This week we dug deeper in the definitions of Latinas / Latinos and Religion that we began drafting last week. On Monday, in the Pew Research Center report we read about Latinx shifting religious identities from a Catholic block to Protestant religions, especially Evangelical and Pentecostal, as well as lapsed professions of religion. This image, our icon for this week, which represents seven orishas from Afrocuban iconography, speaks volumes about that.
We then discussed Pineda’s take on Feminist Foremothers, and discussed the importance of learning about for the first time, or remembering differently, women who have been either manipulated or forgotten by historical accounts of latinidad. On Wednesday, we learned or reviewed with Michelle González a handful of critical concepts developed to understand the humanity of Latinas (what a concept, we are people!) and religion: the covery / discovery of the Americas; colonialism and coloniality; the importance of history (with Pineda); how Latinas occupy different subject position and identities; nepantla or the third space, and others.
Tell us which one (or ones) of these premises, arguments, or concepts have helped you initiate a path to study Latinas and Religion this semester. This is not intended for you to have to commit ONLY to that premise, argument, or concept, but to touch base with your own memory and see what is sticking for now. You can change this later.
Please, post your blog entry by Sunday at 8pm at the latest.
13 replies on “24-26 August. Latinas, Latinos, Religion”
A concept that is helping me understand the study of Latinas and Religión this semester is Daisy Machado’s description of the border as a liminal space and “neplanta.” “Nepantla speaks to the both/and, in-between-ness, difference and mestizaje/ mulalez of Latino/as (page 55).” This term, that also implies plurality, helps me understand that Latinas and Latinos live in a “borderland” that goes beyond a “geographical reality.” Machado states that Latinos and Latinas live at the threshold of two cultures, “marginalized by dominant North American society” but also creating an identity that is characterized by its elasticity (page 55). One thing related to this concept I would like to explore the conceptualization of neplanta in the lives of Latinas. What factors influence the various ways “nepantla” transpires in different women’s lives? (country of origin, people, religión etc.)
Something I also found interesting about the term neplantla is that it implies elasticity in relationships. Recognizing ourselves as living in some nepantla helps expand our world and relationships with others. This aspect of neplantla interests me because I wonder, can one not be unified in oneself and understand the “neplantla” aspects of their lives at the same time? This term has indeed sparked an interest in me that I hope to explore more going forward in this class.
(New comment with slight modification! -Claire Lee)
A concept that is helping me understand the study of Latinas and Religión this semester is Daisy Machado’s description of the border as a liminal space and “nepantla.” “Nepantla speaks to the both/and, in-between-ness, difference and mestizaje/ mulalez of Latino/as (page 55).” This term, which also implies plurality, helps me understand that Latinas and Latinos live in a “borderland” that goes beyond a “geographical reality.” Machado states that Latinos and Latinas live at the threshold of two cultures, “marginalized by dominant North American society,” but they also create an identity that is characterized by its elasticity (page 55). One thing related to this concept I would like to explore the conceptualization of nepantla in the lives of Latinas. What factors influence the various ways “nepantla” transpires in different Latina’s lives? (country of origin, people, religión etc.) Because nepantla is “not exclusive to Latina/o realities,” what are the various identifying realities that make it unique to this identity?
Something I also found interesting about the term neplantla is that it implies elasticity in relationships. Recognizing ourselves as living in some nepantla helps expand our world and relationships with others. This aspect of neplantla interests me because I wonder, can one not be unified in oneself and understand the “nepantla” aspects of their lives at the same time? This term has indeed sparked an interest in me that I hope to explore more going forward in this class.
Beginning my path to studying Latinas and Religion this semester, the exposure to Pineda’s take on Feminist Foremothers, specifically learning about historical figures and discussing current Latinx shifting religious identities in the Pew Research Center’s Report successfully broadened my knowledge on a historical and a current standpoint. Touching base with my memory, Pineda’s writing widened my viewpoint on the historical struggles and hardships women like the Mirabel Sisters, Adelina “Nina” Otero Warren, and Lola Rodígues de Tío faced. Their act to challenge such societal issues at the time being violence, rights, among others proved successful with the utilization of their education and social platform. This spread of awareness furthered my understanding about the strength it took to spread awareness about Latina feminist theology. This fierce, determination, and confidence within these powerful women historical figures is paving a clear admirable path to my beginning in studying Latinas and Religion
Last week’s conversations were some that I thoroughly enjoyed. When reading and discussing “Nuestra Humanidad,” the mujerista theology by Isasi-Díaz stuck with me the most. Isasi-Díaz defines a mujerista as “a Latina woman who makes a preferential option for herself and her Hispanic sisters, understanding that our struggle for liberation…” (page 53). We talked about what a “preferential option” meant, and I think for me it means to create your own space as a Latina and your “sisters.” Often times as Latinas, we are made to chose what kind of Latina we will be. The one that society has created or the one created by religion, but why not be our own? A mujerista has the power to create her own path and offer it as another option to her Latina/Hispanic sisters. In studying this course, I think Latinas have the option to make their preferential options within religion too. They do not have to conform to every single little aspect within a religion.
The second part of the quote talks about “how racism/ethnic prejudice, economic oppression, and sexism work together and reinforce each other” during a mujerista’s fight for liberation (page 53). I think this part of the quote goes back to Pineda’s piece on how we must identify and recognize our feminist foremothers for the work that they’ve done. In becoming a mujerista, we are identifying and recognizing the oppression so that we create those “preferential options” that lead us to liberation.
Overall, I think that taking the mujerista definition into this course will help me further understand how Latinas have made their own versions of purity, fuerza, and body.
One of the concepts that has really stuck with me this week is Daisy Machado’s principle of the nepantla as a space that focuses on the “elasticity of Latino/a identity” (Gonzales, 55). Specifically, Machado defines this space of elasticity as a place where Latinx folks “‘strive to define who they are in the midst of a society that has for centuries kept the an invisible mass, a footnote in the homogenizing historical process of an entire nation’” (55). Machado’s ideas of the nepantla push me to interrogate the intricacies of Latinidad and how we grapple with its boundaries. Often times, I feel like it’s very hard to find precision or specificity within Latinidad because of how limitless and expansive it can be. One of my main concerns about Latinidad lies in the difficulties of defining oneself in a space that holds so much difference.
My concerns with Latinidad directly inform our conversations around Latinas and Religion because it urges me to interrogate how Latinas are defining their own identities and how they are defining their worship/faith-based practices? Do their religious practices and beliefs directly speak to their specific lived experiences (based on race, ethnicity, language, class, gender, etc)? As I’m grappling with these questions, I’m also curious about how we define Latinidad and how we can be critical of it in order to address the specific needs and desires of Latinas/xs. Is Latinidad as elastic for all Latinas as the nepantla constructs? Do all Latinas occupy this same space? Can a critique of Latinidad as this “elastic” space create more clarity around the specific needs/survival of Latinas and how they fill those needs through religion?
Seeing the folks in the video on “Resistencia Afrocolombiana” name the spaces they occupy as Afrocolombianas and explain how their ancestral practices and natural remedies served as a form of resistance/healing helps me think about what it means to articulate the specific needs of Latinas on the margins and how these needs influence the spiritual and religious rituals they practice.
I think that like Claire what really stuck to me this week from the readings we analyzed was the concept of Nepantla and the elasticity of the Latina identity. Machado describes Nepantla, a Nahuatl word, as the “place in the middle” . . . [it] speaks to the both / and, in-between-ness, difference, and mestizaje/mulatex of Latino/as” (Gonzalez, 55). This concept will be vital in exploring the relationship between Latinas and religion. How Latinas identify themselves doesn’t have to be static. It’s going to be difficult to specifically define how religion, culture, and femininity all intersect and influence Latinas, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Latinidad is fluid. As we go forward in the class, I’ll keep in mind Nepantla, and the elasticity that exists between the intricacies of womanhood and religion.
Additionally, I want to hear more powerful, Latina voices. Gonzalez talks about this when discussing the concept of mujeristas, who is “a Latina woman who makes a preferential option for herself.” (Gonzalez, 53). Even further, “Mujeristas denounce the split between personal and the political as a false dichotomy used often to oppress Hispanic Women” (Gonzalez, 53). Historically, white men have had the power to control the narrative. I want to reject this status quo to truly study the Latina experience, especially in spaces that are often dismissed.
Religion and womanhood will be experienced differently by Latinas: there is no one shared experience. Many factors, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language, and gender, will all intersect to give each Latina a unique experience with religion. I believe that by keeping in mind concepts such as Nepantla and mujerista scholarship, I will be able to get a more holistic, well rounded understanding of how Latinas empower themselves through their own versions of fuerza, purity, and body.
As we continue the semester, the concept that is helping initiate my learning of Latinas and Religion is that of mujerista theology. As Regina detailed in her post and as defined by Isasi-Díaz, a mujerista is “a Latina woman who makes a preferential option for herself and her Hispanic sisters…” (53) Within this definition I think there are two very important “sub-ideas” that will be important to keep in mind as we continue to study Latinas and Religion. These are 1) the preferential option/ third space and 2) the “making” of this preferential option for oneself and one’s Latina/x sisters.
Before last class, I had never heard of the idea of a third, separate space or a preferential option. While I had been aware of the notion of fluidity in the way a Latina/x could identify herself in the world, I never considered the possibility of a Latina/x stepping away from the roles the world assigns and making her own space. Something I’ve always heard about, usually in the context of religion, is the feeling of living a “double-life”. This double-life is often talked about as who you are in your house (for your parents/family/church) vs. who you are outside of the house (in front of your friends/strangers). As we discussed the idea of the preferential space, the first idea that came to mind was leaving this “double-life” and finally finding a space you could truly be yourself without the pressures and expectations of everyone else.
Secondly, I thought the part stating “for herself and for her Hispanic sisters” was significant. We discussed in class that a mujerista has social ethics based on community. What this meant to me is that being a mujerista is more than just being able to establish your place in the world as a Latina/x. It requires you to also fight for other Latinas/os/xs by constantly trying to change the “system” rather than give in to it. A great example of this, I thought, was the video of Afro-Colombian Resistance. In the video we learned of Latina women trying to make a difference in their country by staying true to their roots. Their small act of defiance against a larger, flawed healthcare system is what I would describe as constantly trying to change the “system”.
Pienda’s piece about Latina Feminist Foremothers was an important foundation for me because I find it helpful to amplify stories of specific individuals who are erased and overlooked. I learned a lot from this reading because I was not familiar with any of the women described, nor the issues that they were focused on. I enjoyed how Pineda includes feminist leaders from different places as well, because in addition learning about topics like genocide on Hispaniola that I had never heard of before, it challenges me to shift my American-centric view of the world and history. This is a bias that I want to unlearn, so it was helpful to celebrate these foremothers who did amazing work to help oppressed people in Haiti. I also appreciated our class discussion about the reading because people addressed that each of the women who are mentioned were very privileged. Many of them were wealthy or upper middle class, highly educated, and benefited from colorism. I think this was an important point to acknowledge, and I think it would be interesting to interrogate how Pineda chose who to highlight, but I also recognize that leaders who fight to make social progress are often among the more privileged even when they are members of a marginalized group simply because it requires resources to organize. I value this work as a foundation specifically because it expanded my prior knowledge on things like respectability politics and how white feminists who helped to get the 19th amendment ratified erased women of color, since I previously had only read about these things from lenses focusing on Black people. Finally, I like Pineda’s piece as a foundation for this class because it represents one of the greater and ongoing problems; she wrote to draw attention Latina feminist foremothers who are ignored, which is just one aspect of how Latina women in society are also overlooked.
From all the readings thus far, I am compelled by the concepts of identity, nepanthal, and colonialism discussed in Michelle Gonzalez’s interpretation of Latina Humanidad. Similarly to our discussion in class, Gonzalez also seems to contend that the nomenclature of Latina can’t be categorized subjectively,because of the diversity and fluidity in the makeup of Latina people. As an anthropology major, this article enticed me by the application of a cultural anthropology discipline into the framework of a religious study. Michelle Gonzalez’s article “Nuestra Humanidad: Toward a Latina Theological Anthropology”, provided a discourse to understanding Latina theology from the insights of Latina scholars and the contribution of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz in systematic theology. As I mentioned in class, the essay on Aquino’s “The collective Dis-Covery of our Own Power”, painted a resonating picture for me on the impact of colonialism in Latin America. Aquino asserts that the European conquest was not of discovering the Americas but rather masking the indegenous people of their own historical memory and power. Both Gonzalez and Aquino speak about recovering these marginalized voices and cultural practices of Latina American people. The video clip on “La Resistencia Afrocubana” captured this recovery of fuerza and spirit in the preservation of ancestral medicine and legacy by the Afrocubana midwives passed down from generation to generation. The midwife also talked about the importance of communal dialogue and exchanging with other women knowledge of alternative medical practices for maternal health as a source of drawing strength and spirituality.
Gonzalez also introduces Maria Lugones interpretation of purity and impurity, and the connotation of the impure given to those whose voices are marginalized by the dominating power or doctrine.Gonzalez uses nepantla to talk about this complex border that Latinas find themselves in mainstream society. From an anthropology standpoint, I believe Gonzalez uses the term “liminal space” to define this border as a conflicted and disoriented space for latinas living in North America, who find themselves in a new territory and trying to carve an identity in that new world. She states that how Latinas experience themselves within that occupied space is contingent upon their position of power and value within that space.Gonzalez writes about the importance of acknowledging the multifaceted dimension of Latina and not limiting Latina theology.
I am interested in exploring how African and Indigenous religious rituals and practices are infused into the spirit and fuerza of the Latina embodiment of the body. I was enlightened by the analysis Gonzalez gave of Sor Juana’s work in “El Divino Narciso”. I was particularly interested in the allegory she provides as the image dei in a feminine light with human nature as a personified female in the image of the Sacred Virgin.In religious text, I usually associate water with baptismal practice, but Sor Juana gave the fountain a female context to illustrate the purity of the Virgin Mary. I could not help but make a connection to African spirituality in the personification of water as a female character such as seen in the Yemaya Orisha. I am left wondering if there was an African influence to this narrative.
This past week’s readings really opened me up to a whole new realm of learning especially with Michelle Gonzalez’s idea of Nepantla and the duality of a latina woman in the world she was born into and the world she chooses to live. I feel as though it’s a concept that has never been introduced to me but something I have seen in everyday life as a daughter of a Catholic Mexican mother who often struggles with her roles as a good christian and her upbringing as a Mexican woman.
The reading about the feminist foremothers is what really helped me on my path to initiate learning about Latinas and religion. Reading about the Mirabal sisters reminded me of how little about these strong latina feminist icons has I had been exposed to in the past. I remember reading the book “in the time of the butterflies” by Julia Alvarez as an independent reading book my freshman year, but the only follow up to that my teacher had me do was to watch the movie adaptation of said book. This quick overlook into the lives of these women exposed how much the american education system has lacked in teaching about their students’ culture, even coming from a predominantly mexican high school.
Pineda’s take on Feminist Foremothers was the piece that helped initiate my path to to study Latinas and Religion as it was the first time I remember learning about Latinas that were not part of “mainstream” knowledge. I’ve never taken a course that’s intentionally taught me about any historical Latina figure or any significant Latina contribution. The exclusion of non-wealthy Latinas and Afro-Latinas in this piece was a reminder for me that studies centering Latinas and Religion are also studies centering around class and race; that Latina studies and it’s religious counterpart can only be understood and analyzed to their full extent through an intersectional lens including but not limited to considering class, race, gender, sexuality, and physical and mental ability. While Pineda’s piece sought to bring forth those whose voices were ignored, the women chosen to be presented to us showed us that Pineda was continuing the historical practice they claimed to oppose. And, though this piece did not teach me to critically analyze whose voices are being amplified and whose are being silenced, it did spark my interest in stories untold or unknown to me by my Latina ancestors and made me question how much of my own knowledge surrounding Latinas, and in extension Latinas in relation to religion, has been either misconstrued or falsified due to the lens from which it was presented.
On Monday, the piece that stuck with me the most was Pineda’s “Feminist Foremothers.” I think it’s important to remember different women that have had an impact on Latinx culture and throughout history since female erasure from history is still an ongoing issue in books and learning environments. The Mirabel Sisters, Adelina “Nina” Otero Warren, and Lola Rodríguez de Tió had the drive and passion necessary to fight against coloniality, silencing, violence, the lack of education and freedom. Learning about this reinforces the diverse societal issues that have been going on for centuries and that are unfortunately still present to this day in Latin America, such as feminicidios and machismo.
On Wednesday, the piece that stuck with me the most was “Nuestra Humanidad.” In that piece, the concept that I was captured by the most was Daisy Machado’s concept of nepantla and its connection to the elasticity of the Latinx identity. This concept reminded me of intersectionality, where an individual is not only composed of a single label or category but the interconnection and overlapping of multiple identities that make someone’s experience unique. Since Latinidad is fluid, different identities can play a role in the Latinx experience, reinforcing that it’s okay not only choosing between the traditional dichotomy but resort to fluidity and plurality and live in this “in-betweenness” called nepantla.
As with most of my classmates, the piece that really helped me initiate a path to study Latinas and Religion this semester was Pineda’s contribution to my knowledge of feminist foremothers. Oftentimes, I feel as if the contributions of Latinas are overlooked simply because of the fact that they are Latinas. As Professor Carrión mentioned in class, the accomplishments and ideas of a Latina are not seen as valuable as a white male’s opinion. Pineda’s piece demonstrated not only the variety of areas that Latinas may be involved in, but also the extent to which they can make an impact. This is seen with the Mirabal sisters’ political involvements and Adelina Warren’s educational contributions during distinct settings. Nevertheless, Pineda’s piece helped me discover one lens of viewing Latina contributions throughout history. I hope this is only the beginning of many lens through which I will learn to admire Latinas.