“¡Somos Tejanas!” Is an Anthology of Resistance and Resilience https://ift.tt/V5oGzv7
Gloria Anzaldúa, Chicana/Tejana feminist, writer, and scholar, writes, “Through the act of writing, you call like ancient chamana, the scattered pieces of your soul back to your body. You commence the arduous task of rebuilding yourself, composing a story that more accurately expresses your new identity.”
Her assertion in this quote resonates throughout ¡Somos Tejanas!, an anthology edited by Norma E. Cantú and Jody A. Marín that brings together contemporary voices to explore the layered, often contested identity of Tejana women. The collection engages with the historical, political, and emotional dimensions of Tejanidad. (Tejana refers to a Mexican-American woman from Texas, while Tejanidad is the broader cultural identity, history, and lived experience of Tejanos). Aiming to reclaim the cultural memory of Tejanas, ¡Somos Tejanas! works through essays, poetry, art, and scholarship to offer a multifaceted, interdisciplinary, and multisensory exploration of identity, resilience, and resistance.
The editors define a Tejana as “a third-space border subject who embraces her Indigenous, Spanish, Mexican, and US identities, subjectivities, agencies, and languages”. They simultaneously assert that Tejanas have historically been silenced. “Where is that identity if it is not voiced?” they ask.
The anthology examines the complex process of identity formation for Tejanas, shaped by their multifaceted heritage and the violence-marred geographical position of the Texas borderlands. While acknowledging the marginalization under both colonial and neocolonial structures, the text highlights a third marginalization faced by the Tejanas – one compounded by gender within the patriarchy of their culture.
Romana Radlwimmer’s interviews with Cynthia Pérez, a prominent decolonial feminist, explore questions such as “Who is a Tejana?” and “Who is a Chicana?” Here, they discuss the fluidity of being a Tejana and how internal pressures within the patriarchal, classist, and racial structures of their families and communities affect than as well as external forces like colonialism and systemic oppression.
¡Somos Tejanas! is a celebration of Tejanidad, expressed through cultural production, scholarship, and a deep sense of community. It is structured into five sections, charting a journey through the reclamation of identity, cultural memory, and resistance. The opening section defines and historicizes Tejana identity, focusing on matrilinear genealogy, the role of music and food as vessels of memory, and the importance of intergenerational storytelling in preserving Tejana heritage.
Subsequent sections delve into cultural artifacts as storytelling mediums. Jody A. Marín’s analysis of Tejana musical traditions and Miriam Romero’s essay on Conjunto music reveal how Tejana artists have navigated and resisted patriarchal norms through their art. Dance, too, emerges as a recurring motif, the movidas symbolizing both physical resistance and the movement across borders and beyond. Sophia Salgado writes, “Our bodies and performances would become epistemic sites, sources of information for our audiences, and an opportunity to showcase continuing Tejano heritage”.
This idea is further explored in the poetry of Norma E. Cantú and Celeste Guzmán Mendoza, where rivers serve as powerful representations of migration and resilience, reflecting the fluidity and persistence of Tejana identity. Rivers, in particular, symbolize both the physical and emotional journeys of migration, capturing the community’s enduring connection to the land and their shared history of displacement.
Violence is another major thread running through the anthology – whether experienced through migration, displacement, working-class struggles, or colonial and imperial subjugation. A powerful essay by Mary Helen Pérez examines the systemic erasure of Tejanidad by state institutions, while Jennifer R. Nájera uses oral traditions to document the segregation of Mexican Americans in Texas during the early 20th century. These essays reinforce the importance of the testimonio – personal narratives that preserve intergenerational knowledge and counter dominant historical narratives. Although, one aspect of the anthology that needs to be highlighted is its embrace of nontraditional storytelling. The inclusion of artifacts like lotería cards, jewelry, recipes, and photographs enrich the narrative.
In parallel to historicizing the existence of Tejanas, the text also situates the Tejana experience in contemporary contexts, including the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects on the compounded vulnerabilities faced by borderland communities during this period, visible in the blackouts of 2021 in Liliana Valenzuela’s poem and systemic inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic in Mayra Olivares-Urueta and Ana Martínez’s essay.
Multiple voices in the anthology explore Tejanas’ contributions to higher education and academic spaces – critiquing the marginalization of Chicana/Tejana literature and culture in the framework of American education, calling for a pedagogy that centers borderland voices. The use of everyday practices like cooking, dance, and music emerge as alternative means of storytelling, acting against the practices of colonial assimilation and erasure. Comparably, Paulina A. Serrano’s essay places Tejanas in contemporary discourses of sports, historicizing the contributions of Tejana athletes and situating their presence as acts of cultural and political resistance.
The anthology concludes with a powerful visual statement, featuring artwork by Ashley Mireles, Wendi Valladares, Celeste de Luna, Mayra Zamora, and Santa Barraza. These pieces place Tejana women and cultural artifacts at the forefront. By ending with art, the editors emphasize creativity as both a means of preserving cultural memory and a form of defiance against erasure.
¡Somos Tejanas! is more than an anthology – it is a manifesto of resilience and cultural preservation. By weaving together essays, testimonios, poetry, and art, the collection asserts the vitality and presence of Tejana identity in the face of systemic erasure. It is an essential text for understanding the complexities of borderland existence, offering a rich tapestry of narratives that challenge dominant histories and celebrate the power of storytelling. Through its genre-spanning approach, ¡Somos Tejanas! stands as a testament to the strength of a community that refuses to be silenced.
LITERARY FICTION, HISTORY ¡Somos Tejanas!
Edited by Norma E. Cantú and Jody A. Marín
University of Texas Press
Published February 11, 2025
0 Commentaires