“La Nueva Chicana”: Celebrating Women’s History Month

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“La Nueva Chicana” by Viola Correa

Hey,
See that lady protesting against injustice,
Es mi Mama.
That girl in the brown beret,
the one teaching the children,
She's my hermana
Over there fasting with the migrants,
Es mi tía.
These are the women who worry,
Pray, iron
And cook chile y tortillas.
The lady with the forgiving eyes
And the gentle smile,
Listen to her shout.
She knows what hardship is all about
All About.
The establishment calls her
A radical militant.
The newspapers read she is
A dangerous subversive
They label her to condemn her.
By the F.B.I. she's called
A big problem
In Aztlán we call her
La Nueva Chicana.

March marks Women’s History Month in which women from all over the world are celebrated for their contributions to history, culture and society. In reflection of the month, I was highly captivated by the strong and powerful poem of Viola Correa titled “La Nueva Chicana.” Viola Correa’s has contributed a beautifully written poem that embodies the history of la Chicana we have read about in class in such books like ¡Chicana Power! and Chicana Feminist Thought.  It also uniquely captures the past, present and future of la Chicana woman through the art of poem, an artistic medium that was frequently used by la Chicana as a form of resistance, to foster identity and solidarity by sharing experiences and testimonies.

The poem unites Chicana women from all generations and social classes by focusing on their strength, courage and allegiance to the movement. The lines “The newspapers read she is/A dangerous subversive/They label her to condemn her./By the F.B.I. she’s called/A big problem,” shows that they were viewed as a threat to institutional powers because they were challenging gender/sex roles and sources of oppression (from “La Nueva Chicana”). Despite the threats and danger involved, their role was valuable and it did not deter them from pursuing a political identity. Las Pachucas and Chicana Brown Berets actively participated in activism using many mechanisms like fashion, organizing, and mobilizing to challenge patriarchal structures. Also by creating a collective identity they were better able to tackle and confront inherent inequalities in organizations. Society has painted Chicanas as rebellious by the mere fact that they were being vocal and employing the First Amendment, which declares freedom of speech and the right to assembly. Las Pachucas and Chicana Brown Berets chose to take agency over their lives by also redefining their roles, and constructing a space where Third World Feminism could flourish. What Chicanas accomplished in their time was revolutionary because it was a time where gender norms and sexism was strongly embedded in society, were extremely rigid, and women were physically confined to the home. Society has silenced and kept women invisible, especially men as a manner to legitimatize their power and authority. However Correa addresses it by recognizing that even though Chicana women have a legacy of suffering, they most importantly have a history of resistance. What’s very compelling about her poem is that she does not portray Chicanas as victims or passive, but rather she highlights how ordinary women have played a crucial role in creating change.

Another characteristic of Correa’s poem that I appreciate is that it’s bilingual. It evokes a similar technique found in Gloria Anzaldúa’s book Borderlands/La Frontera where she incorporates multiple languages into her text because language is crucial to the Chicana’s identity. Correa shows that the nueva Chicana embraces who she is, where she comes from and her indigenous roots. The speaker in the poem is discussing the common thread that runs through women’s lives, which shows that she admires their fearlessness and reveals that la Nueva Chicana is every woman. By using words like “mama, sister, and tia” are terms of familial relations thus, implying that there exists a sisterhood of all women. When she says, “See that lady protesting against injustice/Es mi Mama” it is very empowering because she is not only honoring women but encouraging women to continue carrying the torch. There’s a lineage of strong women who in their own way contributed to the progression of the movement, but only through solidarity will women triumph. Lastly, the line “In Aztlán we call her/La Nueva Chicana” is a reclaiming of Aztlan as also belonging to the Chicana. She is reimagining it also as a place where the lineage of warrior women can be traced to and not only to dominant Chicano  men. The overall theme of “La Nueva Chicana” is validating her as a new political subject who deserves to be heard but most of all to empower all women. It is an excellent message that fits in perfectly with Women’s History month.

Additional Sources:

  • Chabram-Dernersesian, Angie. The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Reader. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.