E-Book Overview
Why, in the minds of most Americans, are Latinas still thought of as maids, seductresses, and booty-shaking salsa divas? Never has the concept of Latina identity been more relevant. Also, never has there been a new generation of Latinas so ready to say what they mean and even criticize the Latina generation that preceded them. Until now. In Border-Line Personalities, twenty writers share their poignant and wickedly funny stories about fighting with their mothers, struggling with speaking Spanish, and dealing with the men who've done them wrong, among a myriad of other topics. In the end, each essay encompasses a different point of view, lending credence to the theory that no one can label any one item, idea, or person more Latina than the other. Questions posed to Latinas of all ages in Border-Line Personalities: Why do many of us often feel more American than Latina? How important is Spanish, really? Do we all really fit under one cultural umbrella? When thinking about having children, do we really have to consider being stay-at-home moms as most of us were raised to believe was law, or can Latinas even consider the possibility of raising children while working? What do we do when we fall in love with someone (male or female) outside our culture?
E-Book Content
BORDER-LiNE personalities A New Generation of Latinas Dish on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting
E D I T E D
B Y
Robyn Moreno and Michelle Herrera Mulligan
To m y m o t h e r , A l i c i a H e r r e r a G r a n a d o s , w h o t au g h t m e I h av e t h e s t r e n g t h t o ac h i e v e , e v e n w h e n I d o n ’ t k n ow i t . —Michelle Herrera Mulligan
To m y m o t h e r , Y v o n n e V e l a G u z m a n , whose strength and enduring hope h a s t au g h t m e t h at a n y t h i n g is possible. —Robyn Moreno
—Gloria Anzaldua, LA FRONTERA/BORDERLANDS
CONTENTS
Foreword by Julia Alvarez
vii
Introduction by Robyn Moreno and Michelle Herrera Mulligan
I. “ME
AND
xvii
M Y F A M I LY . . . ”
“A Picture of Us” by Robyn Moreno
3
“Just Us Girls” by Michelle Herrera Mulligan “Esos No Sirven” by Daisy Hernández
27
“Your Name Is Sandoval” by Lynda Sandoval “Balancing Act” by Laura Trujillo
15
46
61
II. “AND AFTER WE KISSED . . .”
“On the Verge” by Angie Cruz
75
“The First Wife” by Shirley Velásquez “Straddling Desire” by Adriana López “Ain’t Dishin’ ” by Maria Hinojosa
86 99
118
“Stumbling Toward Ecstasy” by Letisha Marrero
131
C O N T E N T S
III. “AM I
OR
AREN’T I . . .”
“American Girl” by Lorenza Muñoz
155
“Se Habla Español” by Tanya Barrientos “Elián: A Love Story” by Gigi Anders “Pilgrim” by Carina Chocano
167
175
188
“You’re Half Spanish, Right?” by Nancy Ayala “Getting It Straight” by Carmen R. Wong
194
205
I V. “ W H E N I G R O W U P . . . ”
“Conversations with Jesus” by Carolina Buia
227
“J.’s True Hollywood Story” by Jackie Guerra
243
“I Get Up to Work” by Cecilia Ballí “Chessin’ ” by Nelly Rosario
Contributors
291
Acknowledgments
About the Editors Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher
297
271
257
FOREWORD by
Julia Alvarez
¿Qué Dice la Juventud?
R
eading this collection of sassy, hard-hitting, and soulful essays by young Latinas returned me to my own young years. At family gatherings, Mami and Papi, los abuelos, las tías and los tíos—in short, los viejos—would all sit together at the big table or en la sala, and we, the younger