From The Book of Unknown Americans:
Summary:
Mayor Toro was a baby when his parents, Rafael and Celia, left Panama for the United States, and he feels
more American than Panamanian. Mayor reflects on why his family became U.S. citizens and has never
visited Panama, despite two attempts. The family plans their first trip back for Rafael's school reunion, but
Rafael cancels it after learning he would be unwelcome there. The next year, they plan another trip but 9/11
prevents them from going. That winter, Rafael tries to ease Celia's homesickness by taking the family to a
beach.
CULTURAL REFERENCES
.copped to (paragraph 4): admitted to something
• broke out (paragraph 7): suddenly and purposefully
began
• roll out the red carpet (paragraph 10): make a special
effort to welcome and make someone feel important
• holier-than-thou (paragraph 21): having the attitude of
being a better person than others
• up-and-coming (paragraph 22): gaining positive
attention and likely to succeed
Connect to the ESSENTIAL QUESTION
The narrator in this excerpt from The Book of Unknown Americans attributes his confusion over his cultural
identity to having been a baby when his family immigrated to the United States from Panama. The difference
between where he and his parents have spent most of their lives has given them a different affinity with both
their native country and their current home. However, the author suggests that the larger events of 9/11 that
the family experiences together in their current home help bridge the gap between their cultural identities
and mixed feelings about being Panamanian Americans, at least momentarily.
Questions
1. How do the narrator's parents' attitudes about their homeland change as time passes?
2. How does the description of the family becoming Americans in paragraph 5 relate to the
ideas the narrator expresses about feeling American in paragraph 3?