This is an often-misunderstood aspect of migration, and Zamora’s story presents the real-life scenario in detail.
Another issue that made living in El Salvador dangerous for ordinary people was the proliferation of gang violence in the 1980s and 1990s, another product of the war’s disruption. The characters Chino and Marcelo are most likely in gangs; this is implied by their tattoos and the reactions the tattoos incite in others. Two gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18, which were originally founded to protect Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles, grew into powerful criminal organizations when their members were deported back to El Salvador. In this way, what were once neighborhood security forces became international crime organizations, as members built up their numbers in El Salvador and surrounding countries like Guatemala. Children like Zamora were in danger of being shot if they wandered into gang territory, and there was no law and order after the civil war to protect civilians. The constant violence and lack of economic opportunities made it necessary for many Salvadorans, like Zamora’s family and those who accompany him on his journey, to seek refuge in other countries.
