Heart of Aztlan Quotes

“Bah! Do you think the poor people of the barrio pay for the upkeep of the Church? No! Wealth flows from wealth! And sources of wealth need stability to exist! And the Church provides stability! We teach the poor how to bear their burden; they are promised the kingdom of heaven, which is far more important than the little gains your strike would make …”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“We don’t need the gospels, we need the fiery men who wrote them!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“Look, I control a large part of this barrio because I control one thing, credit. That’s right, it’s that simple. Credit is the lifeline, the blood that turns the wheels. In Barelas I control it, but out there, well, out there are bigger animals, and they in turn control my credit. It doesn’t matter how good a businessman I am, if they cut off my credit I am dead, the barrio’s dead, nothing grows without the green blood of the dollar. Now, how long do you think it would take the banks to cut off my credit if I joined a group of communists like you? They’d do it like this!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“What greater good could there be in a man’s life than to lift the oppression that destroys them, what greater honor is there?”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“That’s what the welfare people want,' Tranquilino gritted his teeth, 'to have us on welfare and to have our women working. Then they can point to our broken families and say the mexicano is a lazy, no good son-of-a-bitch!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“I cannot let things remain as they are, because then I would not be free. If I cease to act because I fear the future, then I create a worse enslavement for myself. That much I know. While my people are not free, I am not free. If the freedom and justice I seek loose destruction upon the earth, then I accept that responsibility, but it seems to me that the real responsibility must be borne by those who keep me from my freedom. I must act!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“He started from nothing, I hear say, and now he’s got the only supermarket in the barrio. He has a big Cadillac car, and a lot of political connections at City Hall. They say he delivers the barrio’s votes every election, for the right price. Some of the people call him el patrón. Of course he takes his mordida from everyone—Do you know he charges the people on welfare a dime to cash their checks. He gets a man a job, and he takes a bite. He gets someone out of jail, or helps someone apply for welfare or social security, and he gets a small cut. He charges a fee for everything, and all those small fees have made him rich—' 'It doesn’t seem fair,' Jason reflected. 'No,' Clemente agreed, 'but it’s the way we’re learning to live, like the americano, there is a fee for everything”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“Those sons of bitches up there are to blame!' Another worker shouted and jumped forward. He shook an angry fist at the blank faces that looked down on the death scene from the offices atop the yard administration. 'Sánchez’s work crew had been cut back twice! It’s unsafe to work with so few men! You all know that! Yes, someone’s to blame, and the blame lies with those bastards that treat us like animals and our rotten union that won’t protect us!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan

“car.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Heart of Aztlan: A Novel