Borderlands

Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana lesbian and activist who lived near the the border of Texas and Mexico. She starts by describing the border as unnatural and dangerous, especially for those who live in the surrounding lands. She says that when those of color cross the border, they are shot or tortured while those who are white are left unharmed. Anzaldua constantly interchanges between English and Spanish which despite confusing the reader, shows that she has and affinity to both sides of the border.

Anzaldua describes how by the late 1800's American corporations were using Mexican land for commercial purposes. As a result the peso lost value compared to the dollar and the Mexicans not employed by these corporations were out of work and starving. Therefore Mexicans began immigrating to the US. She goes on further to describe the linguistic barriers that separated her and other Chicanos. While she spoke mainly Chicano and Spanish she had to learn English as a result of the pressure society placed on Chicanos. However there is clear bias when Anzaldua makes that claim. One of example of this is how she believes that the university she attended forced her to speak in English in order to prevent her from speaking in Spanish.

What truly confused me was how Anzaldua criticized both the US and Spanish societies. She expressed contempt at how the whites stole her people's land and starved them which in turn forced them to immigrate at great peril. She expresses as sense that she doesn't belong in her society because of how men are dominant. What is truly ironic is that Anzaldua tries to be accepted into a culture but she distinguishes herself by describing herself as a Mesitza, a mix of two cultures. She is also a female, homosexual, activist which sets her apart even more.

I feel the poem "Don't Give In, Chicanita", pg. 224, gives insight towards Anzaldua's feelings towards the gringos and the chicanos. It appears as if she is talking to someone younger. She tells this person to have pride in his/her ancestry claiming that it is ancient. She descended before the time of the whites when Texas was still Mexico.  She says her previous lineage of female ancestors (herself, her mother, grandmother and so on) is strong. She then goes on to condemn the whites for taking their land saying how they will eventually kill one another. She compares herself and her people to a snake and horned toad, perhaps referencing the story of the snake that impregnated a woman. She however says how they may still be starving, referencing the time when the Mexicans starved because they were out of the work because of the American corporations. Towards the end, she mentions a revolution approaching at some point whether it be in a few years or a few centuries. She could be speaking of the New Mestiza, the idea that there will be a new age of Mestiza that will be more accepting of unique individuals so that others would not have to be isolated in the manner that Anzaldua was.