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Part 4: "Later" Writings

Entry 12: The Postmodern Llorona

I chose this passage because I have heard of La Llorona and the story of her, it has made its way to the horror industry. However, I have not the real story or how it fits into Latinx/Chicanx culture. Anzaldúa uses La Llorona as a metaphor for who she has become as a woman. Not afraid of anything, including La Llorona. A quote from the passage that I thought was interesting was,  

“She is the macha woman, the femme, 

La Llorona is a lesbian, and abandonment and betrayal 

are now mediated by both parties or in couples therapy.  

the weeping woman walks our streets, 

does her laundry at Ultramat. 

La Llorona attends UCSC, goes on picnics  

and to the movies.” (Anzaldúa 280). 

I chose this quote because it represents the postmodern Llorona, this is the weeping woman, a woman alone and outcasted by society. La Llorona can be anyone, it is a woman who walks our streets and does what we all do, but she is filled with sadness.  

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Part 4: "Later" Writings

Entry 11: Healing Wounds

I chose this passage because it is a short, but beautiful poem. I can relate a lot to it and realizing that you must hurt and go through painful experiences to come back stronger. You have to hurt to heal. The poem isn’t much of a metaphor, and I appreciate the straightforwardness of it. It’s the beauty of being in pain and seeing the pain, but then having the strength to be okay with the hurt and knowing and telling yourself that the pain you are feeling is necessary for healing. A quote from the poem that I liked was,  

“Wailing, I pull my hair 

suck snot back and swallow it  

place both hands over the wound 

but after all these years 

it still bleeds 

never realizing that to heal 

there must be wounds 

repair there must be damage 

for light there must be darkness.” (Anzaldúa 249). 

I chose this part of the poem because it does support my claim, but it is the sad reality to pain and misery. You have to go through pain to come out the other side healed, to be repaired, there must be damage, for there to be light, there must be darkness.  

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Part 4: "Later" Writings

Entry 10: (Un)natural Bridges, (Un)safe Spaces

I chose this passage because I can relate to this story as well. A majority of the story is about speaking your mind, but not being able to in spaces that are unsafe. Like I spoke about before, people of color are shut down and condemned by white groups and mainstream media for speaking about issues in the world. The unsafe spaces and the unnatural bridges are the places where we can’t mesh, where races begin to divide and separate. The safe spaces are where people can speak their minds and be uplifted. There is a bridge that connects us as people beyond our race, our gender, our sexual orientation, etc. A quote from the passage that I appreciated was, “This bridge we call home invites us to move beyond separate and easy identifications, creating bridges that cross race and other classifications among different groups via intergenerational dialogue. Rather than legislating and restricting racial identities it tries to make them more pliant.” (Anzaldúa 245). I chose this quote because the safe spaces are when we can come together and the bridge is when we can connect with people based on our experiences, our hobbies, our lifestyles, our passions, rather than just our appearance, the color of our skin, or our political ideologies, etc.  

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Part 2: "Middle" Writings

Entry 8: The New Mestiza Nation: A Multicultural Movement

I wanted to add a presentation of a quick and simple summary about the Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza book, written by Anzaldua. I enjoyed viewing the presentation and it told me more about the book, without completing it front to back.

I chose this passage because it challenges the mainstream culture of the US. It discusses the value of multiculturalism and why multiculturalism is not supported among a lot of groups. The passage also talks about the challenging voices against the white voices in America; how hard it is to fight for equality in America. A quote from the passage that I appreciated, “True multiculturalism endangers white males and forces them to feel ashamed of their culture by presenting the histories and perspectives of ethnic groups. Multiculturalists disrupt the fantasy that has dominated the State’s official version of this country’s history.” (Anzaldúa 203). Not to mention, people of color are shut down for being “too sensitive” and forcing the world to be politically correct. The goal is not to force everyone to walk on eggshells, it’s a desire for the world to acknowledge the hardships of people of color and women of color within that. To talk to and talk about people with respect, why is equality not just equality, why has it been labeled sensitivity or political correctness? “When some of us criticize racism or homophobia in the academy they respond by pointing the finger at us and shouting their right-wing buzzwords like political correctness to silence dissenting voices.” (Anzaldúa 203).  

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Part 2: "Middle" Writings

Entry 7: La Vulva es una Herida Abierta/ The Vulva is an Open Wound

I wanted to insert this link to give a base line for readers about the science and social background behind female pain, whether it be mental, historical, social, physical, emotional, etc.

I chose this passage because I as a women can connect and relate on a deeper level to the story she is telling. The passage is very detailed and shares vivid imagery along with the story. The story is about periods and the pain that comes along with it, along with being a woman rather. Puberty starts very young for some and the monthly menstrual cycle, its pain that we don’t really consent to, but it is a part of our womanhood. “She was afraid someone would catch her with the bloody evidence en sus manos. Horrified at the pains that would sweep through her. Her insides coming up, vomiting, shrinking into herself when the jabs came, when pain, the vulture pecked her insides. Cuando se bañaba- she didn’t use the same water to wash her face or hair that she used to clean her lower body.” (Anzaldúa 200). I chose this quote because of the fact that she felt the need to hide what had happened. Something as natural as a period, but she had to hide, and she was conscious of the smell and the way it made her feel. She hid it and she delt with the pain herself. Many women feel self-conscious of how their vaginas look, smell, or their natural processes, the vagina is beautiful, and we shouldn’t feel the need to hide how much our bodies can put us through. I wanted to show the beauty of the vagina in my post here.  

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Part 2: "Middle" Writings

Entry 6: Bridge, Drawbridge, Sandbar, or Island: Lesbians-of-Color Hacienda Alianzas

This passage stands out to me because we as women of color have and the potential to have so many identities, some that we hide and some that we freely express. The drawbridge in this passage to me is like the connection between those identities. The island is like an isolation, where one or multiple of those identities isolate themselves from the rest, this is when we can’t access or get to those identities. The parts of ourselves that we try to escape from and hide from. The many identities that Anzaldúa has as a queer, mestiza/Chicana, woman. At some points she uses a “drawbridge” to access and connect all of those identities. A quote I thought was interesting is, “We live in a world where whites dominate colored, and we participate in such a system every minute of our lives; the subordination/domination dynamic is that insidious. We, too, operate in a racist system whether we are rebelling against it or are colluding with it.” (Anzaldúa 149). I chose this quote because it is the reality for so many people, specifically people of color. We are given a choice, a very limited choice, to go against the racist system we were born into or to join it and accept it. No in between.  

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Part 2: "Middle" Writings

Entry 5: The Presence

I chose this passage to write about because it was intriguing, and I have never really understood the power of spirituality outside of my own faith. As well as what spirituality can mean for women of color. This passage kind of stood out to me because the presence here is something of a demonic nature, but further into the story it is described as a fearful spirit of the dead that Anzaldúa has seen and felt in every aspect of her life. A quote from the passage that I want to add is,  

“Sometimes this spirit would follow me 

to the home of friends 

to the university, but after a couple 

of blocks he would get further and further 

behind as if afraid he’d forget the way back 

to my apartment. He’d always be there 

when I returned.” (Anzaldúa 119). 

I chose this quote because it felt comforting, and it allowed me to see the spirit as more of a person and less of a ghost. The spirit utilized Anzaldua for a home and Anzaldúa utilized the spirit for her writing, not to mention she could use the spirit as a passage topic later on. 

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Part 2: "Middle" Writings

Entry 4: Encountering the Medusa

I chose this passage from Part 2 because there has been a lot of modern talk about the story of Medusa and what it means to people. The story of Medusa is complex and there have been many moderations to the story, so I added a link to a site that described the myth and the real story about Medusa. The poem that Anzaldúa wrote has a different take on Medusa and what encounter she has had with the creature. She takes a more metaphorical approach. A quote from the poem that I found interesting was,  

“Too familiar she’s become  

you’d think I’d get used to it 

I look in the mirror 

see her numinous glare 

know the daemon is there 

what a nightmare” (Anzaldúa 101).  

This quote was chosen because it can be reality for a lot of people, especially women. I interpreted this poem as your inner self, being cruel to you and telling you all the negative things about yourself. These inner thoughts have become so normal, you would think we get used to it, but we never do, every time those words and those thoughts stab like a knife. Why are we so unkind to ourselves? Why do we pick ourselves apart until there is nothing left? It is hard to leave these thoughts because they keep us still like stone, we are unable to move and escape our inner selves.  

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Part 1: "Early" Writings

Entry 3: Spirituality, Sexuality, and the Body

I chose this passage to be my last entry topic from Part 1 because the female body and female sexuality is never encouraged or spoken about. Women must be modest, must be sexually abstinent, hide themselves, and remain innocent. I relate to this passage and the idea that women should stay almost like children their entire lives until they get married. Then, their life must be dedicated to taking care of their families, where does their sexuality go? Happiness? Dreams? Women, especially women of color are condemned for expressing themselves and being comfortable with their bodies, spirituality, and sexuality. But, also becoming one with nature and feeling a connection to the things that surround us. A quote from the passage that I thought was especially interesting was, “When I'm there being sexual, sensual, erotic, it’s like all the Glorias are there; none are absent. They’ve all been gathered to this one point. In spirituality I feel the same way,” (Anzaldúa 85). This quote resonates with me because when all the pieces of me come together, it is when I am comfortable and expressing myself, whether that be sexually, spiritually, socially, or even when I am affectionate with someone. I can’t be me in only one of those aspects without being me in the other aspects.  

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Part 1: "Early" Writings

Entry 2: Dream of the Double-Faced Woman

I chose this to be the topic of my second entry because there are many interpretations to the text. What does it mean to be a woman? One side of a woman is what she shows to the world. The other side is who she is when she is alone or when she feels comfortable. The double-faced woman is all of us women, from every point in history, hiding ourselves and not being able to freely express ourselves for the sake of society and for the sake of men. For the sake of our parents, so they don’t disown us, for the sake of our spirituality. Why do we hide to be accepted? Women have had to adapt and become two people to be accepted by society and to be accepted by ourselves. A quote of the passage that I found interesting and relatable was, “For if she changed her relationship to her body and that in turn changed her relationship to another’s body then she would change her relationship to the world. And when that happened, she would change the world,” (Anzaldúa 71). This quote is so representative of modern society because it explains why it’s important to be comfortable and satisfied with yourself to be satisfied with the world around you. You can’t love another without loving yourself. Without loving yourself, without being confident and content with yourself, how can you participate in helping to change society when you’re hiding from society? I love how I can relate completely to this passage.  

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Part 1: "Early Writings"

Entry 1: Speaking in Tongues

I chose this to be my first entry topic of Part 1 because I can relate to it, and I have previous knowledge of speaking in tongues and what it means to my family. My family is Christian, but prior to our Christianity, many of them used to be Catholic. Speaking in tongues is something to be desired and a very special gift from God. It brings one closer to God through that gift, this comes from my faith and the stories I hear from my grandma. A quote that I find interesting from the passage is, “The white man speaks: Perhaps if you scrape the dark off your face. Maybe if you bleach your bones. Stop speaking in tongues, stop writing left-handed. Don’t cultivate your colored skins nor tongues of fire if you want to make it in a right-handed world.” (Anzaldúa 27,28). There is a lot to say about this quote because basically people outside of the Chicanx/Latinx culture see these Brown people and judge the way they speak and make them outsiders. Their language is seen as speaking in tongues, because it is fast and hard to understand for them, they judge it and push it aside because they can’t understand it. Really, they just don’t care to understand it. This passage gives a new interpretation to the concept of speaking in tongues and the historical context of it.