So Mexicans>#4>Christian Fry

In Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem titled, “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”, diction plays a clear role in creating small ambiguous tensions throughout. The poem comments on social injustices, and Baca clearly chooses specific words to make ambiguities. These ambiguities are soon cleared up by more excellent word choice on Baca's part.
The first ambiguous word or phrase iss the first phrase of the poem.
"O Yes? Do they come on horses with rifles…"
The use of the word "they" in this phrase makes it unclear as to who the author is speaking of. This lack of clear meaning is soon cleared up by the use of the term "Mexicans" and referring to the rifles and other previous descriptions.
Later in the poem, Baca creates more tension by using words with many meanings to describe a politician. Baca describes the politician as "asthmatic". Asthmatic denotatively means that the politician has asthma but connotatively could mean a number of things. One, being that he was a poor politician conducting political business asthmatically.
Baca also uses the phrase “leaning on an assistant” with ambiguous intent. He could mean literally that the politician was leaning on his assistant. In which case it could mean a personal assistant or some sort of brace that assists him while standing. Baca could even be referring to the way the politician leans on the people below him to make him look good and important.
An interesting use of the word cross can be found even later in the poem. Baca talks of people who cross poverty to just have something. This unusual choice of verb and preposition makes the phrase somewhat ambiguous. In a traditional sense the author would say “people cross from poverty to just have something.” Baca leaves out the “from” and it remains ambiguous as to why for the remainder of the poem.