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"At the same time they [La Malinche, La Llorona, La Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Mexica Mother Earth Goddesses], replace negative elements of the representations by unearthing submerged memories of the figures as powerful, active forces" (Blake, 14).

Chapter 1 is about how history has failed to include the experience of US Mexicanas and Chicanas. Chicanas have been restrained and regulated because of the cultural and symbolic female icons that most of them have grown up with. Blake believes the past must be remembered and refigured to create new meanings for these icons. These figures have been used to suppress the Chicana and limit their gender roles. La Virgen de Guadalupe for example, she is tied to the meaning of motherhood and pureness because of her virginity. This symbol reiterates the gender roles and holds Chicanas accountable for their actions. Guadalupe also reiterates the narrative that virginity means pureness which causes Chicanas to distance themselves from their sexuality. Also, La Malinche has this negative connotation, because she exemplifies a traitor woman who had a child out of wedlock. She has been presented as standing against everything La Virgen de Guadalupe represents. This Virgen and Malinche are used to tell Chicanas to be like Guadalupe and not Malinche.

These female icons are redefined in order to serve as Chicana empowerment. La Llorona for example. She is perceived as an evil and wicked Chicana who killed her children because her lover betrayed her. Yet working-class US Mexicanas perceive her as a real woman who was hurt and they actually blame the husband for her actions. La Llorona is meant todiscipline and show the effects of being a bad mother, compared to La Virgen de Guadalupe.