Gloria Anzaldúa’s La Conciencia de la Mestiza and what being a Mestiza means to me
“La Conciencia de la Mestiza” is an article in which Gloria Anzaldúa expresses what being Mestizo means to her and how she feels her and other mestizos must fight against separation by both physical and imaginary borders. As a mestizo myself I can identify with much of her writing and in this article I intend to explain Anzaldúa’s article while connecting it to my personal experiences as well as those of others.
La mestiza as defined by Anzaldúa is an Aztec word meaning torn between ways which is a product of the transfer of the cultural and spiritual values of one group to another. She says, “because I, a mestiza, continually walk out of one culture and into another, because I am in all cultures at the same time… Estoy norteada por todas las voces que me hablan simultáneamente.” While reading this quote I realized I myself am constantly stuck in this whirlwind of ideas trying to figure out how to please all cultures that are a part of me. I do not fully belong to one culture so I can not say I am Mexican or American, because I do not fit into what people of those cultures classify as so. I visit my hometown in Mexico many times a year, and as much as I think and want to understand my family and friends from there I do not. I merely fit in, at first glance the color of my skin and my physique do suggest I am Mexican or Latina, but as soon as I speak you can tell I know neither Spanish or English perfectly, my accent and mixed use of words gives it away.
So what am I? I am a mix I take in both Mexican and American traditions and blend them to make my own. However this is easier said than done, like Anzaldúa explains being from all these different cultures we receive, obtain, and are imposed different ideas and traditions, from which we must choose which ones to keep and use in the making of ourselves. I have experienced this in my own life, for instance I have rejected my Mexican family’s ideology that women should be housewives and solely dedicate themselves to the house chores. Yes, I know it is hard to believe that in this time and day people still have ideas like that however, in my case it is very real. Of course going against my family’s ideology of what a proper women should be is very hard because I am constantly made to feel less than my female relatives who do follow their belief. However, I do it proudly because I know I am fulfilling my own dreams and I know that at the end of the day I can be and do whatever I want, and idea fueled by the American Dream. Just how I or Anzaldúa constantly fight against ideologies in our cultures, so do other women around the world. Such is the case of Sonita Alizadeh a Afghan rapper who had to sing about forced teen marriage in her culture to escape it. Although I am not aware if Sonita Alizadeh is of mixed cultures, she does represent this struggle against ideas imposed on one. In her culture marriages are set up by parents as a type of business negotiation, in her case she would be married for her parents to receive a dowry with which they would pay for their sons fiance’s dowry. Sonita however, did not want to get married and spoke out about it although traditionally women in her cultural are supposed to remain quiet.
So how do we lessen the burden of being from different cultures but not really being of one? How do we “fit in” and end oppression? Anzaldúa says, mestizos are very accepting of differences, however, to help others fully accept us we must further mix with them or show them who we truly are. In other words to break down a border we must first make a bridge or connection with our Caucasian, African American, Asian, and so on, neighbors. We must show each other that we are the same in many ways and accept our differences. Anzaldúa also says she believes mestizos will soon run the world because of this increasingly mixed world and their acceptance of others. I feel like this is what the a day without immigrants protest was about.In my opinion it was a day in which immigrants could stay home and show the people of this country that they are a part of this country. They could show that they do make a difference and are valuable to the people of this country and to its economy. By their overall peaceful protest they also showed how they wanted to be seriously considered as a part of this country and express the idea that we should all try to get to know each other to see how together we can make this country a better place.
