Chicana Identity and Literature: An Overview - Prof. Gil Naveira, Apuntes de Filología Inglesa

¡Descarga Chicana Identity and Literature: An Overview - Prof. Gil Naveira y más Apuntes en PDF de Filología Inglesa solo en Docsity! DEFINITIONS • Mexican Americans: They have a Mexican origin. The think themselves as citizens from the USA. • Chicanos: Mexican Americans but politically actives. They fight for their rights. HISTORY INTRODUCTION 16th Century • (1519 – 1521) Hernán Cortes conquering the Aztecs. The called us “gachupines” • 1531 → First “mestizo” was born. Indian women + Spanish man = Son of Hernán Cortés and an Aztec women called Malintzin Tenepal (La Malinche/Doña Marina). Hernán Cortés choose her, because she was very good at languages. He uses her as a translator, the problem comes when the Aztecs were conquered, and they think that “La Malinche” cheated them. Feminist “chicanas” recovered that character and they don’t consider her as a traitor. They just considered her as a woman who falls in love and called her “La Chingada”. The feminist that considered her like that considered also themselves as “Hijas de la Chingada” and they were very proud of it. Song → “La Llorona”; the leyend of “la llorona” → she was abandoned in Mexico with her son. What this woman did, was killed her sons to take revenge of her husband. But then, she realizes that she had lost everything. Virgin of Guadalupe (Guadalupana ó la Morenita) → originally she is from Extremadura, she has brown colour. The Mexicans say that she comes from the goddess Tunantzin. This virgin appears only in paints not in sculptures. The Mexican women who follow this virgin are called “Marianistas” and at the same time those who follow “La Malinche” are called “Malinchistas”. We find paintings of the virgin with bikini. The liberate “chicanas” want to follow the virgin too, because they want her to take part of their culture. So they take the virgin and change her clothes. 19th Century • 1810 → Mexican independence from Spain (Miguel Hidalgo). He was born in Mexico in a place called Dolores. The moment of liberation was called “the cry of Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 Dolores” and its slogan was “Viva nuestra señora de Guadalupe y muera el mal gobierno”. Some territories (New Mexico, California, etc) got independences and became part of USA. • 1840´s → Mexico lost all their properties in the North. The euro-americans were coming to California to agricultural purposes, gold-fever and the railroad. They were helped by the church. The Mexicans who stayed in California were punished. They were forced to speak English; they were treated in a bad way. They were considered lazy, dishonest and non- intelligent. • 1848 → Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1848 in a battle called “El Alamo”. They signed a treaty called “The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo” and at this very important moment the history of Chicanos begins. Why was USA interesting in conquering everything? People started to believe that their country was predestinated to control the area between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Circle to the Magellan Strait. Everything that now we know as America. This believe is called “Manifest of Destiny” which includes: • The triumph of Protestantism vs. Catholicism • The triumph of Democracy vs. Despotism • The superiority of the White race vs. degenerate mixed blood • The triumph of Good vs. Evil • The triumph of Future vs. Past • 1890’s → they were persecuted because at that time was a war between Spain & USA. (Guerra de Cuba). There were also problems between Mexican- americans and blacks because the blacks had a fixed salary and the Mexican- americans didn’t have it. Mexican-americans/Texas rangers were considered aggressive and cruel because they had inherited from the “inquisition” (Spain). Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 El bandido El desperado Present as a reflection of the past. Death people are always present never left behind. “Day of the Death” is very well celebrated; it is a welcome of death people. Preparing an altar in the house, one for each people in the house. And then they also cook their favourite meal/food. For example: If the death one liked tequila. They put tequila in the house. Then they go to cemetery and clean their tombs, there is a candle procession, it is like a community meeting and they also bring flowers. This act is a way to unite people. The special food from this time is “huesitos de santo” with form of skulls. Definitely it is not a sad thing it is a party. HISTORY OF CHICANO LITERATURE It reveals the tension between Chicanos political status and assimilation. • Pre-Chicanos Literature (before 1848) → battle of “el Alamo”. There was two kind of literature: • Native American Indian Tales (Aztecs & Mayas) • Chronicles → exploration narratives (Spanish colonial American) • Literature of the Transition (1848 – 1910) → Folkbase Chicano literature, the main genre was “Corrido” which is a ballad that substitute the tales and the “pastorelas” of Spanish origin. There were several types of “corridos”: • Border Conflict Corridos • Female Corridos • Narcocorridos • Corridos of the revolution (Adelitas) • Journey Corridos The woman that went with me during the revolution are called “soldaderas”. This “corrido” is a very direct narration, no ornaments. They are sometimes anonymous. They talk about current issues (love, public interests…) Characteristics • Initial call to the “corridista” to the audience • Main message • Corridistas farewell Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 La inmigración Mexicana viene del norte del país (Yucatán). Es una economía independiente de USA. Policía de inmigración → “la migra”. Venden lo poco que tienen para cruzar México y después poder cruzar EE.UU, los que se quedan en EE.UU es porque tienen hijos y se casan allí. 3ºgeneración → No se sienten mexicanos, los niños pequeños tienen un México idealizado, pero no es así y los que se marchan y luego vuelven no se encuentran tampoco el mismo México que había cuando se fueron. PADRES – Chicanos HIJOS – Hablan español con acento inglés. NIETOS – No hablan español o hablan muy poco. Group Consciousness Period 1910 - 1943 Literature in terms of politics (identity, belonging). Literature of Confrontation 1943 – 1975 Chicano civil rights movements. Creation of “la raza” Luis Valdez → created “El teatro campesino” Reaffirming Identity Literature 1975 - 1980 The children of the sun → “cosmic race” is the name that they put themselves. Chicanos said as the Sun heats the Earth, the Earth is warm. They are warm people. Pluralistic Literature 1980 Because we have Chicanos sharing their ideas with Latinos groups (Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros...) Non-Chicanos 19th 1st half- Romanticism Romantic vision of Americans before the Battle of “El Alamo”. California was seen as a paradise for euro-americans. The considered the Mexicans aristocracy, lazy (good way), exotic, generous, hospitals and Catholics (good way). Men were considered “machos” very masculine, virile, women exotic, beautiful “señoritas” very feminine, submissing. The poor Mexicans were complete ignored “mustizos”. 2nd Part – Ethnocentrism (1848 onwards) Mexicans are the opposite, they are considered greasers because they worked with carts, they were also considered as the “others”, we find the 1st stereotype: cruel people Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 (inquisition), savage (bullfighting), lazy (negative), catholic (negative because there was not work ethic in that religion). Article to read: “Scarce more than apes” David. L. Weber. 20th Century (1930’s) There were two main writers: • Steinbeck: He was born in California and he has a very positive attitude towards Mexicans. He considered Mexicans as “paisanos”. He contributed to make a comic idea of these collective (f.e: Cantinflas). He has a naive view of Mexicans: • Bound to Earth • Generosity and nobility • Very good friends • Sometimes robbers but without wickedness • Hemingway: He was very “machista” because a “macho” is someone stoic, humble and also who faces death with dignity & humility. CHICANO LANGUAGE • 1848 →Spanish was still talked in USA and in New Mexico because New Mexicans considered themselves Spanish and they didn’t want to lose their roots. They belong to old Spanish nobility/aristocracy. They formed a short of microcosms. They still considered themselves as “Hispanics”. English was beginning to be imposed. In Mexico is still used Spanish for all those legal documents. Between 1848 – 1901 there was 65 Spanish speaking newspapers. At that time we have 3 possibilities in languages for people. ■ Spanish only → immigrants, people who didn’t move after the battle ■ Only English → 3rd generation chicanos ■ Bilingualism → within that we have the phenomenon of “spanglish” in which we have hybrid forms. Ex: English root and Spanish end → watchar (ver la tele); parkiar (aparcar); vacunar la carpeta (limpiar la alfombra)... There was also code-switching (which means change the language without realise it) Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 ■ Alma López: Mexican-born queer Chicana artist, activist and visual storyteller. She deconstructs and re-figures cultural icons including La Virgen de Guadalupe. ■ Isis Rodriguez: Second generation mid-western Latina. She was born in Kansas. She emerged as one of the artist from “the mission school”. Little miss attitude (1996) her virgin’s attitude was her own attitude and opinions. She represented her as a modern and self-confident woman. CHICANA VOICES Chicana writers use their voices not to forget their ethnicity. They are both from India and from native tribes in Mexico. They also use their voices in order not to forget that they are “mestizas” and to struggle the imposition of sexual roles, against the role of passive mothers, to struggle against the role of illegitimate whores (la Malinche), to struggle against the role of delicate females and to struggle against the dehumanization in society because chicanas are very big families and they have very close ties. The goal of this literature is speaking out, they want to have an active role (political, associations, universities...) they proclaim freedom and the rights of women. Significants • For traditional Mexican Chicana voices imply that these writers are whores. • For the _____________ these writers are exotic and they represent the good housewife because though they’re feminist they still take care for their families. • For the revolutionaries they are females who fight for changing the status of women and for justice. • For the white feminists (USA) they are invisible and ornamental cause white feminists (USA) are middle-class women who want to break away from their families, but Chicanas don’t want to do that. Chicana voices give voice to a triple jeopardy (class, gender and race). Talking about gender, they claim that there is discrimination both by USA men and Mexican men. Central Themes • Identity • Bildusroman→ maturity implies acceptance of your origin Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 • Remembering, retelling, reliving → if you want to have your own- identity, you have to remember your past and where you come from. Characters • Abuelitos and viejitos • Abuelitas and viejitas • La llorona • La Malinche • La Virgen de Guadalupe Settings • El barrio → these stories are told in “barrios”. STEREOTYPES • “Latin Lover” → handsome man, loved by all women. Very elegant in the way he dresses . He’s a very good dancer. • “The Clown” → he has a bit of all the differences male stereotypes (latin lover, el Bandido, etc) but in a funny way. He isn’t good for Mexican or Chicanos because as he’s an stereotype, they think it could be true. • “The mother” → very important female stereotype. This woman is presented or seen as a positive image that women should emulate. Single woman presented as the negative image. Women’s identity reduced to the role of mother → sexuality (sexual relations just to have children, not for pleasure). As they are going to have children, it is better if they have boys instead of girls. Chicano writers denounce this attitude and present the image of a woman lining by the window → it represents a passive woman, always at home. Mothers transmit the traditional values so the story is repeated over and over again. In Chicana books → confrontation between mothers and daugthers (feminist thinking). • The Señorita/Dark Lady → also known as “española romantica”. She’s usually a mestiza/ criolla. Beautiful and sweet woman. Considered even more beautiful than Anglo-Saxon women. According to Anglo-Saxon men, Mexican men were lazy, disgusting… but Mexican women were the opposite so they started to think that they didn’t belong to the same race. Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 • “Malinchistas” → women seen as if they were betraying their traditional values and cultures (just values of USA). REACTIONS OF CHICANOS TO THESE STEREOTYPES First reaction → abrogation. They rejected Mexican values and hided their origin to be accepted by the USA. Women → started to follow the idea of the Virgin vs. Whorse dichotomy. No other alternative to define themselves. Apart from this abrogation, some people started appropriating the origin, customs, traditions… but on their own way (re-appropriation). It’s a sort of response to USA culture. This response is done through arts. Example: In TV the cartoon of Speedy Gonzalez (1953). Two eternal enemies → two American cats. He represents the typical Mexican street gang. Many people in USA. There wanted to end with this TV series because they thought it was a negative stereotype. There were many references to drinking and humanizing. According to Mexican-American and Chicanos, he gives a good image because he gave a positive image because he was intelligent. • MUSIC “Killing”, the singer of this group (Sac de la Rocha) has Chicano origin, he was born in California. Chicano parents. Father → important artist, political art group called “Los Four” used to paint “murals” in which they put slogans like <<Chicano art existe>> The problem: he was a teenager; his father had an illness and made him destroy some of his works. His music a political weapon (son in the handout). • LITERATURE Deconstruction of the Virgin, dichotomy in Chicano literature. Feminist writers had began to reject this dichotomy by appropriating it. By writing, redefining the epitomes of this dichotomy. Using the redefining females symbols as role model Mexican and Chicano women see a chance to develop their own positive and self-confidence identity is not a constructive by the patriarchal society and catholic church. This new identity doesn’t deny sexual freedom to women to women and revalued their indigenous roots. Guadalupe → misuse to promote an image of femininity by virginity and then being a good to mother and wife. Chicanas brought to believe that sexual intercourse should happen only for procreation, sexual pleasure deny. Chicano writer turned away from Guadalupe first. Then they found a way to come back to her, by recovering and redefining her indigenous origins. According to Gloria Anzaldua these indigenous roots, they had been subverted by the patriarchal Mexican culture and the Catholic Church. She tells us that Guadalupe’s roots lead to Aztecs creators had fertility Goddess Coatlicue. She has the power to create and devour life. She Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 “Caribbean Cafe” It is divided into 3 parts: • 1st part: immigrants parents → illegal immigrants (poverty, racism, ill-treatment by the police). God like a being that punishes people. • 2nd part: It presents us with the owner of the Caribbean Cafe, he is speaking. Quite an educated man, but from the lower classes. Despite of that he feels superior to the immigrants. He doesn’t realize that he was the owner of a Cafe and that his customers are immigrants. Contradictory character, he is against the American policies but at the same time he helps the Govern by reporting an illegal woman who is at his Cafe. • 3rd part: This woman talks, she comes from “El Salvador”, the language she uses is quite poetic. She is criticizing the salvatorian army who kill her son. This story is a critic to Ronald Reagan’s Central American policies. Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 NOVELS WE ARE GOING TO STUDY IN CLASS SANDRA CISNEROS: “The House on Mango Street” She was born in 1954. She didn’t have a “normal” childhood. She wanted desperately to believe that her poverty is just a temporary situation. Her mother was a Mexican-American and her father was Mexican. They were 6 brothers. They were always moving between Chicago and Mexican city. Her loneliness for non having sister or friends draw her to reading and burring herself in the book. She needn’t to write what she know and adopting and writing style which was opposite to her mate’s style. BOOK It was published in1983. It was an elegant literary piece somewhere between poetry and fiction. She writes about real people that she has encountered in her real life. Cisneros’ work explores issues that are important to her (love, feminism, oppression, religion). In her works she wants characters who are distinctively “latino/a” and often isolated from extreme American culture. She draws heavily about her childhood experience. Cisneros’ addresses poverty, self identity, gender role, cultural suppression. And her works had been translated into a dozen languages. Context: Based in two key concepts: Oppression/poverty ▲ Poverty: Poor Latino neighbourhood. Main character feels a shame of living there because the neighbourhood represents the low expectation that the world has for her. This is directly linked to the live of the author. Cisneros is in fact represents her own experiences of being a Latina in the middle of the American culture in the 70’s. ▲ Oppression: She writes about the feelings of alienation and degradation associated to poverty. ▲.1. Sexist Oppression ▲.2. She often felt homeless & displaced LUIS VALDEZ: “Zoot Suit” Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20 He was born in 1940 in California. In 1965 he was a member of Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers Union. He was a play-writer, this theatre was for striking. It was a way of spreading news and activities. He wrote several plays. The most important one was Zoot Suit which was written in 1978. Plot: Henry Reyna is a Zoot Suiter "Pachuco" On his last night of freedom before beginning his Naval service he and his "gang" are accused of the murder of a rival "gangster" after a party. Unfairly prosecuted, the entire gang is thrown in jail for a murder they did not commit. The play is set in the barrios of Los Angeles, California in the early 1940s against the backdrop of the Zoot Suit Riots and World War II. The play is narrated throughout and most of the songs are performed by El Pachuco, an idealized Zoot Suiter. El Pachuco functions as a "Greek Chorus", commenting on the action of the play, and functioning as Henry's conscience. While in prison, Henry develops a crush on the legal aide working on his case, and his brother is wounded in the infamous Zoot Suit riots. The opinion of the public is given in the form of news headlines by a reporter who is sometimes a journalist and a radio broadcaster. The film “La Bamba” (1987) Historical context 1880’s railroads arrived in L.A population growth & spatial expansion. 1910 → the population in L.A: 100.000 largest group of immigration from Germany, Canada and England. Mexican immigrants: 800 1910-1920 Revolution in Mexico. Mexicans become the largest group in LA 1920s → white, mid-class, conservative Midwesterness in L.A: Nativism and the Ku Klux Klan gain population (segregation) 1930’s → L.A population 1 million white working class and African American families begin to mix with Mexican Americans. 1940’s → 250.000 Mexican Americans in L.A (mostly poor working people) their military enlistment rates are high. 1941: Roosevelt declares war on Japan & Germany 1942: Japanese American sent to relocation camps Wartime juvenile delinquency on the increase and newspaper write about “Mexican boy Gangs” The Sleepy Lagoon Incident August 1942: A fight between gangs of the 38th Street and Downey neighbourhood near a reservoir called the Sleepy Lagoon Hank Leyvas is among those being beaten up and decides to take revenge. His gang crashes a party convinced that the boys who assaulted then were there. Another fight breaks out and a party guest, Jose Díaz, dies. • 600 young Mexican Americans are questioned and in October Hank Leyvas and 21 other go to trial (only 3 could afford a lawyer) Lit. Norteamericana I C.M – Chicana Curso 2010-2011 20