In his novel, Performing Queer Latinidad, Ramon Rivera Servera states “'...to be queer' describes the lived experiences, identities, desires, and affects of subjects who practice or entertain the possibility of practicing sexual or gender behaviors outside heteronormative constructs”(Servera, 27). To be Latino/a, while literally meaning of Latin American origin, describes an individual surrounded by a rich traditional culture and added barriers for fitting into white society. Queer Latino/as encompass both of these states of being, which often clash with each other and society in general, creating a “busy street with lots of foot traffic”(Servera, 141). Using concepts like “homemaking,” “choreographies of hope” and clear examples throughout …show more content…
Through homemaking and embracing his queer sexuality, Aviles “...challenged and queered definitions of latinidad circulated in mainstream popular culture, as well as within the neighborhood”(42). Aviles was motivated by the busy streets of queer latinidad to help establish queer Latino/a spaces at the Point Cultural Center and the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance in an effort to give queer Latino/as in New York a home to turn to if their literal homes were homophobic and not supportive of performance. Severa describes queer latinidad as a busy street because its travel is dominated by performances that create spaces “...where marginalized communities, such as queer Latinas/os, make home by participating in embodied experiences with others in the midst of travel to collectively devise strategies of being and being together”(Servera, 29). While queer latinidad may be in constant motion, the many spaces described in Performing Queer Latinidad serve as vital temporary homes for queer Latinos “...at the margins of a heteronormative and white cultural geography”(Servera, …show more content…
In order to preserve queer Latino/a spaces, queer Latino/a and queer Latino/a sympathisers use hope as a means of combat. In his book, Rivera Servera recounts the story of the Esperanza Center for Peace and Justice’s funding cuts in 1997, focusing not on the court proceedings but instead on the activist who utilized choreographies of hope as the center of their campaign. The Todos Somos Esperanza campaign, created in response to hateful conservative groups, “... embodied hope, not as a detached, faraway possibility, but as a palpable collective experience that required focus, effort, and endurance”(Servera, 121). The activists created beautiful demonstrations which included intricate ceremonies of hope and thought out speeches by community members expressing an educated hope for the future. Using these methods, the activists “...reanimated their connection to ancestral spirituality and historical trauma. At the same time, they identified present obstacles and future possibilities”(Servera, 104). This political optimism counteracted the anger of their opposers and was a vital part of the success of the Esperanza Center. Despite queer latinidad being a “busy street with lots of foot traffic,” queer Latino/as can always find enough grounding to fight for their right to happiness
In Sueños Americanos: Barrio Youth Negotiating Social and Cultural Identities, Julio Cammarota studies Latina/o youth who live in El Pueblo, and talks about how Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant law, is affecting Latina/o youth in California (Cammarota, 2008, p. 3). In this book review, I will write about the two main points the author is trying to get across. The two main points I will be writing about are how Proposition 187 is affecting the Latina/o community, and about how Latina/o youth are copping in the El Pueblo barrio. Afterward I write about the two main points the author is trying to get across, I will write a brief description of the author and write about the author’s strengths and weaknesses.
In the novel Chulito author Charles Rice-Gonzalez creates a familiar world seen through the eyes of a young, gay Latino from New York to strip the reconstructed masculinity that is inherent to the urban Latin communities' sense of machismo and expose the realities of outdated views on gender roles and sexual orientation, and the internal power struggle against the machismo aspects that entrap its members in a cycle of poverty and violence. The majority of young Latinos growing up in impoverished areas of urban society think machismo is necessary for survival and acceptance within the community. Rice-Gonzalez reveals this to be an oversimplification by the members of the community of the social dynamics that are at work behind the scenes and,
For years the LGBT community has been consistently denied the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, and it wasn’t until last year that same sex marriage became legal throughout the United States. However, they are not the only minorities being discriminated against in the United States. That is why Dolores Huerta, a well-known civil rights activist, points out that people who have experienced oppression should come together to achieve equality. In her keynote speech at the 21st National Conference on LGBT Equality, Dolores Huerta uses ethos, logos, and pathos as an effective way to inspire her audience to make a change in society.
In Lives in Limbo, Roberto G. Gonzales dissects the disastrous effects of US immigration policy on young Latina/os struggling in the often untouched, unnoticed, uncared for, American underbelly. Through a striking ethnography, Gonzalez examines 150 illuminating case-studies of young undocumented Latina/os, shedding light on their shared experience in the struggle for legitimacy in the United States - their lives, effectively, in limbo. He develops two major groups with which to classify the struggling youth: the college-goers, like Cesar, who received strong marks in high school and was able to land himself a spot within the UC system, and the early-exiters, like Silvia, who was unable to attend college, resigned to a paranoid life plagued
Harvest of the Empire is a valuable tool to gaining a better understanding of Latinos. This book helps people understand how varied Latino’s in the United States are. The author also helped give insight as to how Americans reacts to differences within itself. It does this by giving a description of the struggles that every Latino immigrant faced entering the United States. These points of emphasis of the book were explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2000.
Instead of loving and caring for her baby, and forgetting about Danny, she became worse than him. Rodriguez presents many aspects of the minority class that live in the United States, specifically the South Bronx. Even though the cases presented in Rodriguez’s short stories are difficult to mellow with, they are a reality that is constant in many lives. Everyday someone goes through life suffering, due to lack of responsibility, lack of knowledge, submission to another entity or just lack of wanting to have a better life. People that go through these situations are people who have not finished studying, so they have fewer opportunities in life.
...color, were previously active in other established Latino student organizations (e.g. M.E.Ch.A), but the homophobic ideals entrenched in them [students organizations] led to the creation and solidification of safe spaces (e.g. La Familia). These students felt that although there were other organizations that offered queer (GALA) and ethnic (M.E.Ch.A) spaces, none were directly addressing their needs as gay Latino students. As a result, the queer of color community fought an uphill battle to create a social and political safety net in “La Familia” student organization. It is evident that Mechista members were against the establishment of “La Familia,” because it would create a division in an already small M.E.Ch.A community. Santiago Bernal, a cofounder of La Familia, was recalling the alienation he felt during a M.E.Ch.A meeting, in an interview with Juan D. Ochoa:
Using both English and Spanish or Spanglish the author Gloria Anzaldua explores the physical, cultural, spiritual, sexual and psychological meaning of borderlands in her book Borderlands/La Frontera: A New Mestiza. As a Chicana lesbian feminist, Anzaldua grew up in an atmosphere of oppression and confusion. Anzaldua illustrates the meaning of being a “mestiza”. In order to define this, she examines herself, her homeland and language. Anzaldúa discusses the complexity of several themes having to do with borderlands, mestizaje, cultural identity, women in the traditional Mexican family, sexual orientation, la facultad and the Coatlicue state. Through these themes, she is able to give her readers a new way of discovering themselves. Anzaldua alerts us to a new understanding of the self and the world around us by using her personal experiences.
Gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are core components that create a solid identity. In the western world Jolene is known as a bisexual Latina female. She is bisexual because she is sexually attracted to men and women, she is a Latina because she is a mixed company of Puerto Rican and German American, and she is a female because she has the physical attributes of a woman. Although gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are all relating factors, they are also separate units of identity. Gender refers to physical attributes and traits that make one appear to be male or female. Sexuality refers to how one feels about their body, one’s sexual orientation, and one’s sexual attraction for others. Ethnicity refers to a group of people who share the same cultural background and heritage. Lopez uses these three different factors of identity and crafts them together simultaneously to suggest the damage of stereotypes. Throughout the novel, Lopez’s Flaming Iguanas highlights the conformity of sex and gender stereotypes, and addresses the socially constructed stereotypes to challenge the patriarchy and expose the damage it does to one’s search for selfhood. Jolene exemplifies how they damage one’s sense of self as she ventures
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
“As long as Latino kills Latino… we’ll always be little people,” stated Ernesto Quinonez. This statement comments on the integration of society within an individual’s identity and it’s long lasting effects. The perception of who we are behind closed doors and who we are in public greatly influences our state of mind and our internal well-being. Throughout Quinonez’s Bodega Dreams, the reader can clearly see how one’s traditional culture and perception of private vs. public image is valued amongst the characters. At times, the reader may notice an internal struggle within multiple characters. The thought of going against what may be considered “normal” can be quite nerve-racking for
Sandra Cisneros’s short story “Never Marry a Mexican” deals heavily with the concept of myth in literature, more specifically the myth La Malinche, which focuses on women, and how their lives are spun in the shadows on men (Fitts). Myths help power some of the beliefs of entire cultures or civilizations. She gives the reader the mind of a Mexican-American woman who seems traitorous to her friends, family and people she is close to. This causes destruction in her path in the form of love, power, heartbreak, hatred, and an intent to do harm to another, which are themes of myth in literature. The unreliable narrator of this story was created in this story with the purpose to show her confusion and what coming from two completely different cultures can do to a person, and what kind of confusion it can bring.
The eternal endeavor of obtaining a realistic sense of selfhood is depicted for all struggling women of color in Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). Anzaldua illustrates the oppressing realities of her world – one that sets limitations for the minority. Albeit the obvious restraints against the white majority (the physical borderland between the U.S. and Mexico), there is a constant and overwhelming emotional battle against the psychological “borderlands” instilled in Anzaldua as she desperately seeks recognition as an openly queer Mestiza woman. With being a Mestiza comes a lot of cultural stereotypes that more than often try to define ones’ role in the world – especially if you are those whom have privilege above the “others”.