Chicano/a Literature, Film, and Culture (Sanchez)

This paper will explore the use of food in plays written by Latino playwrights for young audiences.  I will be focusing primarily on the plays of Jose Cruz Gonzales, but will also survey other works.  Often when food is involved, it is to create a point of humor as well as cultural identification with the audience such as when young Domingo in Calabasas Street bemoans the creation of menudo as a torture device for Mexican kids.  When performed in audiences of primarily Latino students, this line brings the house down with laughter at the familiar food and response to it.&nbsp

Food—the preparation and cooking of food, the serving of food, the eating of food—are never far from Dominican writer Julia Alvarez’s mind. This paper draws on Alvarez’s “musings” on food in her poetry and essays to read the ways in which she employs foodways and stories of food to explore cultural differences and resolution in When Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay, her first young adult novel.

Historically, children’s and young adult literature written by Latinas/os has firmly emphasized two pillars of Mexican-American cultural production, the harvesting of food and the consumption of traditional foods, specifically during traditionally significant days; however, the shift in young adult literature toward narratives foregrounding poverty, racism, educational inadequacies, and gang-life, thus stories much more socially realistic and set in much more urban environments, poses this question:  What is the place of food in these narratives?  Further, this quest

When considering food in the area of Chicano/a Studies, the long history of farmworkers who have produced (and suffered to produce) America’s bounty comes to the forefront. This paper calls attention to the origins of food and to those who produce it through an analysis of a foundational work of farmworker literature, …y no se lo tragó la tierra (1971) by Tomás Rivera. Specifically, my analysis signals the value the novella places on an artist figure, as opposed to a mere political activist, in the fight for justice in the fields.

Reyna Grande’s novel Dancing with Butterflies follows four female characters who share a cultural heritage as well as a passion for Mexican folk dancing.  Though united by their love for dance, each character remains isolated in her grief.  This paper examines how crossing the border between the United States and Mexico is a transformative act for each character—one that eventually alleviates their feelings of isolation and helps each woman assert her independence.  Using a feminist approach that employs authors such as Gloria Anzaldúa and Chela Sandoval,

Chicana scholars have recently been in the process of recovering actos and plays written by Chicanas during the early years of the Movement. The recovery of such texts is necessary as the issues raised serve as the groundwork for Chicana feminism. My project examines a collection of memoirs and actos written by members of Teatro de las Chicanas, one of the earliest exclusively Chicana theater group.