Liminal Citizenry: Black Experience in the Central American Intellectual Imagination Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jennifer Carolina Gómez Menjívar, MA Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee Dr. Abril Trigo, Advisor Dr. Ana del Sarto Dr. Laura Podalsky Copyright By Jennifer Carolina Gómez Menjívar 2011 Abstract Central American national literatures and social imaginaries have largely denied, ignored or, at best, minimized the long-lasting legacy of Afro-descendants across the isthmus. This dissertation examines how and why the identities of the black diaspora² mulattoes, the West Indian population that was recruited to work on the United Fruit &RPSDQ\¶VEDQDQDSODQWDWLRQVDQGWKH$IUR-indigenous Garifuna²have been shaped historically, vis-à-vis the nation, by Central American literary discourses, from colonial times to the present day. The black diaspora is not a powerless or exploited populace, but a constituency whose local and transnational expressions of identity challenge the myths of harmony and ethnic homogeneity in Central America. Debates about ethnicity and citizenship take place in the political arena as well as literature, where canonical authors like Rubén Darío and Miguel Ángel Asturias as well as understudied writers like Paca Navas Miralda and David Ruiz Puga have intervened at different times in history. ,GHPRQVWUDWHWKDWTXHVWLRQVDERXWWKHEODFNGLDVSRUD¶V relevance to Central American national cultures emerge in periods of political and economic turmoil. Chapter 1 examines travel narratives by Thomas Gage and Jacob Haefkens in order to identify the opportunities for upward social mobility available to blacks in Central America during colonial times and argues that these opportunities allowed them to exercise control of their representation in Central American letters. ii Chapter 2 analyzes 19th century texts by Rubén Darío and Francisco Gavidia that subject the implicit reader to an aesthetic education by supplying copious allusions to influential ZRUNVGHPRQVWUDWLQJWKH&HQWUDO$PHULFDQLQWHOOHFWXDOV¶OLWHUDU\SURZess as manifested by their ability to make blackness a sublime element in their writing. Chapter 3 examines two anti-imperialist novels by Paca Navas Miralda and Demetrio Aguilera Malta, whose novels from mid 20th century map the presence of black bodies across Central American spaces under U.S. domination. Chapter 4 magnifies the Guatemala-Belize boundary in the works of Miguel Ángel Asturias and David Ruiz Puga in order to study the indígena/negro divide that is at stake when intellectuals appeal to their historical connection to Mesoamerica to lay claims to Central American belongingness. Finally, chapter 5 probes strategies of national reconciliation in contemporary novels by Tatiana Lobo and Ana Cristina Rossi that stress the need to recover and salvage black histories in order to unearth these communities from oblivion. The different moments studied give rise to debates between insiders and outsiders of the Central American black diaspora about the relationship of ethnicity to national identity. iii Dedication A mis queridos padres, Marcelo y Marta Gómez A mi abuela, Alejandra Arriola vda. de Gómez iv Acknowledgements I am indebted to the many individuals whose paths have crossed mine since I discovered my passion for writing about Central America. Their encouragement and insights have made writing this dissertation a true pleasure. I wish to thank first and foremost my advisor, Dr. Abril Trigo, for his tireless support. From the day I came to your office to discuss this dissertation to the last days of drafting and editing this manuscript, your analytical insight and critical expectations have been crucial to the development of this project. You taught me never to sell myself short and to wait patiently for my professional life to unfold. Dr. Ana del Sarto and Dr. Laura Podalsky, your wholehearted support of my professional pursuits and impressive expertise have been invaluable to me. To all of you: I admire your rigorous approach to the field and am truly lucky to have you as my readers. I hope to someday be as inspiring and influential to others as you all have been to me. I have been fortunate to count on the support of my very special mentors at California State University-Northridge. Dr. Beatriz Cortez, you told me as an XQGHUJUDGXDWHVWXGHQWWKDW,VKRXOGIROORZWKLVFDUHHUDQG,¶YHQHYHUORRNHGEDFNRQWKDW decision. Your love for the isthmus, your critical mind and the passion you devote to bringing students like me closer to Roque Dalton and our other Central American gems is v exemplary. Dr. Carrie L. Saetermoe, you have been such a great inspiration and have helped me to seek out ways in which I can be a different kind of scholar. Dr. Sheena Malhotra, Dr. Elizabeth Say and Dr. Marta López Garza: I thank my lucky stars when I think about how fortunate I was to learn from you. I would like to recognize the faculty at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the Ohio State University for their support and assistance in developing my research interests. When I came to Columbus determined to study nothing other than Central America, Dr. Ignacio Corona, Dr. Lúcia Costigan, Dr. Maureen Ahern, Dr. Richard Gordon and Dr. Fernando Unzueta filled my heart and mind with a profound love for the whole of Latin America. Dr. Lisa Voigt, I am grateful for your careful reading of my job application materials, particularly for your assistance with my writing sample, an early version of the first chapter of this manuscript. Dr. Samuel Amell, I was blown away by your ability to make me see Spain with new eyes. Dr. Terrell Morgan, my gratitude to you for allowing me to pursue my research at the SSAST programs in Antigua, Guatemala and Granada, Nicaragua. Most importantly, how can I possibly begin to thank you for making me realize that being a heritage speaker is not a weakness, but a treasure trove? Dr. Ileana Rodríguez, your devotion to literature and your intellect has moved me since I met you over ten years ago in Los Angeles. You taught me that this work is a love DIIDLUWKDW,VKRXOGQHYHUDEDQGRQ«,QHYHUZLOO A very special note of appreciation to Dr. Lowell Gudmundson and Dr. Catherine Komisaruk, who without ever having met me, provided me copyedits of their work before publication. Dr. Todd Little-Seibold and Dr. Ben Vinson also graciously sent me vi their conference presentations and articles in progress. Your innovative scholarship in the field and your generosity are deeply appreciated. My years at Ohio State would not have been the same without the friends whose unconditional love and infectious laughter made the snowy, icy winters in Ohio enjoyable: Dr. Rebecca Carte, Dr. Magdalena Mejía Gómez, Dr. Elena Foulis, Dr. Jacob Schott, Dr. Raquel Pina. I had the good fortune of sharing an office with Ana Echevarría- Morales, Maribel Corona, María de Jesús Robledo and Aida Roldan²colleagues whose encouragement in the form of words, advice and cookies made the preparation of this manuscript a real delight. Dr. Anne-Marie Pouchet, you may very well be in Trinidad and Tobago but a friendship like ours means that only a few insignificant miles separate us. Dr. Leticia Carrillo, girl, the road from our barrios to academia has been long and the lessons learned have been many. Daniela Salcedo, our friendship was sealed on the volcanoes and lakes of Nicaragua and I must thank you for always reminding me to put LQWRSHUVSHFWLYHZKDWPDWWHUVPRVW«OLNHQRWZHDULQJSUHWW\VDQGDOVZKHQFOLPELQJ volcanoes. Sébastien Thomas de la Pintière, you accompanied me on this journey on paths winding through America, Europe and Africa, always encouraging me to keep my eyes on the prize. Mary Elizabeth Beaton, you gave this Latina from South Central Los $QJHOHVD0LGZHVWHUQKRPHDQGKDYHPDGH³XQFRQGLWLRQDO´WKHPRVWUHOHYDQWRI adjectives as I approached the final stages of this project and my last days in Columbus. None of this would have been possible without my family and it is to them that ,¶GOLNHWRDGGUHVVWKHILQDOZRUGVRQWKLVSDJH0HOL7KH+XQJDULDQZULWHU6iQGRU0iUDL once wrote that we all have witnesses, people who give evidence of who we are and who we have been in life. You will always be my witness. Marcelo: I know of no one else vii with a greater capacity to transform himself and his world. May you continue on your path to Mecca. Mamá y Papá: ustedes salieron de El Salvador conmigo en brazos y con grandes ilusiones para mi futuro mientras que la guerra arrasaba con las vidas y los sueños de tantos en nuestro país. A ustedes y a mi abuela Alejandra, quien nos acompañaba, les debo la lección más importante de mi vida. Sepan que ustedes son un gran ejemplo y siempre he admirado sus esfuerzos. Tienen todo mi respeto. viii Vita September 6, 1981 Born²Santa Ana, El Salvador 2003 %$LQ:RPHQ¶V6WXGLHV Minor in Central American Studies 2005 MA in Latin American Literatures and Cultures July 2005 Intern, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe-Office of the Executive Secretary, Switzerland August 2007 Intern, United Nations Development Program-Post Crisis Unit. Ivory Coast 2003-Present Graduate Teaching Associate and Lecturer, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University. Publications ³7KRPDV*DJHGourmand: A Chronicle of the Pleasures of Seventeenth Century Indigenous Guatemalan CuLVLQH´Cincinnati Romance Review. (Forthcoming, 2012) ³'HWDOSDORWDODVWLOODODKXHOODGHODPHPRULDHQObabakoak