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Part 4: The Postmodern Llorona

Above is a mural by Juana Alicia, depicting La Llorona

Myths of La Llorona tell the story of a feminine ghost who is mourning the drowning and murder of her own children, which she is responsible for. Gloria Anzaldúa’s “The Postmodern Llorona” is a twist on this folklore myth and explores the different Lloronas that exist in women. Las Lloronas in her poem are heartbroken women, abandoned women, macha women, feminine women, gay women,women in therapy with broken marriages, women who write poetry, childless women, or any woman who is lost. The lost, sorrowful, angry, haunting Llorona exists within all kinds of women, for women bear the burdens and gifts of sensitivity and emotional depth. La Llorona is any woman who has shed tears, felt alone, or lost something important to them. We are all The Postmodern Llorona.

Below is the song, “Pretty When You Cry” by Lana Del Rey. The lyrics remind me of the myths and stories of La Llorona.

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Part 4: Transforming American Studies

This piece by Gloria Anzaldúa was her speech after accepting the Bode-Pearson Prize in 2001. In this speech, she emphasizes the need for changes within the field of American studies. I consider this to be a bold and honorable speech, because it is critical of the field she is winning an award for excelling in. The speech focuses on how the field of American studies needs to broaden and expand their education on and teaching of borderlands, immigration, and intersectionality on the basis of ethnicities, race, and borders. She calls attention to the need for more inclusivity in the field for people of color and to fill the gaps in the studies of sexualities, gender, class, religion. Her message encourages changes that work to bring justice to all. The future she advocates for in American studies explores the “unsavory aspects” of the field that scholars may shy away from, ignoring the issues at hand in America. 

The link attached is to a webpage that explains more about the Bode-Pearson Prize and lists its previous winners.

https://www.theasa.net/awards/asa-awards-prizes/carl-bode-%E2%80%93-norman-holmes-pearson-prize

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Part 4: Foreword to Cassell’s Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit

This foreword, written by Gloria Anzaldúa, follows the theme of spirituality, specifically spirituality as a queer Chicana woman. The piece is very personal, describing her own spiritual journey. She describes the catalyst to her spiritual interests to be the memory of a picture of La Virgen de Guadalupe from her childhood. Based on my readings about La Virgen, this is a similar experience for many Chicana women. La Virgen represents the divine feminine, strength, and sorrow. In more recent years, artists like Alma Lopez and others have depicted La Virgen de Guadalupe as a figure of feminine empowerment, like in the picture above (“Our Lady” by Alma Lopez). 

This memory led Anzaldúa to become interested in altars, the ancient practice of curanderismo healing, shamanism, and other traditions that are both Indigenous and Mexican. I see that her practice of spirituality is reflective of her culture and its roots in Indigeneity contribute to a Chicana resurgence of Indigenous practices and lifeways.  

When Anzaldúa began to suspect she was “patlache” (meaning woman-loving woman), she would turn to her spirit and look deep inside it for guidance. This caused her to wonder about queer spirituality, which introduced her to the idea of spiritual mestizaje, who combines beliefs and pracitices from all different cultures and religions, crossing borders, creating something new to nurture the spirit. My interpretation of spiritual mestizaje tells me that they challenge western, settler-colonial, white depictions of spirituality, and open the spiritual world to the identities and experiences of all, exemplifying the notion that spirituality can and should be intersectional.

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Part 3: Identity is Always Under Construction

My interpretation of the title, “Identity is Always Under Construction”, is that although identity can feel fixed and constant, it can also change and evolve over time. I believe that we can mold our identities in ways that present ourselves in the way we want to be seen. I also believe that identities can be mutable in ways that represent how we see ourselves after we deconstruct ourselves and other people’s ideas of ourselves. Identity is always under construction because identity is deeply personal, and as people, we are constantly deconstructing and reconstructing ourselves, therefore our identities are too. 

In the drawing, the “old ID” is the old identity. The old identity seems confused and it looks like there is some inner work in both the mind and heart going on. “Nepantla” in the center shows the breaking apart of the identity- the deconstruction. This “nepantla” also represents the identity of the spaces between worlds. It is a depiction of belonging to multiple identities, but also feeling like belonging nowhere. The “reconstructed self” shows the self after the identity has been deconstructed and redefined in a way that represents the newly evolved identity or identities. It is put together in a way that accepts the nepantla parts and some of the original parts- and most likely new parts.

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Part 2: To(o) Queer the Writer- Loca, escritora y chicana

“To(o) Queer the Writer- Loca, escritora y chicana” focuses on a lot of themes including solidarity, intersectionality, queerness, identity, writing, and theory, but I would like to focus on its theme of language. Anzaldúa expresses her discontent with the term “lesbian”, describing it as white, middle class, and only representative of culture within the English language. She explains that when other lesbians name her as a lesbian, she is assumed to be under their same category. This is problematic because this tends to erase the other identities that she claims, ignoring race, ethnicity, and class. I can agree that this is problematic, however, I had not previously considered this to be a problem. Now, I can understand that for a Anzaldúa, as a queer woman of color, as a Chicana, as someone who has to excel with language in her career, that the term “lesbian” for her is a barrier to intersectionality. She claims that she would rather be called something that makes sense in the tongue of her culture, like “marimacha” or the Náhuatl term “patlache” because they are more representative of her cultural experience of queerness. She also describes issues with being called a “Chicana author” or a “lesbian author”, saying that it is rather describing her writing rather than her, putting her work into categories and boxes that are limiting and also marginalized. I think that this is an interesting claim, considering that is how I and others in my class have been referring to her. It is important to acknowledge the cultural meaning behind the language we use, especially when describing writing that we are outsiders to. In deconstructing this piece, I have been thinking about the different types of language we use to articulate and describe queerness. The video I have linked to this post is a fun conversation of older lesbian women learning different queer slang words. It is more lighthearted than Gloria’s deep, emotional, critical analysis of language surrounding sexual identity, however, it caused me to think about how the meaning of language changes over time, in the same way that identities may change over time.

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Part 2: Metaphors in the Tradition of the Shaman

This piece tells how Gloria Anzaldúa’s work as an author and poet is her own creative expression of shamanism. She states, “the role of the shaman is, as it was then, to preserve and create cultural or group identity by mediating between the cultural heritage of the past and the present everyday situations people find themselves in”, meaning they serve as a cultural bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. She explains that shamans and poets are similar because they bear the responsibility of communication and healing. The sicknesses that Anzaldúa works to heal with poetry are based on culture, identity, and politics because she sees that these aspects of life create imbalances in people and in communities. Shamans also work to heal imbalances. In Anzaldúa’s eyes, the cure to restoring balance can be done through metaphors. Metaphors transmit information and we can use that to communicate our deepest imbalances and innermost emotions. Anzaldúa’s use of metaphor within her poetry communicates feelings beyond what most can see and say, which is her form of healing. She is a vehicle of communication as a shaman also is. 

Here, out of interest in shamanic healing, I have attached a video about shamanic plant medicine in Belize. 

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Part 2: The Presence

I very much enjoyed the poem, “The Presence” because it discusses the unseen- what exists beyond the realm of our sight. This poem serves as an example of Anzaldúa’s connection to the spiritual world and how she chooses to either hide or share what she sees. 

She says she sees and feels spirits around her. One in particular is always there when she writes, influencing what she creates. This spirit is a he-spirit whom she chose to hide from others. 

She recalls a time when a friend of hers also felt the presence of this spirit. Her friend interpreted the spirit as the ghost of her father, but Anzaldúa sees the spirit as a guardian to her- her writing daemon. I think it is interesting how two people may have a shared experience with a particular spirit, but the spirit is read by them in completely different ways. I think that this shows that what exists beyond our five senses appears to us in the ways that we need to fulfil or grow our own spirits that live inside of us. I enjoy how Anzaldúa uses this poem to express the things within us that we see and feel, but are afraid to talk about with others. Many times, people with spiritual gifts are labeled as crazy and delusional, but I think that these gifts show a deep connection to the world, physically and metaphysically, as well as a strong intuitive intelligence. 

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Part 2: En Rapport, In Opposition

“En Rapport, In Opposition” is a fascinating read to analyze. It not only discusses the effects of settler colonialism but it also highlights the ways in which people of all identities inevitably participate in settler colonialism for survival. This piece of writing caused me to consider the differences between unity and intersectionality. 

Anzaldúa writes, “we no longer allow white women to efface us or suppress us. Now we do it to each other”. I believe that this refers to the cognitive imperialism that exists within all of us- the inescapable inclination to dominate others in order to survive. This sense of superiority within minority groups is the internalization of western culture, and therefore a continuation of settler colonialism that exists outside of the settler population, but at the fault of settler-colonial powers. Indigenous peoples, Chicano/as, and other peoples of color have had no choice but to adopt settler colonial ideas and behaviors toward each other in order to ensure their own peoples’ survival in a settler-colonial society. 

Anzaldúa also writes, “as long as we see the world and our experiences through white eyes- in a dominant/subordinate way- we’re trapped in the tar and pitch of the old manipulative and strive-for-power ways”. I think that this quote exemplifies the way in which people of color are conditioned to participate in whiteness and to view other groups as a threat to their own survival. She proposes that in order to resolve this internalized neocolonialism, “othered” groups must develop an understanding of the effects of colonization and how it exists in themselves. She also proposes a resurgence of Indigenous spiritual identities as a means of developing clarity outside of the settler-colonial mindset.

On this blog post, I have linked a book that I feel dives very deep into settler colonialism. It also focuses a lot on the Indigenous resurgence that Anzaldúa refers to briefly in this piece. Check out this book! I owe my increased understanding of settler colonialism to this book and its author, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. 

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34850530-as-we-have-always-done

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Part 2: Del Otro Lado

This poem by Gloria Anzaldúa explores the feelings of shame and outcastedness that are experienced by queer individuals for expressing their sexual identities. Many queer people, especially Chicanx queers, experience alienation from their families or even homelessness for living their truth. The language in this poem fills me with sorrow and even anger for the challenges that members of the queer community face- even within the home. 

the horror in her sister’s voice

“Eres una de las otras,”

the look in her mother’s face

as she says, “I am so ashamed

[...]

I’ll shoot myself in the head with a gun

if you tell the people of this town

that you’re a jota.”

This verse of the poem hits deep in the heart. In English, the phrase “eres una de las otras” means “you are one of the others”, as if being gay makes you a separate species. The action of being othered is dehumanizing. 

The mother’s shame in her daughter’s sexuality puts shame upon her daughter, as if her mother would rather die than have a gay child. I think that this emphasizes the social taboo that follows queerness, as if it is better to hide one’s true self from the world to save the family from shame and humiliation. The term “jota” is a derogatory Mexican slang word for a gay person. This lack of support from family members and fear of disappointment causes queer people to feel alienated from their family and cultural identities, while instilling shame over their sexual identities. 

No right to sing, to rage, to explode.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.

People are starving in Ethiopia,

dying in Guatemala and Nicaragua

while you talk about gay rights and orgasms.”

This verse shows the guilt that many queer people feel for feeling the need to express their sexuality and be honest about it with their families. This guilt causes them to feel like they should be less expressive and more cooperative, no matter how angry and trapped they feel inside. Many times, this queer guilt comes from the comparison of trauma, meaning if others are facing “worse” struggles, then they have no right to bring attention to their own traumas. This leads to trauma going unresolved, creating a storm of suppressed emotions in oneself. This quote from the mother implies that queerness is not to be recognized and that her daughter’s sexuality and struggles are not valid.

In all lands alien, nowhere citizen.

[...]

but each place she went to

pushed her to the other side,

al otro lado. 

This verse explores the feelings of outcastedness, not belonging anywhere, having multiple identities, but not fitting in with any of them- nowhereness. It discusses the feeling that primarily queer individuals living in borderlands may face, feeling like they are in the space between cultures and identities, not properly fulfilling any of them according to the expectations and norms. This non-belonging pushes the daughter to the outside- the other side (al otro lado). The other side is a metaphor for the non-belonging, the spaces between belonging.

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Wild tongues cannot be tamed, they can only be cut out.

Gloria Anzaldúa

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Part 1: The New Speakers

In this poem, Anzaldúa explores the identities and roles of poets. She uses her own experience as a poet to inform her beliefs about how poets feel and what they desire. 

She describes the poet as forever alone, separate, more sensitive, and outcasted. This reflects how poets carry the burden of deconstructing and putting words to the feelings we can’t describe. I infer that for her, this burden is also difficult to carry due to her multicultural identity. She carries the burden of speaking for people of all of her shared identities, which leaves her feeling like she is on the outside looking in.

That suffering is a way of life,

that suffering is a virtue

that suffering is the price 

we pay for seeing the future 

This excerpt highlights the expectation of suffering that poets take on. Suffering is how they get by, suffering is how they see the truth, suffering is what they must do in exchange for success. To feel this pain is both a burden and fuel to their creative gifts. 

We don’t want to be

Stars but

parts of constellations 

I think this part is beautiful, but I struggle to identify what exactly it means. I believe this is something very personal to Anzaldúa. I interpret this as the poets’ desire to not be care-takers, heroes, or centerpieces, but instead to be part of other people’s stories, giving them a sense of connectedness as a constellation does.

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Part 1: The Coming of el Mundo Surdo

Anzaldúa’s poem connects the spiritual and emotional needs behind solidarity with the political needs that inspire it.  

Thanks to AnaLouise Keating’s footnote on Gloria Anzaldúa’s “The coming of el mundo surdo”, I learned that “surdo” is typically spelled “zurdo”; however, Anzaldúa intentionally chose to spell it this way to reflect the soft sound of surdo that is pronounced by South Texan Spanish speakers. This is her patronage to where she was born and she is honoring her identity.

Identity is important in this poem. It is important because identity is what paves the way for solidarity.

This is the year

the people of peace

break out of bondage

Here, Anzaldúa refers to revolution formed from solidarity- oppressed peoples alike claiming their liberation. 

Together we will walk

through walls     by the lunar

light see our 

left-handedness

with our third eye

She claims “left-handedness” to represent a community full of different backgrounds working together to inspire revolutionary change. Left-handedness in the third eye is solidarity through the spirit- to be tied to the cause by a spiritual need. 

Love is the doctrine 

Love is the doctrine. Love is behind it all. Love is the principle behind advocacy and action- love for oneself, love for one’s community, and love for one’s planet.

The real unknown is love

do not be afraid

to touch each other

We go naked here.

To be naked is to be stripped to the rawest, most vulnerable form. To be naked together is to express and experience vulnerability together. In solidarity, people can relate to one another’s vulnerability- one another’s nakedness- to come together in the name of love and left-handedness. 

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Part 1: Dream of the Double-Faced Woman

The theme of “Dream of the Double-Faced Woman'' is clear in the line “there can be no political liberation without a sexual liberation first. That is the liberation of women”. This quote exemplifies the theme of agency because it emphasizes the importance of sexual liberation, which is essential to feminine agency- to be aware of the physical body’s needs aside from survival and to be able to align the body’s needs with the spirit’s needs. If political liberation cannot happen without sexual liberation, then sexual liberation cannot happen without a deep sentiment of agency in oneself, especially for women, especially for Chicanas and other women of color. In this piece, Anzaldúa’s writing celebrates not only the sexual freedoms and beauties of the feminine body, but also its natural processes, like passing gas. Women have been systemically shamed into dissociating from their bodies, bullied into passive sexuality and to feel disconnected from what is underneath their clothes. Gloria takes this as an opportunity to advocate for women having the agency to change their relationships to their bodies so they can improve their relationships with others and enhance their relationship with their worlds, giving them the power to change the world for the better. Feminine agency, sexually and spiritually, is a catalyst for real world change. 

For further reading related to the themes presented in this piece, this link is to an article from Ms. magazine that highlights sexual agency and shame in women. 

https://msmagazine.com/2020/08/12/tools-of-the-patriarchy-the-weaponization-of-sexual-freedom/