Tortilla Soundtrack

In the novel, “The Tortilla Curtain” by T.C. Boyle, we see the building of a gate around Arroyo Blanco. The building of the gate must have been like putting up a border between all the people that lived in Arroyo Blanco to everyone else. This gate has a greater meaning than just keeping the community of Arroyo Blanco safe from outside dangers. This ultimately symbolizes the border between Mexico and the United States. Most people in the community believed that if they put a gate around their homes they would be protected from dangers such as coyotes and even other people. Delaney was completely against this idea because he felt as if he was stuck in a prison. He mentioned that he had moved to Arroyo Blanco for its open gated community but now the people are trying to do what he was running away from. This gate was a border, and just like any border, people were trying to get in. Much like Delaney, Candido and America are also running from something, their lives in Mexico. They come looking for a better economic situation in the United States, but soon find that things are the same, or even worse in the U.S. They go through many struggles and America even mentions she wished to be back in Mexico. If Candido and America came looking for a better like in the U.S., are things really that bad here that she would rather be back in Mexico? The song “Mojado” by Ricardo Arjona, explains the many struggles Mexican immigrants go through when they cross the border. Throughout the novel, there was a constant struggle by Candido and America to not get caught by “La Migra” for they would be deported and sent back to Mexico. This song reflects Candido and America’s lives for they had to leave their lives in Mexico to look for a better life in the United States.