Questions for Professor Gaspar de Alba

Question 1: In "There's No Place Like Aztlán: Embodied Aesthetics in Chicana Art," professor Gaspar de Alba assures that the myth of Aztlán fosters sexual politics; in other words, the myth is at the forefront of Chicano identity, brotherhood, and La Causa. How, then, can Chicanas dismantle or refigure and appropriate the myth in a way that will be at the core of Chicana identity, resistance, and cultural production?

I am interested in this question because for a long time now, Chicanas have resisted notions of gender and consequentially fought to refigure what it means to be a female, something beyond the conventional brown woman. Therefore, I am curious to know how Chicanas can demarcate the myth of Aztlán and/or how they have done it. One possible way to reconstitute the myth would be by immersing oneself in the theory of place-based aesthetics (Gaspar de Alba, 104). Using this concept would essentially allow Chicanas to express what Aztlán means to them in order to “fill in the gaps of the self.”

Question 2: In “Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore’s Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo,” Alba critiques CARA for exhibiting, by far, more male artists than female artists, and even when female artwork was displayed much of it fostered images of motherhood and other traditional women’s roles. So first, how can Chicanas overcome obstacles of underrepresentation and misrepresentation? More critically, what major themes, if any, are missing in Chicana art?

Although I would like to know more about how Chicanas can counter art that depicts them as “conventional,” I am specifically interested in themes that may not be as popular in Chicana art. For example, maybe we need more art depicting women of color as successful professionals or maybe even need art that implements satire techniques to call forth an audience in a comedic manner, yet ultimately criticize and revoke gendered notions and misogynistic art.