Lecture Notes on Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x Identity

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes discussing Chicano/a/x, Latino/a/x identity, cultural objectification, literature as a tool, the Young Lords, Operation Bootstrap, poetry, mestiza consciousness, empires, quinceaneras, curanderismo, Zoot Suit, clothing, Nuyorican art and struggles, La Llorona, La Malinche, La Virgen de Guadalupe, American Me, Modern Family, semana santa and espiritismo.

Chicano/a/x

Politicized identity for a Mexican-American, especially those born/raised in the US who embrace Indigenous roots and activism – term resisted assimilation

Latino/a/x

Broad, panethnic term for people from or descended from Latin America - emphasize shared experience of colonialism, language and migration

Mexican-American

US citizen or resident w/ Mexican ancestry, emphasizes national origin and citizenship, popularized after treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, commonly used in census

Hispanic

People who come from or are descended from Spanish-speaking countries (Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina) – ties in language and Spanish colonization - US census created it

El Plan de Aztlan

Document drafted at the First National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado (March 1969), inspired by Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements, demanding equity in education, labor rights, and cultural recognitions

Cultural Nationalism (in El Plan de Aztlan)

Reclaiming Chicano identity rooted in indigenous + Mexican heritage

Self-determination (in El Plan de Aztlan)

Control over Chicano communities, schools, media, and institutions

Anti-Assimilation (in El Plan de Aztlan)

Rejection of being forced to assimilate in white American culture

Panethnic Identity

Grouping various ethnic groups under a larger, inclusive scope, based on shared cultural, historical, or geographical ties, emphasizing solidarity and common identity among diverse groups

Culture Objectification

When aspects of culture are reduced to consumerism, or displays w/out an understanding of their meaning, involving reducing culture to stereotypes

Literature as a tool for Latinx

Serves as a tool of empowerment and liberation, representation + storytelling, used to represent, articulate, and negotiate issues of power, language, ethnicity, community, migration, struggle, social justice, and belonging

The Young Lords

Started as a gang in Chicago, became political in 68’, founded in 66’ called for self-defense against police violence + created “survival programs” (free breakfast, health clinic, + education); PR fought for liberation and socialist values

Operation Bootstrap

US exploits PR economically, aimed to turn PR into industrial economy, displaced 1000s of rural PR who couldn’t all get jobs, led to mass migration to US (especially NY) which became a “safety valve” for the unemployed

Mestiza Consciousness

Stems from experience of navigating two worlds (English + Spanish, US + Mexican) and how it shapes identity

Nepantla

The messy the painful - the generative space of being between two identities, pain of being split in two

Shadow Beast

The rebellious inner voice, refuses to conform to traditional gender roles or cultural silence

Cultural Tyranny

Men make the rules in our culture, and women enforce them and obey them

Cultural Betrayal

Your culture doesn’t have your back, + expects you to conform

Empire

A system of power where one group or nation dominates (Spain) – through land, resources, culture, or people – often by force or control; involves conquest/colonization and created unequal relationships between people

Curanderismo

Healing of the body and Spirit, focusing on holistic care: mind, body, and spirit, stemming from Native American, Spanish, African, and Arab medicine

Maximon San Simon

Trickster, Healer, God, Maya-Christian hybrid deity venerated in Guatemala, Symbol of chaos, sexuality, protection, + defiance

Clothing

Communicates identity, culture, and resistance; attire shapes how others perceive us; clothing can be survival strategy or act of defiance

Redlining + Disinvestment

Urban renewal, federal programs designed to clean up ‘slums’ of NY which drove nuyoricans + AA from their homes

La Llorona

Rewritten as a woman facing gendered trauma + oppression, colonial trauma, liminality + border-crossing cultural resistance + continuity

La Malinche

Aztec princess - turned slave/sex worker - turned valued interpreter – baptizes as Dona Marina - turned Malinche w/ indigenous tongue - spanish “the fucked one”

La Virgen de Guadalupe

Challenge ideas of Maria as a “pure” woman, Reimagines La Virgen as a real woman, Perpetuates Marianismo - women expected to conform + silence their voices

American Me

Portrayed chicano unity w/in the prison system, portrayal of chicano masculinity (machismo) and anti-immigrant sentiments

Modern Family

Showcases Gloria Pritchett, who is played by Sofia Vergara; her exaggerated traits reflect harmful Latinx stereotypes

Espiritismo

Originated in Latin America (PR, Cuba, Brazil), influenced by french spiritism, catholicism, and african/indigenous traditions, communication w/ spirits - reincarnation + spiritual evolution