Chicano and indigenous

poetry: bilingualism,
hybridism and the quest
for identity
Helena Valdivia

Languages in Mexico

Indigenous communities in
Mexico
-Ancient
territorializaton
-(Sometimes) (short)
displacement
-External government
(not autonomous)
-Language imposition
-> semi-bilingualism
-(Sometimes) tourism:
interculturality
-(Sometimes) contact
with other ethnic
groups

Indigenous people in the

city

-Migration
-Poverty
-Unemployment
-Exclusion
-Discrimination
-Bilingualism
-(Sometimes)
willingness to
reject their
ethnic origin and
language.

Latin American immigrants in

U.S.A.

Latin American immigrants in

U.S.A.
17.5% of U.S. population has
Hispanic origin

Latin American immigrants in

U.S.A.
First generation

Second generation
Chicanos

First used to refer to Mexicans that lived in the territories

that were annexed to the U.S. (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada,
California, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado).

Now: children of Mexican parents, born in U.S.

Speak English but constantly use Mexican words: vato,
cabrones caer
Chicanos in Mexico = pochos

Mexican border
- Continuous contact
with U.S.
citizens/culture
- Flood of migrants
- (Half) bilingualism
- Farther from other
Mexican cities than
from U.S. cities

-Wachar <- to watch

-Waino <- wine (to be
drunk)
-Sanababichis <- son of a
bitch
-Troca <- truck

Art in the border: cultura

fronteriza
Literatura del Norte

Narrative mostly
Motives: desert, narcotrafic, migration.
Desterritorialization
What is Mexican? Where is the border?

1. Indigenous poetry
Humberto Ak Abal (Mayan Kiche)
I Journey
Backwards
Freedom
Blackbirds, buzzards, and doves
land on cathedrals and palaces
just as they do on rocks,
trees, and fences...
and they shit on them
with the complete freedom of one
who knows
that god and justice
belong to the soul.

From time to
time
I journey
backwards
It is my way
of
remembering
.
If I walked
forward
alone,
I would be
able to tell
you

And Nobody Sees Us

Stones

The flame of our blood burns,

It is not that stones are mute; inextinguishable
despite the wind of the centuries.
they simply keep silent.
Quiet,
I sing out of breath,
misery with soul,
I Dont Know
sadness cornered.
Oh, I want to cry out!
My village
The lands which they leave us
saw me leave in silence.
are the mountainsides,
The city with its racket
the slopes:
didnt even take notice
the rainfalls wash them away little
of my arrival.
by little
I stopped being a peasant
and drag them down to the plains
and I have become a
which dont belong to us anymore.
laborer:
Here we are
I dont know if Ive made
standing at the roads edge
progress
with our gaze broken by a tear
or regressed.
And nobody sees us.

 Gabriel Lpez Chias, "Diidxaz"

Ay! diidxaz, diidxaz
diidxa'rusibani naa,
naa nanna zantilu
dxi guiniti gubidxa c.
Oh, Zapotec, dear Zapotec
language that gives me life,
I know you will not die
until the sun's demise.

2. Chicano poetry
[]
THERE--OUT THERE-AMERIKA-THE-DESECRATOR,
we stand
in bronzed anger
with clenched fist
and feisty spirits,
con cojones stemming out,
desmadrazgo in our souls,
while harsh reality has a field day
snuffing out our children's lives ...
we now declare
in the midst of hungered growls and furious poverty
that we mean NOW! what we say ...
courthouse of la gente,
ogan hoy la verdad desgraciada..
escuchen y demanden
que AMERIKA sea desmadrada ...
indictment in the people's court,
true bill must be made,
there can be no other out,
no excuse can be forthcoming ...
indictment, indictment INDICTMENT OF AMERIKA???
yes, yes, yes, YES!!!!!!
AMERIKA land of el hijo de la chingada,
land of landed gentry gorging on gringoismo,
land of exploitation, creator of pollution,
LA RAZA no longer asks--we shall take
our reparations
and in the process
do more
than hope
for land/freedom...
Ricardo Snchez
(Fragment)

Lorna Dee Cervantes

POEMFORTHEYOUNGWHITEMAN
WHOASKEDMEHOWI,ANINTELLIGENT
WELL-READPERSONCOULDBELIEVEINTHEWARBETWEENRACES
[]
Thesebulletsburydeeperthanlogic.
Racismisnotintellectual.
Icannotreasonthesescarsaway.
Outsidemydoor
thereisarealenemy
whohatesme.
Iamapoet
whoyearnstodanceonrooftops,
towhisperdelicatelinesaboutjoy
andtheblessingsofhumanunderstanding.
Itry.Igotomyland,mytowerofwordsand
boltthedoor,butthetypewriterdoesn'tfadeout
thesoundsofblastingandmuffledoutrage.
Myowndaysbringmeslapsontheface.
EverydayIamdelugedwithreminders
thatthisisnot
myland
andthisismyland.
Idonotbelieveinthewarbetweenraces
butinthiscountry

Mexico
WhenI'mthatfarsouth,theoldwords
moltoffmyskin,thefeathers
ofallmynervousness.
Myownwordssomersaultnaturallyasmyname,
joyousamongallthosemeadows:
Michoacan,
VeraCruz,Tenochtitln,Oaxaca...
Pueblosgreenonthelowhills
wheremenslaphandballsbelowacres
ofmaiz.
Iwatchandunderstand.
Myfrailbodyhasneverpackedmud
orgatheredinthefullweightoftheharvest.
Alonewiththewomenintheadobe,Iwatchmen,
theirtautfacesholdinginalltheiryouth.
Thisfarsouthwearegovernedbythelaw
ofthenextwholemeal.
Weworkandwatchseabirdselbow
theirwings
inmigratoryways,thosemispronouncinggulls
comingsouth
torefugeorgameland.
Idon'twanttopretendIknowmore

Theoretical approach
Postcolonialism?
Are they writting back to the Empire? Subversive
position.
Do they have a decolonizing intention?

Migration?
Are they away from home?
Do they write about the journey?
Do they write about a cultural clash?

Hybridism transculturality in-betweeness ?

How do they deal with such a bicultural situation? Is
it bicultural?

Thanks for your attention!