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“The Postmodern Llorona” Part 4

One of the final installments in part 4 describes what the postmodern La Llorona would look like. Instead of the patriarchal historical story, Anzaldua rewrites Llorona’s story, showing how she faced extreme adversity and was able to adapt. Anzaldua writes “The young woman is not afraid of La Llorona/ She has become La Llorona” describing how the modern woman has been through the extremes of life, she has adapted to the new ways she has to live, she has become the La Llorona (pg. 280).  This woman has not allowed herself to stay down and beaten up by life, but she has decided to grow from her experiences, becoming stronger than ever before. Although she is damaged, she is strong and she blends in with us all, we cannot see who she is for only she knows her identity. “She has shed her ancient mythical white dress/ for white jeans and a white sweatshirt” describing how this modern woman has evolved from the story she has been made up to be to the person she wants to be. This story clearly shows the journey of womankind, on an individual level to half of the world, how women are put through hardships hand delivered to us from the patriarchy, but we have grown strong and resilient, willing to strive to grow from our hardships.

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“Transforming American Studies” Part 4

This passage stood out to me the most in all of the book because it is something that I think is incredibly relevant both in today’s social climate and my personal life. In this piece, Anzaldua describes her experiences with working with educational settings and in American Studies. She describes a dire need for the cultural expansion of studies in America, as we are too hyper focused on ourselves. Although American studies have started programs that are more culturally diverse, such as ethnic studies, we are still far from where we need to be. Gloria writes “there are still gaps in the areas of sexualities, gender, class, religions, regions, and ‘race’/ethnicity” that are not recognized in American academics (pg. 240).

After taking just one ethnic studies class on college, I felt as if I had a whole new perspective of the world and the politics related to other countries. Even with just one class, my whole mindset changed, imagine what could change when we change the whole curriculum. 

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“How To” Part 4

The poem “How To” describes the process in which Gloria Anzaldua perceives the art of writing and how to end result can vary. She claims that writing poetry is not supposed to be an overly structured process, it changes with you and can change every time you write. One passage that stood out to me was when she wrote “Don’t worry if everyone/misses the whole point/ pretend that’s what you/ meant to say anyway” (pg. 234). This stood out to me because it shows how individual and interpretive writing can be. To me, that means that even if what you were trying to say doesn't translate to the audience, it doesn't matter, because writing is such a vast and beautiful array of ideals. 

I chose the picture below to represent what this poem was trying to say because I think it sends a clear message both about writing and about reading. Even though it is just a simple few words written on a page, they can be inspiring. When writing, Gloria is essentially telling us to not fear what the end result could be, but to go with what feels right in your heart.

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“Identity is Always Under Construction” Part 3

I chose this piece of art because I think there are many different layers of meaning, multiple depictions of what Gloria has been discussing in her poems and passages. For me, the main message she is trying to send through this piece is that the transformation from the “old ID” to the new “reconstructed self” she left behind what was not needed in her life. Although it is the same person, the “breaking down, taking apart, dismember” of the body in the green circle births a person with new ideals and a new way of perceiving the world. One thing that stands out to me in this artwork is the “La Luna, Coyolxauhqui” that looms over the dismemberment of the body. I think that this is trying to tell the audience that La Luna is one of the main reasons for the construction of identity, she is the Goddess who called upon the people to do something that caused a need for change.

But when the new identity is constructed, what is left behind? What if we left behind parts of ourselves that we needed or wanted to keep with us? Although changing is a natural part of life, sometimes change can leave behind parts of us that we wish we hadn't left behind.

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“Border Arte” Part 2

In this portion “Border Arte” Anzaldua describes how Mexican and Indigenous cultures express and embrace their culture through artwork. She says that she loves how the art that is created shows the history and background of her culture, bringing in perspectives and ideals of her roots. But unfortunately, influences of colonization and modern discrimination has led people to believe that Aztec culture no longer exists, and it died when the ancient civilization ended. She states “Many of these officiators believe that only art from dead cultures should end up I'm museums” clearly arguing that their culture is not dead, but prospers through creative works of art (pg 179).

I chose to show a piece of graffiti that demonstrates Mexican culture because I thought it was stunning. The piece of art shows a woman with a skeleton painted on her face, with a flower crown. This reminded me of Dia De Los Muertos, a wonderful expression of culture that includes a large variety of artwork. 

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“Ghost Trap/ Trampa de espanto” Part 2

This portion of the book tells the story of a past love from Anzaldua’s perspective, and how she overcame those hardships to develop into who she is today. In this story, she describes how her past husband mistreated her not only verbally but physically on occasion. When she found the strength to leave him, she also found a part of herself that was able to liberate herself from the societal ideal that a man and a woman are supposed to be together in order to be happy. A sense of independence is what she was able to attain from the liberation of her relationship. Anzaldua represents the ability for women to be happy with their lives without a partner. Rom coms and societal pressures have consistently told women that they need to be in a heterosexual relationship in order to reach their peak happiness, but sometimes relationships are the cause of some people’s biggest hardships.

This reminded me of the short film Taylor Swift just released, about a past relationship she had that affected her deeply when she was young. In the video, it is clear that although the two seem very much in love in some parts, there are too many times where she felt ignored and unloved by him. The short film ends with her finding great success after she leaves the relationship.

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“Enemy of the State” Part 2

The first poem in this middle section describes how she feels in comparison to the oppressive government. It is clear that she is demonstrating how people of color are too often ignored by the governing powers, the people that are supposed to protect them from the unfair world. But in reality, they are the ones that create the unfair world for people of color. Anzaldua stated “Just walk down any day or street/ turn over the stiffening bodies” then continues to describe the tragedies that one had endured, including sexual assault and physical violence (pg 97).

This poem was a heartbreaking read, but an important one. The fact that governing powers and figures of authority refuse to provide the same care for people of color that they give to white people is outrageous. This gives clear insight to the hardships that many people have to face due only to their skin color. What I gathered from this poem was Anzaldua’s own experiences with personal hardships and depressions she faced both when she was young and today. People of color were declared “enemy of the state” just because of their skin color. Having committed no crime other than existing was enough reason for powers to regard them as less.

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“The Presence” Part 2

This piece of poetry describes Anzaldua’s experience with a ghost rolling her every move. She writes about a figure that she identified as a “presence” that would linger over her as she would write or do certain tasks. When she would do any task, she always felt that looming sensation of the figure around her. But when Gloria would try and face it, look at it directly, the presence would disappear or hide from her. Once, one of her friends said that it was the spirit of her father, but she knew that it was something completely different. 

I chose the picture below because the woman and the ghost are dancing together, which I think is a visual representation of Gloria and the Presence’s dynamic. I think that this poem could be interpreted as a dance between her and the ghost, as they take turns who is leading who. When Gloria would face the ghost, she was in control. But when the presence was looming over her shoulder, overtaking her thoughts, they were in control.

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“Encountering the Medusa” Part 2

Gloria Anzaldua begins this poem with an excerpt from a James Hillman psychology book, it is a quote that asks what is it inside of us that declares we are not beautiful, but we are ugly? Launching off of that statement, Anzaldua continues to use the metaphor of the ancient figure Medusa to visualize this voice inside of her head telling her that she is not enough. One line in particular state “I want to take a machete/hack off her head/slip it on/turn my enemies to stone,” telling the reader that she wishes she could rip the negativity out of her life and diminish it whole. I interpreted this poem as a statement of empowerment, one of finding the toxicity in oneself and working towards getting rid of it. Anzaldua then concludes the poem by sadly declaring that the “Medusa” is still seen in the mirror when she investigates it, with the creature threatening to turn her into stone. To me, this means that she is working on ridding herself of this beast, but it is still within her. I have hope that we all will be able to look in the mirror someday and see only ourselves, not be turned to stone by the hatred we hold for ourselves.

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“Al Paisano is a Bird of Good Omen” Part 1

This part of chapter one is a story about self-reflection, one of identifying and presenting sexuality when one is still young. Anzaldua’s experiences with expressing her own sexuality when growing up caused a stir in her household, being shamed by her family. Only acting in the way she wanted to show herself to the world, Gloria was taught to almost suppress who she really was to adapt to what her family wanted her to be. Although the main character is named Andrea, I felt as if it was a representation both for Gloria and all people who are developing their sense of queerness. Not only is this passage a message to all people discovering their sexuality, but it is a metaphor for how society wants queer people to act. 

I included a picture of a woman looking into a foggy mirror because I thought it accurately represented what it was like to thoroughly analyze ones own self. The mirror is fogged, which I think represents societies blurring of individuality, trying to make queer people feel like they need to change. But when we wipe away the fogginess, and overcome the pressures the world puts upon us, we will really be able to see who we are and who we want to be.

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“La Prieta” Part 1

In this portion of part one, Anzaldua describes a heartbreaking picture of how her childhood both impacted her and still deeply impacts her mentally. The deep-rooted trauma she describes also tells the story about how that experience impacted her differently because she is a woman of color. Chicana children have higher expectations to reach than white children, outlining how she was scared to make a mistake and represent her race in a bad light. In a somber short poem, Anzaldua describes how helpless she felt, writing “Nobody’s going to save you” and “ Face it, you will have/ to do, to do it yourself” (41). In her childhood, Gloria experienced more hardships than most children, and pressures of race and racial discrimination worsened the impact. Women of color are historically seen as helpless and in need of saving, but they are also expected to do everything themselves, be incredibly independent, and the perfect woman for a man. Double standards that society has put on Chicana’s contributed massively to Anzaldua’s childhood and later perception to it. The picture below represents what it is like to live with childhood trauma, as it still lives within you every single day, even if it isn't physically there anymore.

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“Reincarnation” - Part One

The poem “Reincarnation” written by Gloria Anzaldua describes a snake shedding its outer skin, a metaphor for a changing person. It is described that after the shedding, they looked back at what they had left behind and wondered what parts of themselves they just got rid of. Anzaldua describes she looked back and “contemplated the husk and wondered which me I had discarded” (21) describing how one looks at the past of one’s life and notices what attributes we’ve left in the dust. Looking back at the husk I believe shows how one develops in life, how one is able to grow from experiences and build themselves from there. In the form of the snake metaphor, going through hard parts of life toughens the skin, and when it is time to grow from that time, the skin sheds to prepare you for the next part of your life. 

The song “The One” by Taylor Swift reminded me of this poem, as she sings about personal growth and learning from her path. One lyric in particular stood out to me, going “...if you never bleed/you'll never grow/it’s alright now”. The song pay homage to herself, declaring that she had moved on from her harder days and conflicts, becoming stronger from her past troubles. She has “shedded” her past hardships, looking at her past to see what she has left behind to create a better self. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsZ6tROaVOQ