The song “Mojado” by Ricardo Arjona utilizes language as a way to protest against the immigration laws set by the American empire. “Mojado” is a song written in Spanish, the language of many Mexican immigrants who cross the border. Arjona’s audience can be understood as the Mexican immigrants who cross the border since the song is written in Spanish and emits compassion towards Mexican immigrants. The title “mojado” can be translated to mean “wetback”, the derogatory name given by Americans to Mexican immigrants who often had to cross rivers to cross the border. Arjona utilizes his words to build a humane image of the Mexican immigrant we can empathize with, as well as to protest against the laws that keep immigrants from entering the US.
Arjona commences the song “Mojado” by painting an image of the Mexican immigrant preparing for his journey, without stating who he’s describing, simply saying “he”. By utilizing pronouns, the listener can imagine anyone, even themselves, in the immigrants place. Arjona says “he packed his desires to remain” (lines 4-7) alluding to the emotional difficulty the immigrant encounters when leaving their country. Arjona continues to say “he pleaded with his god crucified on the shelf” (lines 8-10) characterizing the immigrant as a good man of faith, breaking the stereotype that immigrants are bad and criminals. Arjona uses words to build a very humane picture of the Mexican immigrant we can empathize with.
Arjona uses language to protest against the subjugation of immigrants by playing with the meaning of words. The chorus of the song states “Why does the wetback have to prove with visas that he is not from Neptune?” (lines 16-18), alluding to how Mexican immigrants are referred to as “illegal aliens.” Arjona plays with the connotations of “alien” as being a being from outer-space, which does not apply to Mexican immigrants since they are humans. Arjona also plays with the connotations of the word “wetback” by saying “The wetback wants to dry himself the wetback is wet with tears caused by nostalgia” (lines 19-20). By saying that the “wetback” is wet with tears, Arjona changes the meaning of a “wetback” to be a person who has suffered and by saying that “the wetback wants to dry himself” he’s saying that the “wetback” wants to stop suffering. Arjona challenges the meaning of derogatory words used to describe immigrants as a form of protest against American ideologies.
Arjona challenges American laws by stripping their power away with his words. Arjona states “the search for a paper turned him into a fugitive and he isn’t from here because his name doesn’t appear in an archive” (lines 24-26). Arjona equates the “wetback”‘s suffering to his name simply not appearing on a paper, a material thing, which highlights the stark reality of how unjust the law is to the “wetback.” The paper has the power to change the “wetback”’s identity to that of a criminal. Arjona further states “the smooth moon slips through whichever cornice without permission from anyone” (lines 28-33). By comparing the moon, to the immigrant, Arjona highlights how it is only natural for all humans to travel, and laws are simply man-made barriers. Arjona utilizes his words to characterize laws against immigrants as unnatural and unjust. Overall, Arjona establishes a humane identity of “wetbacks”, and challenges the nature of American immigration laws by utilizing language.
Bibliography
TheJordan22m. “El Mojado-Ricardo Arjona.” YouTube. YouTube, 26 June 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
“Wetback (Mojado).” Mojado Lyrics + English Translation. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
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