Ment in Puerto Rican Chicago by Karen Serwer Secrist

Construyendo nuestro pedacito de patria: Space and Dis(place)ment in Puerto Rican Chicago by Karen Serwer Secrist Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Antonio Viego, Supervisor ___________________________ Esther Gabara ___________________________ Walter Mignolo ___________________________ Claudia Milián ___________________________ Richard Rosa Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 ABSTRACT Construyendo nuestro pedacito de patria: Space and Dis(place)ment in Puerto Rican Chicago by Karen Serwer Secrist Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Antonio Viego, Supervisor ___________________________ Esther Gabara ___________________________ Walter Mignolo ___________________________ Claudia Milián ___________________________ Richard Rosa An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 Copyright by Karen Serwer Secrist 2009 Abstract This dissertation explores the relationship between identity and place in the imagination, performance and production of post-World War II Puerto Rican urban space in Chicago. Specifically, I contend that the articulation of Puerto Rican spatiality in the city has emerged primarily as a response to the threat of local displacement as a byproduct of urban renewal and gentrification. I further argue the experience of displacement, manifested through territorial attachment, works to deepen the desire for community and belonging. Through a performance and cultural studies approach, this project works to track this recent history of Puerto Rican geographic and psychic displacement within Chicago as it is evidenced by various performative spatial interventions and manifested within the community’s expressive culture. My topics of study include the 1966 Division Street Riots, the Young Lords Organization (YLO), Humboldt Park’s Paseo Boricua and spoken-word poet David Hernández. Through these interventions and forms of expression, I argue that physical, political, discursive, and affective claims are made to local territory, articulating a Puerto Rican cultural identity inextricably connected to urban space. In so doing, I aim to endorse the theoretical utility of concepts of “space” by highlighting the enduring material and metaphoric significance of place for Puerto Ricans, arguing against a tendency in contemporary Puerto Rican studies to equate circular migratory movement iv with transnationalism by virtue of its opposition to territorially grounded definitions of identity. v Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1. [Race]ing Spaces: Chicago’s Division Street Riots ................................................................ 2 1.1 After the Riots: Recognition and Consciousness ............................................................ 34 2. Performing Revolution: The Militant Drama of the Young Lords Organization .......... 38 3. Grounding Puerto Ricanness in Humboldt Park ............................................................... 65 4. “Roscoe’s a Different Trip, Man”: Performing Space in the Chicago Barrio .................. 99 Conclusion: Vulnerable Geographies .................................................................................... 127 References .................................................................................................................................. 132 Biography ................................................................................................................................... 154 v Acknowledgments This dissertation would never have been possible without the efforts and encouragement of a number of people. I am supremely appreciative of my committee members Esther Gabara, Walter Mignolo, Claudia Milián and Richard Rosa for their insightful observations on my research and writing. I am especially indebted to Antonio Viego, my advisor, for his generous mentorship and tireless feedback throughout my graduate school career. I am also grateful to my fellow yogini, Norma Peña, for introducing me Chicago’s vibrant Puerto Rican community; to Michael Rodríguez, for opening the doors of the Batey Urbano to me; and to José López, who so seamlessly bridges the divide between activist and scholar. My three-time participation in Humboldt Park’s Community as Intellectual Space conference, my attendance at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics both at home and abroad, as well as the valuable input from my colleagues there, were all crucial to the development of this project. - To my students, who remind me why I do what I do; - To my friends and family, who have blessed me with their kindness and a sense of humor, particularly those from Stanford and on Stanford; - To Rabbi Scott Looper, who has seen me through some of life’s most challenging roadblocks; vi - To Simone Scott, my best friend and partner-in-crime; - To my brother David, sister-in-law Heidi, and mother Laurie Serwer—who never lost faith in me even when I struggled with mine; - And to my husband Rodd Secrist, for his editorial acumen and reassuring ability to ground me. Finally, I dedicate this project to my father, Alan Serwer, for his unwavering support, infinite patience, and unconditional love. vii Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job upon job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding…. Carl Sandburg, Chicago I promised to show you a map but you say this is a mural then yes let it be these are small distinctions where do we see it from is the question Adrienne Rich, An Atlas of the Difficult World Introduction Outrage erupted from Chicago’s Latino communities in early 2005 when the American Girl Company released its newest doll—the Mexican-American “Marisol Luna.” 1 Her storybook, written by Fresno-based writer and novelist Gary Soto, revolves around the girl and her family’s decision to move away from Pilsen, Chicago’s largest Mexican community: 1 The doll and storybook were priced at a hefty $84, or buyers could purchase “Marisol’s Dance Collection” for $150. 1 “Dad and I think it’s time we get out of this neighborhood,” Mom said. She explained that it was no place for me to grow up. It was dangerous, and there was no place for me to play. “I can play in the street,” I argued, not too brightly. “Yeah, and get run over,” Mom predicted. “You’ll be safer there,” Dad added…At that moment, two men outside began yelling at each other. A car door slammed, and we heard the sound of screeching cars echo between the apartment buildings. Then silence. “See,” Mom said, pointing outside. (17-18) Despite Marisol’s protests, her family ends up moving to suburban Des Plaines, far away from the dangers of Chicago’s “mean streets.” Pilsen residents were offended by the story, arguing that this characterization of their neighborhood was both insulting and inaccurate. They also feared that negative publicity could deter potential Mexican-American residents from relocating to the area. In response, the community’s congressional representative, Luis Gutiérrez, sent a letter to the American Girl Company, accusing it of making degrading and offensive misstatements about his community. But Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell countered that Congressman Gutiérrez was ignoring the real issue of gang violence: It's a wonder the maker of American Girl dolls hasn't accused Hispanic politicians of doll abuse. Over the last three years, real children from real families have died in Pilsen because of gang violence, and we didn't hear a peep from these elected officials…It would be nice if Gutierrez could stop beating up on a doll and beat up on some gang-bangers. (14) Meanwhile, American Girl and its parent company, toymaker Mattel, said that the doll had been misunderstood. They claimed that the book's author only wanted to convey the fictional girl's love for her community, which she calls "the best place in the world.” 2 American Girl spokeswoman Stephanie Spanos added that the “dangerous” comment was a reference to traffic in the city (Hermann 4). The company has no plans to change Marisol's story. I begin by referencing the very public debate that surrounded the Marisol doll in 2005 in order to point to the parameters of our culture’s mediation on themes of race, ethnicity, space and representation. Although American Girl has yet to produce a Puerto Rican version that hails from Humboldt Park, I would suggest that the themes that emerge from Marisol’s narrative offer a perfect springboard from which to launch into an exploration of the

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