Questions for Professor Gaspar de Alba

There’s No Place Like Aztlan

Question: Although Aztan isn’t a physical location, but rather a mythical one, why is it so important to not only Chicano history, but Chicanos themselves?

One of the possible answers to this question is that Aztlan is a utopic location as well as representation of the land in between. It allows Chicanos to identify with this in-between state of neither belonging to the U.S. nor Mexico, but at the same time being a part of both. Aztlan is a special place for Chicanos because it carries their history, culture, and identity.

Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore’s Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo

Question: For a long period of time, Chicana women have been misinterpreted and misunderstood historically because their visions didn’t completely coincide with those of the Chicano movement. How have important women figures such as La Malinche and La Virgen de Guadalupe been transformed to create a more accurate representation of the Chicana ideology?

This question interests me because I learned about La Malinche in several of my previous classes, where she had mainly presented as a traitor to her own people because she was to blame for the selling of her people in Mexican and Chicano history. I also grew up with the religious figure of La Virgen de Guadalupe which represents motherhood, protection, and purity (ideal qualities in women according to society). However, after reading this article, I realized that women icons like La Malinche and La Virgen de Guadalupe have been reinterpreted in many different ways to create a more accurate vision of what the Chicana women really is.