Their Dogs Came With Them: the Origin of the Title

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Rachel Rios

“They came in battle array as conquerors,

And the dust rose in whirlwinds on the roads.

Their spears glitted in the sun and their pennants fluttered like bats.

They made a loud clamor as they marched with their coats of mail,

And their weapons clashed and rattled.

Some of them were dressed in glistening iron from head to foot.

They terrified everyone who saw them.

Their dogs came with them, running ahead of the column.

They raised their muzzles high; they lifted their muzzles to the wind.

They raced on before with saliva dripping from their jaws.”

The epigraph, from which the title of Helena Maria Viramontes’ book, comes from The Broken Spears: the Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, depicting the Conquistadors conquering the native Aztecs, intimidating them with their iron suits and vicious dogs. The title of the count, Broken Spears, derives from a phrase in the book, which was actually misinterpreted, actually meaning “broken bones”. However, I find the original title much more compelling, as it tells of a nation of Aztec warriors being conquered themselves. Their might, symbolized by their weaponry, is shattered; they simply become another one of the conquered. The Spanish translation (the original published version) bares another title: Vision of the Vanquished, which provides insight on the hopeless feeling of the conquered. I would like to explore the titles, as well as the rest of the epigraph, in relation to the novel.

The novel opens with the people of Mexico being conquered again. Though they too were once warriors, of Spanish conquistador and Aztec blood, fighting to survive in East LA which is not only discriminated against by the upper classes and white majority, but is struggling with poverty and gang violence. In addition to this, they must now survive the quarantine and the authority figures that come with it. Cut off from the rest of the city and treated like inmates, they too have become unable to fight. While their spears were bending with the pressure of being a minority and of lower socio-economic standing, the dehumanizing effect of the quarantine authority was the final straw.

Their Dogs Came With Them is, in itself, “visions of the vanquished”. The novel carries an aura of hopelessness as we follow characters that seem unable to remove themselves from their bad situations. They are vanquished by the quarantine authority, but also by the forces in their personal lives: Ermila by her family and boyfriend, Turtle by the response to her abnormal gender identity, Tranquilina by her struggles with faith, Ana by her responsibility to Ben. This novel allows us to see the world through their eyes and feel the devastating hopelessness of being conquered.

I believe that the epigraph inspired not only the title, but also the entire novel. Assuming this is true, a closer look into the epigraph also gives nuance to the book and its characters. I believe one reading of the epigraph in the context of the book is that it alludes to the construction of the freeways. “The dust rose in whirlwinds on the roads” can be an allusion to the construction of the freeways and the rubble from its construction and in its wake. The spears and pennants of the warriors are machinery and the tape and blockades used to denote a construction cite. Their construction is “the loud clamor”. Their battle attire is hardhats. The conquerors “dressed in iron” can also be seen as the freeway, its grey concrete making it look like an iron-armored giant.

I believe the later half, in this instance, refers to the quarantine and the authority behind it. “Dressed in iron from head to foot” can also be seen as the steely persona of the QA, who are dressed in uniforms of white. Though the QA is there to kill the dogs, the dogs are used as a vehicle to cut of the East LA population from the rest of the city; in this way, I believe it is reasonable to say that they are “their” dogs. The saliva “dripping from [the dogs’] jaws” is reminiscent of the foaming of the mouth rabies causes.

The gravity of the epigraph of the Spanish conquest of Mexico lends gravity to the dividing and confining of East LA. Like the indigenous people, they are being made a lesser by a lighter skinned conqueror. Their community is dying from the unceremonious butchering caused by the freeways. They are dehumanized by the quarantine made to prohibit the spread of dogs with rabies; this, in a way, equates the people to dogs. “Any unleashed mammal will be shot.”

Sources:

Silverblatt, Michael. “Helena Maria Viramontes”. Bookworm. 16 Aug. 2007. http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw070816helena_maria_viramon

León, Portilla M, and Lysander Kemp. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon Press, 1962. PDF found at: http://socialiststories.net/liberate/Vision%20of%20the%20Vanquished,%20or%20The%20Broken%20Spears%20by%20Miguel%20Leon-Portilla.pdf

Los Angeles and its Public Murals: The Connection between the Chicano and the Gothic, Part 2

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Zach

Photograph Courtesy of Leonardo Giacomuzzo

The second mural I visited, called Y Maria Va, is painted on El Conquistador Mexican Restaurant in Silverlake by Leonardo Giacomuzzo and Christian Anson. This mural has many connections with the gothic genre and the Chicano movement. My purpose in part 2 of the project is to demonstrate how the Chicano themes of this particular mural correlate with the gothic elements discussed throughout the course including certain texts. For instance, a student of CHST332 should recognize that the imagery of the mural contain immediate themes to our reading of Bless Me, Ultima.

Photograph Courtesy of Leonardo Giacomuzzo

The mural’s various panels prompt similarities to elements of Bless Me, Ultima. For starters, the main image in the center of the mural, shares imagery that is found in the book. The barren landscape, dark mountains, and red sky are parts that together evoke gothic and Chicano elements. The setting of the book, a New Mexican landscape during the period of World War II and home to Ultima and Antonio, depicts a world with rolling hills and dry, parched earth. The main figure, a young girl, can represent Antonio, both seeming to run away from their past in distress. The innocence and gentleness the girl displays bring correlations with scenes of Antonio scampering back to his home late at night, head down and wanting to forget what he had just witnessed, the murders of Lupito and Narcisso.

Photograph Courtesy of Ruth Wallach

Furthermore, the top panel displays an almost seemingly identical representation of Antonio’s home. The isolated residence of the Marez/Luna family in the rolling, barren hills of New Mexico suggests correlations to the gothic and the Chicano.

Additionally, the far top right panel of the mural contains an interesting image that lends a hand to the connection of the gothic and the Chicano. An image of a raven can be seen flying away from the mural off into the blood, red sky. The representation of a raven, with its most famous example stemming from a very gothic author, Edgar Allen Poe, and along with the element of the red sky add to the overall gothic-ness of the mural.

With the rise of Chicano murals in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s, graffiti soon followed. Graffiti, interestingly enough, has numerous gothic elements, and this mural, in particular, has this additional gothic-ness. Unfortunately, Y Maria Va has a large amount of graffiti that the original artists never intended to add to the message of the mural. Having researched the mural before visiting it, I was excited to analyze the main panel in great detail, but as I approached the image, I felt much sadness and devastation. As seen in the photo, graffiti covers the entire main panel that shows the girl running through the barren, and very gothic landscape. The inability to view this section of the mural in person leaves me to wonder the reasons behind defacing such a piece of art. Taggers, all through Los Angeles, have forced themselves to be integrated in the history, message, and cultural significance of the murals that they chose to vandalize. As I voiced in Part 1, Los Angeles needs to be more effective in its preservation of its murals, which serves as a vital instrument in its orchestra of cultural history.

Works Cited: Giacoumuzzo, Leonardo, and Christian Anson. “Y Maria Va, El Conquistador Restaurant.” Public Art in LA,Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Photos: http://www.publicartinla.com/LA_murals/Silverlake/conquistador.html

Their Dogs Came With Them: Perspective on Ben

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Cristina

In chapter six of the novel, Viramontes introduces Ben as a quite shy, young boy who is a boy around twelve years old. Having no mother around anymore, Ben’s father instructed him to buy a pair of shoes in an hour by himself. Ben, having no experience on his own, was almost scared and unsure of how to go about his shopping. As he ventured on his own, he got reprimanded by a salesman and was told to leave, which would make anybody feel more uncomfortable. He was then directed to a store with a variety of merchandise. However, Ben now felt even more nervous because he could not find the right shoes and was running out of time.

“Ben felt suddenly saddened by how cruel the world could be.” This was going on in his head as he saw an elderly woman bending to pick up boxes and hear her joints snapping. At this point, I can tell that Ben is not naive. He is scared of the world, which is why he has a harder time to build up the courage and interact with the sales people to get a simple pair of shoes. At this point he is ready to give up on his search until he sees a little boy around four years old. The way the little boy studied everything and how he actually noticed Ben, different than the grown-ups, caught Ben’s attention. Ben took his hand, an act of innocence and admiration, soon an act that he would look back on and regret.

La Llorona and Chicana Feminism

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Tyre

(Courtesy of deviantart.com)

As my previous posts have related La Llorona to Bless Me, Ultima, as well as local relevant findings of La Llorona in the Los Angeles community, this post will focus on a critical analysis of themes and motifs that are present within La Llorona, yet are often overlooked. Utilizing scholarly articles by Michael Kearney, Pamela Jones, and Stephanie Serrano, I will investigate the impact of La Llorona’s myth on women, its societal implications, as well as identify the reasons for La Llorona’s malevolence.

Kearney’s La Llorona as a Social Symbol investigates La Llorona’s temperance. As we have heard of her continual weeping, Kearney suggests that her weeping is due to her irrevocable misfortune, and moreover, because she envies people that are more fortunate. This is the reason why La Llorona is known for attacking women as well as men — she envies those mothers’ who have children and a husband; a stable, domestic life. Likewise, she also targets men; Kearney suggests that, without deniability, it is because of her past experience of being abandoned by her former partner.

It seems women are traditionally submissive in the relationship; this was true with La Llorona, and paints a unique contrast as her subservience transforms into the position of the one in power. In traditional La Llorona folktale, the men who are targeted are usually naked; this may be due to the fact that one is utterly exposed and vulnerable when seen in this capacity, ultimately catching them off guard. Along with the lack of clothing, her male victims are also, a majority of the time, subdued by alcohol and found roaming at night, alone. Being drunk, similarly with the lack of clothing, disorients the men and can easily skew their judgment and coordination, making them easier to control and be taken advantage of.

Social implications have multiple views on whether La Llorona is a feminist folktale or whether the myth further instills male dominance and female weakness in a patriarchal society. Examining the former, some scholars, such as Stephanie Serrano maintain the position that Llorona depicts a powerful, rebellious, feminist character. Llorona is independent, aggressive, and powerfully dominates the men she encounters. However true this may seem, others view Llorona as a paradigm for patriarchy and a society focused upon materialism and societal status. As Llorona’s male partner was described as being of higher social rank, some believe the tale supports the myth that women are intrinsically either good or evil. As Stephanie Surrano writes in her No More Tears: La Llorona at the Crossroads of Feminism, “The newer adaptations of the story illustrate an evolving, changing Chicana and, more specifically, dynamic perspectives of Chicana motherhood… exploding the myth of mother as either passive and weak or loving and nurturing” (Surrano, 13). As Llorona is seen as more evil than not, the story has the ability to imply wrongly rooted female characteristics such as irrationality, lack of prudence, dependence upon men, inability to deal with traumatic life events, inability to forget/forgive others.

It is crucial to remember that the story of La Llorona has undergone copious changes as each generation or culture may interpret or remember the story differently; Pamela Jones claims, “the Llorona is an endlessly changing legend, modified by storytellers to address themes central to their own psycho-social development and circumstances” (Jones, 197). Thus, it proves difficult to find a definitive theme with regards to Llorona’s social implications. Whether Llorona demonstrates characteristics consistent with feminism or the contrary, it is still beneficial to outline each perspective to acquire an in-depth and critical analysis of the folktale.

(feministthroughthamiliton)

Speaking directly about La Llorona and her impact upon the Chicana culture, Orquidea Morales writes, “For Chianas, La Llorona is a cultural icon, descendant of La Malinche and Aztec Goodess Cihucotal, who represents women’s voice and agency” (Morales, 6). This is one positive perspective one may take when viewing folktale: Llorona represents a rebellious woman, refusing to be forced into subservience and treated lesser simply because of her upbringing. Morales speaks of how Chicana’s and Chicana feminists have retheorized the myth of Llorna to view the tale as an empowering episode of revolution and the demand for equality. Other women view the tale as a paradigm for being a bad mother — the examples of being weak, abandoning one’s children in times of crisis, being beaten by emotions and unable to control oneself.

First post found here

Second post found here

Cited:

Kearney, Michael. “William H. Hannon Library Proxy Server Authentication: La Llorona as a Social Symbol.” William H. Hannon Library Proxy Server Authentication. Western States Folklore Society, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Serrano, Stephanie. “No More Tears: La Llorona at the Crossroads of Feminism…” Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Jones, Pamela. “Folklore, Milton, Popular Culture.” : Grimm and La Llorona: Liminal Space or Appropriation? N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

Morales, Orq. “Chicana Feminism and Horror: Fear La Llorona | Morales | Utah Foreign Language Review.” Chicana Feminism and Horror: Fear La Llorona | Morales | Utah Foreign Language Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Blog 3/3 Final Analysis: La Llorona as Feminist or Abject Figure?

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Alyson

Image courtesy of: truefresco.net: fantasma de la llorona

I explored different versions of La Llorona stories in my first blog and provided contextual analysis in my second blog, especially as it relates to reinterpreting La Llorona as a feminist figure who subverts patriarchal authority. In this final entry I will offer my analysis of La Llorona as an abject figure and as a gothic staple in many of the books that we read this semester.

Several recent scholars have analyzed La Llorona, La Malinche and Cihuacoatl stories through a feminist lens, but it problematic to frame these narratives exclusively from this angle. Chicana/o scholars in particular have focused on questioning the forces, “such as male power and the male dominated Catholic worldview, that contribute to the weeping woman’s fate…Historically, Chicana poets have incorporated such traditional cultural figures as the Virgen de Guadalupe, La Malinche, and La Llorona to reflect a particularly women-centered aesthetic and set of cultural concerns (Perez).” However, if we are to use the most commonly understood definition of feminism, which is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, it fails. Not only do the women not have equal social and political standing, but the subjugated position they find themselves in cause them to cause further harm to themselves and others, especially in the case of Lamia, and La Llorona. In the cases of La Malinche and Cihuacoatl, both figures are demonized for political reasons associated with the conquest of the indigenous people of Mexico. In Rachel’s case, she is a martyr. She weeps over her own children and the children of Israel, but is also powerless.

Therefore a more appropriate framing is that of those figures as an abject and certainly gothic, figure. La Llorona serves as a bogeywoman figure to children, for example. She is depicted as scary and someone lurking outside, in the dark. Cihuacoatl is painted as a fearsome figure, too. Lamia has gouged out her eyes. All of these figures are abject as defined by Kristeva, in both the sense of repulsion we feel towards them , but more significantly because she argues that the abject is “where meaning collapses, especially in the severing of the maternal. Because the abject disturbs identity, system, order…does not respect borders, positions, rules, it represents the dangerous underside of order (Kristeva).” Meaning does collapse as it relates to the maternal, typically associated with nurturing, protection and maternal sacrifice. A vengeful, homicidal mother and/or a mother who puts desire before that of her children is an inversion of societal expectations, especially in Chicana/o culture. Here the conflict between Madonna/whore comes up again. Though by nature, physically a mother is not a virgin, she is supposed to embody purity, plus the other attributes listed above.

When these figures don’t conform to rather narrow role expectations, then is subsequently othered and punished for it, she becomes not just an outlier but also becomes a figure of horror, fear and disgust. Though these women are abject figures partially due to their own actions, it would be reductive to merely categorize these women as abject without taking into consideration the larger patriarchal forces that got them in the positions they find themselves in. In fact, feminist theory scholars have uncovered how the scripts of the patriarchy preserves privilege in the hands of the masculine. Benigno Trigo writes, “Feminist criticism successfully showed how the natural was deployed as a mask for the fictions, master-narratives, plots, discourses, and sociological scripts of authoritarian and patriarchal systems of life and government (Trigo).” Taking even a cursory look at how men are depicted in these narratives and it becomes clear that they avoid the punishment of becoming the abject. Zeus is all powerful, so he goes unpunished for his affair with Lamia. Jason suffers by losing his children but because it is at the hands of Medea, he is the victim of the abject and therefore not regarded with revulsion. The same is true of the nobleman in La Llorona stories. Though the men commit moral crimes (adultery), their behavior is normalized.

One interesting aspect of the abject that Kristeva touches upon, which is relevant to the narratives of La Llorona, La Malinche, Medea in “The Hungry Woman, and the homeless mother in “Their Dogs Came with Them” is “the one by whom the abject exists is thus a deject who places (himself), separates (himself), situates (himself), and therefore strays instead of getting his bearings, desiring, belonging, or refusing..he divides, excludes, and without, properly speaking, wishing to know his abjections is not at all unaware of them. Often, moreover, he includes himself among them. Instead of sounding himself as to his ‘being’, he does so concerning his place: ‘Where am I?’ instead of ‘Who am I?’ (Kristeva).” That place is often the hinterlands, socially, physically or politically. That sense of distance keeps us safe from the abject. We are both repulsed and attracted by horror and the abject. These figures also embody the gothic in ways besides being abject figures, though it is central to their identity. The unifying elements that La Malinche, Cihuacoatl, La Llorona, Medea, Lamia and Die Weisee Frau share is that they are feared outsiders, possibly dangerous and used as a device to convey warnings about behavioral expectations. The landscapes that these figures inhabit may differ in details and geography, but each one contains gothic elements: poverty in “The Hungry Woman” and “Their Dogs Came with Them”, the watery, dark places that La Llorona inhabits, and unstable, violent environments where La Malinche and Lamia inhabit and the most readily identifiable feature of gothic imagery, the old castle where Die Weisee lurks. The defining characteristic of all of these women is despair, which is a cornerstone of both the abject and gothic. It is important to remember that patriarchal elements have had a hand in facilitating these characterizations, however. Because of this, it is useful to view these figures not just as abject, but as I wrote in my introductory post, as powerless women who subvert the existing power structure in devastating ways.

Works Cited

Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. New York: Columbia, 1982.

Perez, Domino Renee. There Was a Woman: La Llorona from Folklore to Popular Culture. U of Texas Press, 2008.

Trigo, Benigno. Remembering Maternal Bodies: Meloncholy in Latina and Latin American Women’s Writing. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

The Gothic Short Story Across Cultures: Rudolfo Anaya

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Danielle

This is the second installment of my exploration of gothic short stories across cultures. My first post can be found here. This post will explore the work of Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya in terms of his culture. I will be discussing his short story entitled “The Silence of the Llano”. Most of you probably already know a few things about Anaya since we read his book Bless Me Ultima. Anaya was born in Pastura, New Mexico on October 30, 1937. Anaya was strongly influenced by the land that he grew up on, and the llano has inspired many different works that he has produced. He discusses his homeland briefly in his author’s notes for his collection of short stories The Silence of the Llano. He tells us, “Once, this land belonged to the nomadic Indians; later, Spanish and Mexican settlers moved into the region from the Taos and Santa Fe area. Sometime during the mid-nineteenth century Anglo- Americans began to fill the range land” (Anaya 47). He goes on to say that he remembers hearing many stories as a child about the evolution of the land and the effects that the different cultures had on it. He cites these stories as the main source of inspiration because they sparked his imagination. He also discusses coming across “The ballad of Delgadino” which is the story of a father who professes his love to his daughter. When she refuses him he locks her in her room and she eventually dies. This father daughter dynamic was reflected in his short stories “The Silence of the Llano” and “The Road to Platero”. Today I will be exploring his short story “The Silence of the Llano”.

“The Silence of the Llano” tells the story of a young man named Rafael. The story is set on a desolate llano near a small town by the name of Las Animas. Rafael lives alone after his parents died in a blizzard. He mostly keeps to himself and only goes to town when he needs provisions. It is in town where he meets a woman, who has also lost her parents and is alone. He begins courting her and the two eventually marry. Rafael’s wife soon becomes pregnant and they are both happy on the llano and excited for their child. His wife soon becomes sick, however, and begins to have the baby prematurely. Rafael rushes to get Doña Rufina, the partera, who delivers the baby who is a girl. She cannot stop the mothers bleeding, however, and the mother dies. Rafael is heartbroken and he leaves for a few days leaving Doña Rufina to care for his child whom he rejects. When Doña Rufina dies, Rafael continues to ignore his daughter, who now has to care for herself. The girl grows up in a silent world of her own and has no real interaction with anyone. She only speaks the words that she remembers Doña Rufina saying to her. She begins to learn the language of the animals and even creates her own language. Soon hunters come to the llano and their presence frightens the girl. She locks the house and hides but they bang on the door and shoot their rifles. They eventually leave but they continue to haunt her dreams. One day Rafael returns from work with an uneasy feeling to find his door open. He finds his daughter on the blood stained bed with her shirt torn off and scratch marks on her shoulders. She approaches him with outstretched arms speaking his name for the first time. Her image reminds him of his wife, and Rafael flees. When he returns the girl has prepared him food and he tries to eat but he can’t. When he goes outside he sees his wife sitting on a pile of wood. This is the first time that the reader is given the name of his wife, Rita. The image of his wife suddenly turns into his daughter and he strikes it with an axe. Rafael is awakened from these visions by the sound of the screen door slamming. He sees his daughter walking to the water pump to bathe. He watches her as she bathes and then approaches her telling her that her name is now Rita. He then tells her where her mother is buried and that the seeds in her garden will now grow.

There are many gothic elements in this short story. To begin, the setting of the desolate llano is very gothic. The characters in the story are also very gothic. Rafael is a quiet man who lives in his own world and keeps to himself. His wife Rita dies but remains in the story as a haunting figure. The daughter is isolated and silent. She has no interaction with the outside world and has to teach herself everything. Doña Rufina is also a very gothic character in that she seems to have a connection with the spiritual world. This is seen in her death when she already knows she is going to die and waits for the figure of death to take her away. Some of the gothic moments in the story include the death of Rafael’s parents, who freeze to death in a blizzard only to be discovered by their own son. Rita’s pregnancy and birthing are also very gothic. She grows pale and weak during pregnancy and then dies giving birth to her daughter. One of the scenes that I found especially gothic was the daughter’s rape scene. The rape isn’t explicitly explained but it is clearly implied. The hunters know that Rafael has a virgin daughter who he leaves alone during the day. They take advantage of this, and attack her when she is most vulnerable. The haunting visions that Rafael has are also very interesting. He envisions his wife who then turns into his daughter who he describes as a demon of hell who is enticing him to sin. Here we get an implication of the possibility of incest. This possibility is further supported when Rafael watches his daughter bathe and then tells her that her name is Rita, which is his wife’s name. The issue of incest is a very gothic theme and I think that it is definitely present in this story.

Anaya’s culture definitely influenced this story in many ways. First of all, the llano is something that was very familiar to him since he grew up on the llano. The figure of Doña Rufina also would have been very familiar to him as he grew up in a small town in New Mexico. In his notes for the short story he discusses some of the things that inspire his writing. He says “Stories have come to me in dreams, while walking or watching television, from incidents in the past, from the people I meet everyday, what they say and do, from memories moving into consciousness” (Anaya 52). Anaya says the inspiration for “The Silence of the Llano” came after seeing the face of a young girl in his mind. He says when he was writing the story he found that he returned to the llano from his childhood for inspiration. He wanted the reader to be able to feel the aura of the llano as if they were actually there. The way that he begins his story is also inspired by the oral traditions that he grew up hearing. He says, “This is the way an old storyteller from the llano might have begun a story as he sat around with his compañeros” (Anaya 54). We see from this that Anaya’s culture clearly influences his work including the short story I have discussed in this post.

Works Cited:

Anaya, Rudolfo A. “The Silence Of The Llano: Notes From The Author.” Melus 11.(1984): 47-57. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Rudolfo Alfonso Anaya.” Bio.com. 2014. Web. Apr 15 2014 http://www.biography.com/people/rudolfo-a-anaya-39694.

Anaya, Rudlofo. “The Silence of the Llano” The Silence of the Llano: Short Stories. Berkeley: TQS Publications, 1982. 3-28. Print.

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The Importance of the Lady of Guadalupe to the Chicano Community Part 2 of 3

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Sarah

In the first part of my examination of the Lady of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe), I examined the origins and history of where she emerged from and how her placement shaped Catholic and Mexican tradition. Her original interpretation was one of a loving and forgiving mother and I want to take that symbol and show the evolution of how she became one of revolution and action to people in transition themselves. She was first established as a symbol outside of the association of non-Indian Mexican population but in this part, I will be showcasing how that image of the Virgen represented and shaped the Chicano Movement as an emblem for their liberation, beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the 1960s. Her presence began as a religious figure (Part One) but now her image defies boundaries, not only appearing to the masses in religious institutions but now has evolved into a symbol of cultural identity displayed in murals, statues, paintings, and personal tattoos as a growing image of cultural and personal identity to the Chicanos living in the United States. Individual statements of selfhood, pride and expression such as public and private art forms, body tattoos, burials, household shrines, taxis, and memorabilia utilize the Virgen’s strong and poignant image as their grounded message of discovery. First and foremost, I think it is important to get a clear and underlining definition of what it means to be a Chicano. One of our very first assignments in class was personally defining what a Chicano is and we took to Twitter to define it. The definition I ended up with was:

Chicano/a is defined as pride in cultural identity wrapped up in social and political empowerment as a minority representation. #CHST332

By defining Chicano, I realized that is was a self-selected term that Mexican Americans choose to identity themselves with that encompasses a duality of recognizing Indigenous Mexican roots but also American identification. The term can also be used as a derogatory term to immigrants of Mexican heritage. The Chicano Movement gained momentum in the 1940s and 50s in two politically charged legal victories. Blacks and Chicanos during this time had many commonalties in the fight for civil rights in the 1960s living as minorities in the United States. One step in the fight for civil quality followed the popular Brown Vs Board of Education Case, and it was called Mendez Vs Westminster Supreme Court which abolished the notion of segregation of Latino children in white schools. In both cases, the Court deemed the segregation of Blacks and Latinos unconstitutional. In another case, Hernandez Vs. Texas, protection was guaranteed not only to blacks and whites, but another ethnicities in the United States under equal protection (Nittle). These smaller victories gave strength and pride to the Chicano Movement, as well as paved the way for more changes in the 1960s and 70s. The result of these later movements included organizing a union called the Union Farm Workers for rights of laborers in the fields, and the passing of the Equal Opportunity Act of 1974 which gave more bilingual school equational rights to children. The civil rights of Hispanics gained momentum by the organization of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in 1968. Chicanos even formed a political party called the United Race, La Raza Unida, which mirrored the Black Panther Party (Nittle).
All of these movements gave not only political identity and power to the Chicano name but also a growing cultural identity to its people. This is where the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe comes into play as a universal icon of “passion and fervor” who appeared to Don Diego in the 16th century “as a Mestiza herself, dark skinned like most of the people in Mexico” (Prendez). The description and image of her dark skin is extremely vital to the importance of her representation of the Chicano people and their movement for equality in the United States. She became the patron saint of the Mexican people. Her image was used as a visual representation of the fight for independence in Mexico and the farm workers struggle in the 1960s. Her presence is widely regarded as one of the most recognizable and most used images in Chicano art.
Today, the Virgen has been a leading incorporation into “nationalist liberation struggles”, specifically in the Mexican independence from Spain, the Mexican Revolution and the Chicano Movement (Elenes 104):
“The timing of the event, the language she spoke, and the race of the Virgen are all significant because they signal recognition of the subjectivity of the indigenous and mestiza/o inhabitants of Mexico” (Elenes 104).

There have also been numerous examinations by Theologians on why the Virgen became such a iconic symbol in Latin American culture and specifically the human rights movement of the 1960s in Chicano nationalism: “At the forefront of these theological works on Our Lady of Guadalupe is the work of prominent Mexican American theologian Virgilio Elizondo. In Elizondo’s work, the driving theoretical lens is mestizaje (the Aztec and Spanish political, cultural, religious, and ethnic mix). As mestizos, Elizondo argues, Mexicans are not “either/or,” but “both and.” Therefore, the point of departure of Elizondo’s theological work on Our Lady of Guadalupe has always been the lived experience of people who exist at the intersection of two ways of knowing” (Castaneda-Liles)

This is a perfect transition into the third and final part of my examination into the Virgen de Guadalupe and her effect on feminism in the Chicano/a community. In part three, I will examine her role in allowing women of Mexican culture to speak for the masses through images of the Virgen and how she embodies their struggle for identity through epistemological meanings.

Works Cited

Elenes, Alejandra C. Transforming Borders: Chicana/o Popular Culture and Pedagogy. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2011. Print.

Nittle, Nadra Kareem. “The Chicano Movement: Brown and Proud”. Chicano Movement- History and Goals of the Chicano Movement. N.d. Web. 16 April 2014.<http://racerelations.about.com/od/historyofracerelations/a/BrownandProudTheChicanoMovement.htm>

Prendez, Jacobo. “In Defense of Chicano Art”. Thesis. N.d. Web. 16 April 2014. <http://students.seattleu.edu/clubs/mecha/chicanoart.html>

Castaneda-Liles, Socorro. “Our Lady of Guadalupe”. Our Lady of Guadalupe-Latino Studies- Oxford Bibliographies. N.d. Web. 16 April 2014. <http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199913701/obo-9780199913701-0043.xml>

Images:

http://www.bustedhalo.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/dupre-encountering_mary-Guadalupana_Delilah-Montoya.jpg

http://www2.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=57675

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano_art_movement

Patriarchy in Their Dogs Came with Them

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Kenya

One of the most undermining tones between females and males in this novel is the presence of patriarchy. Even in the very beginning of the novel, the little boys force a little girl to watch them do something quite disturbing such as cutting off a lizards tale. The male figures in the novel are obviously quite dominating especially when one observes their interactions with females. Afterall, the novel focuses on the struggles of a group of females that derive from cultural struggle to establish identity within their modern social system. The quarantine only saturates the darkest nature of man wihtin cultural oppression and rebellion. One of the females of the group, “Turtle” acts as a tangible clash of femenine struggle under a masculine identity as she is a part of a gang. James Diego’s In Female Gang Members From East Los Angeles touches on this clash of gender based identity. This article focuses on the ways in which females become a part of gangs. writes, “However, there is currently such a crush of people in neighborhoods struggling under the strain of overwhelming poverty, that the rhythms and routines of acculturation for immigrants are similarly compromised.” This sheds light on the ways in which Turtle’s surrounding quarantined community cause the pull between her and this gang that she is now a part of. Diego continues, “{…} the males in offhand boastfulways talk about their perceptions of the girls’ sexuality, promiscuity and, of course, their dominance over them (Miller 2001). Gang girls’ contradictory and clearly conflicted relationship with gender equality and deviance deflecting behavioral norms is most evident in terms of their sexual identity.” In other words, the female typically has a role that serves to the male role; typically the role is sexual which acts as the female’s identity.

Article: http://www.socialinquiry.org/articles/IJSI-V1N12008%20-%20003.pdf

Los Angeles and its Public Murals: The Connection between the Chicano and the Gothic, Part 1

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Zach

I took this unique project opportunity to research a curiosity I have had having grown up in Los Angeles but never had the chance to fully explore. Los Angeles has a rich public mural art scene that encompasses various neighborhoods including Boyle Heights and Silver Lake. I took this opportunity to personally visit and analyze three public art murals, in the listed neighborhoods, that contained apparent elements of the gothic and of the Chicano movement. The overall purpose of my project is to connect Los Angeles and its public murals to the Chicano movement and the genre of the Gothic through the association of readings from the course and historical and cultural similarities.

The first public mural that I will discuss is the Resurrection of the Green Planet by Ernesto de la Loza, located at 2242 Cesar Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights. This mural contains various themes that interconnect with one another to express feelings of darkness, light, hope, fear, and so many more emotions. Add up all the images, and one can grasp a sense of the overall message the artist wanted to convey, but individualize each section, and one can further understand the true nature and meaning behind particular images. For example, one specific section pertains extremely well to one of our readings from earlier in the course. The image of the older woman with her hands placed on the younger woman’s head is described to be “a grandmother/curandera passing her wisdom on to a younger generation.” (Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles) Without hesitation, a student of this course should conjure up similarities with Bless Me, Ultima and Ultima’s relationship with Antonio. Ultima undoubtedly passed down great and valuable wisdom to Antonio about spiritual and familial issues. It can be said that the image presented is expressing the same archetype of the older generation passing wisdom down to the younger generation so they could be best equipped to take on the world.

This image is my favorite part of the mural because it has multiple meanings and symbolisms. This said curandera also seemingly has La Virgen-like radiance above her with flowers lined beside her much like how La Virgen de Guadalupe is represented in nearly every image of her. I feel the artist chose this imagery, not only to symbolize the importance of Catholicism in Chicano tradition, but also to highlight the possibility that the forces that empower La Virgen and Catholicism, empowers curanderas as well and they are indeed one in the same. Often times, curanderas are depicted as witches in popular literature, which aids the correlation between the gothic genre and Chicano culture. This suggestion of religion and so-called witchery being intertwined is unique and thought-provoking to say the least.

Another interesting aspect of this mural is that directly to the left of the image discussed above, a seemingly dark section of the mural is presented. Outside the radiance and rays of La Virgen-like figure, two dark, hopeless figures silently scream for salvation. In my interpretation, these figures represent fallen angels reaching towards the heavens pleading for forgiveness as the imagination could only ponder the severity of their wrongdoings. These elements and imagery contain stark gothic elements that add to the overall connectedness of the gothic to the Chicano.

Resurrection of the Green Planet by Ernesto de la Loza is a public mural in East Los Angeles that needs to be preserved and restored. Unfortunately like so many public space, taggers view it as life canvasses. This art mural has not been unique in this regard. The city of Los Angeles needs to have greater emphasis on the preservation of its art murals because if one really stops to analyze these masterpieces, history, culture, and religion could all be explained in realms previously thought impossible.

Work Cited: “Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles.” Resurrection of the Green Planet. SPARC. http://www.muralconservancy.org/murals/resurrection-green-planet

Examining the Title: Their Dogs Came with Them

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Sarah

I found it interesting in the interview we listened to in class as well as wondering myself where the title of Helena Maria Viramonte’s book came from. I started with the epigraph at the beginning of the book:

“They came in battle array, as conquerors, and the dust rose in whirlwinds not the roads. Their spears glinted in the sun, and their pennons fluttered like bats. They made a loud

clamor as they marched, for their coats of mail and their weapons clashed and rattled. Some of them were dressed in glistening iron from head to foot; they terrified everyone who saw them. Their dogs came with them, running ahead of the column. They raised their muzzles high; they lifted their muzzles to the wind. They raced on before with saliva dripping from their jaws” (Viramonte).

This is a quote from Miguel Leon-Portilla’s book, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Already we know that it is an account of the ancient Aztecs point of view when the Spanish Conquistadors conquered by the expansive Empire in 1519-1521. The Spanish were led by Hernando Cortez and Native American allies and prevailed over the Aztecs through diplomacy and ferocious combat in the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The Spanish housed an army of 400 Spanish soldiers, 15 horses, 1,300 Indian warriors, artillery, and a thousand porters who also brought along many dogs that had been trained to fight in combat.

In Their Dogs Came with Them, Viramonte takes this knowledge and employs it as a comparison between the past usage of dogs conquering people to the present day 1960s containment and killing of dogs. Viramonte’s novel is centered around the construction of freeways in East Los Angeles as well as the quarantine of a rabies outbreak. Four women are the main focus and dogs are prevalent throughout their lives as the city has enforced a curfew at night. With the backdrop of the violence and brutality of the Spanish and Aztec battle, Viramonte places lots of war motifs throughout the intertwining lives of the women and the current cultural situation. As a result of this, Viramontes “invites readers to draw connections between the Aztecs under siege and the experiences of poor and working-class Chicanas/os displaced by the increased urbanization of East LA” (Cuevas). Cuevas is a Chicano writer and made an interesting observation about the novel:

“The fictional events allude to times when Chicano neighborhoods have experienced especially violent policing of their everyday movements, such as during the 1940s Zoot Suit Riots, the school walkouts during the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, and the 1970 Chicano Moratorium. By drawing on this history, Viramontes represents Chicanos as an internally colonized people and explores how marginalized groups negotiate their desire to decolonize their own minds and lives” (Cuevas).

Viramontes was even quoted using war words to describe her novel including saying that the addition of the freeways “amputated” East Los Angeles and the women, as well as created a location of the “bones of the forgotten” (KCRW Interview).

Works Cited:

Cuevas, T Jackie. “T. Jackie Cuevas on ‘Their Dogs Came with Them’”. E3W Review of Books. 2008. Web. 12 April 2014. <http://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/orgs/e3w/volume-8-spring-2008/¿estamos-post-borderlands-o-no/t-jackie-cuevas-on-their-dogs-came-with-them>

Viramontes, Helena Maria. Their Dogs Came with Them. New York: Washington Square Press, 2007. Print.

KCRW Interview: http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw070816helena_maria_viramon

Pictures:

https://ewaldvanvugt.wordpress.com/2010/10/

http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/vicious-dogs