Poem Analysis: The Ideal Chicano Identity

ocial consciousness is what brings change forward for many movements, the term Chicano first arose from the 1960’s when radical changes were happening in the United States. The term Chicano applied to individuals who identified from Mexican descent who took pride in its culture, history, and indigenous heritage had the awareness to the injustices done to Chicanos and are committed to a lifestyle of activism through various professions (Romero, Sept 30th). Though this is a great foundation to establish the Chicano identity, it needs to be worked on because it does not encompass diversity. A poem called I Am Joaquin which describes the ideal Chicano does not include a sisterhood, the inclusion of various sexuality and religion. It identifies
the need for reformation but does not specify the injustices to specific Chicanos. I would reform the definition on what it means to be Chicano as a social identity by incorporating sexuality, Chicanas and the Civil Rights Movement and religion.
In the original definition of the Chicano, identity religion was rejected because it represented the conquest from the Spaniards (Romero, Oct 12th).
Many Chicanos who did identify with religion like César Chavez were often criticized for it because it meant they accepted their colonization (Romero, Oct 28th). A lot of Chicanos do not realize the importance religion has played in the movement because it is often rejected. Many Chicanas felt their oppression originated from the Catholic Church. “We, as Mujeres de la Raza, recognize the Catholic Church as an oppressive institution and do hereby resolve to break away…” this was a declaration from the Chicanas who attended the National Chicana Conference (Blackwell, pg 174). If it weren’t for religion there would not be a unity in the community. Mexico was submerged with Catholicism during the conquest, and even though it did cause a lot of cultural destruction, it has also provided a community where people can have a common belief. Cesar Chavez attributes his success to his faith in God. In his longest fasting his first item of food was the Eucharist, the flat wafer believed to be the body of Christ. Today many Mexican-American families identify with being Catholics; many Chicanos have a foundation in parish catholic school because better education was offered. In my own personal experience, my family is not strongly religious but did place me in a catholic school because of the better education offered. The strong
connection comes from the story of Juan Diego and the Lady of Guadalupe, the mother of Mexico. The Lady of Guadalupe gives a strong connection to the Mexican people because she is their “mother”, she prays and watches everyone. Juan Diego was also said to be an indigenous man who represented the indigenous people. When she appeared to him she said, “Know for certain, least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of Heaven and earth. It is my earnest wish that a temple is built here to my honor. Here I will demonstrate, I will manifest, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, and of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities, and misfortunes." (Saunders, 2004) Her name in Nahuatl, the indigenous language is Tlecuatlecupe, which means “the one who crushes the head’s serpent” making her relatable to not only the Spaniards but to the natives as well. Even though the original Chicano identity does not incorporate religion it should acknowledge the benefits it has brought to the movement. “Saturday ended with a dinner; a mariachi mass…” this is at the end of the National Chicana Conference, religion plays a strong role in what it means to be Chicano, because of family and unity even if it can be a form of oppression to some (Blackwell, pg174). Identifying as a Chicano normally incorporates much traditional point of views, many influenced by our upbringing and religion. Sexuality is not explored by the original definition of Chicano, rather sexuality was rejected. “The Chicana/o political analysis of homophobia and concepts like Queer Aztlan are linked to Chicana lesbians” (Blackwell, 211). Within Chicano infrastructure heterosexuality was high influenced, since “la causa” was to empower our people and coming generations. People who do not identify with heterosexuality are not producing children, therefore not contributing to “la causa”. Chicana feminists who were lesbian were often seen as traitors for the reason of not wanting to have children and standing behind their “man” (Romero, Nov 16th) Gay Chicanos were often seen as weak, jokes and unable to be great leaders. A personal family friend once told me that the reason she did not join MECHA was because it was against LGBTQ and she identified with being a lesbian. Even though there is always room to improve, Queer Aztlan has made a progress by being more inclusive with the efforts of groups like Salsa Soul Sisters, Las Buenas Amigas, Lesbianas Unidas, Gay Latino Alliance and Gay and Lesbianas Unidas (Blackwell, pg 211). Including sexuality to the Chicano identity provides a safe space for those who do not identify with heterosexuality. The struggles of a lesbian Chicano were not only limited to her differentiating sexuality but just being a woman was difficult.
“It was the women who shouldered the double burden of racial and gender discrimination” (Vargas, pg. 336). Machismo is a strong attribution to being a Chicano, hence when woman comes into the picture it disrupts the “balance. “ Chicano power figured in the shaping of the Chicana liberation movement and radical feminism; particularly the refusal of many pointedly sexist male leaders to consider women or women’s interests”, hence sparking the Chicana movement during the civil rights movement (Vargas, pg 308). Chicanas was often attacked for not being “obedient” while at the same time criticized for not indulging in freedom. An example of this is “Chicanas suffered guilt at not contributing to the household income of their families and social pressures to get married” (Blackwell, pg.62) Many Chicanas wanted to be their own independent person before being joined in marriage while others did not want to at all. When Chicana feminism started during the civil rights movement, they strove for equal rights, child care for those actively participating, reproductive health care and higher education (Romero, Nov 16th). By not including Chicana feminism to being Chicano, gave the opportunity for men to believe themselves superior to women. “They organized themselves as a direct result of blatant contradictions between male leadership and women’s secondary
status…”, women saw the movements, and felt the urge to stop being second-class citizens, especially in their own movement (Vargas, pg.325) In some cases Chicana were only good to be objectified by their male counterparts in the efforts; “Activist Chicanas critiqued the fact that women were sexualized within movement spaces, seen as sexual objects instead of political comrades” (Blackwell, pg 70) While woman tried to make a difference they not only encountered the oppression from the outside world but within their own movement as well. Chicana feminism strives to create the sisterhood not mentioned in I Am Joaquin by Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez. Chicanas during the civil rights movement strove to create a safe space for themselves establishing many groups like Las Hijas de Cuauhtemoc, Comision Femenil Mexicana, La Raza Unidad and El Centro de Accion Autonoma to name a few (Romero, Nov 16th). Women are not given the credit they deserve. What it means to be Chicano is constantly evolving; people are including more identities within being Chicano. The original belief of what it meant to be Chicano was a good foundation to start with but with changing times it too also needs to change to fit the new generations to come. Chicanas are make progress and want more recognition, the topic of sexuality is not so taboo today and religion itself it evolving with time, therefore they should be incorporated with the ideas of being Chicano in order to progress our movement. The more people who feel comfortable identifying with Chicano, the happier and stronger our movement will become.