América

Blanco’s poem centers on the cultural differences between the Cuban community in Miami and mainstream American society. It also shows the beginnings of the process of acculturation, by which people—immigrants, for example—adapt to a new culture. The chosen example is the American celebration of Thanksgiving. The Cuban immigrant family gradually learns about the significance of Thanksgiving in their adopted country and decide to celebrate it themselves—but with a distinctively Cuban twist.

Stanza one uses humor to show one of the first steps the women in the family find themselves taking to adjust to their new environment. It involves peanut butter, a staple of American life that is not widely used in Cuba. The speaker’s Aunt Miriam is very creative in finding uses for this unfamiliar item, which was given to them in five-pound jars every month by the U.S. immigration authorities. In contrast, the boy’s mother is baffled by what she is supposed to do with these jars, until her son’s friend Jeff—the name suggests an American boy—mentioned the magic word “jelly” (Line 9). The reader can infer that the family thus discovered an American staple, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, just one step in assimilating to American culture.