Los vendidos by luis valdez

Prof. Wells Furkan Şenocak

Los Vendidos

The play Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez has a couple of trigger points which he intends the readers of the play to create some impression in their minds. The author has used the two main characters in the play, the secretary as well as Sancho to bring out the idea of a hardworking person in their quest for a model. Sancho introduces a couple of models to the secretary for her to analyze. In a satirical way, the secretary describes the models either fit or otherwise. One model is introduced as very hardworking, being able to perform a variety of tasks. To show this, the author, through the character Sancho, says that these fictitious models have the ability to pick coffee in the field as well as other farm related work. The other model introduced is a city model. This triggers the reader to see disparity between city people and village people .The tasks that the two can be able to accomplish are totally different. The village people are seen to be humble and well-mannered contrary to city people who are seen to be vulgar as in the case where Jonny, the city model says F*** you to the secretary. Despite being better acquainted with better skills than village people, it is evident that they have bad public relations.

Secondly, the author brings out the issue of crime and security. Sancho mentions how the LAPD has purchased models similar to Johnny to rain cops. This is, however, described in a satirical way where Sancho terms the LAPD cops as rookie cops to show how inferior he thinks the LAPD force is .The idea of city residents bee acquainted to the idea of theft to survive is also brought in the picture. Johnny, the city model, demonstrates this when he steals the secretary’s purse. At a point in the play, he smokes an imaginary joint of marijuana. This shows the height of how immoral he is. When the secretary says that there cannot be more thieves in the state administration is a direct insinuation that unlawful law enforcement officers corrupt the current state administration. The secretary, unlike Sancho is not of the idea of being liberal minded when it comes to the issue of law enforcement and the uncouth behavior of state administration personnel as suggested in the play.

Lastly, another major trigger point is the issue of politics running throughout the play. As the secretary dismisses the model Johnny, she mentions to Sancho that what she really is looking for is a male model with the persona as well as attributes to attract female voters. This shows that it is a time for campaign maybe awaiting a major election. It is correct to think that the women are the majority population in the country described by the author .It is what makes the secretary seek a model who will help win majority of the votes from women in the country. Sancho describes the achievements of Governor Reagan, who the secretary works for in a very cynical manner saying No problem. You know these new farm labor camps our Honorable Governor Reagan has built out by Parlier or Raisin City? A person reading this play is triggered to see that the politicians are not acting as per the voter’s expectations. From Sancho’s sarcasm in describing what Reagan the governor has accomplished in his era in power.

The play by Luis satirizes the stereotype behaviors in Mexico. One instance where this is shown is where Johnny grabs the secretary’s purse and makes away with it. This is in line with the common burglary behavior in the country Mexico where unruly youth are known to steal from people on the streets. Another instance where the author satirizes the Latino culture is where he describes that the secretary was looking for a model to attract female voters. According to Sancho, such a model would be riding a horse, be strong and good looking and won a farm. This is the case of most Mexican T.V shows. Male models considered to be attractive to female counter parts fit the description that Sancho gives. This kind of stereotyping seems to be outdated. Over time, cultures have changed allowing disappearance of such old stereotype behaviors and the incorporation of new stereotypes.

When it comes to the issue of politics, politicians all over the world are known of using cultural appropriations for political gain. This narrows down to tribal appropriation where politicians could develop tight relations with the leaders whose ethnicity is from the majority of the population. By doing this, the politicians hope to convince he majority people, through their representatives, to vote for them in elections thereby enabling them to win by majority votes.