Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry

A gatekeeper, or “keeper,” is someone who plays a pivotal role in determining what literature is widely accessible. Publishers and schools are keepers because they can use their power to promote or suppress literature; Anaya asserts that they use their power for censorship and to minimize Chicano expression. Such gatekeeping weakens the United States’ multiculturalism because only the privileged, uncensored voices and narratives remain available to the majority of the people. 

Multiculturalism is a society’s embrace and promotion of different cultures. Anaya acknowledges that the United States is moving toward a multiculturalist society, but at the time of writing “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” in 1993, the United States still has not fully realized it. He points to English-only movements and book burnings as examples of the dominant culture’s attempt to maintain the status quo through exclusion. He believes that a full embrace of multiculturalism would lead to a proliferation of diverse voices, expanding the American literary canon in new, thought-provoking ways.

A tortilla is a staple in Mexican and Mexican American cuisine. Traditionally it is made of corn, but the United States Southwest commonly uses wheat flour. It is prominent in dishes such as tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, flautas, and more. Anaya uses the tortilla as a marker of Mexican American identity throughout the essay by aligning it with notions of language, particularly Spanish and bilingualism, and as a part of a larger Mexican American experience.