Ask The Dust

Camilla’s huaraches become a symbol of her ethnic and racial identity as a Mexican American. Huaraches are a type of leather sandal thought to have originated among the indigenous peoples of North and South America prior to European colonization of the continents. Camilla’s huaraches highlight her Mexican heritage and connect to Arturo’s tendency to imagine her as a “Mayan princess,” since the Mayans inhabited Central America before the Spanish Conquest. Arturo fixates on Camilla’s shoes because he is both attracted to and disgusted by her ethnicity. He often mocks her shoes when he is mocking her for her Mexican ancestry. This kind of behavior allows him to feel superior to her; however, it stems from the fact that he is deeply insecure about his own racial identity since he has also been mocked and faced prejudice for being an immigrant and looking like an outsider.

Camilla becomes ashamed and defensive after Arturo repeatedly mocks her huaraches. Eventually, she starts to wear white high heels at work, even though they hurt her feet. Although she is much more comfortable in her own shoes, she tries to assimilate and conform to (white) American styles by wearing the white heels. Her anxiety about her shoes connects to her greater anxiety about belonging in American society.