Resumen de Tensions between Inclusion and Exclusion in Julissa Arce’s My Underground American Dream
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, migration has become a central topic in U.S.
politics. In recent years, the undocumented youth have been sharing their stories through multiple cultural productions, attempting to break the stigma around undocumented status.
Latinx literature has also contributed to this movement and one of these voices is Julissa Arce, who migrated from Mexico as a child and became a successful executive. The aim of this paper is to analyze Arce’s memoir, My Underground American Dream (2016), by examining the factors that determine her belonging to American society. Arce and her relatives experience multiple barriers and tensions that seem to question their social acceptance. Still, Arce achieves her version of the American dream, while exposing limitations and challenges to that concept.
Her story may raise awareness about the connection between migration and emotional wellbeing, contributing to the current dialogue on migration.
