American Women Changing Images

Mexican American Women Changing Images

Item Type Article

Authors Garcia, Juan R.; Gelsinon, Thomas

Publisher Mexican American Studies & Research Center, The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)

Journal Perspectives in Mexican American Studies

Download date 27/09/2021 02:34:08

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/624824 ive Mexican American Studies

MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN CHANGING IMAGES Perspectives in Mexican American Studies is an ongoing series devoted to Chicano /a research. Focusing on Mexican Americans as a national group, Perspectives features articles and essays that cover research from the pre - Colombian era to the present. All selections published in Perspectives are refereed.

Perspectives is published by the Mexican American Studies & Research Center at the University of Arizona and is distributed by the University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85719.

Individual copies are $15.

Subscriptions to Perspectives (2 issues) are $25 for individuals and $35 for institutions. Foreign individual subscriptions are $28 and foreign institutional subscriptions are $44. For subscription orders, contact the Mexican American Studies & Research Center, 315 Douglass Building, the Univer- sity of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721.

Manuscripts and inquiries should be sent to Professor Juan R. García, De- partment of History, the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. For additional information, call MASRC Publications (520) 621 -7551. Perspectives is abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life.

ISSN 0889 -8448 ISBN 0- 939363 -05 -4 PERSPECTIVES IN

MEXICAN

AMERICAN

STUDIES

Volume 5 1995

Mexican American Studies & Research Center The University of Arizona Tucson

MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN CHANGING IMAGES

$dator

Juaí . García Associa -it Thomas Gelsinon

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction vii

Cynthia E. Orozco Beyond Machismo, La Familia, and Ladies 1 Auxiliaries: A Historiography of Mexican - Origin Women's Participation in Voluntary Associations and Politics in the United States, 1870 -1990

Gilberto García Beyond the Adelita Image: Women Scholars 35 in the National Association for Chicano Studies, 1972 -1992

Yolanda Chávez Leyva "Faithful Hard -Working Mexican Hands ": 63 Mexicana Workers During the Great Depression

Richard Santillán Midwestern Mexican American Women and 79 the Struggle for Gender Equality: A Historical Overview, 1920s -1960s

María Ochoa Cooperative Re/Weavings: Artistic Expression 121 and Economic Development in a Northern New Mexican Village

María Cotera Deconstructing the Corrido Hero: Caballero 151 and Its Gendered Critique of Nationalist Discourse

Isidro D. Ortiz The Rearguarders Thesis and Latina Elites: 171 A Case Study

INTRODUCTION

This issue of Perspectives in Mexican American Studies is devoted to Mexican American women. Although Chicano scholarship has grown significantly, the research on women of Mexican descent remains sparse. The reasons for the lack of published scholarship, as well as new directions and paradigms for research, are among the major issues explored in this volume of readings. In the first essay, Cynthia Orozco assesses the literature about Chicanas in voluntary organizations during the 19th and 20th centuries. She finds that women have been actively engaged in a broad range of activities and organizations. However, because most of the studies about organizational activism are male- oriented and focused, the role of women has been subjected to number of assumptions that have ignored or minimized their contributions. This also, in part, explains the paucity of research on women in voluntary organizations. Orozco concludes her article, "Beyond Machismo, La Familia, and Ladies Aux- iliaries," by delineating research directions that address women and gender roles in such groups. In "Beyond the Adelita Image," Gilberto García studies the role and participation of women in the National Association for Chicano Studies (NAGS) between 1972 and 1992. Using the conference programs and the works published by Chicanas in that time period, he seeks to assesses their impact on the association and Chicana /o scholarship. During the 1970s, Chicanas were pe- ripheral to the organization and its conferences. As such, their participation was minimal. The number of Chicanas increased significantly during the 1980s, and so did their activism and participation. This had a positive impact on the kinds of scholarship presented, as Chicanas applied gender- specific analyses to the study of Chicanos and Chicanas, raised new questions, opened up new fields of study, and challenged traditional male- oriented paradigms. Chicanas had the greatest influence in literature. Although the number of Chicanas has increased, and the scholarship they present at NAGS conferences is significant, García found that they have not fared as well in publishing their research. The organization and activities of women in El Paso during the 1930s is the subject of Yolanda Leyvas article, "`Faithful, Hard -Working Mexican Hands'." The Great Depression further intensified the poverty and discrimination faced by Mexicans and Mexican Americans. In communities throughout the United viii PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

States, they became convenient scapegoats for the economic problems that plagued the country. This only added to the already complex issues surrounding citizenship and ethnic identity However, just as the Depression Era was one of hardship, it was also a time of transformation for Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Despite the difficulties, challenges, and dangers of confronting these issues, Mexicans and Mexican Americans actively worked to address them. Women were central players in these efforts to achieve equality for their communities. For the women of El Paso, the characterization of the "Mexican worker," and all that it entailed -lower wages, discrimination, and a devaluation of the kind of work they did because of their gender and ethnicity -was at issue. As long as these attitudes and practices remained intact, there was little hope of progress or change for them and their community. Thus, their struggles entailed fighting for their rights as women, workers, citizens, and members of an ethnic group. Much of the research about Mexican American women has focused on the Southwest. Yet Richard Santillán reminds us that women also played a vital role in the communities that developed in the Midwest after World War I.In a broad survey, titled "Midwestern Mexican American Women and the Struggle for Gender Equality," Santillán discusses the various experiences and roles of Mexican American women who sought to achieve social, political, and economic equality in the Midwest between the 1920s and the 1960s. Much of the information in the article is drawn from interviews conducted by the author with more than 150 women. What emerges is a story about the central role they played in a wide variety of social and political activities on behalf of their communities and families. World War II was especially significant in their lives because it contributed to a redefinition of gender roles. For them, the war provided unprecedented opportunities in helping them develop independence, political awareness, economic self -reliance, and heightened expectations. After- wards, women drew upon the lessons and experiences derived from the war to work for the betterment of their communities. In "Cooperative Re /Weavings," María Ochoa examines the establishment of Tierra Wools, a business operated by women of Mexican descent that had multiple purposes. The enterprise sought to ensure economic survival, and cultural reclamation and preservation within their New Mexican community. The women involved in the Tierra Wools project were actively engaged in seeking INTRODUCTION ix

solutions and ways to improve their lives and the well -being of their community. To do so they adopted a process and a product that allowed them to embrace and promote their cultural expression and engage in cooperative behavior. The venture, however, was not without its problems. This process entailed a galaxy of complex interrelationships that included global economics, gender roles, tradition, colonization, and environmental issues. The interconnectedness of these relationships, their impact on the women and community, and how these issues were addressed form the basis of this essay. A major point in Cynthia Orozco's essay is that there is a need to move away from the patriarchal, heterosexual, and male- oriented paradigm that has excluded the activities of women in voluntary organizations. Gilbert García argues that Chicanas have applied and used new analytical tools in the assessment and analysis of literature. María Coteras essay, "Deconstructing the Corrido Hero," illustrates both points by analyzing the unpublished (and only recently discovered) novel, Caballero. Cotera believes that many of the concerns being raised by contemporary women researchers were also raised by women in earlier epochs. She argues that Caballero, written by Joyita González de Mireles and Margaret Eimer in 1938, is an important work because it illustrates the refusal of a male- dominated industry to publish a novel written by women, even though one of them, González, had impressive academic credentials. In part she attributes this refusal to the challenges this work posed to existing scholarship. The novel, however, is important because it gives voice to a conquered people, and focuses on the lives and views of women. In so doing, Ca- ballero looks at what was lost and what was gained as a result of the Mexican War outside the context of a male -centered, patriarchal order. Isidro Ortiz's "The Rearguarders Thesis and Latina Elites," looks at professional Latinas in the National Network of Hispanic Women to ascertain if C. Wright Mills' thesis applies to them. According to this "rearguarders thesis," white -collar workers embrace and promote corporate values and goals, thus making it unlikely that they will take it upon themselves to inaugurate political change. The National Network of Hispanic Women, a white -collar Latina organization, used the tactics of accommodation within the corporate sector during the 1980s to promote the interests of Latina professionals. According to Ortiz, the strategies and philosophy of the organization are clearly evident in its newsletters and programs. By practicing "patron- recipient politics" the NNHW x PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

acquired the resources to promote the advancement of Latinas, while encouraging them to pursue core values such as success, material gain, and a corporate work ethic. This resulted in a reciprocal arrangement in which the NNHW served the interests of corporate America. This compilation of articles and essays on Chicanas reflects the continuing effort to provide a corrective to the traditional works and models that have obscured the roles and experiences of women. I believe that you will find them thoughtful, instructive, and provocative. We thank all of the authors who contributed their work to this issue. They responded quickly, with patience, and good humor to the many demands we imposed on them. Ultimately they understood that our goal was to produce a volume of high quality. A special note of thanks to Thomas Gelsinon, associate editor of Perspectives, and to the Mexican American Studies & Research Center at the University of Arizona for its continued support of the journal.

Juan R. García, Editor December 1995 Tucson, Arizona

BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES: A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF MEXICAN- ORIGIN WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1870 -1990

Cynthia E. Orozco

This essay is an assessment of the literature on Mexican -origin women's participation in voluntary associations and politics in the nineteenth and twentieth century. In making this assessment, I will: l) discuss conceptual problems in the literature; 2) explain why there is a paucity of research on the topic; 3) examine racial, gender, and sexuality ideologies to explain these gaps; 4) point to these ideologies in the current literature; and 5) provide directions for reconceptualizing the study of Mexican- origin women in organizational life. Attention will be given to heterosexual women and lesbians in mixed -gender organizations, and associations composed entirely of women. In 1967, when historian Kaye Lynn Briegel began her thesis on Mexican American political associations, she noted that "it was curious" that she found only one article on Mexican American organizations in an academic journal.' Pre -1970 scholars, primarily European - American men, had largely ignored la Raza. Briegel's 1974 dissertation on the Alianza Hispano Americana, the first national voluntary association organized by the Mexican -origin community, represented increased scholarly attention to Chicano and social history in the 1970s. Research on the Mexican -origin population has since burgeoned, and the field of Chicano Studies developed. In 1994 the Chicano Studies Periodical Index on CD -ROM listed 258 citations under the term "organizations," but most citations reflected contemporary issues in existing associations; few are historical surveys.' Those voluntary associations which have been studied have largely been composed of men and women (mixed -gender), and are male- dominated. Scholars have rarely asked how gender mattered in the associations, and have hardly considered women's participation in them.' 2 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Chicano Studies scholars have not focused on women in organizational activism. Two key books on twentieth century politics, Carlos Muñoz' Youth, Identity, and Power: The Chicano Movementand Juan Gómez Quiñones' Chicano Politics, Reality and Promise, 1940 -1990, for instance, failed to use gender as a conceptual tool and thus ignored Chicana politics, Chicana organizations, and women in community organizations.' Another barometer of the neglect of Chicanas in associations is the Chicana Studies Index, a 1992 index to periodical literature spanning the previous twenty years. It included only eighteen articles about Chicanas and organizations, few of which are historical surveys.' In contrast to Mexican -origin associations, European -American women's voluntary organizations have received significant attention from historians. Anne Firor Scott's Natural Allies: Women's Associations in American History is the most comprehensive survey, while Karen Blair has prepared a book -length bibliography on the topic.' Scott also included African American women, several years earlier having noted that she had "discovered" that "the history of Black women's voluntary associations is as long as that of white women's. "' With the exception of African American women, Scott ignored other women of color. Similarly, Blair's bibliography did not include a reference to Chicanas. Nei- ther scholar ventured into Chicana /Chicano Studies to understand Mexican - descent women's participation in community organizations. The Chicano Peri- odical Index and Chicana /Chicano Studies bibliographies could have provided access to writings about Mexican associations. Sylvia Gonzales' HispanicAmeri- can Voluntary Organizations, for instance, would have been useful.' European -American historians have shown that white women's activism in club and organizational life has been pervasive and effective. In The Grounding of Modern Feminism, historian Nancy E Cott has called their efforts in effecting social change "voluntarist politics. "9 She noted the proliferation of women's organizations in the 1920s. On the national level, this decade also witnessed the rise of national Jewish women's organizations and the continuation of African American women's struggles in the male- dominated National Association for the Advancement of Colored Pople (NAACP), and women's organizations like the National Association of Colored Women. Cott's analysis has little relevance for Mexican- origin women, since they did not belong to a national women's organization until the 1970s. In fact, the first separate women -centered national meeting of Chicanas occurred in 1971, BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 3

although women had previously congregated at national meetings and conventions of civil rights and labor organizations. Thus Cott's periodization and analysis cannot explain Mexican -origin women's participation in voluntary associations. Chicana voluntarist politics (and Chicana feminism) are also significantly different from those of African American women. African American women were more urbanized, had greater access to higher education, and have a larger middle class, and thus organized decades earlier. The National Association of Colored Women, for instance, had 50,000 members in 28 federations and 1,000 clubs in 1914. Moreover, some predominately European -American organizations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) had separate branches for African American women, but not for Mexican -origin women. Scott has called African American women's voluntary associations "most invisible of all," but it is apparent that several other groups are equally invisible -or at least invisible to some historians.'o For over a century Chicanas have belonged to voluntary associations. We too have a history of voluntarist politics but our scholarly discourse on the subject is not about "volunteerism" or "voluntarist politics" but rather in the discourse of "community organizations," "activism," and the politics of "resistance." To adequately address the voluntarist politics of Mexican -origin women and the grounding of Chicana feminism, a focus on organizations composed of women is insufficient. European- American historians have studied women's organizations (where most females have organized) but have given less attention to associations composed of both women and men. Such is the case because many historians believe sexism is a major contradiction in their lives and the lives of women in the past; hence, the study of gender and the idea that women are "natural allies" and that "separatism is strategy. ' In 1979 historian Estelle Freedman claimed, "At certain historical periods, the creation of a public female sphere might be the only viable political strategy for women.i12 To understand Mexican women's organizational activism across history, it is necessary to study associations composed of both women and men, because Mexican -origin women have organized with men along racial and class lines. Mexican -origin women have historically had other "natural allies" -the men of la Raza, members of the working class, and men or women of the same sexual 4 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

identity Consequently, Chicana politics must also focus on mixed -gender associations. Mixed -gender organizations in the Mexican -descent community date back to the nineteenth century but are primarily a post -World War II phenomena. Both heterosexual Chicanas and Chicana lesbians have organized with men. In the post -1965 era Chicana lesbians have had their own "natural allies" - Chicano /Latino men. A Chicana lesbian expressed this when she said:

The oppression of lesbians is different from that experienced by Latino gay men; we are women, we are lesbians, and we are Latinas, so we get it from three directions. But if we do not work with our natural allies, our brothers de corazón y de Raza, who are we going to work withj13

Indeed, a significant number of Chicana lesbians have organized with Chicano gay men as well as maintaining separatist groups. Ninety -nine percent of all libraries function on heterosexual principles and do not solicit the history (or herstory) of gays and lesbians. The Dennis Medina Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin may be the only Chicano gay collection in a straight library. Lesbians and gays have to contend with the problem of "outing," identifying their sexuality to straight society. Lesbians and gays have formed their own herstory and history associations, institutions, and archives, although most are controlled by European- Americans. The Chicano Periodical Index lists only 113 entries on Chicana/o and Latina /o lesbians and gays in Chicano Studies materials. Most focus on AIDS and writers Gloria Anzaldda and Cherríe Moraga; organizational histories have yet to be written. In addition to mixed -gender associations, the tradition of same gender (women -only) organizations is significant in understanding the voluntarist heritage of Mexican women. This tradition is rooted in the gendered division of labor. This division of labor by gender extended into social relations and created gender -based patterns of socialization and socializing. Bonds between women emerged to create what Jean Lipman- Blumen called "homosocial" relations.14 Homosociality is important in understanding why women organize with women and men with men. Women's organizational experience first emerged in a homosocial context in the nineteenth century Then women organized with men. Mixed -gender organizations appeared in the late nineteenth century BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 5

but were not common until after World War II. In the 1970s, some Chicana feminists rejected the mixed -gender tradition and created a homosocial feminist organizational tradition (that is, by women and for women.) Homosociality persists into the 1990s, with separate women's groups and separate men's groups. Before discussing the organizational heritage of Chicanas, I will address scholars' assumptions about Mexican -origin women's activism.

Deconstructing Ideological Assumptions One of the first scholarly essays on Chicanas in public /political life was Theresa Aragon de Valdez' "Organizing as a Political Tool for the Chicana," written in 1980. Referring to the Chicano Movement, she asked, "What are the constraints which impede her [the Chicanás] ability to organize, and what resources at her disposal can be identified that willfacilitate organizing ?i15 Few have sought to answer Aragon de Valdez' question, a question just as easily asked of the late nineteenth century. Aragon de Valdez seemed to hint that economic resources are needed to tackle these constraints. However, structural, ideological, and cultural constraints are equally as important. Scholars' past and present assumptions about women's consciousness and actions help explain the paucity of writings on Mexican -origin women's organizational activism. These assumptions are based on ideologies about women and women of Mexican -descent in particular; I refer to them as ideologies of gender, race, class, and sexuality. These ideologies can be summarized as follows: 1) women lack a fundamental interest in politics; 2) machismo prevents Mexican -descent women from participation in the public sphere; 3)when motivated to participate in the public sphere, it is family ideology that motivates Mexican women; 4) if active, Mexican- origin women get involved in ladies auxiliaries; 5) when active, Mexi- can- descent women seek to "help their men "; and 6) Mexican -origin women lack a feminist tradition. These ideologies permeate writing on Mexican -descent women's participation in voluntary associations. One ideology prevalent in the literature is the notion that women lack a fundamental interest in politics. Anthropologist Jane Fishburne Collier noted in a 1974 essay on women and politics that "it cannot be lightly assumed that women have not cared about wider political issues. "16 Feminists and women historians have expanded the typical understanding of the "political," whether 6 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

it be for reform or liberation defined by race, ethnicity, color, gender, national- ity, region, locality, or sexuality. The idea that women don't care about politics or power may sound like a ridiculous statement to the public of the 1990s or students of women's history, but the prevailing belief among the general public is that before the 1960s, women did not get involved in politics, with perhaps the exception of suffragists. About Mexican -descent women, political scientist Ralph Guzmán noted in 1976, "Women seldom appeared in the Anglo world alone or with their husbands to demand social change."' A second ideology in the literature specific to Mexican -origin women (and Latinas) is the idea that machismo among Mexican /Latino men prevents /has prevented Mexican -descent women from participating in community organizations. Machismo is usually defined as an exaggerated sense of "manhood" and understood as a Mexican or Latino cultural trait; México and other parts of Latin America have been considered the "land of machismo."' Machismo is generally treated as a hegemonic and static force. Several Chicana scholars have acknowledged machismo's negative effects on women. Aragon de Valdez observed that "some Chicanas have been so com- pletely dominated that they cannot even envision another role for themselves." Literary critic María González hinted at an omnipresent machismo when she noted, "The tradition of subservience, silence, passivity, will need to be changed if Hispanic women are to make any impact on mainstream society."' Critiques of the ideology of machismo have been launched by Chicana scholars Adaljiza Sosa Riddell, Maxine Baca Zinn, and Alma García, among others. Political scientist Sosa Riddell condemned the ideology of machismo as "a myth propagated by subjugators and colonizers which created damaging stereotypes of Mexican /Chicano males. "20 Sociologist Baca Zinn has noted that the ideology of machismo fosters a stereotype of Chicanas as "subordinated," "passive" and "locked in the home.i21 Another scholar, a male political scientist, also challenged the ideology of machismo. In 1966 Ralph Guzmán noted that the general public believed that machismo had historically stifled Mexican women. Nevertheless, referring to Mexican American middle -class women of the 1930s, he argued that they "led some of the protests of the barrio." Here, he referred to women like Emma Tenayuca of San Antonio, Texas, an ardent unionist, Communist, and progressive activist. Guzmán concluded that machismo did not stifle women's commu- BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 7

nity activism. Accordingly, he referred to the "myth of disabling machismo."22 But by 1976 he reverted to the machismo model noting that, indeed, the role of Mexican women in organizational life "was defined by a chauvinistic concept of manhood called machismo. "23 Machismo is both theory and praxis. Machismo posits a patriarch heading a family and does not allow for female- headed families or other variations in family structure. Moreover, the machismo myth creates an omnipresent male, even for single women, widows, and lesbians who have no husband or father or significant male other. Machismo is also an ahistorical concept since it does not allow for social change in patriarchal structures and ideologies. Nor does it allow for varieties of manhood or masculinity among la Raza or allow for the variables of class, education, or sexuality. Nevertheless, machismo is a useful concept -it identifies patriarchy at the personal, cultural, ideological, and structural level. At the personal level, machismo is expressed through sexual harassment, heterosexism, and homophobia. At the ideological level, it has meant conscious and unconscious exclusion or hatred of women. It has also translated into ignoring the significance of gender in relations of power. It can also be used to mean the oppressive and exclusive behavior by men which prevented, limited, and inhibited women's involvement in the public sphere based on the ideology of male superiority and power. At the same time, it is important not to stereotype Mexican -origin men as "machos." A third ideology about Mexican -origin women (and Latinas) concerns their supposed adherence to family ideology or familism. They allegedly idealize their families and place family interest above all else, including themselves. The family has been conceptualized as a heterosexual entity embodying "man," "wife," and "children." "Woman" is conceptualized as a married adult with children; teenagers, single women, women without children, lesbians, and the elderly are typically ignored. When Mexican -descent women have ventured out of the home or private sphere, it has been assumed that their concern for family pushed them to the public /political sphere. In 1975 Baca Zinn named this phenomena, as it applies to Chicanas, "political familism," which she defined as "a phenomenon in which the continuity of family groups and the adherence to family ideology provide the basis for struggle. "24 In other words, when women act politically, they are 8 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

motivated by affective ties to the family and seek the opportunity to improve the lives of their families. Thus, women work on behalf of families, for husband and children, or community, but not on behalf of themselves or women. Ironi- cally, a review of the literature reveals that although the work of women for their families, children, community, and "Raza" has been idealized (especially by1970sChicano Movement activists), specific studies of this contribution are few. A fourth ideology about Mexican women is that when they do participate politically, moved by familial values, they seek to "assist" their husbands. Sister Frances Jerome Woods, a sociologist, argued in her1949study of Mexicans in San Antonio that "For the most part, the women endorse policies of their husbands, and when a man expresses an opinion, one can be reasonably certain that his family stands behind him. "25 Since women are constructed as heterosexual, married to men, and subservient to their spouses, women help their men. Activist women are seen as assisting husbands or boyfriends in "their" endeavor. Anthropologist David Schneider noted that "almost every woman is perceived to be under the authority of some man who sponsors her participation in social and political life. "26 Many women, including lesbians, single women, and married women have not been sponsored. Fishburne Collier explained that "women are seldom seen as political actors, but rather as pawns to be used in the political maneuvers of men: hoarded for their productive, reproductive, and prestige- enhancing value. "27 The woman as male helper also tends to em- phasize the work of individual men and women and thus, undermines a focus on communal struggles. In addition, women are rarely considered leaders. Woods, for instance, proclaimed, "Among most minority groups, certainly the Mexican minority, leadership is the prerogative of the males. "2ß Another ideology prevalent in the literature is the idea that women, particularly in the pre-1960era, participated in ladies auxiliaries. The general public assumes that before the1960s,Chicana voluntarist politics were limited to ladies auxiliaries. In a brief sketch of Chicana history, literary critic Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana Rivera noted that among Chicanos, "there were also literary clubs, music clubs, and theatre clubs. And, of course, they [the men] had their women's auxiliaries. "29 Writing about la Raza in Houston, Texas, historian Thomas Kreneck noted, "while men ran most of these community associations BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 9

with auxiliary participation from their wives by the 1930s, women's groups began to take root. "30 Too often, it has been merely assumed that women were in ladies auxiliaries, that members were wives, and that men told them what to do. Moreover, ladies auxiliaries, a political expression of women's culture and a cultural expression of women's politics, have either been denigrated or made invisible. Commenting on San Antonio, Texas, in the late 1940s, Jerome Woods noted, "Some ethnic associations have women's auxiliaries, but the accomplishments of these groups are meager in contrast with the men's groups. "31 At issue here is the devaluation of women's work. Ralph Guzmán also assumed most Mexican- origin women were in ladies auxiliaries though he could not name a specific example. Nevertheless, he provided this generally positive assessment:

While ladies auxiliaries did not involve women directly in the center of organizational power they made it possible for women to learn about the external milieu. The auxiliary brought women together in social settings. They learned to organize banquets, dances, and other social events. Several excelled in church functions and others became super fund raisers. The auxiliaries were important appendages to male -run organizations; they provided money, food, service, and entertainment.32

This positive assessment acknowledges the "female" aspect of women's work. Historians Judy Aulette and Trudy Mills have noted, "women may be praised when they do men's work but the total range of their work and the significance of their contributions remains invisible. "33 Another assumption is that before the mid- 1960s, Chicanas expressed little feminist (or womanist) consciousness, and thus have no feminist heritage.34 In 1976 Ralph Guzmán argued, "there is no record of a female group organized exclusively by women for women. "35 Since the 1970s, historian Marta Cotera has attempted to dispel the myth that Chicanas lack a feminist heritage, and the myth that we learned feminism from European -American women.36 Mexican - origin feminists in the early twentieth century, for example, established women's newspapers and associations and wrote feminist essays, but scholars have given them little attention.37 Scholars have expressed these ideologies in their writings on the political participation of Mexican -descent women in the twentieth century. These ide- 10 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ologies help explain the paucity of research on Mexican- origin women in community organizations, the assumptions that researchers have brought to their studies, and some of their research "findings." Major works on Chicano community organizations are grounded in these assumptions.

Review of the Literature The best overview of Mexican American organizational resistance is Ralph Guzmán's "Politics and Policies of the Mexican- American Community," although it is focused on men, political activism, and the post -1920 period.38 Most Chicano histories focus on mutual -aid societies, civil rights associations, and Chicano Movement organizations, most of which have been male- dominated and mixed -gender associations. My survey analyzes this literature. A discussion of organizations composed solely of women follows. Historically, Chicanos and Chicanas have participated in a wide variety of organizations such as labor unions, mutual -aid societies, and political clubs, civic, professional, cultural, religious, and philanthropic groups. Most Chicana and Chicano historians date the first voluntary associations among the Mexican community in the United States in the mid -nineteenth century.39 Organiza- tional life, however, dates back to 1718, when religious societies called cofradías or confraternidades conducted religious activities in the absence of priests, maintained churches, and provided mutual aid in New Mexico. Penitente societies- confraternity groups with scourging and bloodletting rituals- existed from the mid -nineteenth century to the 1920s. And in the 1890s, Las Gorras Blancas (The White Caps) in New Mexico protected land rights. But the typical nineteenth century southwestern Chicano organization was the mutual -aid soci- ety40 Before the rise of Chicano Studies in the late 1960s, the European- Ameri- can dominant order believed la Raza docile and lacking organizations. Political scientist Charles Chandler referred to the "lack of a Mexican tradition of participation in democratic voluntary associations. "41Social scientist Nancie L. González explained, "It is true that many Spanish names appear on the rolls of the more usual types of Anglo clubs such as the nationally known men's service

clubs, college fraternities, women's clubs, country clubs, etc.However,... Hispanos do in fact participate. "42 John Hart Lane's 1968 dissertation on voluntary associations provides a BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 11

glance into the vast array of groups la Raza participated in during the 1960s in San Antonio.43 They belonged to over 500 "ethnic" associations. Similarly, anthropologist James E. Officer has analyzed men's and women's club participation in Tucson in the early 1960s. La Raza has also joined organizations with non -Chicanos, but that is not my focus.44

Mutual -Aid Societies and Women Mutual -aid societies appeared in México in the 1800s. Political scientist Mario Barrera has noted that sociedades mutualistas were the most important social organization among Chicanos from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s.45 They served the social, cultural, political, and economic needs and interests of Chicanos. Appearing in towns and cities, they were largely a response to working -class life, a racist society, and a dominant European -American order. Histo- rian Emilio Zamora has noted that most nineteenth century voluntary associations were predominantly male, reflecting the subordinate status of women and the prevailing patriarchal order.46 José Hernández' Mutual Aid for Survival: The Case of the Mexican American (1983) is the only comprehensive overview of sociedades mutualistas.47 He focused on several organizations including the Alianza Hispano- Americana, founded in 1894 in Tucson, Arizona; the Primer Congresso Mexicanista of Laredo in 1911, which was the first civil rights meeting in the United States; and the Order of the Sons of America, a Texas civil rights organization founded in 1921. Hernández gave little attention to women in these groups but concluded optimistically:

This study has shown that Mexican - American women enjoyed the greatest freedom to join societies of mutual benefit. Indeed, the women served in various capacities in these organizations and were elected to responsible offices. They participated in regional conferences as an equal voice with men. Also, they founded their own lodges and benevolent societies with comparatively large memberships 4e

Hernández based these conclusions on cursory attention to women; the parameters of how, when, and why they participated in various mutual -aid societies in different decades requires further study.49 He ignored the tradition of sexism in voluntarist politics and stressed equal participation; studies of specific associations suggest his optimism was unwarranted. 12 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The Alianza was the first mutual -aid society to spread across the United States, but was especially significant in Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Kaye Briegel's 1974 study " Alianza Hispano- Americana, 1894 -1965: A Mexi- can- American Fraternal Insurance Society" mentions the "fraternal" (i.e. communal) nature of the organization. Writing before gender and men were subjects of study, she ignored the particularly male- dominant character of the organization. She also slighted the Alianza's female membership.5o Women in the Alianza have been the subject of an essay by Olivia Arrieta. She examined the purpose, process, structure, functions, and maintenance of the association in Arizona and New Mexico from 1894 to 1965.51 Although the premise of her study was that sociedades mutualistas "have basically been male organizations," she elaborated on women's involvement. They participated in Alianza ladies' auxiliaries between 1894 and 1913, becoming full members thereafter. Nineteenth century machismo did not ex- clude women's participation but, rather, provided for segregated female participation. Women's homosocial traditions also guaranteed separate participation. Arrieta noted that women were active in charity and fund -raising activities. Several questions remain. Did women struggle for full membership and why? What patterns of participation appeared after 1913? Arrieta noted that an Alianza juvenile department was created in 1924; did women establish it? She noted that "by the 1940s and into the 1960s, women had not figured significantly in the official business of the Alianza."52 What accounts for this lack of official leadership? And what of women's work in the Alianza's unofficial business? Affiliate girl clubs -Club Orquidea and Club Azalea -were formed in the 1950s; what was their purpose? Arrieta's forthcoming book may answer some of these questions. Historian James McBride's essay on the Liga Protectora Latina documents the statewide mutualista founded in 1914 in Arizona. With thirty chapters in the state by 1917, it also spread to California, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Its connection to labor, particulaly among Mexican male immigrants, was significant and its work at the legislative level made the group unique during this era. McBride ignored the particularly male composition of the organization. Julie Lenninger Pycior's 1979 survey, "La Raza Organizes: Mutual Aid So- cieties in San Antonio, 1915 -1930 "53 is the only other major study of sociedades mutualistas. San Antonio had the largest population of Mexicans in the United BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 13

States during this period, and some 10,000 joined during these years. Lenninger Pycior identified nineteen mutualistas in San Antonio, seven of which permitted women to join and hold office. Two others, Sociedad Benevolencia Mexi- cana and Sociedad de la Unión, both founded in the nineteenth century, established women's auxiliaries in the 1920s. The auxiliaries maintained a separate leadership structure and operated in a semi -autonomous fashion. Thus, nine of the nineteen groups included women. Pycior's work suggests increased participation in the 1920s, and thus a break in the men -only homosocial principle. The integration of women can probably be attributed to the increase of women in the workforce and public schools. Pycior discussed leadership and noted that men held most of the elected offices. In the 1920s only one woman, Luisa M. de González, presided over a mixed (male /female) mutualista, the Alianza Hispano Americana. According to the historian, women in integrated mutualistas "eschewed feminist rhetoric" and "their moderate, pragmatic stance earned them the respect and cooperation of most male mutualista members. "54 Here she suggested women sought the approval of male mutualista members and that conflict did not exist between members of the opposite sex. Such a conclusion is preliminary in a brief survey of women's participation, especially when interviewees included no women. To understand women's participation in sociedades mutualistas, women's and men's consciousness requires attention. Typically, only men belonged to nineteenth century mutual -aid societies, but there were exceptions. Women participated in auxiliaries, but Mexican women also belonged to separate women's groups. Historian Roberto Calderon's essay on nineteenth century Laredo, Texas, documents the existence of four women -only mutualistas among nine male mutual -aid societies in this colonial city founded in 1755. Women organized Sociedad Josefa Ortíz de Dominguez, named after a heroine in México's struggle for independence, and another called Sociedad Unión Mexicana de Señoras y Señoritas.55 Moreover, here single women or girls (señoritas) organized with married women. Another important voluntary association in the early twentieth century (though not a mutualista) was the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM), an anarcho- syndicalist organization based in México, which established chapters throughout the Southwest in places like El Paso, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Laredo. Juan Gómez Quiñones' Sembradores, Ricardo Flores Magón y El Partido Liberal 14 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Mexicano: A Eulogy and Critique discusses women largely as supporters of men's activism. He introduced several women, including Andrea Villarreal and María Taravera, but he does not assess women's activism as a group.56 Analyzing El Partido's ideology as it relates to gender, historian Emma Pérez has written an important revisionist critique. She exposed the contradictions of PLM ideology about women's oppression. Women worked as journalists, soldiers, and organizers. Separate women's organizations were not her focus.57

Mexican American Civil Rights Organizations and Women Civil rights organizational activism by la Raza had begun by 1911. Anthropolo- gist José Limón's 1974 study of the Primer Congresso Mexicanista, a civil rights meeting in Laredo, Texas, discussed women.58 At the meeting, uniting la Raza in Texas was discussed, and an elaborate plan for organization written. Congresso members discussed women's education and the necessity of organizing women. The resulting organization was the Gran Liga de Beneficiencia y Protección, whose membership was " por Mexicanos y México- Texanos de uno o otro sexo" [for Mexicans and Mexican Texans of either sex]. Limón suggests that the group's gender politics were feminist because of the discussion about education and /or their gender ideology.59 The Congresso drew 300 to 400 persons, most of whom were members of the Orden Caballero de Honor y los Talleres and the Logia Masonica Benito Juárez, both men's associations. All Congresso delegates were men; men composed the board of directors, and a man held the position of secretary. A token invitation to Laredo women was extended, but while women's education was included as an agenda topic, it was Professor Simón Dominguez, and not Sra. Dominguez, who spoke despite the fact that both were teachers. Limón mentioned the formation of the Liga Femenil Mexicanista, lists its officers, and notes the group supported free instruction for poor Mexican children. Newspapers provided no further coverage of the Liga. Apparently, Jovita Idar organized the Liga. Once again, the homosocial principle came into play; despite the planned inclusion of women in the state -wide organization, Jovita Idar organized a women -only group. Historian Marta Cotera called the Liga "feminist" since it was pro -women. They organized "bajo los auspicios del Congresso Mexicanista" [under the auspices of the Congresso] and their mission was "luchar BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 15

ellas tambien POR LA RAZA YPARA LA RAZA" [they would also fight with la Raza for la Raza]. They supported women's education and their public organizing, but there is little evidence the group was anti- patriarchal.60 The Order of the Sons of America (OSA) established eight chapters in Texas from 1921 to 1929, with the most active councils in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Lenninger Pycior noted that women were members, but my research suggests they were not. Both the 1921 and 1927 constitutions allowed for the formation of ladies auxiliaries but interestingly enough, no men both- ered to organize one. In 1927 in Corpus Christi, for example, member Louis Wilmot was charged with organizing women into ladies auxiliaries, but his wife, Ofelia Wilmot, told me that she never joined an auxiliary, nor did Corpus Christi women. Perhaps men could not organize women or perhaps they did not devote themselves to the task. Perhaps women chose not to organize an auxiliary. Ofelia Wilmot and other wives of OSA members as well as widows, and women whose husbands were not OSA members formed the Alpha Club, a philanthropic and beneficient group, instead. The Corpus Christi group lasted from 1928 to 1939. Women, then, had their own agency and formed auxiliaries only when they wanted to. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was founded in February 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, when the OSA and several groups merged. LULAC is the oldest national Latino organization today. Lay historian Moíses Sandoval is the author of a LULAC- sponsored history, Our Legacy: The First Fifty Years. He noted, "In the beginning, LULAC was a man's organization. The persons who gathered to found the League were all men. "61 LULAC was founded in February 1929, but women attended the social events of the constitutional convention in May. Three months later they attended the first regional convention and a LULAC newspaper mentioned that the association was "a matter of great interest to them." Sandoval devoted a chapter to women, focusing on post -1965 elected leadership. He ignored women in LULAC before 1965 and was unaware of feminist essays in LULAC News written by Alice Dickerson Montemayor, who penned a radical critique of machismo in the 1937 essay "Son Muy Hombres. "62 Other feminist efforts by women have been ignored by male authors. Mario T Garcias Mexican Americans: Leadership, Identity, and Politics, a 1989 anthology which chronicled the rise of the Mexican American civil rights 16 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

movement through various organizations, devoted several pages to women.63 Garcíás treatment of women is limited to the 1930s and includes several inac- curacies. According to the historian, LULAC incorporated women's auxiliaries in 1932, but my survey of the LULAC News (the official newsletter since 1931) revealed reports of only three ladies auxiliaries in the group's history. Moreover, no constitution mentions ladies auxiliaries. García wrote that women were incorporated as full members in 1934, and added, "Although almost all men's and women's councils remained separate by choice, a few contained both men and women." My survey of LULAC documents suggests that men's and women's councils remained separate not only by choice (i.e. the homosocial principle), but by force -that is because of machismo or male exclusion. Moreover, mixed councils were typical only after 1960. Historian Richard Garcíás The Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class addresses the rise of LULAC in San Antonio in the 1930s.64 He also addresses voluntarist politics among the Mexican American middle class and the Mexican exile community. He, too, focuses on men. He introduced LULAC intellectuals M.C. Gonzales and Alonso S. Perales but ignored Sra. Gonzales and Marta Perales. He discussed women only in his chapter on the family. Ladies LULAC in San Antonio had the largest number of members in Texas in the 1930s but was ignored.' Benjamin Márquez' LULAC, The Evolution ofa Mexican American Political Organization, the only book -length survey of the League, included two para- graphs on women. He mentioned Anita Del Rio's presidential campaign in 1986 and noted the significant fact that LULAC's membership by the mid - 1980s was over 50 percent female.66 But he made no other reference to women and did not seek to explain their historical participation. Attention to women is now particularly salient, since 1994 witnessed the election of the first woman national president, Belen Robles. Even Marta Cotera has underestimated women's significance in LULAC. In a 1983 essay on Latina politics, she noted that LULAC women had "a more subdued club woman reformist approach channeled through female auxiliary groups."' Another researcher questioned LULAC women's significance, and instead characterized their participation in LULAC as "a social gathering for women to go drink coffee and get together.i68 The best treatment of Ladies LULAC, although cursory, is historian Arnoldo De León's book on Houston, BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 17

in which he chronicles the efforts of Ladies LULAC Council #22's efforts to raise monies for milk, eye glasses, Christmas toys, and baby clothes.' Another national civil rights group, the Congresso de Habla Hispana, founded in 1938, was a pan -Latino organization, embracing Puertorriqueños, Cubans, Spaniards, and other Latinos in California, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, and Montana. Historian Alberto Camarillo noted its leftist, interna- tionalist, Partido Liberal Mexicano- influenced, and unionist tendencies. He stressed that women's equality was part of the Congresso's program, noting that "the leadership roles of women such as [Guatemalan] Luisa Moreno and Josephina Fierro de Bright also set it apart from most other groups. "70 Congresso women operated in a mixed -gender setting, an unusual situation in the 1930s. In Mexican Americans, Mario García devoted a chapter to the Congresso, noting that its platform called for attention to "double discrimination" experienced by women and a call for women's committees. Women constituted 30 percent of the membership, he noted. Women in the Congresso, like those in the PLM, expressed feminist consciousness on the national level. The association fell victim to McCarthyism in the early 1950s.71 Another important national civil rights organization, the American G.I. Forum, was founded by veterans in 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was particularly active in legal desegregation efforts in the 1950s. Carl Allsup's The American G.I. Forum: Origins and Evolution did not integrate women into its discussion of the Forum's evolution.72 He concludes his study by positing multi - functionalism and family involvement (meaning the participation of women and children) as factors lending to the Forum's persistence. However, he la- mented, that "to some degree the auxiliary chapter also perpetuated gender separation. "73 Allsup commented no further on the auxiliaries and failed to distinguish between those who were auxiliary members and full members, that is, Chicana veterans. A People Forgotten, A Dream Pursued: The History of the American G.I. Fo- rum, a commissioned study by Henry A.J. Ramos, also addresses the Forum. Ramos discusses women as leaders and men's helpers.74 He highlighted contributions by Isabelle Tellez, Dominga Coronado, Molly Galvin, Nellie Navarro, and Dr. Clotilde García. Ramos mentions that women participated in "innovative and independent pursuits" and in "local, state, and national policy processes" but did not develop 18 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

these themes.75 Women sponsored fundraisers, organized chapters, and acted as lobbyists, he said, without further elaboration. He credited women with sponsoring fundraising drives such as tamaladas, tamale -making get -togethers. How- ever, he also described women as male appendages; they were: "mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, and daughters of male Forumeers." He concluded that women in the Forum had few "feminist aspirations," and rather, "rallied to the support of their men. "' Conflict between women and men was left unexplored. One of the most interesting facts Ramos points to was the women's institu- tionalization of an annual women's conference. He noted, 'As early as 1957, GI Forum women groups sponsored and participated in women's leadership conferences of their own design. These were most revolutionary undertakings in their time, and effective mechanisms no doubt for further building the organizational and leadership capabilities of Spanish -speaking women. "77 These conferences suggest both the homosocial principle and feminist consciousness. Ramos and Allsup based their studies on the papers of the Forum's founder, Dr. Hector García. Other personal collections (including those of women) as well as Forum newsletters could have helped address women's involvement.78 The Asociación Nacional México Americana (ANMA), a progressive pro- labor civil rights organization, was founded in Phoenix and lasted from 1950 to 1954. Liliana Urrutia, then a high school student, has written an essay about ANMA. She did not study women as a group, but mentioned ANMA's 1950 national secretary Virginia Ruiz, who also served as a delegate to the Indepen- dent Progressive Party, which endorsed Henry Wallace. She also noted that ANMA sponsored "queen contests."' In Mexican Americans, Mario García devoted a chapter to ANMA with a page and a half to women. He reported that they constituted a third of the Southern California membership and discussed the initial inclusion of women, and female leaders like Julia Luna Mount of Los Angeles.80 Regional differences in women's participation in civil rights and political organizational life existed. In Texas, women had significant participation in rural and urban areas but it tended to be gender- segregated. In California, women had greater participation in mixed groups. In Arizona, women had even less participation in mixed groups and seem to have been involved in more auxiliary work. The degree of urbanity, the work -force participation of women, and education affected this involvement. BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 19

As noted earlier, Mario García discussed LULAC, the Congresso, and ANMA (all national organizations), and mentioned prominent women leaders. He did not notice the lack of a Mexican- origin women's national organization during the pre -1970 years. Nor did he discuss women's associations that supported civil rights. All the authors ignored machismo /sexism /patriarchy in society as a historical problem for Mexican -origin women.

Chicano Movement Organizations and Women Another important organization, though not a traditional voluntary association, is the Raza Unida Party (RUP), a political party founded in Crystal City, Texas, in 1970, which spread to California, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, and Arizona. Ignacio García's United We Win, The Rise and Fall of La Raza Unida Party chronicled the rise and decline of the party as it revolved around male leaders and male candidates. Garcia states, "The role of women in the party is not developed as a separate theme from the general history and this in part reduces the Chicana presence in the book.i81 In the same paragraph, he concluded, "Overall, I am convinced that what was included [in the book] was 82 the most essential. García interviewed twenty -seven activists, a third of whom were women, but he still focused on male elites like José Angel Gutiérrez, Mario Compean, and Ramsey Muñiz. Luz Gutiérrez, the first party official of the RUP, whose husband was José Angel, is ignored and merely considered "Gutiérrez's right hand. "83 And although García interviewed María Elena Martínez, a Texas state RUP chair, he also slighted her significance. Grass -roots women and the net - work/caucus of women called "Mujeres Por La Raza" in Texas, and Federación de Mujeres de la Raza Unida in California are hardly mentioned.84 Women constituted a third of those attending the founding convention. Evey Chapa helped write the platform which asserted the significance of "La Mujer, "La Familia," and women's equality. The caucus was formed to promote female leadership within RUP as well as to elect Chicanas to office. In 1973 they sponsored at least three woman- centered conferences; they voted to withdraw from the European -American dominated Texas Women's Political Caucus.85 Nevertheless, RUP men often considered women "groupies," uninterested in political power. Marguerite V. Marín's Social Protest in an Urban Barrio, A Study of the Chi- 20 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

cano Movement, 1966 to 1974 addressed five Chicano movement organizations in Los Angeles. They were: the Community Service Organization (CSO),S6 the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee, the Brown Berets, Movimiento Estudiantil de Aztlán (MEChA), and the East L.A. Community Union (TELACU). Unlike all the other studies noted, almost half of her interviewees were women. Marín gives needed attention to women's participation in the paramilitary Brown Berets (similar to the Black Panthers), which most believe was a male organization. She noted that Beret women established the Barrio Free Clinic, which TELACU later institutionalized. One of the most interesting aspects of Marín's work is its focus on the issue of internal divisions. She is the only author reviewed here to discuss machismo. She mentions that at meetings women struggled with men over the division of labor and leadership roles. How sexism led to the formation of separatist women's organizations is critical in understanding the post -1970 period. Another Chicano Movement organization was Centro de Acción Social Autónomo, Hermanidad General de Trabajadores (CASA -HGT). Founded in Los Angeles in 1968, it lasted to 1978, and had 2,000 members in 1972. His- torian David Gutiérrez's working paper on this pro- labor, pro- immigrant group ignored women in the organization and CASA -HGT ideology on the so -called "woman question." He cited Bert Corona and Soledad "Choie" Alatorre as founders, but proceeded to ignore Alatorre.87 The only book -length study of the Chicano Movement is Carlos Muñoz's Youth, Identity, and Power: The Chicano Movement. He discusses pre -1965 organizations, the student movement (especially MEChA), Raza Unida, and Chicano Studies (especially the National Association for Chicano Studies). He mentions sexism as a problem for Chicanas in MEChA once, and it is not seriously addressed.88

Women's Organizations Associations composed solely of women have received the least scholarly attention. Middle class women's groups have been slighted as have lesbian associations. This research gap should be attributed to neglect by historians as well as to the small number of Chicana historians. Consequently, there is one book and only a handful of scholarly articles on the history of Mexican- descent women's BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 21

associations.89 Historian Thomas Kreneck has discussed Club Chapultepec, a women's group affiliated with the Houston, Texas, YWCA in the 1930s. These young, middle -class women sponsored Díez y Seis festivities and sold government bonds during World War II. Kreneck's brief study focuses on a letter the club wrote in 1937 in which they complained about a police murder of a Mexican national, racist Texas history, race segregation and discrimination, and low wages.90 He provides evidence to counter the notion that Raza women were not concerned with politics.91 In separate articles, librarian /historian Chris Marín and historian Julie Campbell have studied La Asociación Hispano- Americana de Madres y Esposas, a veterans' support group in Arizona formed during World War I1.92 Lasting from 1940 to 1976, Marín notes it was originally a man's idea to form the league. Members sold over $1 million in war bonds and stamps and sponsored clothes drives for the Red Cross. The group was obviously motivated by political familism, but apparently it was the broader community, not only their sons and husbands they served. Julie Campbell explores the activities of Madres y Esposas in greater depth than Marín. She noted that a fifth of Mexican -origin women in Tucson joined the group. Campbell pointed to its male directors and female officers. While stressing some of its "male- helpers" aspect, she also revealed that a key leader - Rose Rodriguez -was single. Sociologist Mary Pardo has written about the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA), an organization composed of working -class women over 50 that was founded in 1982. She noted that they were fighting for their families, and that their battles took place where issues of class, race, and community intersected, such as the planned location of a prison and toxic waste dump in their community. She argued that, "working -class women activists seldom opt to separate themselves from men and their families." Yet, the women did in fact organize as "mothers," as women separate from men. In another modern -day twist, she noted the supportive role of "fathers," who made placards for protests and attended marches organized by the mothers. "In their particular struggle for community quality of life, they are fighting for the family unit and they are not competitive with men," Pardo stated.93 But by virtue of their name, it is clear that members identify as mothers as well as 22 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

with la familia. If they are not competitive with men, they nevertheless keep men out of their organization to avoid competition, conflict, and machismo, and they surely conflict with policies probably made by men. Only one book about a Mexican -descent women's organization has been published. In One Dream, Many Voices, A History of the Mexican American Women's National Association, leader Elvira Valenzuela Crocker discusses its formation, presidential administrations, and membership.94 In 1991 MANA had members in 36 states and chapters in Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Washington, and Washington D.C. Founded in 1975, the group deals with national legislation and the general welfare of Chicanas. Valenzuela Crocker included no footnotes or bibliography but did conduct interviews; the chapter "In Their Own Voices" permitted national presidents to discuss their individual histories.

Future Research Directions Thousands of Mexican -origin women's voluntary associations need scholarly attention. Nineteenth century women's clubs, although rare, need attention as do numerous pre -1965 clubs. Arnoldo De León mentioned the women's mutualista, Sociedad Beneficiencia, that was founded in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1890.95 The Cruz Blanca provided relief to the wounded during the Mexican Revolution.96 Nelson Pichardo'sessay on California voluntary associations revealed the existence of women's clubs in Los Angeles from 1927 -1933 and other places in California.97 Chicana groups connected to settlement homes and YWCA's need attention.98 Likewise, the Sociedad de Guadalupanas, a national Catholic association honoring the Virgen de Guadalupe, and its precursor, Hijas de María, needs attention as do Protestant groups. Hermanas, an association of nuns, has been organized since 1970.99 Women in mixed- gender straight associations such as the Woodmen of the World,loothe American G.I. Forum, Community Service Organization, Mexican American Youth Organi- zation (MAYO), and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) have yet to be studied. Cruz Azul Mexicana was one of the most important women's voluntary associations organized across the United States in the 1920s. During that decade the Mexican consulates in the U.S. established associations called Comisiones Honorificos and Cruz Azul, men -only and women -only chapters, BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 23

respectively. In Los Angeles, the Cruz Azul helped flood victims, the unemployed, and needy families. During the forced repatriation of individuals to México in the 1930s, it assisted 1,500 unemployed persons. The Cruz Azul helped establish a clinic in San Antonio, and produced plays in Houston!' Within the mixed -gender experience, attention to internal organizational politics is needed. Research on power struggles between women and men in organizational life must be undertaken. Six areas requiring attention are leadership, division of labor, cultural milieu, sexual oppression, heterosexism, and homophobia. Leadership and the division of labor have historically been two major areas of contention as anthropologist Adelaida del Castillo has pointed out.102 This may or may not also be the case for Chicana lesbians in lesbian /gay organizations. Activist /scholar Elizabeth Martínez has provided a more radical critique in naming the problem: the tradition and practice of male posturing. In "Chingón Politics" she quoted scholar /activist Gloria Romero who argued, "Chingón politics is everywhere, in academia or whatever, and we have to deal with it."103 Martínez notes that "chingón politics expresses a culture of domination." That culture in organizational life must be explored. Rarely mentioned is the sexual oppression of women in the mixed -gender heterosexual experience. Focusing on MEChA, then student Marta Arguello called this problem "phallic politics. "104 She noted sexual harassment and the use of sex as a tool to manipulate women in organizational work. Another area of contention is heterosexuals' practices toward lesbians and gays. An essay by Deena González presented at the National Association for Chicano Studies (NAGS) reveals Chicana /o heterosexism in an academic setting. She noted the issue of NAGS' heterosexual culture, repression, and the silencing of allies.105 Studies ignore the homophobic and heterosexist nature of Chicano organizational life. Chicana lesbians and gays have had a public organizational life at least since 1979, when Houston's Gay and Lesbian Hispanos Unidos was founded. They sponsored Gay Pride Week and were involved in local electoral campaigns of European- Americans and Chicanos.106 The Austin Latino /a Lesbian and Gay Organization (ALLGO) was founded in 1984 as a second Tejano /a association in Texas. They organized Project Informe -SIDA, the second out (openly lesbian/gay) program on AIDS in the nation. In Los Angeles, Gay and Lesbian 24 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Latinos Unidos (GLLU) has existed for over a decade. The Latino Lesbian Gay Organization (LLEGO), the first national Latino and Latina association, was founded in Houston in 1992. Lesbian interaction with gay men must also be assessed. Chicana lesbians have their own history of women -only groups as well: Ellas in San Antonio and Amigas in Houston are two examples. The first national Latina meeting was held in 1994, although an encuentro with Latin Ameri- can lesbianas has already taken place.107 No survey of this history has appeared in straight or gay scholarly journals. Serious primary research must involve reviewing lesbian and gay periodicals and oral history. Yolanda Leyva, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in history at the University of Arizona has created the Lesbiana Latina Archives, and Juanita Ramos has founded the Latina Lesbian History project at SUNY at Binghamton. National, state, regional, and local -level Chicana feminist organizations of the post -1970 era also require attention. Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional (founded in 1970), the Mexican American Women's National Association (1974), and the National Network of Hispanic Women (1980) are important middle - class feminist organizations. Local groups to be researched include Chicana Welfare Rights (1968); Mujeres Latinas en Acción (1973) of Chicago; His- panic Women's Council (1973) in Los Angeles; Las Mujeres (1984) of Albu- querque; Hispanas Unidas (1984) from San Antonio; and various Mexican American Business and Professional Women's clubs.108 Chicana student organizations such as Mujer at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Las Chicanas at the University of California at Riverside, both of which have per- sisted over a decade, also deserve study.

Conclusion Studies of Chicano voluntary organizations have largely failed to address women and gender. When scholars have discussed women, they have briefly alluded to their contributions and mentioned a few individual leaders. More typically, however, they have subjected Mexican -descent women to patriarchal and heterosexist ideologies. Mexican -origin women have participated in community organizations in distinct ways. Women's organizational styles illuminate the fact that machismo did not keep women out of politics. Women did not merely participate as fam- BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 25

ily members or because of a family ideology. Nor did the women of la Raza simply organize in ladies auxiliaries or organize to "just help their men." They have expressed a feminist heritage in mixed -gender organizations, women -only, and separatist feminist groups. Lesbians also have their own distinctive organizational heritage, struggling with straight men and women and gay men. The range of organizational activism among Mexican -origin women is impressive; it has simply been invisible to some. Mujeres have a proud record of struggle and achievement which only well- researched studies free of patriarchal and heterosexist ideologies will discover.

NOTES Kaye Lynn Briegel, "The History of Political Organizations Among Mexican -Americans in Los Angeles Since the Second World War," Masters Thesis, University of Southern Californa, 1967; Kaye Lynn Briegel, "The Alianza Hispano- Americana, 1894 -1965: A Mexican American Fraternal Insurance Society, Ph.D. diss., University of Southern Cali- fornia, 1974. The article she located was Oliver Douglas Weeks, "The League of United Latin American Citizens: A Texas Mexican Civic Organzation," Southwestern Political and Social Science Quarterly 10:3 (December 1929):257 -278.

2 Chicano Periodical Index Database, University of Texas at Austin, June 1994. Chicano Periodical Index (Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1978- 1990). See also Chicano Anthology Index, A Comprehensive Author, Title, and Subject Index to Chicano Anthologies, 1965- 198Z comp. and ed. Francisco García Ayvens (Berkeley: Chicano Studies Library Publi- cation Unit, 1990). The best reference sources on past and present organizations are Cabinet Committee on Opportunity for the Spanish Speaking, Directory of Spanish Speak- ing Community Organizations (Washington: Cabinet Committee on Opportunity for the Spanish Speaking, 1970); Sylvia Gonzales, Hispanic American Voluntary Organizations (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985) and Recursos, A Directory of Mexican Ameri- can Institutions, Organizations and University Programs Based in the United States ofAmérica, comp. Alice Herrera and Julia Mejia, (México: Bibliografia Benjamin Fernández, 1990). The best annual directory is Anuario Hispano /Hispanic Yearbook, ed. Angela E. Zavala (McLean, Virginia: T.I.Y.M. Publishing Company Inc., 1994). See also Patricia M.B. Wade, "Women's Organizations on the U.S. México Border: A Pathfinder and Research Aid" (n.p.: American Friends Service Committee, U.S. México Border Program), Verti- cal Files, Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas at Austin, hereafter BLAC. 3 On the Midwest see Ricardo Parra, Victor Rios, and Armando Gil, "Chicano Organiza- tions in the Mid -West," Aztlán 7 (Summer 1976): 235 -253; Juan R. García and Angel Cal, "El Círculo de Obreros Católicos `San José,' 1925 to 1930," in Forging a Commu- 26 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

nity, the Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919 -1975, ed. James B. Lane and Ed- ward J. Escobar (Chicago: Cattails Press, 1987): 95 -114. García and Cal focused on the men's association El Círculo, a Mexican Revolution exile group in Indiana Harbor but ignored its male character. On California see Nelson A. Pichardo, "The Establishment and Development of Chicano Voluntary Associations in California, 1910- 1930," Aztlán 19:2 (1992): 93 -155. On New Mexico, see Nancie L. González, The Spanish-Americans of New Mexico, A Heritage of Pride (Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1967); and Maurilio E. Vigil, "Ethnic Organizations Among the Mexican Americans of New Mexico: A Political Perspective," Ph.D. diss., University of New Mexico, 1974.

4 Carlos Muñoz, Youth, Identity, and Power: The Chicano Movement (London: Verso Press, 1989); Juan Gómez Quiñones, Chicano Politics, Reality and Promise, 1940 -1990 (Albu- querque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990). On Chicana politics, see Marta Cotera, "Brief Analysis of the Political Role of Hispanas in the United States," (November 1983) prepared for the Women of Color Institute, Washington D.C., Benson Latin American Collection, the University of Texas at Austin; Christine Marie Sierra, "Surveying the Latina Political Landscape," Intercambios Femeniles 2:3 (Autumn 1984): 1, 24; Marta Cotera, "Hispana Political Tradition," Intercambios Femeniles 2:3 (Autumn 1984): 9. This is a special issue on Latina politics. See also Carol Hardy -Fanta, Latina Politics, Latino Politics, Gender, Culture, and Political Participation in Boston (Philadelphia: Temple Uni- versity, 1993); Richard Santillán, "Latinas and American Politics: 1929- 1986," Unpub- lished paper, 1986; and Chicanas and Politics, A Selected Bibliography (Las Cruces: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, 1979).

5 The Chicana Studies Index, Twenty Years of Gender Research, 1971 -1991, comp. and ed. Lillian Castillo -Speed (Berkeley: Chicano Studies Library Publications Unit, University of California at Berkeley, 1992). 6 Anne Firor Scott, Natural Allies: Women's Associations in American History (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1992); Karen J. Blair, The History of American Women's Volun- tary Organizations, 1810 -1960, A Guide to Sources (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1989). See also Journal of Women's History, Guide to Periodical Literature, comp. Gayle V. Fischer (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992). Firor Scott: 5 -6.

8 Gonzales, Hispanic American Voluntary Organizations.

9 Nancy E. Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987): 92.

10 Anne Firor Scott, "Most Invisible of All: Black Women's Voluntary Associations" Journal of Southern History, LUI: 1 (Feb 1990): 5 -22. Estelle Freedman, "Separatism as Strategy: Female Institution Building and American Feminism, 1870 -1930," Feminist Studies 5:3 (Fall 1979):512 -529. BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 27

2 Freedman: 513.

13 Rodrigo Reyes, "Latino Gays: Coming Out and Coming Home," Nuestro 5:3 (April 1981):44. On Chicana lesbian organizational life see Deena J. González, "Malinche as Lesbian: A Reconfiguration of 500 Years of Resistance," California Sociologist 14:1 -2 (Winter /Summer 1991):91 -97; and Carla Trujillo, "Chicana Lesbians: Fear and Loath- ing in the Chicano Community," Chicana Critical Issues, ed. Norma Alarcón, et. al. (Berkeley: Third Women Press, 1993). Brief mention can be found in Neil Miller, In Search of Gay America: Women and Men in a Time of Change (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989); and Margaret Cruikshank, The Gay and Lesbian Liberation Movement (New York: Routledge, 1992).

14 Caroll Smith -Rosenberg, "The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations Between Women in Nineteenth Century America," Signs 1:1 (1975): 1 -29; Jean Lipman -Blumen, "Toward a Homosocial Theory of Sex Roles: An Explanation of the Sex Segregation of Social Institutions," Signs 1:3, Part 2 (Spring 1976): 15 -31; Adrienne Rich, "Compul- sory Heterosexuality and the Lesbian Experience," Signs 5 (1980): 631 -66.

15 Theresa Aragon de Valdez, "Organizing as a Political Tool for the Chicana," Frontiers 5:2 (Summer 1980):7.

16 Jane Fishburne Collier, "Women in Politics," Women, Culture, and Society, ed. Michelle Zambalist Rosaldo and Louis Lamphere, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974): 89, ftnt 1.

17 Ralph Guzmán, The Political Socialization of Mexican American People (New York: Arno Press, 1976): 232.

18 See "Women Writers Succeed in the Land of Machismo," San Antonio Express News, July 19, 1993.

19 María González, "Mexican Women," in Hispanic American Almanac, ed. Nicolas Kanellos (Detroit: Gale Research, 1993):359.

20 Adaljiza Sosa Riddell, "Chicanas en el Movimiento," Aztla'n 5:1 &2 (Spring 1974): 155- 163; Alma García, "The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse," 1970- 1980," in Unequal Sisters, A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History, ed. Ellen Carol DuBois and Vicki L. Ruiz (New York: Routledge, 1990):418 -431.

21 Maxine Baca Zinn, "Mexican Heritage Women: A Bibliographic Essay," Sage Race Rela- tions," 9:3 (August 1984):1 -13; Maxine Baca Zinn, "Mexican- American Women in the Social Sciences," Signs 8:21 (1982): 259 -272. 22 Ralph Guzmán, "The Function of Anglo- American Racism in the Political Development of Chicanos," California Historical Quarterly (September 1971): 107, ftnt. 20. 23 Guzmán, The Political Socialization of Mexican American People. 232. 24 Maxine Baca Zinn, "Political Familism: Toward Sex Role Equality in Chicano Families," 28 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Aztlan 6:1 (Spring 1975): 16. 25 Frances Jerome Woods, "Mexican Ethnic Leadership in San Antonio, Texas, "Ph.D. diss., Catholic University of América, 1949: 81.

26 Jane Fishburne Collier, "Women in Politics," Woman, Culture, and Society, ed. Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974): 91. Sosa Riddell noted that at the 1969 Denver Chicano Youth Liberation Conference Chi- canas were told "to stand behind their man." Sosa Riddell: 156.

27 Fishburne Collier: 89.

28 Jerome Woods: 120.

29 Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero, Infinite Divisions, An Anthology of Chicana Literature (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1993): 15.

30 Thomas H. Kreneck, "The Letter from Chapultepec," Houston Review I1I:2 (Summer 1981): 268. Arturo Rosales' essay on Houston in the same volume noted a women's club which sponsored a float in a parade in 1914, and another Catholic women's group which founded a clinic around 1920. See F. Arturo Rosales, "Mexicans in Houston: The Struggle to Survive," Houston Review II (Summer 1981): 224 -248. 3' Jerome Woods: 81. She made this conclusion while providing contradictory evidence; she noted, "In one instance the women were intended to be an auxiliary, but they brought the male board of trustees to court and emerged victorious with a charitable enterprise all their own to manage. The management did not fare well for a time, as the men continue to point out." " Guzmán, The Political Socialization: 232. 33 Judy Aulette and Trudy Mills, "Something Old, Something New: Auxiliary Work in the 1983 -86 Copper Strike," Feminist Studies 14:2 (Summer 1988): 251 -268. The article is about the Morenci Miners' Women's auxiliary during the 1983 Phelps Dodge copper miners strike which included Chicanas. 34 See Alma García; Ines Hernández Tovar, "Sara Estella Ramirez, The Early Twentieth Century Texas-Mexican Poet," Ph.D. diss., University of Houston, 1984; and Clara Lomas, "Mexican Precursors of Chicana Feminist Writing," Estudios Chicanos and the Politics of Community (Colorado Springs: National Association for Chicano Studies, 1989): 149- 160.

35 Guzmán, The Political Socialization: 232. 36 Martha P. Cotera, Diosa y Hembra: Ths History and Heritage of Chicanas in the United States (Austin: Information Systems, 1976) and Marta Cotera, "Feminism: the Chicano and Anglo Version," in Twice a Minority: Mexican American Women, ed. Margarita Melville (St. Louis: Mosby, 1980): 217 -234 BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 29

3' Lenninger Pycior: 76. The Rebel, Leonor Villegas de Magnán, ed. Clara Lomas (Houston: Arte Público Press, 1994) is an exception. Due to time considerations, this book is not discussed here. 38 See also Ralph Guzmán, "Politics and Policies of the Mexican -American Community," in California Politics and Policies, ed. Eugene P. Dvorin and Arthur J. Misner (Palo Alto: Addison -Wesley Publishing Co., 1966): 350 -385; Kaye Briegel, "The Development of Mexican -American Organizations," The Mexican Americans: An Awakening Minority (Beverly Hills: Glencoe Press, 1970):160 -178. Like Servin, Briegel places some blame on Chicanos themselves for our historical subordination.

39 Chicana labor activism is outside the scope of this essay. See Vicki 1. Ruiz, Cannery Workers, Cannery Lives: Mexican Women, Unionization, and the California Food Processing Industry, 1930 -1950 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1987); Patricia Zavella, Women's Work er Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987); Margaret Rose, "Traditional and Nontraditional Patterns of Female Activism in the United Farm Workers of America, 1962 to 1980," FrontiersXl:1 (1990): 26 -32; Irene Ledesma, "Unlikely Strikers: Mexican American Women in Strike Activity in Texas, 1919- 1974," Ph.D. diss., Ohio State University, 1992; and "Las Obreras: The Politics of Work and Family," Vicki L. Ruiz, ed. Aztlán 20:1 & 2 (Spring & Fall 1991).

40 González, The Spanish-Americans of New Mexico, A Heritage of Pride. 87 -90. She includes a chapter on voluntary associations.

41 Charles Ray Chandler, "The Mexican American Protest Movement," Ph.D. diss., Tulane University, 1968: 7 42 González: 87. 43 John Hart Lane Jr., "Voluntary Associations Among Mexican Americans in San Antonio, Texas: Organizational and Leadership Characteristics," Ph.D. diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1968: 54. 44 James E. Officer, "Sodalities and System Linkage: The Joining Habits of Urban Mexican - Americans," Ph.D. diss., University of Arizona, 1964. His original assumption was that "Mexican women will confine their sodality memberships to the satellite associations of their parish churches." After his investigation he concluded, "Not only were Mexican women fairly active in social affinity sodalities but substantive numbers participated in PTA's; auxiliaries to fraternal occupational and veteran's associations; and in political clubs connected to the Democratic Party." 45 Mario Barrera, "The Historical Evolution of Chicano Ethnic Goals, A Bibliographic Essay," SAGE Race Relations Abstract 10:1 (Fall 1985): 1 -48. Emilio Zamora, The World of the Mexican Worker (College Station: Texas A &M Press, 1993): 72. See the chapter, "Voluntary Organizations and the Ethic of Mutuality: Ex- 30 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

pressions of a Mexicanist Political Culture" where Zamora provides an excellent discussion on mutualistas' philosophical underpinnings.

47 José Hernández, Mutual Aid for Survival: The Case of the Mexican American (Malabar, Fla.: Krieger, 1983). See also José A. Rivera, Mutual Aid Societies in the Hispanic South- west: Alternative Sources of Community Empowerment, Research Report, U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Services, Oct. 1984. 48 Hernández: 137.

49 See also José A. Rivera, "Self -Help as Mutual Protection: the Development of Hispanic Fraternal Benefit Societies," Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 23:3 (1987): 387 -396.

50 Kaye Lynn Briegel, "Alianza Hispano Americana, 1894 -1965: A Mexican -American Fra- ternal Insurance Scoiety," Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1974. See also Kaye Briegel, "Alianza Hispano Americana and Some Civil Rights Cases in the 1950s," An Awakened Minority: the Mexican Americans, 1st ed., ed. Manuel Servin (Beverly Hills: Glencoe Press, 1970): 174 -187.

51 Olivia Arrieta, "The Alianza Hispano Americana in Arizona and New Mexico: The De- velopment and Maintenance of a Multi- functional Ethnic Organization," Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph 7 1989 -90, (Tucson: Mexican American Studies & Research Center, 1991): 55 -82.

52 Arrieta: 71.

53 Julie Lenninger Pycior, "La Raza Organizes: Mutual Aid Societies in San Antonio, 1915- 1930," Ph.D. diss., University of Notre Dame, 1979.

54 Ibid: 81. See pp.76 -81 for the section on women in the mutualistas.

55 Roberto R. Calderón, "Unión, Paz y Trabajo: Laredo's Mexican Mutual Aid Societies, 1890s," Paper presented at the Mexican Americans in Texas History Conference, May 4, 1991, forthcoming in Mexicans in Texas History, ed. Emilio Zamora, Cynthia E. Orozco, and Rodolfo Rocha (Austin: University of Texas at Austin).

56 Juan Gómez Quiñones, Sembradores, Ricardo Flores Magón y El Partido Liberal Mexicano: A Eulogy and Critique (Los Angeles: Aztlán Publications, Chicano Studies Center, Uni- versity of California at Los Angeles, 1973).

57 Emma M. Pérez, "A la Mujer': A Critique of the Partido Liberal Mexicano's Gender Ideology," Between Borders: Essays on Mexicana/Chicana History," ed. Adelaida R. del Castillo (Encino, Calif.: Floricanto Press, 1990): 459 -482.

58 José E. Limón, "El Primer Congresso Mexicanista de 1911: A Precursor to Contempo- rary Chicanismo," Aztlán:1 -2 (1974): 85 -115. 59 Cynthia E. Orozco, "The Origins of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement in Texas with an Analysis BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 31

of Women's Political Participation in a Gendered Context, 1910- 1929," Ph.D. diss., University of California at Los Angeles, 1992.

60 Cotera: 68 -71.

61 Moises Sandoval, Our Legacy: The First Fifty Years (Washington D.C.: LULAC, 1979).

62 See Cynthia E. Orozco, "Alice Dickerson Montemayor," New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996) and Cynthia E. Orozco, "Alice Dickerson Montemayor: The Feminist Challenge to the League of United Latin American Citizens, Family Ideology, and Mexican American Politics in Texas in the 1930s," Women of Color in the West, ed. Susan Armitage and Elizabeth Jamieson (Norman: University of Okla- homa Press, forthcoming).

63 Mario T. García, Mexican Americans, Leadership, Ideology, and Identity, 1930 -1960 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989). 64 Richard García, The Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class (College Station: Texas A &M Press, 1990). See my book review, Southwestern Historical Quarterly XCVI:2 (Oc- tober 1992): 296 -297.

65 LULAC News, March 1938: 27 -28. 66 Benjamin Márquez, LULAC, The Evolution ofa Mexican American Political Organization (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993).

67 Marta P. Cotera, `Brief Analysis of the Political Role of Hispanas in the United States," Paper presented for the Women of Color Institute, Washington, D.C., November 1983, located at BLAC. For instance, see María Berta Guerra, "The Study of LULAC" in which Ladies LULAC Council 246 in McAllen, Texas, is refered to as a women's council and as an auxiliary. Undergraduate paper, 1979, Río Grande Valley Collection, University of Texas -Pan American, Edinburg.

68 Oral History Transcript, José A. Estrada interview with Belen B. Robles, University of Texas at El Paso, Institute of Oral History, April 26 -27, 1976, p. 9. Robles was elected LULAC national president in 1994.

69 Arnoldo De León, Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston (Houston: Mexican American Studies, 1989). See also Cynthia E. Orozco, "Ladies LULAC," New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996) and Lillian Gutiérrez, "LULAC -A Vehicle for Meeting the Political Challenge," Intercambios Femeniles 2:3 (Autumn 1984): 9 -10.

70 Albert Camarillo, Chicanos in California: A History of Mexican Americans in California (San Francisco: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1984): 60 -64.

71 Mario T. García, p.165 -166.

72 Carl Allsup, The American G.I. Forum: Origins and Evolution (Austin: Center for Mexi- 32 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

can American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1982). 73 Allsup: 159.

74 Henry A.J. Ramos, A People Forgotten, A Dream Pursued: The History of the American GI Forum, 1948 -72 (n.p.: American GI Forum of the U.S., 1982). 75 Ramos: 42.

76 Ramos: 45 -46. 77 Ramos: 41. 78 Several important regional associations also appeared in the post -World War II years. The Civic Unity Leagues of Southern California helped elect candidates, and supported desegregation in the 1940s and 1950s. The Community Service Organization (CSO) of Southern California dealt with similar issues.Founded in 1947, by 1962 it had 22 chapters in California and Arizona. Community Service Clubs appeared in the Rocky Mountain region and in Chicago. Women's participation in these groups has not been assessed. On the CSO see María Linda Apodaca, "They Kept the Home Fires Burning: Mexican American Women and Social Change," Ph.D. diss., University of California at Irvine, 1994. Due to time considerations, it is not reviewed here. Lilliana Urrutia, "An Offspring of Discontent: The Asociación Nacional México- Ameri- cana, 1949- 1954," Aztla'n 15:2 (Spring 1984): 177 -184. 80 Eugenia Landes, "The Hector Pérez García Papers, Untapped Resources," Paper presented at the Mexicans in Texas History, May 3, 1991, San Antonio, Texas.

B1 Ignacio M. García, United We Win: The Rise and Fall of La Raza Unida Party (Tucson: Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1989): xiii. 82 García: xiii. Chicana critiques of García include Rosie Castro, Presentation delivered at the Tribute to Women, Twentieth Anniversary Chicano Activists Reunion, December 28, 1990, and Marta Cotera, "United We Won: Women in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement," Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation Exhibit Tabloid, May 28, 1993, San Antonio, Texas.

83 García: 238. 84 García: 230. 85 Cynthia E. Orozco, "Mujeres Por La Raza," New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996).

86 Marguerite V. Marín, Social Protest in an Urban Barrio: A Study of the Chicano Movement, 1966 to 1974. (Landham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1991). See also Ernesto Chávez, "Creating Aztlán: The Chicano Movement in Los Angeles, 1966 -1978," Ph.D. diss., University of California at Los Angeles, 1994. He discusses the Brown Berets, the Chicano Moratorium Committee, La Raza Unida Party, and Centro de Acción Social BEYOND MACHISMO, LA FAMILIA, AND LADIES AUXILIARIES 33

Autónomo. Due to time considerations, it is not reviewed here.

87 David G. Gutiérrez, "CASA in the Chicano Movement: Ideology and Organizational Politics in the Chicano Community, 1968- 1978," Working Paper Series, No. 5 (August 1984), Stanford Center for Chicano Research. Gutiérrez interviewed Corona and offered a short biographical sketch; about Alatorre he merely noted, she "had spent many years organizing workers in a number of unions." 88 Muñoz: 88. See also Ignacio García, "MAYO: Precursors of Change in Texas," (Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona) Working Paper Series, No. 8 (January 1987). Founded in 1967 by five men, MAYO had 50 chapters by 1968. García did not address women or gender. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund also arose in the era. See Karen O'Connor and Lee Epstein, "A Legal Voice for the Chicano Community: The Activities of the Mexican American Legal De- fense and Education Fund, 1968- 1982," Social Science Quarterly 65:2 (June 1984): 245- 256; Maurilio E. Vigil, "The Ethnic Organization as an Instrument of Political and Social Change: MALDEF, a Case Study," Journal of Ethnic Studies 18:1 (Spring 1990): 15 -31. Founded in 1968, MALDEF is a major player on the national scene which had a Chicana Rights Project in the 1970s. It is not a membership organization.

89 See my forthcoming entries on the Spanish Speaking Parent Teachers Association, Círculo Cultural, Ladies LULAC, Mujeres Por La Raza, and the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas in the New Handbook of Texas.

90 Thomas H. Kreneck, "The Letter from Chapultepec," I1I:2 Houston Review (Summer 1981): 268 -270.

91 Francisco Balderrama, In Defense of La Raza, the Mexican Consulate and the Mexican Community, 1929 to 1936 (Tucson: University of Arizona, 1982): 37 -38.

92 Christine Marín, "La Asociación Hispano- Americana de Madres y Esposas, Tucson's Mexican American Women in World War II," Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph (Summer 1985): 5 -18; Julie A. Campbell, "Tucson's Spanish American Mothers and Wives Association," Journal of Arizona History 31:2 (Summer 1990): 161 -182.

93 Mary Pardo, "Mexican American Women Grassroots Community Activists: Mothers of East Los Angeles," Frontiers XII:1 (1990): 1 -7.

94 Elvira Valenzuela Crocker, In One Dream, Many Voices, A History of the Mexican American Women's National Association (San Antonio: Dagen Bela Graphics, Inc., 1991).

95 Arnoldo De León, The Tejano Community, 1836-1900 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1982): 195.

96 Lomas: 150.

97 Pichardo. He provides the names and dates of women's organizations. 34 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

98 On Chicanas and the YWCA in Chicago and Kansas, see Louise Año Nuevo Kerr, "Chicanas in the Great Depression," Between Borders 257 -268, and Richard Santillán, "Rosita the Riveter: Midwest Mexican American Women During World War II, 1941- 1945," Perspectives in Mexican American Studies 2 (1989): 115 -147. Año Nuevo Kerr writes on the Mother's Club and Santillán mentioned a group connected to the YWCA in Topeka, Kansas.

99 Sister María Igelias and Sister María Luz Hernández, "Hermanas," in Prophets Denied Honor, An Anthology on the Hispano Church of the United States, ed. Antonio M. Stevens Arroyo, C.P.(Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1980): 141 -142. See the entry on Hermanas in Gonzales' Hispanic American Voluntary Organizations. 91 -92. Their papers are now housed at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio. ioo Zamora mentions a female Woodmen of the World chapter in Kingsville, Texas, in 1910. Zamora: 15 -16. 101 Balderrama:39 -40; Ricardo Romo, East Los Angeles, History of a Barrio (Austin: Univer- sity of Texas, 1983): 153 -154; and Rosales:88. See also Teresa Palomo Acosta, "Cruz Azul Mexicana," New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996). oz Adelaida R. del Castillo, "Mexican Women in Organization," in Adelaida R. del Castillo and Magdelana Mora, Mexican Women in the United States (Los Angeles: Chicano Stud- ies Research Center Publication, UCLA, 1980). os Elizabeth Martínez, "Chingón Politics Die Hard: Reflections on the First Chicano Activ- ists Reunion," Z Magazine (April 1990):46 -50. 104 Marta Arguello, "Phallic Politics," La Gente (March /April 1984):5. La Gente is the UCLA Chicano newspaper. 105 Deena J. González, "Malinche as Lesbian: a Reconfiguration of 500 Years of Resistance," California Sociologist 14:1 -2 (Winter /Summer 1991):91 -97.

106 Dennis Medina Papers, BLAC.

107 Yvonne Yarbro- Bejarano, "Primer Encuentro de Lesbianas Feministas Latin -Americanos y Caribeñas," Third Woman 4 (1989):143 -146.

100 Intercambios Femeniles, A Publication of the National Network of Hispanic Women 6:2 (Winter 1994). This issue includes a list of contemporary associations and their addresses, contacts, mission /goals, initiatives, chapters, and membership information. BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CHICANO STUDIES, 1972 -1992

Gilberto García

Introduction The best -known works by Chicano Studies intellectuals have ignored the role of women as writers and scholars. In the early 1970s, women scholars in the National Association for Chicano Studies (NAOS) initiated the most significant chapter in the intellectual history of Mexican women in the United States. From images such as La Malinche, La Llorona, and the Virgin of Guadalupe to the images of LaAdelita and Las Soldaderas, contemporary Chicana scholars challenge the stereotypical images and the patriarchal interpretations of the roles of women. Recently, works written by women have challenged the male orientation of previous Chicano Studies research.' The following investigation is an examination of the research trends regarding women in NACS.2 This study utilizes the annual conference programs of NAOS to show the vital contribution that Chicanas have made to Chicano Studies scholarship from 1972 to 1992. The study also includes a bibliographical database, created by extracting the names of a core of women scholars in NAOS. The study traces the directions of Chicana scholarship and identifies the major areas of research. The analysis is completed with a discussion of selected Chicana scholarship produced by women in NAOS from 1972 to 1992. The essay begins with an assessment of the literature on the origins of Chicano Studies scholarship, the National Association for Chicano Studies, and the role of women in the association. The second part of the essay includes a discussion of the research methodology and the limitations of the data. The third section examines the data extracted from the annual conference programs of the association and discusses the results of the study. Finally, the study presents the 36 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

findings of the bibliographical database to illustrate the published record of women in NAOS.

Origins of Chicano Studies Scholarship and the Exclusion of Women Scholars Examinations of Chicano scholarship and the National Association for Chicano Studies tend to focus on the contributions of intellectual precursors and debates between Chicano scholars. For example, Carlos Muñoz discusses the emergence of Chicano Studies, Chicano intellectuals, and the search for a paradigm. Placing the discussion of Chicano Studies research in historical context, Muñoz recognizes the seminal work of George I. Sánchez, Julian Samora, Ernesto Galarza, and Américo Paredes. According to him, they established the basis for Chicano Studies, as well as a Chicano intellectual tradition in the United States. Chicano Studies programs in the late 1960s provided the first organizational base for Mexican American intellectuals in the United States. Muñoz identified three stages of intellectual development in the search for a Chicano Studies paradigm. In the first stage, the philosophical and political foundations of El Plan de Santa Barbara (1969) was a strong influence on Chicano intellectuals.' In the second stage, a new generation of scholars brought alternative method- ologies and perspectives to the field, and published in Chicano journals such as Aztlán and El Grito.4 Reacting to the dominant paradigm of traditional social science, Chicano scholars developed variants of the internal colonial models.' The third stage of development coincided with the foundation of the forerun- ner of NAGS. According to Muñoz, the ideas of Chicanismo or cultural nationalism, and internal colonialism were in decline among the founding scholars of NAGS. In the meantime, new perspectives influenced by Marxist political economy grew in popularity. Scholars in NAGS utilized competing paradigms: there were those works who viewed the experience of the Chicanos from a cultural /racial perspective, and others who incorporated a class analysis into the internal colony framework. Still others proposed a framework based on Marxist political economy. Muñoz concluded that Chicano scholars continued to build on the foundational work of a Chicano intellectual tradition of critical inquiry and advocacy.6 Hisauro Garza examined the beginnings of NAGS and its purpose, goals and objectives. His analysis of the early years provides interesting insights and BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 37

carries the discussion of issues raised in the work of Muñoz. Garza traces the stages of Chicano scholarship from the publication of El Grito to Aztlán, and concludes with the foundation of NAOS. While Garza provides some insights into the research trends of the association, his analysis remains incomplete. Garza concludes, on the basis of a content analysis of two NAGS conference programs, that changes in the focus and direction of scholarship have taken place. Citing the NAOS conferences of 1974 and 1986, he examines such data as the number of people attending the conference, the number of panels, the number of papers presented, and the length of conference programs.' The use of the above indicators does not provide evidence of the research trends in the association. In fact, the empirical evidence fails to substantiate the research directions of Chicano Studies scholarship. The primary weakness of Muñoz's and Garza's work is the total exclusion of women scholars in the evolution of Chicano Studies.'To hear the voices of women, one must review Cynthia Orozco's reports of previous annual conferences on the participation of women in NAOS. The basic theme of those reports illustrate the politics of gender in the association and the growing role of women scholars in the activities of NACS.9 There is discussion on the research presented by women in NAOS in these reports, however, there is no empirical evidence of the research trends of women within the broader context of the production of scholarship in the association. In a paper titled "A Brief History of Chicanas in the National Association for Chicano Studies, 1972 -1988," Orozco mentions names of women involved in NAOS, as well as some of the issues women raised in the history of the association. Nevertheless, the history of women in the association remains incomplete.10

Research Methodology The above studies provide the basis for understanding Chicano /a scholarship and the work of the association, however, there is still much to learn. The following investigation offers information on the role of women scholars in the association and their impact in the development of Chicano Studies. The analysis of women's scholarship in the National Association for Chicano Studies is based on information drawn from two sources. First, the investigator created a database from the programs of the annual conferences of the National Association for Chicano Studies from 1974 to 1992.11 38 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The database contains the complete titles of presentations made and is organized around several criteria: name, year, sex, type of presentation, and topic. The criterion of gender posed problems since the basis of verification rested on the name of the conference participant. There is, therefore, a possibility of error in the compilation of data, but it is most likely insignificant for the purposes of this study. Type of presentation reflects participation in different aspects of research: presenting papers, inclusion in panels, workshops, plenary sessions, special sessions, and serving as coordinators, chairpersons, moderators, discussants, and commentators. Based on personal observation, coordinators, moderators, and commentators essentially played the same role as chairpersons and discussants in the conference proceedings. "Topic" was the most problematic criterion in creating the database for this study. The titles of the presentations were placed under this heading. Titles were read carefully and placed under the following major bibliographical headings: Identity and Culture, Chicana Studies, Chicano Studies, Demographics, Economy and Labor, Education, Family, Fine Arts, Folklore, Health, History, Language, Law, Library Science, Literature, Media, Philosophy, Politics, Psy- chology, Research, Religion, Review of Books, Societal Issues, Theory, and U.S. - Mexico Studies.'2After organizing the data around major headings, the analysis focused on major sub -topics. For example, under the topic of politics, the author found major subdivisions such as political struggles and movements, public policy, international issues, ideology and political consciousness, political participation and representation, political organizing and organizations, local politics, etc. Assessing the trends of the research in the association required separating twosets of data. Each set indicates different aspects of research production. The set of data which includes chairpersons and discussants reflects the power relations within the association. This is especially true in reference to gender, though it may apply to rank (assisant professor, associate professor, professor, and graduate student). Paper and panel presentations constitute the second set of data, and represent the most important indicator of the directions of research in the association. Due to the exploratory character of the study, the conclusions drawn from the conference programs can offer only a tentative outline of the research trends. To gain additional insights into the character of NACS scholarship, a second set of data was extracted from the conference programs. A core of present- BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 39

ers was identified by using the names of those who participated three years or more in the association. From 1635 names, the study narrowed the core to a total of 276: 191 Chicanos and 85 Chicanas. A bibliography was compiled, which helped in assessing the directions of research in the association. The bibliography included dissertations, journal articles, chapters in books, monographs, and books. This second source of information helped to assess the impact of NACS women scholars in the development of Chicano Studies.

Women Scholars in NACS, 1972 -1992 Chicanas have been involved in the work of the association since its establishment. Women's participation has increased and now covers every aspect of the production of research in NACS. Some women participated in the planning meetings held in San Antonio, Texas (1972) and Las Vegas, New Mexico (1973). According to Muñoz, twenty eight men and eight women participated in the meeting held in New Mexico. Despite the gradual increase of women scholars, male scholars predominated in the association.In fact, from 1974 to 1992, 685 women participated in NACS. In contrast to this, 950 men participated during the same period. Thus, 42 percent of the scholars in NACS from 1974 to 1992 were female. The data in Table 1 shows the small number of Chicana scholars in the formative years of the association.13 The highest record of participation for women researchers in the 1970s occurred in 1979 (31 percent), but the overall participation of Chicanas was minimal. Conversely, Chicano researchers accounted for as much as 94.9 percent in 1975, and 82.8 percent in 1977. The predominance of male representatives was duplicated in other categories, including coordinators, chairpersons, and discussants. The lack of female representation in the conference proceedings became an important issue in 1975. In the business meeting, Chicanas raised the issue of fair and equal participation of women on panels as chairpersons, commentators, and presenters.l4 Several factors explain the small number of women scholars in the early years of the association. First, access to higher education has affected the educational progress of the total Chicano community. The high -drop out rates affecting Chicana and Chicano youth in the United States and the inadequate preparation of those who graduate impact the production of Ph.Ds. An examination of the core of women scholars in NACS revealed that only 11 Chicanas com- 40 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

pleted their dissertations between 1970 -1979. Thus, the small number of women scholars in the early years of the association is explained partially by the above factors. Another factor, though more difficult to verify, but articulated by women in NAGS, takes into account the sexist tendencies of male scholars in the association.15

Table 1 Chicana and Chicano Presenters NAOS Conferences Place YearFemaleMale Total

Irvine 1974 5 14 19

Austin 1975 2 32 34

Berkeley 1977 10 48 58

Claremont 1978 14 51 65

Colorado Springs 1979 21 52 73

Houston 1980 18 67 85

Riverside 1981 65 123 188

Tempe 1982 46 105 151

Ipsilanti 1983 53 117 170 Austin 1984 124 127 251

Sacramento 1985 110 164 274

El Paso 1986 94 131 225

Salt Lake City 1987 44 91 135

Boulder 1988 72 128 200

Los Angeles 1989 81 138 219

Albuquerque 1990 136 214 350

Hermosillo, Mex. 1991 85 106 191

San Antonio 1992 163 233 396

The 1976 program was not available BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 41

Chart 1 Male and Female Presenters in NACS, 1974 -1992 Participants 400 _ 350 - 300 - 250 - Female

200 - Male

150 - f Total 100 -

4 '74'75'77'78'79'80'81'8283'84'85'86'87'88'89 '90 '91'92 The chart includes the total number of participants, which includes paper and panel presenters, chairpersons, discussants, etc., for each conference. For each year, dupli- cations were excluded from the data. The conference program for 1976 was not available.

The conference programs in the decade of the 1980s recorded an increase of both Chicana and Chicano scholars (see Chart 1 for a graphic illustration of the growth of NACS). In 1981, women accounted for 34.6 percent of the total participants, signaling a new direction in the participation of women in NACS. In six conferences, women made up from 39 percent to 49 percent of the participants. While no other conference has rivaled the level of women's participation in 1984 (49 percent), the gap between male and female narrowed in the 1980s. The issue of fair and equal visibility for women participants as chairpersons and discussants came closer to resolution beginning with the convention held in Austin, Texas (1984). Subsequent conferences included higher visibility of women panelists as chairpersons or discussants. Except for the conventions held in Tempe, Arizona (1982), Ypsilanti, Michigan (1983), and Salt Lake City, Utah (1987), the gender percentage distributions for the 1980s were approximately 60 per cent male and 40 percent female. (For a graphic illustration of the convergence of male and female participation see Chart 2.) Internal and external factors explain the evolution and increase of women's participation in NACS. The multifaceted political struggle carried out by 42 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Chicanas partially explains the success of women scholars in the association. Characteristic of this struggle is the political mobilization of women scholars inside and outside of NACS. Within NACS, women organized panels which helped politicize women, and initiated dialogue on the roles and relationships of men and women in contemporary society. Women organized the Chicana

Chart 2 Male and Female Presenter by Percentage, 1974 -1992 loo 90 80 70 60 f Female 50 40 -0- Male 30 20

'74'75'77`78'79`80'81`82'83'84'85'86'87'88'89`90'91'92 Chart 2. In 1984, the theme of the conference specifically dealt with the issue of women. The annual conference program for 1976 was not available.

Caucus in 1983, and this has become an important vehicle for the concerns of women. Outside NACS, women scholars have promoted the scholarship of other women through the independent association of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS)26 The work of this association affected directly the character of NAGS. First, it increased the participation and growth of women scholars in NAGS. Additionally, it convinced established scholars and junior faculty to encourage the participation of women by mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.'' Mentoring of students istaking place through the recent work of the Summer Institute for Chicanas and elsewhere. Other factors which explain the increased visibility of women in NAGS include the Chicana Dissertation Fellowships offered by some Chicano Studies Programs!' An examination of the core of women scholars in NAGS revealed that 42 Chicanas completed dissertations between 1980 and 1992. Despite the institutional bar- BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 43

riers women confront, the commitment of Chicanas has contributed in advancing Chicano /a Studies Scholarship.

Women as Scholars and Writers,1974 -1992 The gradual growth of women's participation in NAOS is reflected in the research trends from 1974 to 1992. The pioneering work of early women scholars in NACS established the basic trends of research in Chicana scholarship. Chicana research in the 1970s clustered into four major areas of interest: Chicana Studies, Education, Literature, and Politics." Not surprisingly, in the 1970s NACS saw the emergence of gender- specific research conducted largely by Chicanas. Chicana Studies research attracted 36 percent of the women writers from 1974 to 1980. Most of the presentations focused on issues related to feminist perspectives and the plight of working - class Chicanas. Educational research examined bilingual education and language, higher education, and schooling. It accounted for 16 percent of the total women researchers in the same period. By 1977, the association broadened its research agenda to include the work of scholars in the humanities. This coincided with the association's name change from the National Association of Chicano Social Scientists to the National As- sociation for Chicano Studies. Literature became a central research focus for women scholars, and accounted for 10 percent of the women presenters in the same period. Chicana literary critics examined the poetry and literature of writ - Chart 3 Chicana Scholarship in NAOS, 1974 -1980 Other 29%

Politics 9%

Literature Chicana 10% Studies 36%

Note. The "other" category Education includes a diverse cluster of research 16% themes with no specific major tendency. 44 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ers like Genaro González and Genaro Padilla, as well as works such as Peregrinos deAztlán (Méndez) and Generaciones y Semblanzas (Hinojosa). Politics, though not clearly defined, was the focus of nine percent of women presenters. Women focused on topics dealing with the impact of organizations in public policy, local politics, and Chicano Movement struggles. The classification "other" accounted for 29 per cent of the total research, and did not indicate a specific research tendency.20 (Percentages were rounded off, See Chart 3) The four areas of research which attracted women scholars in the 1970s continued to command the attention of Chicanas in the 1980s. Accordingly, 33 percent contributed to the broad field of Chicana Studies; 14 percent concentrated in the field of literature; eight percent focused on the topic of politics, and eight percent worked in the area of education.

Chart 4 Chicana Scholarship in NACS, 1981 -1992

Other Econ /Labor History U.S.- Mexico Family Health Education Politics Literature Chicana Studies

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Other areas of interest included Health (four percent); Family (four percent); U.S.- Mexico (three percent); History (three percent); and Economy and Labor (three percent). The cluster of undefined research themes in the 1980s dropped to 26 percent. (Percentages were rounded off, see Chart 4).21 A closer examination revealed that Chicana Studies attracted women to the topic of feminism and its relationship to the study of the Chicano /a experience. Women scholars reassessed interpretations of contemporary society and redefined the direction of Chicano Studies research. The titles of the presentations BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 45

reflected women's interest in examining the interconnections of race, class, and gender. Women also applied gender -specific analyses to other fields of research. The growing interest in literature attracted Chicanas to topics such as female characters, images and stereotypes, oppression and resistance, and the defini- tion of Chicana Literature. Women scholars also studied gender issues relating to U.S.- Mexico border studies, women and immigration, and the struggles of undocumented women workers. Family issues attracted more women in the 1980s compared to the 1970s, as Chicanas investigated the changing family structure, which included the division of household labor, sex roles, and sociocultural aspects of the family. Chicana historians wrote about the lives of 19th century women in New Mexico, California, and Texas from a socio- historical perspective. Others recorded the activist role of women in Chicano organizations from the early 1900s to the 1940s. The topics of Economy and Labor drew the attention of women interested in themes such as Chicana labor experiences, labor militancy, domestic labor, unemployment, and the economic impact of poverty. Women explored several other research themes, but the percentages were not significant." Chicanas explored many other fields with no apparent focus on gender as part of the research agenda. The directions of Chicana research indicated the expansion of scholarship into various fields of interest, including, literature, politics, and education. Participation in the field of literature increased during the 1980s. Chicano literary criticism attracted large numbers of women scholars who accounted for most of the presenters in Chicano Literature. The original works of women writers such as Estela Portillo Trambley's Day of the Swal- lows and Sor Juana attracted literary critics in NAGS. Also, women studied the writings of Sandra Cisneros, Cherrie Moraga, and Gina Valdez. Others examined the work of Angela de Hoyos, Evangelina Vigil, Denise Chávez, Bernice Zamora, Ana Castillo, Alma Villanueva, and Gloria Anzaldúa. Similarly, literary critics engaged their craft in the examination of male writers such as Tomás Rivera, Miguel Méndez, Rolando Hinojosa- Smith, Rudolfo Anaya, Ron Arías, Carlos Morton, and others. Several women's presentations reflected themes rather than specific mention of a particular work or writer. Those papers examined issues and directions in Chicano literary criticism, as well as the explora- tion of social and cultural themes in Chicano Literature. Themes included ur- 46 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

banization, social change, language, folklore, and the psyche. Chicanas also examined the literature of regions such as Texas and the Midwest. As Chicano Literature found a niche in a predominantly social science association, Chicana writers introduced the creative aspect of literature. Twenty- eight percent of women presenters in Chicano Literature read their prose and poetry at the annual conferences between 1981 to 1992. Thus, some of the Chicana writers who established trends presented their works in NACS: Gloria Anzaldúa, Lorna Dee Cervántez, Ana Castillo, Helen Viramontes, Sandra Cisneros, Evangelina Vigil, Bernice Zamora, Marihelen Ponce, and many more.23 Women researchers investigated the political experience of the Chicano community and examined the sub -topics of local politics, political organizations, public policy, international issues, political participation and representation, political struggles and movements, ideology and political consciousness. The sub -topic of political struggles and movements attracted significant numbers of Chicana scholars to such themes as the examination of student activism, the politics of English -Only initiatives, the politics of the 1990s, and regional struggles of communities in New Mexico. As to other sub -topics, women were evenly distributed in the number of presentations. Chicanas examined the politics of bilingual education and local governance, the politics of specific communities in the Midwest (Chicago), Texas (El Paso), California ( Huntington Park), and Southern Colorado. Women researchers explored political organizations from mutual-aid societies, to Alinsky -style organizations, professional associations, and contemporary community organizations such as the United Neighborhood Organization, and the National Coun- cil of La Raza. In the area of political participation and representation, Chicanas contributed to the discussion of the struggle of the Chicano communities and re- apportionment issues in Michigan, Illinois, and California. Public policy in the areas of immigration, education, and the legislative process also caught the attention of Chicana scholars. The international context became an area of interest for women concerned with developments in Latin America: for instance, the role of Chicano scholars in Central American conflicts, political asylum, and the role of Chicanos in United States policies in Latin America. Finally, women investigated the topic of ideology and political consciousness by focusing on the following themes: empowerment and critical consciousness, social identity and political consciousness, race and class consciousness as well BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 47

as Liberation Theology.24 Chicana scholars researched the field of education during the 1980s, giving specific attention to the problem of Chicano access to higher education. Pre- sentations explored issues of recruitment, admissions, retention, and under - representation in the sciences and graduate school. Presentations focused on the problem of drop -outs, achievement testing, academic preparation, and motivation. Accordingly, Chicana scholars presented case studies of alternative programs in response to the issue of school failure, and women continued to study the issue of bilingual education and the Chicano community.25 Women contributed to the discussion and analysis of health issues, U.S. - Mexico studies, family studies, history, labor, and economy. Presentations in the field of health focused on the AIDS epidemic and its impact in the Chicano community. Other presentations examined a variety of issues related to health- care problems affecting Chicano /as community: mental health, infant health care, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, dental care, and alcohol and substance abuse. In U.S.- Mexico studies, women scholars researched policy issues defined by the growing importance of the border in the economic relations between the United States and Mexico, the issue of immigration policy, the cultural and political implications of undocumented workers both for Mexico and the United States. During the 1980s, Chicanas drew attention to the importance of the family. A significant amount of work focused on the nature and dynamics of the family, including discussion on egalitarianism, extended families, familism, heads of households in relation to higher education, poverty, aging, child -rearing attitudes, and violence. Chicana historians explored different aspects of the Chicano experience, with special interest in the subfield of oral history. Covering various periods, women scholars investigated the history of Chicano communities and the historical experience of Chicanos in labor unions and organizations.Fi- nally, in the area of labor and economy, women scholars continued to conduct research on issues of unionism and labor strikes, mostly in California. This was complemented by some researchers exploring economic issues such as the impact of mechanization, mill closings, and labor market changes on the Chicano community.26 By the end of the 1980s, Chicana scholarship had matured, extending into 48 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

fields previously unexplored in Chicano Studies. Chicana intellectual curiosity was not limited to thetopics discussed above.In fact, women investigated themes related to other social and cultural issues, library science, Chicano Stud- ies, fine arts, psychology, the media, and research problems, to name a few.'

Women in NACS: The Published Record, 1972 -1992 The research trends presented in the previous pages are illustrated with an analysis of dissertations completed by Chicana and Chicano scholars. With the aid of the Dissertation Abstracts database, the author found that 198 of the 276 NACS core scholars completed dissertations between 1972 and 1992. The social sciences dominated, but the field of literature has significantly impacted the character of the scholarship in the association. This change occurred beginning in the late 1970s, but was most notable in the decade of the 1980s. The small core of women scholars between 1974 -1979 reflected a social science orientation. However, some women in literature participated in the association in those years. The high percentage of women scholars focusing on issues of gender (Chicana Studies) is not explained by their dissertation topics. While some of the NACS women scholars' dissertations focused on issues of gender, most examined general topics. Thus, it appears Chicanas began examining gender issues in their post -doctoral research. In the second period, from 1980 -1992, the core of women scholars continued to increase in the social sciences. However, reflecting the general trends of the association, Chicanas in literature challenged the dominance of sociology and other disciplines in the social sciences. In order to assess the impact of women's scholarship in the association, and, by extension, the development of Chicano Studies itself, the author compiled a bibliography drawing information- albeit indirectly -on the directions of research in the association. The bibliography includes journal articles, books, and chapters in books." To gauge the impact of Chicana/o scholarship, the bibliographical search uncovered 1,076 chapters in books, journal, and proceedings articles. Of the 1,076 citations, 770 were published by Chicanos, while 306 were published by Chicanas. Of the total number of Chicana /o core scholars, 66 percent of the scholars published in some format or a combination of formats, while 34 percent of the core group of NACS scholars had not published. Examining the published record on the basis of gender, there is a higher percentage of pub- BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NAGS 49

lished male scholars (72 percent) compared to published female scholars (28 percent). NAGS scholars published 87 percent of their work in journals, special anthologies, and mainstream journals. The remainder of the citations were located in the proceedings of the association, ethnic studies journals, feminist journals, and Latin American/U.S.- Mexico journals. Chicano scholars fared better than Chicanas in the publication of their research in recognized mainstream journals, though the journals accepted for publication a high percentage of book reviews (68 percent). Still, Chicano and Chicana scholars published the bulk of their work in Chicano Studies journals and special anthologies. Table 2 NAGS Scholars Publications by Type and Gender Male Female Total

Anthologies 227 100 327

Chicano Studies 311 93 404

Ethnic Studies 22 6 28

Feminist 4 33 37

Latin American 26 6 32

Mainstream 132 45 177

NAGS Proceedings 48 23 71

Reviews 148 21 169

Chicanos outnumbered Chicanas in the publication of their research in the proceedings of the association. Chicano scholars fared better than women in publishing their work in Ethnic Studies journals and in Latin American Stud - ies/U.S.- Mexico Studies journals; women scholars were more successful in feminist journals (See Table 2). Thus, while the number of Chicana scholars in the association has increased, Chicanos continue to fare better in the publication of their research. This does not mean women scholars have not produced important works -they have -in fact these works have shifted the discussion from race, class and culture paradigms to the discussion of gender -specific paradigms in Chicano Studies. 50 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The pioneering work of women in NAGS, and the recent publications by the core of women in NAGS challenge the previous male- dominated research in Chicano Studies. A small group of Chicana scholars participated in the early years of the association. Irene Blea has referred to them as "the first generation" of Chicana scholars in NAGS.9 While some had brief encounters in the association, others continued to present their research at the annual conferences. Several contributed to the development of Chicano Studies scholarship. In the last twenty years, women scholars in NAGS produced major studies that contributed to the development of a multidisciplinary Chicana Studies scholarship. The body of literature has been enriched through the publication of monographs in sociology, language, history, anthropology, and literature. Contributions from other fields have been made, but, they are limited to journal articles. The first generation of NAGS women scholars included Irene Blea, Rosaura Sánchez, and Margarita Melville.30 Irene Blea contributed to the discussion and debate surrounding the creation of a Chicano Social Science. Her publications include Bessemer: A Sociological Perspective ofa Chicano Barrio, Toward a Chicano Social Science, and La Chicana and the Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender.31 Any discussion on the development of Chicana Studies scholarship must consider Rosaura Sánchez's anthology titled Essays on La Mujer. The anthology stands out as the first reader utilizing a materialist perspective on the experience of Chicanas in the United States.32 However, Sanchez's strength and contribution was in the field of language where she explored the diverse linguistic experience of Chicanos in the Southwest.33 In her more recent work, Sánchez has explored themes such as post modernism, subjectivity, and ideological discourses in Chicano Literature.34 Other women scholars from the first generation such as Margarita Melville examined the Chicano experience from a different angle. Melville's Twice a Minority: Mexican American Women conceptualized the experience of Chicanas in a more traditional perspective grounded in anthropology. The work is divided into three sections:matresence (motherhood), gender roles, and cultural conflict.35 Sanchez's and Melville's anthologies offered Chicanas and Chicanos the base for scholarly debate that would mature in the decade of the 1980s. In fact, Melville produced a second anthology, shifting her analysis to recent economic developments affecting women in the labor force. In this anthology, titled, Mexicanas at Work in the United States, Chicanas involved in BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 51

NAGS contributed studies focusing on various aspects of the Chicana experience.36 There are many more first- generation Chicana NAGS scholars who have yet to make a book -length contribution to the field of Chicana Studies. They are Adaljiza Sosa Riddell (Political Science),37Christine Sierra (Political Science),38 Linda Apodaca (Comparative Culture),39 and Lea Ybarra (Sociology).40 Chicana Studies scholarship matured and expanded in the1980s.Scholars in folklore, literature, and history published significant works examining the cultural, literary, and economic experience of Chicanas. The core of women scholars increased, and included newcomers such as María Herrera -Sobek, Yolanda Broyles, Cordelia Candelaria, Tey Diana Rebolledo, Norma Cantú, Erlinda González- Berry, Linda Fregoso, Vicky Ruiz, and Patricia Zavella. Docu- menting the experience of Chicana and Chicano folklore, Herrera -Sobek's The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis, and Northward Bound: The Mexican Im- migrant Experience in Ballad and Song represent important works in the study of Chicano culture.41 However, Herrera -Sobek's work titled Beyond Stereotypes: The Critical Analysis of Chicano Literature, and Chicana Creativity and Criticism: Charting New Frontiers in American Literature expanded into the field of Chicana literature.42 Chicana scholars in the1980srevitalized Chicano Studies scholarship, and Chicana and Chicano literature played a significant role in the new directions of scholarship. Chicanas in literature produced significant monographs, anthologies, and many journal articles covering different aspects of the literary experience. However, one must mention the early work of Angie Chabram and Clara Lomas in the1970s.While they have not contributed with a book yet, their work in literary criticism matured in the 1980s.43 Developing and expanding feminist interpretations in Chicana literature, Tey Diana Rebolledo has contributed to the body of work in the field. For example, in Las Mujeres Hablan: An Anthology of Nuevo Mejicana Writers, and Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature, Rebolledo, in collaboration with other Chicana scholars, documented the complex and diverse experiences of women through their writings.44In addition, she has published many journal articles on the literary experience of Chicanas.45 Other contributions to the field include the work of Erlinda González Berry, Cordelia Candelaria, Norma Cantil, and Yolanda Broyles- González.46 Recently, Norma Cantú contributed with Canicula: Snapshots ofa Girlhood en la Frontera.47 Yolanda Broyles -González documented and explored the role of women in Chicano theatre in her work 52 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

titled El Teatro Campesino: Theatre in the Chicano Movement.48 In the 1980s Cordelia Candelaria joined the growing number of Chicanas in NAOS through her work in literature. Candelaria was the editor of the 1980 Frontiers special issue titled "Chicanas in the National Landscape" as well as the co- editor of the 1990 Frontiers special issue, "Las Chicanas." She was on the editorial committee responsible for the 1988 and 1989 NAOS proceedings.49 Vicky L. Ruiz's Cannery Women, Cannery Lives: Mexican Women Unioniza- tion, and the California Food Processing Industry, 1930 -1950 signaled a new direction in Chicana Studies scholarship by focusing specifically on the interconnections of work, culture, gender, and the organizational history of Chicana militancy in labor unions.50 Another significant aspect of Ruiz's research is the building of a bridge between Chicanas and other feminists. This is illustrated in the various anthologies produced in collaboration with other women, for example, Women on the U.S.- Mexico Border: Responses to Change, Western Women: Their Lands, Their Lives, and Unequal Sisters: A Multi -Cultural Reader in U.S. Women's History.51 More recently, Rosa Linda Fregoso's work titled The Bronze Screen: Chicano and Chicana Film Culture contributed to the discussion of Chicanos and Chicanas in films.52 In the field of anthropology, Patricia Zavella contributed with Women's Work and Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley.53 There are many more Chicana scholars who emerged in the 1980s who have yet to make a book -length contribution to Chicana Scholarship. These women represent various disciplines such as sociology, social work, history, economics, psychology, and literature. Many have published articles and among those Chicana scholars the list includes Denise Segura (Sociology),54 Mary Romero (Sociology),55 Alma García Marsh (Sociology)," Teresa Córdova (So- cial Work),57 Linda Facio (Social Work),58 Antonia I. Castañeda (History)," Cynthia Orozco (History),(° Deena J. González (History),61 Adela de la Torre (Economics),62 Aida Hurtado (Psychology),' Sylvia S. Lisarraga (Literature)," Yvonne Yarbro- Bejarano (Literature),65 and Norma Alarcón (Literature)."

Conclusion Despite the progressive stance of the association, NAOS scholars have traditionally ingnored the important contributions of women. The review of the literature on the origins of Chicano Studies illustrates the total exclusion of BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 53

women's contributions in the production of research. While there has been a gradual increase in the number of women scholars, male scholars predominate in the association. During the first decade, the poor visibility of women scholars in every field was a common feature of NAOS conferences. The 1980s witnessed an increase of both Chicana and Chicano scholars. The large participation of women scholars in 1984 in Austin, Texas, highlighted the changes in the association, and by the 1990s the gap had narrowed between male and female participants. The multifaceted political struggle carried out by Chicanas partially explains the success of women scholars in the association. In the 1970s, Chicana research clustered into four major areas of interest: Chicana Studies, Education, Literature, and Politics. Chicana scholars continued to develop the above research areas in the 1980s, though gender- specific themes predominated among women's research in NAOS. Even though Chicana scholars do not fare as well as Chicano scholars in the publication of their research, in the last decade, Chicanas have contributed a body of literature that challenges the male- dominated research and patriarchal tendencies of Chicano Studies.Chicana scholarship has been a dynamic force in the evolution of Chicano Studies, and will continue to exert influence in the future direction of the discipline.

NOTES For an example of recent scholarship challenging male perspectives in Chicano Studies, see Teresa Córdova et al, eds, Chicana Voices: Intersections of Class, Race, and Gender edited by Teresa Córdova, Norma Cantú, Gilberto Cárdenas, Juan García, and Christine M. Sierra. (Austin: Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Texas, 1986); Adelaida R. del Castillo, ed, Between Borders: Essays on Mexicana /Chicana History (Encino, CA: Floricanto Press, 1990); Elizabeth Salas, Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990). Chicana scholars critiqued the perceptions of male scholars who could not see women as writers or thinkers. See Norma Cantó, "Women, Then and Now: An Anaylysis of the Adelita Image versus the Chicana as Political Writer and Philosopher." InChicana Voices: Intersections of Class, Race, and Gender, eds., Teresa Córdova et. al. (Austin: Center for Mexican American Studies, Uni- versity of Texas, 1986), 8 -10.

2 Preliminary findings of this study were presented at various conferences of the National Association for Chicano Studies, see Gilbert García, "Research Trends and Future Direc- 54 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

rions in NACS, 1974- 1987," presented at the XVI National Association for Chicano Studies Conference, April 1988, at Boulder, Colorado; Gilbert García, "Chicana Schol- ars and the National Association for Chicano Studies: Research Trends and Future Direc- tions, 1974- 1988,"presented at the XVII National Association for Chicano Studies Conference, March 1989, at Los Angeles, California; Gilbert García, "Twenty Years of Chicano Studies Scholarship: The National Association for Chicano Studies, 1972- 1992," presented at the XX National Association for Chicano Studies Conference, March 1992 at San Antonio, Texas. For a recent discussion of El Plan de Santa Barbara'and Chicano Studies programs in the 1980s,see Alfredo González and David Sandoval, comps., A Symposium on Chicano Studies. Proceedings of the National Association for Chicano Studies, Southern Califor- nia FOCO, Regional Conference, February 1986 and March 1987 (Loyola -Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, 1987); Rene Nuñez and Raoul Contreras. "Prin- ciples and Foundations of Chicano Studies: Chicano Organization on University Cam- puses in California," in Chicano Discourse: Selected Conference Proceedings of the National Association for Chicano Studies, edited by Tatcho Mindiola, Jr., and Emilio Zamora (Hous- ton, TX: Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston, 1990), 32 -39.

4 For a discussion on the intellectual and philosophical foundations of El Grito, see Rich- ard A. García, "Creating a Consciousness, Memories, and Expectations: The Burden of Ocatavio Romano," in Chicano Discourse: Selected Conference Proceedings of the National Association for Chicano Studies, 6 -31.

5 Tomas Almaguer, "Toward the Study of Chicano Colonialism." Aztlán 2 (Spring 1971): 7 -20; Mario Barrera, Carlos Muñoz, and Charles Ornelas, "The Barrio as an Internal Colony," in People and Politics in Urban Society, edited by Harlan Hahn (Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 1972), 465 -498; Guillermo V. Flores, "Race and Culture in the Inter- nal Colony: Keeping the Chicano in his Place,"in Structures of Dependency, edited by Frank Bonilla and Robert Girling (Stanford: Institute of Political Studies 1973), 189- 223.

6 Carlos Muñoz. Youth Identity and Power: The Chicano Movement (New York: Verso, 1989). Hisauro Garza, "Origins and Evolution of an Alternative Scholarship and Scholarly Or- ganizations," in Chicano Discourse: Selected Conference Proceedings of the National Associa- tion for Chicano Studies, 40 -50 In his dissertation, Garza interviewed several Chicano scholars, no female scholar was included in the study. See Hisauro Garza. "Nationalism, Consciousness and Social Change: Chicano Intellectuals in the United States,"Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1984.

8 Women are mentioned in the work of Muñoz, but, it is limited to the Anna Nieto Gómez story at Northridge, California. 9 Cynthia Orozco, "The Struggle for Chicana Studies," La Gente May 1983; Cynthia Orozco, "Digo Yo Como Mujer. Recollection of Past NACS Conferences," La Gente, March -April, BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 55

1984; Cynthia Orozco et al, "Voces de la Mujer. A Report of the 1984 NACS Confer- ence," La Gente, April -May 1984.

10 Cynthia Orozco, "A Brief History of Chicanas in the National Association for Chicano Studies, 1972- 1988," presented at the XVII National Association for Chicano Studies Conference, March 1989, at Los Angeles, California. The conference program for 1976 was not available.

12 The bibliographical headings selected for this database were adapted from Juan Gómez- Quiñones and Alberto Camarillo, Selected Bibliography for Chicano Studies (Los Angeles: Chicano Studies Center Publications, UCLA,1975); Albert Camarillo. Mexican Ameri- cans in Urban Society: A Selected Bibliography (Berkeley, California: Floricanto Press, 1988).

13 This total was obtained by adding all the recorded participants in the conference programs from 1974 to 1992. While the 1976 conference participants are not included, the total number is not significantly affected. Conferences in the 1970s tended to be smaller than in the 1980s.

14 Reynaldo Macias, Perspectivas en Chicano Studies (Los Angeles, CA: Chicano Studies Center Publications, UCLA, 1977), 253.

15 See A History of Chicanas in NACS. (San Antonio, Texas: Free Enterprise Video Producations, 1990). Video Recording. Several NACS women scholars articulated the sexist tendencies in the association.

16 Cynthia Orozco, "A Brief History of Chicanas in the National Association for Chicano Studies, 1972 -1988."

17 At one session during the Los Angeles NACS conference all the presenters in the panels were undergraduate students. In the 1995 Annual NACS conference held in Spokane, Washington, students were on many panels.

18 The Chicano Studies Program of the University of California at Santa Barbara is an example of the kind of programs committed to Chicanas in higher education. Many Chicanas have benefited from the Chicana Dissertation Fellowships. 19 The clusters of research areas were obtained by placing the papers into themes such as Chicana Studies, Education, etc.

20 The percentages were obtained from a total of 58 entries. During the same decade, the research trends for male scholars were dominated by the topics of politics, history, economy and labor, and education. From 202 presentations, only three male presentations had a gender -specific focus. 21 The percentages were obtained from a total of 800 entries. 22 There were 287 entries in the Chicana Studies cluster, by far the most significant area of research. 56 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

23 Literature was the second largest cluster with 123 entries. 24 The research cluster of politics included 70 entries.

25 Educational research was fourth in magnitude with 56 entries

26 The number of entries for the themes discussed in this section are as follows: Health: 28; Family: 26: U.S.- Mexico: 22: History: 21: Economy and Labor: 20.

27 This particular cluster included 151 entries.

28 The bibliography was created with the use of various indexes. However, the study used the Chicano Database on CD -ROM Other useful resources include the following references; Catherine Loeb, "La Chicana: A Bibliographic Survey," Frontiers 5,2 (Summer 1980): 59 -74; Lillian Castillo- Speed, "Chicana Studies: A Selected List of Materials since 1980," Frontiers 11,1 (1990): 66 -84.

29 See Irene Blea, La Chicana and the Intersection of Race and Class and Gender (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1992). Within NACS, some Chicanas have participated as presenters since the 1970s, while others joined the association in the 1980s. I refer to the first group as part of the "first generation" rather than the whole group of Chicana scholars in NACS. 30 These scholars are part of the core of women in NAOS with a relative high number of years presenting in the association as well as part of the first group of scholars in the 1970s.

31 Irene Blea. Bessemer: A Sociological Perspective ofa Chicano Barrio. New York: ANIS, 1988; Irene I. Blea. Toward a Chicano Social Science. Westport, CN: Praeger, 1988; Irene I. Blea. La Chicana and the Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1992.

32 Rosaura Sánchez and Rosa Martínez Cruz. Essays on la Mujer. Chicano Studies Center Publications, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977.

33 For examples of her work in language see Chicano Discourse: Socio- Historic Perspectives (Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, Inc., 1983), and many articles focusing on language, for example see Aztlán, Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1976. 34 For examples of her more recent work see, Rosaura Sánchez. "Discourses of Gender, Ethnicity and Class in Chicano Literature," Americas Review 20:2 (Summer 1992):72- 86; Rosaura Sánchez. "Ideological Discourses in Arturo Islas's The Rain God," in Criti- cism in the Borderlands: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture and Ideology. Edited by Hector Calderon, Jose David Saldivar, and Rolando Hinojosa (Durham, NC: Duke Uni- versity Press, 1991), 114 -126; Rosaura Sánchez. "Postmodernism and Chicano Litera- ture" Aztlán 18:2 (Fall 1987), 1 -14.

35 Margarita B. Melville, ed., Twice a Minority: Mexican American Women (The C. V. Mosby Company, 1980). BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 57

36 See Margarita Melville, ed, Mexicanas at Work in the United States (Houston, Texas: Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston, 1986).

37 See Adaljiza Sosa Riddell. "Chicanas and El Movimiento" Aztlán 5:1 -2 (Spring -Fall 1974): 155 -165; Adaljiza Sosa -Riddell and Robert Aguallo, Jr., "A Case of Chicano Politics: Parlier, California," Aztlaín 9 (Spring & Fall 1978): 1 -22.

38 Christine M. Sierra., "The University Setting Reinforces Inequality," In Chicana Voices: Intersections of Class, Race and Gender, 5 -7; Christine M . Sierra, "Chicano Politics After 1984," In Times of Challenge: Chicanos and Chicanas in American Society, edited by Juan R. García, Julia Curry Rodíiguez, Clara Lomas (Mexican American Studies Program, Houston, Texas, 1986), 7 -24.

39 Maria Linda Apodaca, "The Chicana Women: An Historical Materialist Perspective," Latin American Perspectives 4 (1977):70 -89; Maria Linda Apodaca, "A Double Edge Sword: Hispanas and Liberal Feminism," Crítica 1 (Fall 1986): 96 -114.

40 Lea Ybarra, "Empirical and Theoretical Developments in Studies of the Chicano Fam- ily," in The State of Chicano Research in Family, Labor and Migration Studies, edited by Armando Valdez, Albert Camarillo, and Tomás Almaguer (Stanford, CA: Stanford Cen- ter for Chicano Reserch,1983), 91 -110; Lea Ybarra, "Separating Myth from Reality: Socio- Economic and Cultural Influences on Chicanas and the World of Work," in Mexicanas at Work in the United States, edited by Margarita B. Melville (Houston, TX: Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston, 1988), 12 -23; Lea Ybarra, "When Wives Work: The Impact on the Chicano Family," Journal of Marriage and the Family 44 (February 1982):169 -78.

41 See María Herrera -Sobek, The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis (Bloomington: Indi- ana University Press, 1993, c1990); María Herrera -Sobek, Northweard Bound: The Mexican Immigrant Experience in Ballad and Song (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993). 42 See Maria Herrera -Sobek, Beyond Stereotype: The Critical Analysis of Chicana Literature (Binghamton, NY: Bilingual Press /Editorial Bilingüe,1985); María Herrera -Sobek and Helena María Viramontes, Chicana Creativity and Criticsm: Charting New Frontiers in American Literature (Houston, Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1988).

43 See Angie Chabram, "Chicana/o Cultural Representations: Reframing Alternative Criti- cal Discourses," Cultural Studies 4:3 (1990): 203 -212; Angie Chabram, "Chicana /o Studies as Oppositional Ethnography," Cultural Studies 4:3 (1990):238 -47; Angie Chabram, "Chicano Critical Discourse: An Emerging Cultural Practice," Aztldn 18,2 (1987): 45- 90; Angie Chabram, "Conceptualizing Chicano Critical Discourse," in Criticism in the Borderlands (Duke University Press,1991),125 -148. See Clara Lomas, "Resistencia cultural o apropriación ideologica: en los cuadros costumbristas de Jorge Ulica," Revista Chicano- Riqueña 6: 4 (1978): 44 -49; Clara Lomas and Angie Chabram. La consciencia culturalista chicana: el caso del escritor Generao González," La Palabra 1: 2 (1979): 3 -15; Clara Lomas. "Mexican Precursors of Chicana Feminist Writing," in Multiethnic Litera- 58 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ture of the United States: Critical Introduction and Classroom Resources, ed., Cordelia Candelaria (Boulder: University of Colorado, 1989), 21 -33. 44 See Tey Diana Rebolledo, Erlinda González Berry, and Teresa Marquez, eds, Las Mujeres Hablan: An Anthology of Nuevo Mejiana Writers (Albuquerque: El Norte Publications, 1988); Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero, Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1993). 45 Of Rebolledo's many articles, see, "The Bittersweet Nostalgia of Childhood in the Poetry of Margarita Cota Cardenas," Frontiers 5 :2 (1980): 31 -35; "Witches, Bitches and Mid- wives: The Shaping of Poetic Consciousness in Chicana Literature," in The Chicano Struggle: Analyses of Past and Present Efforts, eds, John A. García, Theresa Córdova, Juan R. García (New York: Bilingual Press, 1984), 166 -177; and "Narrative Strategies of Resistance in Hispana Writing," Journal of Narrative Technique 20:2 (1990): 134 -146. 46 See, Tey Diana Rebolledo, Erlinda González Berry, and Teresa Márquez, eds., Las Mujeres Hablan, Erlinda González -Berry. ed., Paso por Aqui: Critical Essays on the New Mexican Literary Tradition, 1542 -1988 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989); Cordelia Candelaria, Chicano Poetry: A Critical Introduction (Westport, Conn: Green- wood Press, 1986); Cordelia Candelaria and Ronald Sukenick, eds., "Focus Chicana/o Literatture," Section of American Book Review 11, 6 (January- February 1990).

47 See Norma Cantú. Canicula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera (Albuquerque: Uni- versity of New Mexico Press, 1995); Norma Cantú. "Costume as Cultural Resistance and Affirmation: The Case of a South Texas Community," in Hecho en Tejas: Texas - Mexican Folk Arts and Crafts, ed, Joe S. Graham (Denton: University of Texas Press, 1991), 117 -130; Norma Cantd. "The Mexican -American Quilting Traditions of Laredo, San Ignacio and Zapata." In Hecho en Tejas, 77 -92. 48 See, Yolanda Broyles- González. El Teatro Campesino: Theatre in the Chicano Movement (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994); Yolanda J. Broyles. "Women in El Teatro Campesino: 'Apoco Estaba Molacha La Virgen de Guadalupe." In Chicana Voices: Inter- sections of Class, Race, and Gender, eds, Teresa Córdova et. al. (Austin: Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Texas, 1986), 162 -187; Yolanda Broyles, "What Price `Mainstream'? Luis Valdez's Corridos on Stage and Film," Cultural Studies 4:3 (1990): 281 -293; Yolanda Broyles and Diana Rodriguez, "The Living Legacy of Chicana Peformers: Preserving History Through Oral Testimony," Frontiers 11,1 (1990): 46 -52. 49 See Candelaria, Chicano Poetry: A Critical Introduction; Candelaria and Sukenick, eds., "Focus Chicana /o Literature." In collaboration with Mary Romero, Candelaria was the co- editor of Estudios Chicanos and the Politics of Community (Houston, Texas: Mexican American Studies Center Program, 1989); and Community Empowerment and Chicano Scholarship (National Association for Chicano Studies, 1992); Cordelia Candelaria. "La Malinche, Feminist Prototype," Frontiers 5:2 (1980): 1 -6;Cordelia Candelaria, "Rudy Anaya." in Chicano Writers, First Series (Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1989), 24 -35. BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 59

50 See Vicky L. Ruiz, Cannery Women, Cannery Lives: Mexican Women, Unionization, and the California Food Processing Industry, 1930 -1950 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1987).

51 See Vicky L. Ruiz and Susan Tiana,Women on the U.S.- Mexico Border: Responses To Change (Boston: Allen and Unwing, 1987); Lillian Schlissel, Vicky L. Ruiz and Janice Monk, Western Women: Their Lands, Their Lives (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1988); Ellen Carol Dubois and Vicky L. Ruiz, Unequal Sisters: A Multi- Cultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (New York: Routledge, 1990).

52 See Rosa Linda Fregoso, The Bronze Screen: Chicano and Chicana Film Culture (Minne- apolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993); Rosa Linda Fregoso, "La Quinceañera of Chicana Counter Aesthetics," Centro Bulletin 3:1(1990 -91): 87 -91; Rosa Linda Fregoso, "The Discourse of Difference: Footnoting Inequality," Critica 2:2 (1990): 182 -87; Rosa Linda Fregoso and Angie Chabram, "Introduction: Re- framing Alternative Critical Dis- course." Cultural Studies 4,3 (1990): 203 -212; Rosa Linda Fregoso, "Zoot Suit and the Ballad of Gregorio Cortez." Critica 1(1985):126 -131; Rosa Linda Fregoso, "Seguin: The Same Side of the Alamo," Bilingual Review 10, 2 -3 (1983): 146 -152.

53 See, Patricia Zavella. Women's Work and Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1987). i4 Denise Segura and Beatriz M. Pesquera, "Beyond Indifference and Antipathy: The Chicana Movement and Chicana Feminist Discourse." Aztlán19:2 (1990); Denise Segura, "Chicana and Mexican Immigrant Women at Work: The Impact of Class, Race and Gender on Occupational Mobility." Gender and Society 3:1 (1989):37 -52; Denise Segura, "The Interplay of Familism and Patriarchy on the Empoylment of Chicana and Mexican Immigrant Women," in The Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph 5 (Tucson: Mexi- can American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1989, 35 -53. 55 Mary Romero, "Domestic Service in the Transition from Rural to Urban Life: The Case of La Chicana," Women's Studies Quarterly 13:3 (1987): 199 -222; Mary Romero, "Day Work in the Suburbs: The Work Experience of Chicana Private Household Workers" In The Worth of Women's Work: A Qualitative Synthesis, edited by Anne Statham, Eleanor M. Miller and Hans O. Mauksh (Albany,: State University of New York Press, 1988); Mary Romero. "Chicanas Modernize Domestic Service," Qualitative Sociology 11,4 (1988): 319 -334.

56 Alma García Marsh. "Studying Chicanas: Bringing Women Into the Frame of hicano Studies," In Chicana Voices, eds, Teresa Córdova et. al., 19 -29; Alma García Marsh. "The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse, 1970 -1980," in Unequal Sisters, edited by Ellen Carol Dubois and Vicky L. Ruiz (New York: Routledge, 1990), 418 -431.

57 Teresa Córdova has been involved in the editorial committee of the 1983 NACS proceedings as well as the chair of the 1984 NACS proceedings. 60 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

58 See, Linda Facio. "Gender and Aging: A Case of Mexicana /Chicana Elderly," Trabajos Monograficos 1:1 (1985): 5 -21; Elisa "Linda' Facio. "The Interaction of Age and Gender in Chicana Older Lives: A Case Study of Chicano Elderly in a Senior Citizen Center," in The Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph 4 (Tucson: Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1988), 21 -38.

59 See Antonia I. Castañeda, "The Political Economy of Nineteenth Century Stereotypes of Californianas," In Between Borders: Essays on Mexicana /Chicana History (Encino, CA: Floricanto Press, 1990), 213 -236; Antonia I.Castañeda, "Women of Color and the Rewriting of Western History: The Discourse, Politics, and Decolonization of History," Pacific Historical Review 61:4 (1992):30 -86. 60 See, Cynthia Orozco. "Sexism in Chicano Studies and the Community." InChicana Voices: Intersections of Class, Race, and Gender, eds., Teresa Córdova et. al., 11 -18; Cynthia Orozco. "Women in the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement," NWSA Journall:1 (1988): 163 -164; Cynthia Orozco. "Getting Started in Chicana Studies," Women's Studies Quarterly 18, 1 -2 (1990): 46 -69; Cynthia Orozco. "Beyond Machismo, La Familia, and Ladies Auxiliaries: A Historiography of Mexican -Origin Women's Participation in Volun- tary Associations and Politics in the United States, 1870 -1990," In The Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph 10 (Tucson: Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1994). 6' See, Deena J. González. "The Widowed Women of Santa Fe: Assessments on the Lives of an Unmarried Population." In On Their Own: Widows and Widowhood in the American Southwest, 1848 -1939, ed, Arlene Scadron (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 65 -90; Deena J. González. "Los Tucsonenses: The Mexican Community in Tucson, 1854- 1941," (book review) In Chicano Discourse, eds., Tatcho Mindiola Jr. and Emilio Zamora (Houston, Texas: Mexican American Studies Program, 1992), 175 -187. 62 See Adela de la Torre and Beatriz Pesquera, Building With Our Hands: Directions in Chicana Studies (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); Adela de la Torre and Refugio Rochín, "Hispanic Poor and the Effects of Immigration Reform." Chicano Law Review 10 (1990):1 -13; Adela de la Torre and Lynda Rush, "The Determinants of Breast Feeding for Mexican Migrant Women," International Migration Review 21:3 (1987): 728 -42.

G3 See Aida Hurtado & Carlos Arce, "Mexicanos, Chicanos, Mexican Americans or Pochos ...¿Que Somos? The Impact of Nativity and Language in Labeling, " Aztlán 17, (1986): 103 -130; Aida Hurtado and Patricia Guerin, "Ethnic Identity and Bilingualism Atti- tudes," Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 9:1 (1987): 1 -18; Aida Hurtado, "A View from Within: Midwife Practices in South Texas," International Quarterly of Community Health and Education 8:4 (1987 -88): 317 -39; Aida Hurtado, "Relating toPrivilege: Seduction and Rejection in the Subordination of White Women and Women of Color." Signs 14 (1989): 833 -55. 64 See Sylvia S. Lisarraga, "Images of Women in Chicano Literature by Men," Feminist BEYOND THE ADELITA IMAGE: WOMEN SCHOLARS IN NACS 61

Issues 5:2 (1985): 69 -88; Sylvia S.Lisarraga, "La mujer doblemente explotada: `On the Road to Texas: Pete Fonseca' " Aztla'n 16:1 -2 (1985): 197 -215; Sylvia S. Lisarraga, "The Patriarchal Ideology in "La noche que se apagaron las luces." Revista Chicano- Riqueña 13,3 -4 (1985): 90 -95; Sylvia S. Lisarraga, "Hacia una teoria para la liberación dela mujer." In Times of Challenge: Chicanos and Chicanas in American Society, edited by Juan R. García, Julia Curry Rodríguez and Clara Lomas (Houston, Texas: Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston, 1985), 25 -31. 65 Yvonne, Yarbro -Bejarano. "Cherrie Moraga," in Chicano Writers First Series: Dictionary of Literary Biography (Detroit: Brucoli Clark Layman, 1989), 365 -77; Yvonne, Yarbro- Bejarano. "Chicana Literature from a Chicana Feminist Perspective," The Americas Re- view 15:3 -4 (1987): 139 -45; Yvonne Yarbro -Bejarano, "Chicanas' Experience in Collec- tive Theatre: Ideology and Form," Women & Peformance 2:2(1985): 45 -58; Yvonne Yarbro -Bejarano, "The Female Subject in Chicano Theatre: Sexuality, Race, and Class," Theatre Journal 38:4 (1986): 389 -407. 66 See, Norma Alarcón,"Tradutora, traditora: A Paradigmatic Figure of Chicana Femi- nism, " Cultural Critique 13 (1989): 57 -87; Norma Alarcón, "Chicana Feminism: In the Tracks of the Native Women," Cultural Studies 4:3 (1990): 248 -56; Norma Alarcón, "The Sardonic Powers of the Erotic in the Work of Ana Castillo," in Breaking Bound- aries: Latina Writing and Critical Readings, edited by Asunción Horno- Delgado et.al. (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989), 94 -107; Norma Alarcón, "Making Familia from Scratch: Split Subjectivity in the Work of Helena Maria Viramontes and Cherrie Moraga, "The Americas Review 15:3 -4 (1987): 147 -59; Norma Alarcón, "Chicana Feminist Literature: A Re- vision Through Malintzín: Putting Flash Back on the Sub- ject," in This Bridge Called My Back, eds., Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldóa (Watertown, Mass: Persephone Press, 1981), 182 -90.

"FAITHFUL HARD- WORKING MEXICAN HANDS ": MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Yolanda Chávez Leyva

When you think of the streets that have been paved, the ditches that have been dug, the clothes that have been washed by faithful hard -working Mexican hands in this town, how can you imagine the town without them ?'

en El Paso writer Anna Brand posed this question to readers of the El Paso Herald Post in the winter of 1931, the Great Depression was well under way. Two years into the Depression, El Paso, the "Queen City of the Southwest" and the most important port of entry for Mexican immigrants since the latter part of the nineteenth century, was suffering.Boasting the third largest concentration of Mexicans in the United States and the highest population of any U.S. border city, El Paso had experienced considerable prosperity through the 1920s, due in large part to a booming industrial economy and the expansion of commercial agriculture. Employers could not imagine themselves without Mexican workers. Brand had not overstated her point- Mexican workers had indeed built the city.2 Immigrants had been drawn to El Paso's increasingly industrialized economy since the late nineteenth century. Furthermore, the city's proximity to the largest Mexican border city, Ciudad Juárez, just across the river, made accessible a significant population of commuter workers as well. As the city grew and pros- pered, the employment opportunities also swelled.Mexican women found work primarily in the service sector, as domestics, laundresses and seamstresses. Increasingly, however, they also took manufacturing jobs, particularly in the textile and clothing industries.Because Mexicans were most visible in their role as workers, debates over identity and struggles for equality often revolved around issues of work. These debates, carried on both outside the Mexican community as well as within it, took on new meanings as the Great Depression brought tremendous social, economic, and demographic changes.' 64 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The Depression was a decade of transformation for the Mexican community in the United States. Almost half a million Mexicans and their U.S. -born children repatriated, both voluntarily and under pressure. Spurred on by changing demographics, issues of identity crystallized within El Paso's Mexican community. Already a heterogeneous mix of both Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans, the community incorporated additional levels of complexity because of its location on the international border. Alliances within the community were multiple; its members often advocated opposing views based on economic class, self -identity, and a variety of other factors. Paradoxically, while the Depression would worsen the economic conditions of Mexican workers, taking them "a step backward" as one scholar has contended, it also created new opportunities and challenges for the Mexican community in the United States.' El Paso and its people felt the effects of the 1929 economic collapse deeply - high unemployment, dwindling local resources, poverty, and the massive problems brought on by the city's new role as the most important port of exit for repatriating Mexicans. Although Anglo American antagonism towards Mexi- can workers had existed for decades, the economic crisis aggravated the conflict. Increasingly, Mexican workers were branded as the cause of unemployment. Ironically, similar sentiments existed within the Mexican American community itself as frictions arose between Mexican American workers and immigrants.' El Paso's labor force, long dependent on the work of Mexican men and women, reflected the make -up of the state's labor force. In 1930, more Mexi- can women and men were employed in Texas than in any other state; Califor- nia, its nearest competitor, came in a distant second. Mexican women composed a significant portion of the local labor force. By 1920, immigrant women represented almost half of the female labor force in El Paso, and even this statis- tic understates their importance, since it does not take into account U.S. -born Mexican women workers nor the number of women commuting daily from Juárez to work in El Paso.' Although heavily concentrated in personal and domestic service, some Mexican women had found employment in El Paso's manufacturing sector since the turn of the century. As manufacturing grew, so did the number of Mexican women working in the factories. By 1930 Mexican women were entering industry in larger and larger numbers, but working conditions for many of these MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 65

women were dismal. In 1933, the Texas Department of Labor investigated the claims of a local physician, M. Hernández Ballados, that some manufacturers were paying their employees as little as ten cents per week. The doctor argued that this situation was not unusual for women who were paid on a piece -rate basis. According to some workers, the highest paid employee in the factory earned ninety cents; check stubs were produced to verify the claim. The De- partment of Labor's investigation found that approximately 2,000 women were paid less than five dollars for six days' work. In addition, the department determined that some employers were violating state law, working women for nine hours a day. The women, fearing their employers would blacklist them, were hesitant to complain to the authorities.' Low wages and poor working conditions were the rule, not the exception, in other areas of women's work as well. After 1900, laundries became increasingly important employers of Mexican women. And while they provided employment opportunities for these Mexican women, the inadequate pay and poor working conditions also provided the impetus for early unionization efforts. El Paso's laundries, long strongholds of the dual -wage system, had employed distinct "Mexican" and "American" wages. Testifying before the Texas Industrial Welfare Commission in 1919, the manager of the Acme Laundry argued that the wage differentials were warranted by cultural differences between Anglo American and Mexican workers.'

We are confronted with the deep seated differences in temperament existing between Anglo -Saxon and mixed Latin races, the differences between the progressiveness, initiativeness and energy of the former and the back- wardness of the Mexican.'

Notwithstanding this testimony, however, in that same year, Mexican women demonstrated the very initiative and energy they had been deemed lacking - they organized a laundry workers' union. Despite the American Federation of Labor's longstanding opposition to both unskilled and women workers, the laundry workers' union organized under its auspices in 1919.10 The union, in keeping with the AFL's anti -immigrant policy, differentiated between Mexican immigrant women and Mexican American women. As The Labor Advocate reported, the union's membership comprised mostly Mexican American women, "residents of El Paso and citizens of the nation.' Inevitably, the failure to 66 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

organize immigrant and commuter workers as well undermined the union's work and its efforts were short -lived. There were always other women, sometimes by the hundreds, willing to take the jobs, regardless of the low pay and poor working conditions. This fact was not lost on employers. On the eve of the Depression, some laundries were sending buses to the border daily to pick up commuter workers.12 Conditions in the laundries did not improve in the decade and a half following the 1919 formation of the laundry workers' union, and in the fall of 1933, workers again organized in an effort to better their situation.13 Union organizer and Mexican American activist Charles Porras characterized the laundries as "the worst offenders of any of them when it came to cheap wages." Porras recalled that one county commissioner lost his political office when it became known that he ran one of the offending laundries.14 Although any mention of the laundry workers' union soon disappeared from the pages of local newspapers, it is fair to assume that this Depression -era union confronted the same obstacles as its predecessor -a huge surplus of women available to take work at extremely low wages. It is telling that one of the union's earliest actions was to organize a benefit to establish an employment bureau for domestic workers. Along with laundries, domestic service provided the greatest source of employment for Mexi- can women in El Paso. Historically, the two occupations have played very important roles in the work history of many groups of women. First, both occupations have been widely available to women with little education and few other options. Secondly, women often found it beneficial to alternate between the two occupations based on the difficulty of the work and the wages being offered at the time.15In fact, because these occupations were considered "women's work" and furthermore "Mexican work," many Mexican women found their opportunities quite limited despite their talents or education. In a 1932 letter to the editor, a woman signing herself "R. Luna" protested that despite her skills in speaking and writing both English and Spanish fluently,

I might as well know nothing at all, and I'd be far much better off, but I do hope that the time will come when a woman like me will have her rights and be able to find a job that isn't house -keeping.'

Domestic work was firmly fixed in the minds of many people as a "Mexican" MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 67

occupation. By the 1930s, Mexican maids had become a fixture in many households, and the extensive use of Mexican women as maids perpetuated the perception of domestic work as a particularly "Mexican" profession. In turn, the firmly held belief that domestic work was only for Mexicans limited the opportunities for Mexican women." The connection made by employers between Mexicans as a group and domestic servants as an occupation was clear. As early as 1910, Grace Franklin of the Woman's Charity Association wrote,

Mexicans are here and every family in El Paso comes into close contact with them, therefore if El Paso wishes to improve her servant class she must improve the homes from which this class comes." (emphasis added)18

Such concern for improving the living and working conditions of Mexican domestics, at best benevolent and paternalistic, nonetheless betrayed the fact that such solicitude stemmed from a desire to make Mexican women, "the servant class," better workers. As the decades wore on, employer attitudes remained similar. Despite the economic crisis brought on by the Depression, El Paso's households continued to employ domestic workers who were predominantly Mexi- can. Their concerns, like those of earlier employers, centered around getting the most work out of their maids. Late in 1934, Carmelita Pomeroy cautioned employers in an editorial letter titled, "My little servant, do I love her ?" Criti- cal of the harsh working conditions endured by many domestics, Pomeroy advised employers that:

Much more can be got out of them through kindness and praise than one imagines. . .They are little children, love them as such and receive your reward in faithfulness and loyalty to you and your children.'

The activities of Mexican domestics during the Depression, however, would challenge this employer -held image, and hope of child -like loyalty and faithfulness. Domestic work became an arena for debates within the Mexican Ameri- can and Anglo American communities regarding identity and fairness. The case of the Asociación de Trabajadoras Domésticas illustrates the increasing complexity and the changing nature of labor relations on the border. In the fall of 1933, domestics organized this union under the leadership of 68 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Charles Porras, José Conde García and Cleofas Calleros of the Brigada Mexicana de Propaganda de la NRA (National Recovery Administration), appointed by the local Chamber of Commerce to act as a liaison between the Mexican community and the local Anglo -run NRA committee. Its leadership included phy- sicians, social workers, businessmen and government employees. Like its Anglo American counterpart, the organization was all male. Within a month, however, a separate women's committee had been created, its leadership largely reflecting the same middle -class composition as the men's organization.20 In the fall of 1933, the Brigada outlined its philosophy in a series of articles published in the local Spanish- language newspaper, El Continental. According to these editorials, Mexican families had a particular interest in supporting New Deal programs such as the NRA. Brigada leaders argued that Mexicans had been particularly affected by the economic crisis because of their poverty; therefore, any governmental measure intended to end the Depression would benefit them the most. Furthermore, as residents of the United States, Mexicans were obliged to obey the law. Their arguments must have rung true within the Mexi- can community as a variety of individuals and groups had already responded favorably to the NRA. According to one source, even street vendors hawking tortillas had signed the NRA pledge.21 The increasing intervention of the federal government in the relationship between employers and employees during the Depression created new opportunities and options for both the Mexican American working class and the middle class. With the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which gave workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, free from employer interference, Mexican workers continued their longstanding tradition of organizing unions with increased vigor.The laundry workers' and domestic workers' unions, composed almost exclusively of Mexican women, were among the first fruits of this renewed effort at unionization." In the long run, Mexican Americans received little material benefit from the passage of New Deal legislation such as the NRA. Its importance, however, lies not in the material changes but in the attitudnal changes wrought by its passage. A nascent Mexican American identity, distinct from the immigrant culture from which it evolved, began to express itself in new terms during the Great Depression, given momentum by the promises of the New Deal. The middle class was most vocal publicly in expressing the idea that Mexican Ameri- MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 69

cans belonged in and to the United States, always with the assumption that they had the right to demand justice as Americans. These new ideas, however, were not the sole domain of the middle class. The working class, too, acted upon them.23 This new identity, however, was not without its contradictions. Throughout the Southwest, unemployed Anglo Americans displaced Mexi- cans from their traditional jobs. Blamed for the massive unemployment, both locally and nationally, Mexican workers were often the target of hostility, re- sentment and violence. Early in 1931, the Unemployed American Voters League organized in El Paso with the expressed purpose of convincing employers to dismiss immigrant workers. Organized labor in El Paso had a long history of antagonism towards immigrants. Earlier in the century, the American Federa- tion of Labor had unsuccessfully struggled to terminate the employment of immigrant workers in the city, but it was not until 1930 that the city council finally passed an ordinance barring immigrants from city- funded construction projects. In 1931, the Central Labor Union, organized by the AFL in 1909, issued a report recommending that all immigrant workers in both public and private employment be dismissed.24 Anti- immigrant sentiment, particularly that revolving around employment, put the Mexican community on the defensive. The anti -Mexican atmosphere clearly affected immigrants, but U.S. -born Mexicans felt the impact as well in a number of ways. First, because the Anglo American public often perceived all Mexicans to be foreigners, whether they were U.S. citizens or not, Mexican Americans became the target of hostility and suspicion. The response of some Mexican Americans was to create as much distance as possible between themselves and immigrants in order to create a sense of safety. Of course, not all Mexican Americans responded this way. While this distancing took place in some segments of the community, another equally important trend occurred along the border as the international character of the Mexican community manifested itself through organizations comprising Mexicans on both sides of the border.25 It was within this context that Mexican American maids began organizing in 1933. The union's association with the NRA was clear. "Members are trying to obtain, through reasoning and appeals for fair play, what the NRA has given other groups," union organizer Charles Porras stated.26 The women, too, used the NRA to back their demands. One employer complained that a telephone 70 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

caller had "bawled me out for not paying more than one dollar a week and board, and threatened to report me to the NRA. "27 Within the first month, the organization reported a membership of over 700 workers; they anticipated reaching a total of 1,500. The union's first action was to send letters to their employers demanding a minimum weekly wage of six dollars. Within a few weeks, the women had the agreement of 169 employers with only one employer refusing the raise.28Porras boasted that he was successful in keeping workers away from their employers, while stressing that the union was not a "strike outfit. "29 Reminiscent of the earlier efforts by Anglo American unions to reduce the availability of commuter workers, Porras convinced officials to decrease the international bridge's hours of operation. This would give Mexican American maids an edge.3o The El Paso Herald Post reported that local housewives were alarmed by the anticipated servant shortage; many argued they were unable to pay the minimum wage demanded by the domestic workers. So successful was the union initially that a number of "upper class women" went to the Immigration Service to demand that Porras be deported, despite the fact that he was born in the United States. The association had little long -term success, however, for the international bridge hours were again extended at the urging of influential Chamber of Commerce members, who demanded access to domestics at low wages.31 As with the laundry workers' union, the maids' union activities illustrate the increasingly complex issue of citizenship and ethnic identity. Demographic changes during the Depression helped create the basis for a new mentality in which the differences between Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans were heightened. In 1920, an estimated twenty -three percent of El Paso's Mexi- can population was U.S. -born. By 1930, this number had increased to thirty - six percent, reaching sixty-four percent only a decade later. These changes, due in large part to repatriation during the decade, shifted the foundation of the community from immigrant to U.S.- born.32 Considering the defensive position in which the community found itself during the Great Depression, it is not surprising to find this polarity emerging. "We needed work here, and here were all these people coming from the other side," Porras recalled."So, I got the smart idea and organized the Domestic Worker's Association -all women, local, from here." [emphasis added]33 Porras' critics argued that he was anti -Mexi- MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 71

can, particularly after he was quoted in the El Paso Times as saying:

You claim to be Americans, yet you speak the language of Mexicans so you do not deserve to be classed as anything else but Mexicans.If you are Americans, speak the English language, live like Americans and be proud of it. Teach your children to speak English, bring them up in the knowledge that they are Americans, and make them proud of it.34

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) member, M.R. Gameros publicly defended Porras, arguing that Porras helped laundry and domestic workers without regard to citizenship.35 Just two decades earlier, Anglo Ameri- can -led unions had emphasized the American citizenship of the laundry workers in order to validate their legitimacy. As the Mexican community in El Paso metamorphosed into a Mexican American community, it too began to make claims based on U.S. citizenship. The success of these claims was limited, however, by the widely -held perception that all Mexicans were the same. Ironically, as Porrascriticized Mexican American individuals for not deserving "to be classed as anything else but Mexicans," Anglo Americans' efforts to deport him demonstrated that they saw him simply as a "Mexican." Despite unionization efforts, the wages and working conditions of Mexican domestics, both commuters and residents of El Paso, remained poor. In 1934, the El Paso League of Women Voters conducted a survey of employers of Mexi- can domestics; their investigation uncovered continuing abuse. One family employed a domestic for fifteen cents a day. These fifteen cents, representing the family's sole income, forced the family of five to subsist totally on bread. In another case, the wife of a "well -paid executive" paid her Mexican maid the wages of ten cents daily for over two years.36 The following year, in the fall of 1935, the Texas State Department of Voca- tional Education studied the working conditions of domestic workers in El Paso. Their report concluded that "long hours of drudgery and starvation pay are the rule rather than the exception" among domestics employed in El Paso's more prosperous homes. The survey indicated that the highest reported wage came to seven dollars a week.Full -time maids from Juárez could be hired, according to the Department of Vocational Education, for one dollar a week. Part -time domestics received fifty cents a week.37 Despite the apparent ease with which employers could find women forced 72 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

by poverty and desperation willing to work for such low wages, debates raged in local newspapers regarding the shortage of Mexican American maids. Ac- cording to the writers, this shortage had two causes:first, the availability of relief for Mexican American women and secondly, the propensity of employers to hire women from Juárez. Many employers alleged that Mexicanas preferred to receive "handouts" rather than to work as domestics. These allegations were bolstered by reports early in 1935 from the United States Employment Bureau that sixty-five percent of the 500 domestics registered with the Bureau were on relief.38 When the YWCA joined the Employment Bureau in complaining that Mexican American women no longer wanted to work as domestics, employers' fears appeared justified. According to the YWCA, their staff were having trouble filling requests for domestics. They complained that of the 215 requests for domestics made during a one -month period, they had only been able to place 185 women, 156 of whom were Mexican. According to the El Paso Herald Post, housewives were "losing" their maids to the relief rolls despite the fact that the employers claimed to be paying from five to eight dollars weekly, plus three meals a day and one and a half days off.39 In a classic move, employers began pressuring the local government to tighten the relief system in order to ensure that Mexican women would be available for employment. Relief systems have historically worked to control the poor, first by giving them some aid in order to squelch disorder but also by requiring that they act in specific ways, particularly by working.40 These tactics had been utilized against Mexican families earlier in the decade during several cotton pickers' strikes. Within two months of the Employment Bureau's report, the local relief board ruled that any woman refusing to accept a job would auto- matically be cut from the relief rolls. Accepting a job, however, also meant being cut from relief. Without a guaranteed minimum wage, many Mexican women were placed in the position of accepting starvation wages or nothing.41 Opinion varied in the Anglo American community regarding the newly imposed restrictions. Proclaiming that "the servant class has been vastly more sinned against than sinning," a Times editorial voiced support for the domestics. "Who can blame a girl if she prefers dependable relief status on a budget- ary basis to being paid for a week's hard work with 50 cents and a bundle of shabby clothes which she neither wants nor can use ? "42 Despite such voices of MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 73

compassion, however, Mexican women found littlematerial change in their working conditions during the decade. Paradoxically, while Mexican American women were criticized for refusing to work for low wages, Mexican women across the border were equally criticized for their willingness to do so. The commonplace practice of hiring "cheap" maids from across the border was blamed for the high numbers of Mexican American women on relief. As one writer warned in a 1934 letter to the editor, employers who believed they benefitted from the employment of commuter maids were not aware of the true costs. The writer cautioned that such employers were subject to potential fines and jail sentences for hiring undocumented maids. Furthermore, he advised housewives "to set their houses in order without delay. "43 Despite this admonition, however, Mexican maids remained and continue to be a tradition in many El Paso homes. The Great Depression was a decade of paradox for the Mexican community in El Paso. The Depression brought enormous changes; yet, change appeared minimal. Although Mexican women had been employed in the service and manufacturing sectors since the nineteenth century, the Depression created new expectations and a new sense of identity for some workers. These changes helped maintain old arguments about work and power, yet they also created new ways for women workers to participate in the debate. Increasingly, Mexi- can American women and men challenged the racist characterizations of the "Mexican worker." The voices of the employers and bureaucrats come to us clearly across the decades, discussing the best ways to control Mexican women workers, praising them for their faithfulness, or pleading for them to be treated with more compassion. The voices of the middle -class Mexican men also ring clearly, taking credit for creating women's unions, explaining the importance of obeying the law, delineating the new identity politics. If we listen carefully, however, we can still hear the women themselves, coming together to find ways to help each other, confronting the desperation of feeding their children only bread day after day, refusing to work for starvation wages, hoping against hope "that the time will come when a woman like me will have her rights..."44 If we listen closely we can still hear them. 74 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

NOTES The term Mexicana /o and Mexican are used synonymously and do not necessarily imply nativity.Mexicano was the most common self -referrant in El Paso during the period under study, regardless of the person's citizenship. The term Mexican American is used when U.S. citizenship is clear. Most frequently, the term Mexican immigrant is used to denote a person's birth in Mexico. Anna Brand's comments may be found in the El Paso Herald Post, December 15, 1931.

2 Mark Reisler, By the Sweat of Their Brow, (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976), 8; Francisco E. Balderrama, In Defense of La Raza:The Los Angeles Mexican Consulate and the Mexican Community, 1929 to 1936, (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1982), 5; Oscar Martínez, Border Boom Town, Ciudad Juárez Since 1848, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1978), 161, 80 -81; Mario García, Desert Immigrants, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), 33 -64.

3 García, Desert Immigrants, 65 -109.

4 Mario Barrera, Race and Class in the Southwest, (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1979), 111.

5 The massive repatriation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans during the Great Depres- sion is one manifestation of this antagonism. See Abraham Hoffman, Unwanted Mexi- can Americans in the Great Depression (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1979); Balderrama, Francisco and Raymond Rodríguez, Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatria- tion in the 1930s, (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995; Guerin -Gonzales, Camille, Mexican Workers and American Dreams: Immigration, Repatriation and Califor- nia Farm Labor, 1901 -1935, (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994); D. H. Dinwoodie, "Deportation: The Immigration Service and the Chicano Labor Move- ment in the 1930s," New Mexico Historical Review 52: 3 (1977), 193 -206; Daniel T. Simon, "Mexican Repatriation in East Chicago, Indiana,"The Journal of Ethnic Studies 2:2 (Summer 1974), 11 -23; Neil Betten and Raymond A. Mohl, "From Discrimination to Repatriation: Mexican Life in Gary, Indiana, During the Great Depression," Pacific Historical Review 42:3 (August 1973), 370 -388; R. Reynolds McKay, "Texas Mexican Repatriation During the Great Depression," (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oklahoma, 1982). For a discussion of repatriation from a psychological approach see Mauricio Mazón, "Illegal Alien Surrogates: A Psychohistorical Interpretation of Group Stereotyping in Time of Economic Stress," Aztlán 11:2 (Summer 1975), 305 -324. 6 Race and Class in the Southwest, 95; Desert Immigrants, 76. Desert Immigrants, 78; El Paso Times, April 12, 1933; El Paso Herald Post, April 10, 1933. For further discussion of Mexican women in El Paso's workforce see also, Mario García, "The Chicana in American History: The Mexican Women of El Paso, 1880 -1920; A Case Study," Pacific Historical Review 44 (May 1980), 326. MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 75

8 Desert Immigrants, 91 -93.

9 Desert Immigrants, 92.

10 Desert Immigrants, 98 -99. " Desert Immigrants, 98.

12 Desert Immigrants, 78.

13 El Continental, September 8, 1933.

14 Interview with Charles Porras conducted by Oscar J. Martínez, November 18, 1975, deposited in Special Collections, University Library, University of Texas at El Paso.

15 El Continental, September 8, 1933; El Paso Herald Post, September 23, 1933. For further discussion of women's participation in both occupations see David M. Katzman, Seven Days a Week; Women and Domestic Service in Industrializing America. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), 3 -43.

16 El Paso Herald Post, March 11, 1932.In a 1972 interview, long -time El Paso activist Cleofas Galleros expressed the same sentiments when he said, "What was the use of a Mexican going to high school when he couldn't get a decent job ?" Galleros was active in organizing both domestic workers and laundry workers. See the interview with Cleofas Galleros conducted by Oscar J. Martínez, September 14, 1972,deposited in Special Collections, University Library, University of Texas at El Paso.

17 Desert Immigrants, 76; for a discussion of the contemporary situation of domestics in El Paso, see Vicki Ruiz, "By the Day or the Week: Mexicana Domestic Workers in El Paso" in Women on the U.S.- Mexico Border, ed. by Vicki Ruiz and Susan Tiano, (Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1987), 61 -76.

18 El Paso Herald, June 20, 1910.

19 El Paso Herald Post, November 19, 1934.

20 El Continental, August 31, 1933, July 18, 1933, August 21, 1933, August 23, 1933; El Paso Times, August 28, 1933.

21 El Continental, August 21, 1933, August 23, 1933, September 3, 1933. El Paso Herald Post, July 10, 1933. 22 Both the domestic workers' and the laundry workers' unions organized in the fall of 1933. Other groups organized as well, including barbers and printers. 3 See Harvard Sitkoff, "The Impact of the New Deal on Black Southerners" in The New Deal and the South, ed. James C. Cobb and Michael V. Vamorato (Jackson:University Press of Mississippi, 1984), 117; and David Maciel, La clase obrera en la historia de México, vol. 17 (Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1984), 19 -21 for discussion on the effects of the New Deal on African Americans and Mexicans in the United States. Both authors 76 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

argue that the legislation had little positive effect on these groups and may have, in fact, further reinforced institutional racism. For further discussion of the changing mentality associated with the Mexican American generation, see Mario García, Mexican Americans, Leadership, Ideology, & Identity, 1930 -1960 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989); Richard García, "The Mexican American Mind: A Product of the 1930s," History, Cul- ture and Society: Chicano Studies in the 1980s, ed. Mario T. García and Francisco Lomeli (Michigan: Bilingual Press/ Editorial Bilingüe, 1983). 24 El Paso Times, September 26, 1931, September 27, 1931; Desert Immigrants, 96, 105; McKay, "Texas Mexican Repatriation," 96, 337, 340; El Paso Herald Post, October 8, 1931.

25 Perhaps the clearest examples of this international organizing in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez were the efforts to deal with the problems associated with large -scale repatriation, as massive numbers of repatriates passed through the area in the early 1930s. Working with the Mexican consul, Mexican Americans and Mexicans participated in organizations such as the Comisiones Honoríficas and el Comité de Beneficia as well as la Cruz Azul which was comprised entirely of women. El Continental reported their activities regularly.

26 El Paso Herald Post, September 23, 1933.

27 El Paso Herald Post, September 23, 1933.

28 El Continental, August 31, 1933, September 15, 1933, September 24, 1933. 29 Porras interview.

30 Porras interview. In July 1931, El Continental reported that the Central Labor Union had sent a resolution to Washington, D. C., requesting that the international bridge remain closed until 10 a.m. each day in order to cut down on the number of commuter workers crossing into El Paso. See El Continental, July 9, 1931, and July 10, 1931.

31 Porras interview.

32 Oscar J. Martínez, The Chicanos of El Paso: An Assessment of Progress, (El Paso:Texas Western Press, 1980), 6.

33 Porras interview. 34 El Paso Times, September 19, 1933.

35 El Continental, October 1, 1933.

36 El Paso Times, November 22, 1934.

37 El Paso Herald Post, November 6, 1935.

38 El Paso Herald Post, November 27, 1934.

39 El Paso Herald Post, November 24, 1934. MEXICANA WORKERS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION 77

4° Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward. Regulating the Poor: the Functions of Public Welfare, (New York: Vintage Books, 1971), 22.

41 Earlier in the decade, the local relief system had instituted similar limitations when cotton pickers went on strike. When cotton growers claimed that striking cotton pickers were moving from the outlying agricultural areas into El Paso in order to receive relief, the relief administrator undertook an investigation, vowing that no assistance would be provided to striking workers.Private relief agencies also joined this effort to ensure a cheap source of labor for the cotton growers. The Red Cross, for example, announced that the distribution of clothing to indigents in the outlying agricultural areas would be suspended until the end of the picking season, "because there is plenty of work." El Paso Herald Post, September 16, 1933.

42 El Paso Times, January 8, 1935. 43 El Paso Times, January 9, 1935. 44 El Paso Herald Post, November 27, 1934.

MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE STRUGGLE FOR GENDER EQUALITY: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW, 1920s- 1960s'

Richard Santillán

Introduction In recent years, numerous scholarly publications have dealt with the 20th - century origins of the Mexican American civil rights movement. In particular, there has been a growing interest among researchers in the generations of Mexicans and Mexican Americans who took the lead in demanding social and political equality for themselves and their children between the period of the 1920s and the early 1960s.2 Until the recent spate of studies, the common view of this historical period was that the Mexican leadership generally sought cultural assimilation in the United States, and political accommodation with the larger society.' In particular, this has been the view of Chicano activists who came of age during the late 1960s and 1970s. Typically, such contemporary activists have pointed at the organizations put together by earlier generations- groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the G.I. Forum, the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), the Political Association of Spanish -Speaking Organizations, and the "Viva Kennedy" Clubs -and argued that these groups were overly eager to compromise on issues where they should have stood firm. Recent research reveals, however, that the Mexican and Mexican American leadership during the Depression, World War II, and the early Cold War period made a tremendous contribution to the struggle for social, political and economic equality.' Moreover, far from being strictly accomodationist and eager for assimilation, most Mexican people fought hard -often within a hostile social environment and against fierce political and economic discrimination -to maintain their culture and their values. 80 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

To carry out this fight and accomplish their goals, these Mexican and Mexi- can American generations established a multitude of organizations which represented a broad spectrum of groups, interests, strategies, and ideologies; when it came to organizing to carry on the struggle, these people were able to go far in achieving their goals. The Mexican and Mexican American generations of World War I, the De- pression, World War II, and the Cold War often lived with blatant discrimination, despite their willingness to learn English and their determined efforts to bridge the gap between Mexican and American cultures. Because of their resistance to discrimination, and because they organized so well to protect their culture and their claims to justice, the people of these particular generations made it possible for their children and grandchildren to secure unprecedented social and political rights. Many of the women and men, for example, of the World War II generation were solid and capable leaders, and they established the organizational environment for Mexican American advancement. That progressive framework has survived to the present day, and has made it possible for subsequent generations to continue expanding the boundaries of their rights and privileges as Ameri- cans and as Mexican Americans. Most of the scholarly research focusing on Mexicans and Mexican Ameri- cans during this period from the 1920s to the early 1960s, however, has typically centered on the Southwest region, and has been interpreted largely from a male perspective.' All of this is beginning to change, however, as recent studies have looked at Mexican American communities in both the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest regions.' Moreover, researchers have begun to focus on gender politics and the significant roles and contributions of women during this critical period when Mexican Americans were rapidly developing their political consciousness.' Thanks to these recent studies, we can now see more clearly the social, cultural, and political contributions of Mexican and Mexican American women in the 1920s and 1930s, the important roles they played during World War II and the subsequent conflict in Korea, and how and why Mexican communities in the United States underwent fundamental social changes during the 1940s and `50s; to no small extentbecause women were able to take on greater responsibilities as heads of households, wage earners, and community leaders. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 81

During the past 10 years, I have interviewed over 150 Midwestern women, representing over 100 different communities, who were actively involved in the fight for Mexican and Mexican American rights during the 1920s and early 1960s. This article presents what I have found out from these interviews. The first part of the article is an overview of the push and pull factors that brought Mexicans into the Midwest in the first place. This section also covers the emergence of distinct Mexican communities in the Midwest, and the haunting prejudice and systemic discrimination which Mexicans encountered in the early years. This first part of the article is critical because it provides the historical backdrop of why Mexican women and men found it important to organize in the Mid- west so long ago. The second part of the article surveys the diverse roles and immeasurable contributions of Mexican women prior to World War II in all aspects of community life. It will be shown that women were extremely active in the development of the Mexican colonias in this region. They organized religious activities, youth and senior -citizen groups, and associations dedicated to challenging discrimination, promoting the communities' political and economic interests, and preserving their ancestral cultures. Mexican women also participated in sports and the fine arts. These two activities enhanced their public self -expression, individual self -worth, and abilities at team work. Participation in the fine arts and sports, for example, were closely linked to the overall political agenda of women in promoting gender equality in all communal experiences. As a result of their valuable contributions to the entire community prior to World War II, these Mexican women became powerful role models and mentors for later generations of Mexican American women in the Midwest. The third part of this article highlights the inspirational and groundbreaking roles of Mexican American women during World War II. Thousands of Mexi- can American women worked in Midwestern defense plants during the war, and many more Mexican American women actually served in the armed forces or aided the American war effort by promoting various home -front activities. This is a chapter in the history of Mexican Americans that has been neglected far too long. The last section tells the story, briefly, of how this post -war generation of women fought for the civil rights of Mexican Americans in the Midwest, and 82 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

how they influenced a new generation of women in the late 1960s and 1970s. Undesignedly, World War II helped expedite the civil rights movement of the Mexican American community in general, and women in particular. Mexican American women are generally depicted as the supporting cast of characters for the political aspirations of men during this post -war era. This section dispels this myth by showing that women were equal political partners with men, especially during the critical period of the civil rights movement between the 1940s and 1960s. Like the rest of this article, this final section is based on the first -hand accounts and the fascinating anecdotes which my interviewees offered during the course of our conversations. In the American Middle West, and across the nation, Mexican American women are now challenging their historical invis- ibility. I hope to deal here with some small part of their extraordinary story.

Historical Background Mexican immigration in the Midwest greatly increased during the first thirty years of the 20th century. The factors involved in this migration included the harsh economic and political conditions under the Porfirio Diaz regime, the Mexican Revolution, the expanding North American economy with its promise of economic security, U.S. immigration laws limiting cheap labor from East- ern Europe and Asia, the use of Mexican workers as strikebreakers in some U.S. industries, and the completion of the Mexican railroad network connecting it to the North American rail system.' One woman described her family's decision to strike out for the United States:

My parents and relatives left Mexico because of the bloody fighting during the Revolution. Thousands of people were either killed, wounded, captured, or forced to serve on whoever[sicl side controlled the region. They executed young men on the spot because they refused to join them. Our towns and homes were being destroyed by both the federal government and the rebels. Many people decided to leave for the United States seeking safety for themselves and their families.'

Thousands of Mexicans went to Texas and settled in refugee camps. These squatter camps provided very little water or food for the newly arriving. The living conditions were terrible, especially for the children. The men were desperate to find work to feed and house their families: MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 83

We all tried finding ways to making living[sicl bearable. There were many employment recruiters encouraging us to sign contracts for work. We signed the papers because we were desperate and hungry. Some of the men left for months and returned to take us to the Midwest. Some men never came back for their families. A railroad company hired my father and several other men. My father worked with a section crew.10

Throughout Texas, there were hundreds of these recruiters, known as engachadores, who represented several North American companies eager to sign up men to work in the Middle West. The Texas -Mexico border played host to an elaborate network of "employment agencies" and labor recruiters." A longtime resident of the Midwest talked about this migratory pattern among Mexi- cans:

The Mexican people who came to Fort Madison, Iowa, were originally from Guanajuato, Mexico. The employment agents in Texas contracted them to jobs in Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. From Colorado, many continued on to western Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Eventually, many settled in Fort Madison. Fort Madison was the springboard for Mexicans to other cities in Iowa such as Burlington, Fairfield, Davenport, and Des Moines. 12

By the 1920s, Mexican labor was a significant contributing factor to the Midwest economy.13 Mexican workers were found in dozens of industries, including railroads, agriculture and mining. Mexicans also worked in automobile plants, lumber mills, packing houses, tanneries, sugar refineries, oil refineries, nitrate plants, textile mills, farm and construction equipment plants, paint factories, ice houses, and on the docks of Great Lakes ports.14 As a rule, Mexican workers were particularly susceptible to exploitation and misemployment by management. This economic vulnerability was due mainly to language barriers, the ever -present threat of deportation, hostility by labor unions, and the desperate need to take any job in order to support their large families. One man whose father had broken his leg in an industrial accident said the company tried to blame his father for the accident and offered him fifty dollars to settle any claims:

I interpreted for my father during these discussions. My father said in Spanish that he would break the company's lawyer's leg for fifty dollars. I didn't translate that part to the company lawyer. My father took his case to an attorney and eventually won a one -thousand -dollar settlement with the company. Almost half of the settlement went to my father's attorney.1$ 84 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

As Mexican workers gradually became a permanent part of the Midwest economy, they cautiously took the first steps toward developing stable communities. The majority, for example, returned either to Texas, Mexico, or the South- west to find new brides or to prepare established families to follow them to their new homes, and literally thousands of Mexican children were born in the region during the first quarter of the century. The presence of wives and children dramatically transformed the status of the Mexican community in the Midwest from a transient male population to a full- fledged, multi -generational community of men, women, and children:

Overnight, Mexican communities changed from largely single men to new families. It appeared that every family had several children born in the 1920s. As a result of this growth, the men built additional bedrooms, constructed living room shelves and kitchen cabinets. The wood and building supplies used for our homes came from the discarded materials from the railroads. Baby cradles hung from the ceiling because of the lack of sleeping space inside the boxcars.'

The Midwest Mexican population mushroomed during the decade of the 1920s, growing -by one estimate -seven times faster than the Mexican population was growing in the Southwest." By 1930, the Mexican community was the seventh largest ethnic group in the United States, and in Kansas it was second only to the Germans.ls The principle states for Mexican settlements included Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mis- souri, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Mexican communities were concentrated near the industries which provided employment, and people often found the living conditions to be very difficult. People still vividly recount the nerve- racking hardships of sub -standard and overcrowded housing, the lack of running water, the discomforts of outdoor bathrooms, the smell from nearby city dumps, the unpaved and un- lighted streets, and the frigid cold during the winter months. Oftentimes, there was no gas service or sewage facilities, and people were charged 50 cents a month for the use of a common water pump:

Cook's Point in Davenport, Iowa, was a barrio that had no modern facilities. We had outhouses, kerosene lamps, wood- burning or kerosene kitchen ranges, coal- burning stoves, and no running water. There were four taps located at several points in the neighborhood where people went for their MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 85

water for washing clothes, baths, cooking, and drinking. The streets were all dirt with no lights nor sidewalks."

In many ways, however these unbearable conditions were still an improvement over the conditions of living in Mexico. Mexicans who settled in the Midwest lived in various types of housing, including boxcars, tents, boarding houses, communal housing, bunk housing, cardboard shacks, single- family dwell- ings, and tenements. The vast majority of these self -enclosed Mexican communities, stretching across the heartland of America, eventually took on distinctly Mexican names. These special names were chosen by the residents for various reasons:

Each Mexican community had its own affectionate name based on either the physical geography, the nature of the housing, or the nearby industry. For example, all of the railroad camps were known as "La Yarda de Santa Fe" or "La Yarda de Burlington." The cement settlements were named after either the color of the housing or the building materials such as "La Lata," "La Plata," and the "yellow shacks. "20

A resident of Fort Madison, Iowa, remembers:

In 1921 -1922, the first company homes were provided for these railroad workers on company land and provided free of charge with all utilities available. These homes were built at the foot of 35th Street and south of the Burlington Northern Railroad. This barrio was called "El Estafiate" after a medical herb that was found in abundance in that area.21

The Roles and Contributions of Midwest Mexican Women Prior to World War II Blatant bigotry did considerable damage to Mexicans both in the workplace and in the general community in the years preceding World War II. Racism and prejudice were disgracefully open and widespread in American society in the first half of this century, and Mexicans confronted the common practice of being restricted to certain segregated sections in restaurants, theaters, schools, housing, parks, and even some Catholic churches. This blatant discrimination - triggered primarily by social intolerance and competition for scarce jobs -limited the social and economic opportunities for thousands of Mexicans who entered the Midwest in this period. 86 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

At first, they generally found America to be a cold, distant, and unfeeling place. However, some members of the Mexican community received assistance from sympathetic Anglos acting on their own initiative, and from various charitable organizations.22 The Social Progressive Movement, which began in the 1920s, was led by social reformers who had developed a network of settlement houses and outreach programs for society's new immigrants. Originally, the primary target for most of these agencies were the European ethnic groups. However, as a result of restrictive immigration in the aftermath of World War I, some of the charities gradually began to reach out to the newly arriving Mexican immigrants. Benefits provided to needy families included food, clothing, furniture, medical assistance, job referrals, eviction and debt counseling, legal support, citizenship information, and marital counseling. Despite the good intentions of many agencies, the Mexican leadership was extremely suspicious regarding the hidden -and not so hidden -intentions of some organizations. The Mexican community viewed many of these groups as promoters of cultural assimilation, which many Mexicans resisted. The Mexi- can leadership moved quickly to establish its own organizations for self- gover- nance:

The Mexican community prior to World War II had an elaborate infra- structure of organizations, activities, and services. The community was fiercely independent and developed a strong sense of self -reliance. Every community had several people who had prior organizational experiences. Many of the community organizers, for example, had been active as civic and labor leaders either in Mexico or Texas 23

The Mexican community was a vibrant mix of various social groups. There were, for example, many religious, cultural, civic, youth, patriotic, recreational, fraternal, political, and labor associations. Collectively, they challenged economic and social inequality, and resisted the forces of cultural assimilation. In other words, the Mexican leadership in these years successfully established a sense of community solidarity. Mexican organizations were involved with workers' rights, youth and senior citizen services, protection for the undocumented population, shelter and food for the homeless, economic development, challenging police brutality, promoting voting and citizenship activities, and providing legal assistance to fight unfair housing and business practices. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 87

The cultural values of these newfound groups consisted of the protection of rights and privileges of Mexicans, faith in the future, unity, education, and the virtues of persistence and hard work. There were literally hundreds of Mexican organizations scattered throughout the Midwest by the 1920s and 1930s. Nev- ertheless, despite their common goals, these groups also reflected a complicated web of special interests based on class, occupation, political ideology, age, religion, education, geography, and gender. Prior to World War I, the majority of Mexican women worked, for example, as garment workers, hotel maids, child -care workers, and domestics. Other Mexican women worked in small businesses controlled by their families, including boarding houses and restaurants. In spite of the increased number of women by the end of the 1920s, it appears that the Midwest urban colonias remained disproportionately male. Yet, despite their small numbers, women were uncommonly involved with the development of numerous organizations and community activities in this region. Mexican women were visible in both the development and the leadership of several key social organizations. This was especially true regarding their roles within religious groups. Mexican women provided the spiritual texture within the community. Religion provided its Catholic followers, for example, with a familiar and reassuring bond to Mexico, and inspired the faith required to survive and prosper in a hostile environment. Other Mexican women were the backbone of the Methodist and Baptist churches' intensive membership campaigns aimed at these newly arriving Mexican refugees. Religious mutual -aid associations, often led by women, were involved with assisting priests and ministers during church services, sponsoring religious activities, recruiting new members, providing social services to the needy and sick, working with youth, organizing wakes and rosaries, leading funeral pro- cessions, and helping with fundraising.24 In addition to numerous church associations, Mexican women established several civic groups which addressed many pressing social issues that were being ignored by the larger society. They provided conscientious assistance to all the people of the community. Women did not shy away from political struggle either. As grim as their future may have seemed, women did not give in entirely to hopelessness and self -pity. They had their families to think of. Mexican women helped mobilize the community, and they were a force to be reckoned with. 88 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Women provided uniform action along with the men to overcome racial ani- mosity against the Mexican people.25 A longtime leader in the community also stressed that:

Women were active in extraordinary social reforms in the community, including better sanitary conditions and equal education for their children. Mexican women took courageous stands against racism and orchestrated several grass -roots campaigns for better economic and social opportunities for the entire community. Women leaders were uncompromising in their demands for first -class status. 26

Mexican women's voluntary groups also provided impeccable care to the sick and homeless, supervised burials, translated for those who could not read or speak English, provided volunteers at health clinics and orphanages, helped the elderly, and collected food for the poor. These types of organizations also provided psychological support for newcomers by buffering them from the starkness of a foreign land:

Very few social agencies hired bilingual staff to assist poor Mexican families arriving from Mexico, or to help those who were already here for some time. Mexican women established a network of temporary homes where poor people lived and were fed until we could find them permanent shelter and work. This network of sanctuary was sponsored by churches and civic groups within the Mexican community.27

These dedicated Mexican women were, in fact, the first social workers in the community and they filled a crucial void left by the larger society. The courageous mission of these women was aiding the underprivileged at a time when there was no one else to do it. Social programs simply did not exist on behalf of most Mexicans because of discrimination, lack of political clout, and lack of U.S. citizenship. The Mexican Consul in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1920s, for example, worked with La Brigada Cruz Azul in the community of Lorain in order to help Mexican people who needed social services. One of the major projects for La Brigada was the establishment of groups to maintain and promote the Mexican culture among the youth:

We were very concerned with the social plight of the young women and men in our community. We sponsored and promoted youth clubs and cultural activities, and provided tutoring for students with their homework. For us, formal education was a critical way for our youth to progress in life. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 89

It was our hope that the youth would be our future leaders and carry on the community agenda for cultural self- determination.28

Unrelenting in their crusade for racial equality, Mexican women and men also established several civil rights associations. These groups included La Sociedad Protectora Mexicana, La Sociedad de Defensa, El Comite Mexicano Contra El Racismo, and the Mexican American Civic Councils.29 These popu- list associations concerned themselves primarily with promoting the civil rights of Mexicans and challenging the political and economic inequalities confronted by the Spanish- speaking community. Members coordinated several demonstrations opposing police brutality and protesting the mistreatment of the undocumented population by the immigration service. Some of these organizations also directed economic boycotts against un- scrupulous businesses, exposed crooked labor contractors and deceptive insurance agents, sponsored rallies against schools that discriminated against Mexi- can students, and published newspapers to counter unfair reporting on Mexi- cans by the Anglo press:

La Sociedad Protectora Mexicana was an outspoken critic regarding the overt discrimination of Mexicans in the United States. La Sociedad exemplified the most vocal and active organizers in the community in pursuit of legal and constitutional protections. They took courageous stands against wage discrimination, police brutality, economic swindles, the notorious sweeps by the immigration service, and the traumatic experiences of Mexican children being placed in inferior schools.30

As noted earlier, a significant number of Mexican women were active with youth groups in the community. As a matter of course, Mexican women were viewed as the cultural caretakers of the community and family. The young people were given intensive instruction, for example, about the long and rich history of Mexico and were encouraged to be well- informed about traditional customs and practices of that country. Other youth activities sponsored and organized by Mexican women included field trips, arts and crafts, lectures, and sports activities for both girls and boys. These recreational activities were part of the community's overall political agenda of culturally grooming a new set of generational leaders. A Mexican American woman who has been involved with youth activities noted: 90 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The Mexican youth groups placed a heavy emphasis on the cultural aspects of our people, including traditions, customs, folklore, religious ceremo- nies, and language. Yet, at the same time, these youth clubs reflected an undercurrent of political consciousness. Culture and politics were inter- twined. Our parents believed that by being proud of our culture, we would, therefore, promote democracy and full -citizenship for ourselves in this country.31

The Mexican community in Kansas City organized chapters of both the Girl Scouts and the Brownies to provide young women field trips, first -aid training, and sports activities. La Sociedad de La Victoria also provided recreational and cultural activities to Mexican girls. In Detroit, they formed the Chapultepec Association, which appealed largely to unmarried young Mexican women; while in Lorain, Ohio, Las Aguilas Girl's Club was formed immediately after World War II. Besides the groups cited above, Mexican women were active with cultural associations and social activities, especially in Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Most mutual -aid societies that sponsored the community fiestas were dominated by men, but a few mutual -aid associations included women as full- fledged members, while others established women's auxiliaries. In truth, women were involved at every level of making ready the fiestas:

Preparing for the fiestas was a total community effort. Everybody participated -men, women, and children. This teamwork reinforced our culture and a deeper sense of community unity. The assemblage of the stage, for example, took the efforts of everyone to construct. The entire community worked almost the entire week preparing for the fiestas on the weekend. Women helped preparing the food, printing the posters and programs, securing the entertainment, constructing the floats, designing and sewing the elaborate costumes, and organizing for the big dance on Saturday night.32

The fiestas were a pivotal part in advancing the ethnic agenda of the Mexi- can community. The selection of the queen and her court was critical, for example, to the overall success of the fiestas because it symbolized the hallmark origin of La Patria. Also, prior to World War II, most queens were selected on the basis of who sold the most tickets supporting their candidacy. In this way, the funds generated by the young women helped underwrite some of the ex- penses incurred by the fiesta committee:

The coronation of the queen and her court was one of the highlights of the MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 91

fiestas. The selection of the young women brought incredible pride to both their families and the communities they represented. Many of the young women who were selected as queens and princesses said that this unique experience broadened their hopes regarding education.33

Young women were also involved with another vital part of the fiestas. Two young women would be chosen to represent Mexico and Spain, debating in Spanish the advantages and disadvantages of Mexico's gaining its independence. This part of the fiesta program was clearly promoting the cultural and political ideology de la independencia. The young woman speaking on behalf of Spain, for example, attempted to convince Mexico to remain a colony and enjoy the full benefits of the Spanish Empire. The young woman representing Mexico, on the other hand, disagreed with Spain and discussed the dream of Mexico's becoming an independent nation. Besides their social work, contributions to community organizations, and the fiestas, Mexican women were also involved in the fine arts and sports. The relationship of the fine arts, and sports to gender equality presents a complex picture. Several women noted, for example, that these types of community activities constantly invented and transmitted themselves in dynamic ways that promoted gender pride among Mexican women. Women's church choirs sang, for example, during mass and on religious holidays. Some of these choirs included the Mexican Women's Choir in Silvis, Illinois, which was established in 1925, and the Detroit Choir which was established in 1943 :

Mexican women were an integral part of the musical traditions in nearly all communities. Women performed as musicians, singers, and dancers. It was singing, however, where women were the most talented. Women sang in churches, during the fiestas, birthdays, weddings, and funerals.34

In addition to church choirs, Mexican women sang in duets, as solo vocal- ists with Mexican orchestras, and as members of popular singing groups. Some of these groups were Las Hermanas de Rockford (Illinois) and Las Dulceneras of Emporia, Kansas. Additionally:

The community of East Chicago had several different types of women's musical groups, including Las Jalisiences Duet, Las Hermanitas Gomez, the Fiestas Patrias Singers, and the Mexican Girl's Choir. Women sang in the church, the fiesta, community activities, and on the radio. We were not 92 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

merely background for the men, but equal in every way when it came to our rich tradition of music.35

Some Mexican women were also active in sports, especially baseball, before World War II. Women provided their fair share of athletic vitality within the narrow confines of the Mexican communities. Prior to World War II, there were several Mexican women's baseball teams in the Midwest:

Many of the young women were active with all types of sports in school. We formed community baseball teams because we enjoyed the competition. Most of our parents were very supportive as long as our brothers and male friends were our chaperons. We played against other Mexican women's teams from other communities.%

The best known teams were Las Gallinas of East Chicago; Las Cuauhtemocs of Newton, Kansas; Las Aztecas of Kansas City, Missouri; Las Amapolas, and Las Palomas of South Chicago. There were women's teams also in Chicago; Emporia, Kansas; and Gary and Whitney, Indiana. The state of Nebraska had teams in Beard, Grand Island, Omaha, and Lincoln. According to several eye- witnesses, many of the women's teams were excellent, and exciting to watch field, hit, and pitch:

They performed with devotion, speed, and great skill. The audience loved every great play they made, especially a stolen base. The parents made sure the girls were on time for all games and practice [sic]. They played in South Chicago, Whiting, Gary, Hessville ... hundreds came out to see them play 37

In addition to community teams, Mexican women played baseball for the Catholic Youth Organizations (CYO) and in city leagues. Women's social versatility in community organizations, cultural activities, and participation in sports and the fine arts helped them develop both self - reliance and team work, preparing them for unforeseen challenges during World War II and the post -war civil rights movement:

Young Mexican American women were very proud of our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts who were active with religious, civic, and cultural associations prior to the war. As young women, we were involved with the fiestas and sports, which helped us learn to be responsible and mature. We also learned to be independent because we were given difficult tasks by our MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 93

parents to do on our own. Little did we know at the time that these activities would eventually help us cope during the war and provide us with the skills for the civil rights movement afterwards.38

World War II: The Political and Social Impact on Mexican American Women The majority of Mexican families in the Midwest prevailed in the 1920s and 1930s against an inhospitable assemblage of physical displacement, cultural isolation, unflattering stereotypes, and inflammatory accusations of un- American behavior (accusations brought on by their insistence on maintaining their Mexi- can culture.) The obstacles Mexicans overcame during the twenties and the Great Depression were, in retrospect, only a dreadful preparation for their upcoming struggles during World War II and the post -war period. The war was a pivotal event in the development of the Mexican community in the Midwest. At the time of Pearl Harbor, Mexican Americans were not even aware of the unexpected challenges and changes that were about to take place in their community and personal lives. The war would lead to an upswing in community solidarity and produced a new generation of leaders who were bi- cultural and from working -class backgrounds. The community's fortitude to survive against all odds during the 1920s and 1930s explains in large measure its deep- rooted spirit of optimism both during and after the war. World War II was also a defining moment for Mexican women because it led to their social, cultural, and political transformation. The Japa- nese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, profoundly changed the entire Mexican community, and women in particular, forever:

On December 7, 1941, I was on an electric train between Milwaukee and Chicago when I heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The war changed all of our lives dramatically. I was later stationed for nearly four years in Orlando, Florida, in the Air Corps. All of my sisters worked in defense work during the war. It was difficult for me coping with our family being scattered every which way.39

The Mexican American residents of the Midwest, along with the rest of the nation, anxiously sat in front of their Philco, Motorola, or RCA radios and listened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war against Japan. Many of the non -English speaking Mexicans listened to the Mexican 94 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

radio programs on Sundays and read the Spanish- language newspapers for up- to -date news regarding the war. Mexican American women made key contributions during World War II. Midwest Mexican American women labored as riveters, crane operators, welders, assemblers, railroad section workers, roundhouse mechanics, forklift and crane operators, meatpackers, farmworkers, seamstresses, nurses, secretaries, pipe fitters, janitors, and shipyard workers:

My family came from Mexico to Chicago in 1924. In June, 1941, I started working for Abbott Labs as a typist. When the war broke out, I volunteered to work in the labs producing medicine for the war. I worked two shifts every week. In addition, I purchased war bonds to help our nation. My sister Lina worked at the local tannery making military boots, duffel bags, and military suitcases.4o

The wartime contributions of Mexican American women were not con- fined solely to work in defense industries. A significant number of Mexican American women eventually enlistedin the military service, with some of them serving overseas prior to the conclusion of the war in 1945. Several Mid- west Mexican American communities were represented by women in the armed forces during the war, including Topeka, Kansas; Davenport, Iowa; Milwau- kee, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Depue, Illinois; and East Chicago, Indiana. The Mexican community of East Chicago actually had seven young women serve during the war.41 Meanwhile, thousands of other Mexican American women aided the war effort by assisting in home -front activities such as organizing war bond drives, working with the local Red Cross, cultivating victory gardens, and collecting scrap metal for armaments:

The fiestas during the war had a different focus. For example, we sold war bonds, honored our fighting men and women, and had moments of silence and prayers for those killed in action. Also, in some of the fiestas, we had someone dress like Uncle Sam to pay tribute to our nation.42

Some young Mexican American women also formed social clubs, modeled after the USO, for Mexican American servicemen who were often barred from other establishments as a result of racial discrimination: MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 95

Many public places in Kansas did not allow Mexican American servicemen, including dance halls, bars, and restaurants. We formed a group called Las Señoritas, an extension of our local YWCA. We raised funds to sponsor dances and other cultural activities for these young military men. It was nice seeing them having a good time and forgetting about the war for a while.43

Unfortunately, there are no accurate records regarding the total numbers of Mexican American women who were employed in the Midwest during the war because Mexican American workers were simply categorized as "white" for purposes of company records. Based on extensive interviews, however, it appears that a significant percentage of Mexican women worked during the war. Mexi- can American defense workers were a diversified group comprising single women, married and divorced women, women over 50, and mother -daughter combina- tions in the workplace. Before the war, it was not unusual for single daughters living at home to work. Their employment was limited mainly to sewing and laundry and domestic work. Young, unmarried Mexican American women, in particular, applied for defense work for a variety of reasons, including the high pay, the glamour and excitement of such work, and the fact that defense work might provide the means to escape from a rigid upbringing at home. Mexican Ameri- can single women also found new employment opportunities during the war in various department stores as sales clerks:

Prior to the war, the only jobs available to young Mexican women were non -skilled types of occupations such as making cardboard boxes and sewing clothes. The war allowed us, for the first time, job opportunities as sales clerks and defense workers. The government was actually training us with job skills that would help us after the war.44

The most significant change for Mexican females, however, was in the number of married women who were now working outside the home. Before the war, married women might helped supplement the family income by taking in work at home, such as washing, ironing, sewing, and taking care of children and boarders. This great change during the war was based on in a realistic appraisal of the situation at hand. With so many young men off to war, other family members now had to earn the money for rent and food. During the war years, Mexican American women were employed in a vari- 96 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ety of war -related occupations, especially in the areas of aircraft, munitions, railroads, steel, and meatpacking for military rations. The majority of Mexican American aircraft workers were employed in Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma. Mexican American women were particularly in demand in this industry because of their small stature, which was an advantage when it came to working in cramped spaces aboard aircraft. Mexican American munitions workers helped produce bombs, fuses, tim- ing devices, bullets, machine guns, shell casings, land mines, bomb caps, car- tridge belts, grenades, light and heavy artillery, and rocket launchers. Mean- while, over in the steel industry, Mexican American women found employment in the steel mills of Chicago, East Chicago, Detroit, Lorain, Cleveland, and Gary. Mexican American women, many weighing no more than ninety pounds, worked in the rolling mills, the blast furnaces, and the open hearths of the steel mills. At the steel mills, they also operated cranes and operated punch presses, served as painters, loaders, welders, and riveters. and played an important part in the production of iron and steel for tanks, concertina wire, bullets, shells, jeeps, trucks, and steel beams for military housing:

I came to Detroit from Texas in 1944 because I had heard from people living in Detroit that the steel companies were looking for workers. I made steel beams for army and navy housing. I also worked as a painter and welder. At least 50 Mexican women worked in the paint department. Many women were, like myself, from Texas. We spoke Spanish with no problems from our supervisors (sic). After the war, many women and men returned to Texas. I stayed here in the Detroit area."

Mexican women also worked for the railroads during the war years, their work facilitated by the fact that many Mexican communities were located right along the tracks. Mexican American women labored as section workers, roundhouse mechanics, drawbridge operators, train dispatchers, loaders, maintenance workers, waitresses in the railroad lunchrooms, and as clerks in the ticket offices. Some Mexican American women also served as translators between the large number of Mexican braceros employed by the railroads and their Anglo supervisors. Finally, there were the meatpacking centers of the United States, historically located in the Midwest- especially in Omaha, Chicago, Topeka, St. Jo- MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 97

seph, and Kansas City. All of these cities had significant Mexican populations, and many of the large meatpacking companies during the war hired Mexican American women who worked as pork and beef trimmers, butchers, and pack- ers. These women helped produce the "C" and "K" rations for servicemen. For the Mexican American women who entered the labor force during World War II, the experience was difficult because of the unaccustomed separation from family members and friends, racial and sexual discrimination, worries about child care, and the physical demands of the work. A large majority of the women interviewed, however, agreed that the long -term personal and community benefits resulting from the war outweighed the short -term inconveniences. Mexican American women confronted a host of other problems, including budgeting their ration stamps, paying the bills, raising their children, grocery shopping, and constantly writing to loved ones overseas. Nevertheless, these economic and social difficulties were always overshadowed by the grim possibility that they could be notified that a father, brother, son, or husband had been killed in action. All of the women vividly remember where they were and what they were doing on that unforgettable day when they heard the news that the war had finally come to an end. One woman recalled:

I was welding some materials together for a part of a tank when all of sudden I noticed lots of commotion on the work floor as women were hugging and crying. I turned off my torch gun and heard the company whistle tooting and tooting. One of my friends ran up to me and told me that the war was over. I remember sitting down on a work bench, placing my hands over my face and crying. All of the emotion which had been locked up for all these four years was released. All I could think about was that our boys would finally be coming home to be reunited with their families.46

After the war, some Mexican American family members of veterans traveled to Mexico in order to settle their mandas (vows) to La Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos. The parents of these returning veterans had made a promise that they would travel to Mexico to give thanks to the Blessed Mother if she protected their loved ones during this great global conflict. As Mexican American servicemen and defense workers slowly adjusted to peacetime, however, they were again confronted with the emotionally charged reminders of their pre -war, second -class status. Their hopes for a better life had 98 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

soared during and immediately after the war, but now their hopes plummeted because of the harsh realities of racism. Mexican Americans who had defended this country were again denied public entrance to bars, restaurants, barber shops, and pool halls.47 Such acts of visible racism were commonplace throughout the Midwest. Despite some forms of token social integration, the Mexican community had reason to be outraged by such actions as organized drives by some Anglos to prevent Mexican Americans from moving into their neighborhoods, even with the assistance of the G.I. Bill. Not surprisingly, many Mexican American veterans and former defense workers felt utterly betrayed, but not dispirited, by the country they had served so well during the war.48 The Mexican American community also was losing patience with unpaved streets, segregated housing, inadequate sewage facilities, the lack of recreational services in Mexican neighborhoods, and the restrictions placed on Mexicans who visited certain movie houses, restaurants, parks, and churches:

During the war, there was lessening of discrimination by some public places because they needed our money, with so many Anglos in the service. After the war, some restaurants, stores, and taverns again refused to serve us on an equal basis with whites. We knew this was totally unfair because we had worked hard to win the war. At that moment, my generation realized we had to do something to change this social condition, not only for ourselves but for our children. We didn't want our children to experience the social and economic hardships we suffered during the Depression and the war.49

Despite the disappointing aftermath, the war years unquestionably modified the social and political attitudes of Mexican Americans, and there was a particular change -and a positive one -in the traditional roles of women at home, in the workplace, and in the larger community. Many women believed the war marked a historical turning point in their lives and in the community, because it provided them with an unprecedented opportunity to develop political awareness, social independence, and economic self -reliance- personal strengths and skills that were exceedingly important in the post -war movement for Mexican American rights in the Midwest:

All of us were definitely changed by the four years of defense work. Prior to the war, we were young women with few social and job skills. But the war altered these conditions very quickly. By the end of the war, we had been transformed into young, mature women with new job skills, self -confi- MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 99

dence, and a sense of worth as a result of our war contributions. Just as the war had changed boys into men, the same thing happened to us girls. We were now women.5°

Mexican American women generally defined their own personal rights in a broader way after the war, and took them to mean -among other things -an equal voice in the decision -making at home, the right to pursue educational goals, the right to seek outside employment, and the freedom to participate in community organizations. These social and cultural concepts of gender equality were unprecedented in scope and a major breakthrough for the equal opportunity of women. The recession during the early part of the 1950s also forced many Mexican American men to reconsider their objections to married women in the workplace. It was becoming obvious that a single paycheck could no longer provide the income needed to raise a family. Over time, some men came to accept the fact that their own upward social mobility depended, in large measure, on the additional income generated by their wives. This growing economic importance of women also helped change the political attitudes of men toward women regarding gender equality. There was, for example, a group of influential Mexi- can American men who actively supported wider civic and political participation by women.51 These men clearly understood that their own political aspirations were, to some extent, contingent on the emerging voting power of Mexi- can American women.

During the war, many of us registered to vote for the first time and later marked our ballots for FDR for President. We were active with the fiestas, volunteering for the local Red Cross, the USO, and working with church groups. All of these community experiences helped us develop our organizational skills and develop networks among the women. As it turned out, these skills and networks were valuable for our community after the war.52

The expanding political and economic roles of Mexican American women dramatically redefined the notion of leadership after World War II. The war permanently transformed a new order of gender politics in the Midwest. This ongoing change in gender leadership was clearly seen a few years later when the Korean War broke out. A number of Mexican American women noted in retrospect that their employment and community involvement during the Korean War had the full support of their men. This was not always the case during 100 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

World War II, when there was a cultural backlash by some of the male leadership. This gradual change in attitude by the male leadership can be attributed largely to the advances by women, and the increasing recognition of the political and economic value of women. Most Mexican American women felt that this unconditional endorsement of their participation during the Korean War was a yardstick of their growing political importance and their developing social equality within the Mexican American community during the post -war period."

The Roles and Contributions of Midwest Mexican American Women in the Post -War Civil Rights Movement The post -war period witnessed a significant demographic change within the Mexican American community in the Midwest. Mexican Americans, charac- terizing many walks of life, blended into a multitude of sub -cultures. There were, for example, Mexicans personifying such diverse groups as Mexican braceros,Texas migrant workers, and first and second generations of Midwest Mexican Americans. In addition, Puerto Rican migration into the Midwest was significant in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Mexican American women representing various segments of the community continued, in their own unique ways, to regenerate the rich legacy of progressive struggle. By the 1950s, Mexican American women, for example, employed a new sense of community diplomacy through a full -range of political, economic, and cultural strategies to meet the challenges of discrimination. Women moved ag- gressively to widen the community agenda by speaking out in favor of more and better street lights, parks, recreational centers, senior citizen housing, bus service, and paved streets. They also enriched the political menu by introducing several innovative forms of conciliatory, yet potent tactics for the social transformation of the community.

Women also brought different perspectives regarding strategies for social change. Our approach was different from the men. Whereas Mexican American men attempted to verbally and physically intimidate the Anglo establishment, we women appealed to what was best for the entire community. Anglo and Mexican men were many times too stubborn to compromise- afraid it was a sign of male weakness. Mexican women, on the other hand, generally sought consensus building, which was sometimes slow, but MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 101

an effective method for social change. Sometimes, both approaches effec- tively complemented each other.54

The broad community outlook of Mexican Americans was that they had earned the right to be treated as first -class citizens, since they had fought and worked side -by -side with Anglos on the battlefield and in the defense plants. The post -war Mexican American generation of leaders first sought political guidance from their elders on ways of challenging institutional discrimination. But sadly, the combination of the Depression, the Repatriation Program, World War II, and internal factionalism had taken its toll on the older Mexican leadership resulting in an organizational void in the community, despite its astonish- ing endurance. To provide effective leadership, therefore, Mexican Americans formed several organizations in the Midwest in the late 1940s and the 1950s.55 These organizations, unprecedented in scope, predated by nearly ten years the recruitment drives by the national offices of the G.I. Forum and LULAC in the Mid- west. In addition to being active in the establishment of these early Mexican American organizations, Mexican women also formed their own groups, such as the Latin -American Ladies' Clubs, and formed local chapters with Anglo -led state organizations such as the Mothers of World War II. About the Mothers of World War II of Indiana, it was said:

The purpose of the organization was to unite all mothers of sons or daughters who served in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, to help those sons and daughters to foster and perpetuate the American way of life, and to aid and assist in teaching the advantages of freedom and the duties and obligations of citizenship in the United States of America.56

The establishment of these post -World War II organizations signaled the birth of a new era in the Mexican community, as the first generation gradually relinquished their leadership to the second, American -born generation.

In 1961, President John Kennedy talked about the passing of the torch from one generation to another generation. The same can be said of the post -war period when Mexican American veterans and defense workers representing the second -generation claimed their leadership roles in the community. It represented both a new era and the end of an era. The contributions and progress made by our parents' generation was the foundation for our organizations.57 102 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

As a consequence of this generational changeover, Mexican American organizations forged ahead in the courageous fight to abolish the remaining vestiges of overt public discrimination. They sought to eliminate the unfair poll tax and literacy requirements for voting, to end the practice of excluding Mexican Americans on juries, to confront discrimination in labor unions, to thwart restrictive housing covenants, and to legally challenge discriminatory educational policies hurting Mexican American children. The new leadership of women and men also promoted voter registration drives, sponsored citizenship classes and political forums, and encouraged political involvement in all its forms by members of the Mexican American community.5s All of these activities helped erase most of the unfair election laws in the Midwest, and directly led to the election of a few Mexican American candidates to local political offices in the1950sand early1960s.Mexican American women played important roles in these campaigns; most community leaders, in fact, would probably agree that women were the organizational backbone of nearly all the early campaigns.59 Women walked precincts, designed and printed campaign materials, addressed and stuffed envelopes, operated phone banks, and organized the community to get out the vote on election day.

There is no doubt that women played a key role in the development of Mexican American politics. Women's networks are centered in the heart of the community with neighborhood associations, church and school groups, and the fiestas. These networks were critically important during political campaigns.ó0

One woman activist recalled that:

In 1968, I protested the fact that none of the poll watchers and officials were Mexicans. No Mexicans were allowed to work the polls. We protested and some of us were reluctantly recruited as volunteers but were assigned to the back room, away from the public view. We protested these actions as well and eventually won our right to be represented in the political pro - cess.6'

A significant chapter in the evolution of Mexican American politics was the "Viva Kennedy" movement in1959and1960.The vast majority of Mexican Americans culturally identified themselves with U.S. Senator John E Kennedy, because, among other things, he was a Catholic, a war hero, and he could trace his ethnic roots to a large immigrant family. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 103

The "Viva Kennedy" national campaign marked a historical watershed for Mexican Americans for three major reasons. First, this was the first campaign in which Mexican Americans were planning strategies and setting the agenda at the national level rather than the local level. Second, the campaign served as a sort of catalyst for consolidating the vast array of Mexican American local organizations into a single national movement; and third, it provided the boost that was needed to bring about the election of dozens of Mexican Americans to offices at the local, state, and congressional levels. The "Viva Kennedy" campaign has often been viewed as a Southwestern political phenomenon. In reality, however, the Midwest Mexican American community was also extremely active politically during this campaign in Kan- sas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa.CZ One Mexican American woman who was an ardent supporter of Kennedy recalled:

The Kennedy campaign had tremendous Mexican American support in the Midwest. We formed several local and state chapters of the "Viva Kennedy" clubs. The Mexican community voted for Kennedy in Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Mexican American women were truly partners with the men working on behalf of Senator Kennedy.63

Around the time of this campaign, both the Texas -based G.I. Forum and LULAC formed state chapters in the Midwest. Several Midwest Mexican Ameri- can women then went on to hold national positions with these two groups; as Mary Machuca of East Chicago, Indiana, was elected Second National Vice - President of LULAC in 1957, and Maxine Rodriguez was elected the National Women's Chair of the G.I. Forum in 1983. LULAC and the G.I. Forum were very active in pushing for Mexican American appointments to state commissions, civil rights and human relations boards, migrant agencies, and educational task forces. Through LULAC and the G.I. Forum in the Midwest, Mexi- can American women have contributed immensely to the political visibility of their community.

LULAC and the G.I. Forum have been and continue to be critical organizations in the Midwest. They are involved with issues ranging from voting rights to senior citizen housing to economic development. Yet, their legacy will center on their generous investment in the field of education. From the beginning, both groups have seen education as the key to all change. The younger generation owes a great amount of gratitude to LULAC and 104 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

the G.I. Forum for their tireless efforts for educational equality.6ç

In addition to their political and educational interests, Mexican American women were active in the labor movement after the war. The union movement was critical to the social advancement of Mexican Americans in the late 1940s and the 1950s. A significant number of women had become union members and leaders as a result of working in union shops. Mary Rivera Ruiz, for example, joined the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America in 1956. In 1972, she was elected Vice- President of Local 26 and in 1974 became Associate Manpower Representative for the AFL -CIO Human Resources Development Institute in Detroit, Michigan. Furthermore, the Inland Steel Company Twenty -Five Year Club included, as members, 14 Mexican American women with 25 years of company service or more.65 Louise Perez had nearly 45 years of experience with the company. Another female union member looked back on her union experience and said:

Many Mexican American women were card- carrying union members since 1942. Women belonged to several unions, including the steelworkers, railroad workers, meat cutters, mechanics, and retail clerks. Some of us were union members before our brothers and husbands, who didn't become union members until they returned home from the war.66

A Mexican American female union organizer observed that:

My father came to work for the railroads from Mexico in 1909. For his generation, many companies in collusion with the Anglo unions locked out the best jobs for Mexicans. After the war, I ran for a union position with the United Autoworkers union Local 144 and won. The company was the Mack Truck Company. Mexican American women in the union were actively engaged in voter registration campaigns, and organizing the community.6"

Additionally, Mexican American women and men were instrumental in the establishment of civic improvement associations in the forties and fifties. These groups offered a bold departure from the popular strategy of electoral politics, operating at the grass -roots level, and placing pressure on elected and appointed officials from outside the political system. The active involvement of women with these civic groups further strengthened the democratic fabric within the Mexican American community. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 105

Civic and improvement associations believed in neighborhood politics rather than city hall politics, including Mexican American elected and appointed officials. It was not that these groups mistrusted Mexican American public officials; they simply mistrusted the system which can corrupt even the best intentions of public officials, even our own.6$

Across the Midwest, Mexican Americans established nearly one hundred civic improvement associations from the late 1940s through the 1970s. These associations wrestled with serious issues during this time and sparked a frenzy of activity in the neighborhoods. Mexican American women, for example, were involved with these associations because the groups tended to be neighborhood -based and focused on issues of special concern to women, including safer parks, better police and fire protection, better street lighting, higher quality schools, and more frequent garbage collection. Mexican American women also continued to be actively involved with the fine arts and sports in the aftermath of World War II and Korea. Again, sports and the fine arts were meaningful indicators measuring the expanding social and cultural roles of women in all aspects of community life. Women's softball teams, for example, flourished in the period from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Women also were participants on Mexican American mixed bowling teams, and in leagues such as the Quad- Cities Women's Bowling League and the Latin American Ladies Bowling League. The latter included many teams from throughout the Midwest.

Mexican American women were very active with bowling teams and leagues after World War II. Many women were members of both company and community teams. We had excellent women bowlers. The nice thing about bowling was that it was a total family affair.69

In the arts, Mexican American women contributed significantly to dance, music, and the theater.70 As was the case before World War II, there were dozens of Mexican women's choirs or coros after 1945, including Las Señoritas De Parsons, Kansas, in the early 1960s. Women's singing groups continued the rich tradition started by their grandmothers in the 1920s. The groups sang in church, during the fiestas, Las Posadas, and other community functions. The presence of women became much more visible after the war, as they enthusias- tically expanded their roles and responsibilities in all facets of community life. 106 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Conclusion The 1960s was a period of stress and catastrophic change for Mexican Ameri- cans after the civil rights gains of the late 1940s and the 1950s. For one thing, the hard -won gains of Mexican American citizens were overshadowed in this period by events and movements that competed for public attention with the movement for Mexican American rights. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, for example, was a devastating blow to Mexican American social and political aspirations. The majority of Mexican Americans had believed strongly that President Kennedy would articulate their goals at the national level, and pursue policies favorable to their aims. In contrast to the 1960 Kennedy campaign, Mexican American support for Lyndon Johnson in 1964 lacked a strong emotional commitment, despite the establishment of a national "Viva Johnson" campaign. Furthermore, the late 1960s saw the emergence of the Chicano Movement, which tended to view the preceding generations of Mexican Americans as too accommodating to the Anglo power structure. This new generation of Chicano community leaders was impatient with the slow progress towards equal opportunity that came with the electoral politics pursued by the earlier generation of Mexican American leaders. "In spite of political victories, union gains, and the social progress achieved by their predecessors, the Chicano leaders felt that racism still permeated American education, politics, health care, housing, and the marketplace for labor, services, and ideas. Members of the Chicano Movement believed that drastic confrontational tactics had to be pursued in order to shake up the political establishment. For many, the Chicano Movement symbolized a higher level of political consciousness and cultural pride.

The Chicano Movement further multiplied the political and social movements within our community. By the late 1960s, there were several different types of organizations representing a wide spectrum of political and cultural ideologies. There were mutual -aid societies, the G.I. Forum and LULAC, and now the cultural nationalist groups.72

The 1960s and 1970s also saw the continued demographic changes taking place among Latinos in the Midwest. In addition to the three distinct generations of Midwest Mexican Americans and migrant workers, the Puerto Rican MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 107

and Cuban communities emerged as political competitors to the Mexican Ameri- can leadership. During these two decades many professional Latin Americans arrived from Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Equador, and Brazil, and formed a variety of Latino groups. The older generations of Mexican Americans, however, refused to simply step aside in the struggle for civil rights despite political rivalry from both outside and inside the community. During this increasingly troublesome time, they lived up to their hard -earned reputation as durable leaders in the face of persistent adversity. The G.I. Forum, for example, launched the Coors boycott, and both the Forum and LULAC were strong backers of the California farmworker movement led by César Chávez, and both groups supported bilingual legislation and the end of the bracero program. Women and men of the World War II generation were instrumental in establishing Mexican American state commissions and electing Mexican American candidates to local and state offices in the 1970s.73 In hindsight, several Midwest women involved in the Chicano Movement credited their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts for their political awareness, because these women served as their role models and mentors. Many Chicanas recalled growing up in households where their mothers and other women were involved in community issues during the 1940s and 1950s, including political campaigns, migrant services, the educational reform movement, and the push for economic development.74 Like the generations of women before them, Chicanas carried on the activist tradition of Mexican American women in the Midwest and were directly involved with La Raza Unida Party, the Chicano student movement, the Brown Berets, the United Farmworkers' boycott of grapes and lettuce, the Campbell Soup boycott, and the antiwar movement during the Vietnam conflict. The 1970s and 1980s saw continued expansion of Mexican American women's organizations in the Midwest:

Mexican American women have played and continue to play major roles in the political, economic, and cultural advancements of the community. Women were involved in the community prior to World War II. In addition, Mexican American women were in the forefront of the Chicano Move- ment. Yet, many issues directly affecting women have not yet been addressed. These issues include wage and job discrimination, family planning, domestic violence, lack of prenatal care, sexual harassment, and lack 108 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

of educational opportunities. The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of a strong women's movement for resolution of these problems.75

Much of the contemporary research on the early Mexican and Mexican American generations continues to focus primarily on the Southwestern male viewpoint. This narrow outlook ignores the critical contributions women made to the social and political development of Mexican Americans throughout the country from the 1920s to the 1960s. Thus, more research is needed in order to substantiate, for example, the changing ratio of Mexican men to women during this time period, and how this fluid proportion between the sexes may have affected the varying degrees of leadership among women; how industrial and agricultural economies may have had contrary influences regarding the development of women's organizations; the possible correlation between the proto- types of women's organizations and the levels of cultural acculturation and economic class; and the political dimensions of the fine arts and sports in promoting gender equality. In conclusion, it must be said that most of the living Mexican Americans that first settled in the Midwest as children are now in their70s and 80s. Despite their ages, however, many are still very active with community organizations. Others are involved, for example, with teaching folkloric dance and other fine arts to the latest generation of Mexican American children in the Midwest. Other members of this older generation are helping Chicano scholars and other researchers document the rich history of the Mexican people in the Midwest through oral history. Some are also organizing senior citizen groups -including El Club Social Mexicano, Los Amigos Retirees Club, and the Spanish- Speaking Senior Citizens - to address the special issues and needs of the Mexican American elderly. Many key leaders of the senior citizen movement in the Midwest are Mexican Ameri- can women. The inescapable conclusion is that this Mexican American generation continues to provide a sense of stability and a strong bond of continuity for both the Chicano generation which came of age in the late 1960s and 1970s and the current set of young Mexican American leaders in the 1990s. The legacy of the early Mexican American immigrants in the Midwest is that they continuously challenged all of the signs and symbols of racial bigotry, sexism, and xenophobia. The importance of their contributions is measured by the fact that each year that passes lends further luster to their outstanding achieve- MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 109

ments. In a moving tribute to the first two generations of Mexican women and men in the Midwest, a community organizer observed that these two earlier generations gave generously of themselves during their entire adult lives:

The first and second generations are slowly passing away in our community. There are very few of the first generation still alive today. The second generation is also getting up in years. Remarkably, many of the leaders of the senior citizen movement today are the same people who were active in the 1930s and 1940s. They began organizing in the early part of this century and have continued into the 1990s. It is only fitting that our original leaders have come full circle regarding their community commitment, from their youth until their golden years.'

NOTES This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book entitled Cuentos y Encuentros: Mexican Social and Cultural Organizations in the Midwestern United States, The Politics of Self - Reliance, 1914 -1950. The author wishes to thank Stuart Anderson for his excellent edit- ing and suggestions. Also, my heartfelt gratitude and respect to all of the women and men interviewed for this article. Many of the people cited reside in Kansas. The reason for this is that Kansas was an important entry point for many people arriving from Texas and Mexico. Kansas also has the dubious reputation of having been the most racist state regarding Mexicans, which explains, in large part, the organizational resistance by the community.

2 George J. Sanchez, Mexican American Ethnicity, Culture and Identity In Chicano Los An- geles, Oxford University Press, 1993; Mario T. García, Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity, 1930 -1960, Yale University Press; Mario T. García, Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona, University of California Press, 1994; Benjamin Marquez, The Evolution of a Mexican American Political Association: LULAC, University of Texas Press, 1993; Carl Allsup, The American G.I. Forum: Origins and Evolution, University of Texas Press, 1982; and Henry J. Ramos, A People Forgotten, A Dream Pursued: The History of the American G.I. Forum, 1948 -1972, Volume I, Ameri- can G.I. Forum, August, 1982. Miguel David Tirado, "Mexican- American Community Political Organizations: The Key to Chicano Political Power," Aztlan, Spring, 1970; Salvador Alvarez, "Mexican- Ameri- can Community Organizations," in Voices: Readings from El Grito, ed. Octavio Romano, Quinto Sol Publications, Berkeley, California, 1971; Rodolfo Alvarez, "The Psycho -His- torical and Socioeconomic Development of the Chicano Community in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, March, 1973, pp.920 -942; and Alfredo Cuellar, "Perspectives on Politics, Part I," La Causa Politica: A Chicano Politics Reader, edited by E Chris García, 110 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

University of Notre Dame Press, 1974, pp. 34 -46. These articles provide historical over- views regarding the perspective of cultural assimilation and political accommodation of early organizations.

4 Op. Cit. Garica, Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity, 1930 -1960, pp. 19 -22.

5 Rodolfo E Acuña, Community Under Siege: A Chronicle of Chicanos East of the Los Angeles River, Chicano Studies Research Center Publications, University of California, Los An- geles, 1984; Mario Barrrera, Race and Class in the Southwest: A Theory of Racial Inequality, University of Notre Dame Press, 1979; Richard A. García, Rise of the Mexican Middle - Class: San Antonio, 1929 -1941, Texas A & M University Press, 1991; Juan Gómez - Quiñones, Chicano Politics: Reality and Promise, 1940 -1990, University of New Mexico Press, 1990; and Guadalupe San Miguel, Let All of Them Take Heed: Mexican Americans and the Campaign for Educational Equality in Texas, 1910 -1981, University of Texas Press, 1987. In all fairness, some of these publications do allude to the roles of Mexican women within the civil rights movement.

6 Felix M. Padilla, Latino Ethnic Consciousness: The Case of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans in Chicago, University of Notre Dame Press, 1985; James B. Lane and Edward J. Escobar (Eds.), Forging A Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919- 1975, Cattails Press, Chicago, 1987; Michael M. Smith, The Mexicans in Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, 1980; Dennis Nodín Valdes, Al Norte: Agricultural Work- ers in the Great Lakes Region, 1917 -1970, University of Texas Press, 1991; Juan R. García (Ed.), "Mexicans in the Midwest," Perspectives in Mexican American Studies, Vol. 2, Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1989; Erasmo Gamboa, "Mexican Migration into Washington State," Pacific Northwest Quarterly, July, 1981; Fernando Padilla, "Mexicanization of the Lower Yakima Valley," Revista Apple, Vol. 2, No. 1 -2, Spring, 1991; Daniel Estrada, Political Mobilization and Representation in Mexi- can Origin Communities of Eastern Washington, Unpublished paper, 1995; and Gilberto García, "Organizational Activity and Political Empowerment: Chicano Politics in the Pacific Northwest," The Chicano Experience in the Northwest, edited by Carlos S. Maldonado and Gilberto García, Kendall /Hunt Publishing Company, Iowa, 1995, pp. 67 -92. Christine Marín, "La Asociación Hispano- Americano De Madres y Esposas: Tucson's Mexican American Women in World War II," Renato Rosaldo Lecture Series Monograph, Vol. 1, Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1985; Señoras of Yesteryear (SOY), Mexican American Harbor Lights, East Chicago, Indiana, 1992; Teresa Córdova, "Roots and Resistance: The Emergent Writings of Twenty Years of Chicana Feminist Struggle," Handbook Of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Sociology, edited by Felix Padilla, Arte Publico Press, 1984, pp. 175 -202; Vicki L. Ruiz, Cannery Women/ Cannery Lives: Mexican Women, Unionization, and the California Food Processing Industry, 1930 -1950, University of New Mexico Press, 1987; and Richard Santillán, "Rosita the Riveter: Midwest Mexican American Women During World War II," Perspectives in Mexi- MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 111

can American Studies, Vol. 2, Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, 1989. s Edward Adam S. Kendzel, Detroit's Pioneer Mexicans, Littlefield Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980; Susan M. Diebold, "The Mexicans," They Chose Minnesota, Minnesota Historical Society; Alicia Florez, Carmen García, and Eva Pierra, Historia Mexicana: Topeka, Kansas, Historia Mexicana, Inc., 1984; Chas. M. Meyers, "The Mexican Prob- lem in Mason City," The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Iowa City, Iowa, April, 1929; Kathleen Eberdt, Special People: Ethnic Contributions to the Bettendorf Community, Bettendorf Museum(Iowa), 1983; Francisco A. Rosales, "Mexicans in Indiana Harbor During the 1920s: Prosperity and Depression," Revista Chicano -Riquena, Vol. 4, Octo- ber, 1970; and Gilbert Cardenas, "Los Desarraigados: Chicanos in the Midwestern Re- gion of the United States," Aztlan, Vol. 7 No. 2, 1974.

9 Interviews with Juana Caudillo, Hutchinson, Kansas, March 22, 1988, and Filiberto and Josefina D. Martinez, Elgin, Illinois, April 18, 1987. Also see Dennis Nodín Valdes, El Pueblo Mexicano en Detroit y Michigan: A Social History, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 1982; Minnesota Historical Society, Mexicans in Minnesota, St. Paul, Minne- sota, 1977; and Juan R. García, "Midwest Mexicanos in the 1920s: Issues, Questions and Directions," Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 19, April, 1982, pp. 89 -99.

° Interview with Cruz Cruz, Wellington, Kansas, June 15, 1987. Also interviews with Carmen Martinez, Kansas City, Missouri, February 19, 1990, and Maria García de Orta, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1988. Mrs. Martinez was born in 1907 and Mrs. de Orta in 1903. Both women arrived in the Midwest during the early 1920's. Also see John Caro Russell, Jr., and Walter D. Broadway, Minorities in Kansas: A Quest for Equal Oppor- tunity, Office of the Governor, Topeka, Kansas, 1968, and Ralph E Grajeda, "Chicanos: The Mestizo Heritage," Broken Hoops and Plains People, Nebraska Curriculum Develop- ment Center, 1976. Not all Mexicans, however, came directly to the Midwest from Mexico or Texas. A significant number of people worked first in Texas, Colorado, California, Wyoming, Idaho, or New Mexico before moving on to the Midwest. For example, only about 15 percent of the Mexican workers who settled in Illinois came directly from Mexico or the Texas border area. All the rest had been somewhere else in the United States for at least two years.See Ralph Cintrón, "Divided, Yet a City: A Brief History of Aurora, Illinois," Perspectives In Mexican American Studies, Vol. 3, 1992, Mexican American Studies & Research Center, University of Arizona, p.5. In the same volume, see Irene Campos Carr, "Mexican Workers in Aurora: The Oral History of Three Immigration Waves, 1924- 1990," pp.31 -51.

12 Interview with Sabastian Alvarez, Fort Madison, Iowa, June 19, 1986. Mr. Alvarez and his brother, Manuel, worked forty and fifty years, respectively, with the railroads, beginning in the early 1920s. 112 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

13 By 1927, the number of Mexican workers and their families in this region had reached 63,700, with nearly 80,000 in the busier summer months. See Zaragoza Vargas, "Armies in the Fields and Factories: The Mexican Working Classes in the Midwest in the 1920s," Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos, Regents of the University of California, Winter, 1991, p. 51. Also see Earl T. Sullenger, "The Mexican Population of Omaha," Journal ofApplied Sociology, Vol. 8, No. 5, 1924, pp. 50 -57; Norman D. Humphrey, "The Migration and Settlement of Detroit Mexicans," Economic Geography, Vol. 19, 1943, pp. 358 -361; and Micheal Hutchinson, River ofSteel/River of Sweat.: The Hispanic Community in Muscatine, Iowa, 1919 -1980, Unpublished paper, 1988. 14 Interviews with Rita and Abe Morales, Gary Indiana, June 21, 1986; Filiberto Murguia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 10, 1986; Irene García, Dodge City, Kansas, January 13, 1987; and Jesse Villalpando, Griffith, Indiana, June 21, 1986. All five individuals have spent their entire lives in the Midwest since the early 1920s and are considered community `historians'. Also see Norman D. Humphrey, "Employment Patterns of Mexicans in Detroit," Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 68, No.11, 1945, pp. 911 -23, and Paul Taylor, Mexi- can Labor in the United States: Chicago and the Calumet Region, University of California Press, 1932,

15 Interview with Francisco Vargas, Topeka, Kansas, February 12, 1987. Also see Walter W. Armentrout, et. al., Child Labor in the Sugar Beet Fields of Michigan, National Child Labor Committee, New York, 1923, and Zaragosa Vargas, Mexican Auto Workers at Ford Motor Company, 1918 -1933, Ph.D Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1984. Mexican workers were more subject than native -born American workers to suffer industrial death, traumatic injury, or disability. The Midwest economy was inherently unfair and resulted in both social dislocations and economic injustices for the majority of Mexican workers. Behind the walls of towering industrial fortresses, Mexican workers fell victim to toxic dust, dangerous chemicals, noxious fumes, and work -related stress. Mexican workers faced constant dangers in packing houses, ice houses, salt mines, auto plants, steel works, and on the farms. Also, Mexican workers usually were assigned to the most menial tasks, that offered minimal opportunity for job advancement.

16 Interview with Cipiana Rodriguez, Garden City, Kansas, January 13, 1987. Ms. Rodriguez's father was one of the first Mexicans to work and settle in the Garden City area in the early 1900s.

17 Daniel T Simon, "Mexican Repatriation In East Chicago, Indiana," The Journal of Eth- nic Studies, Vol. II, No. 2, (Summer, 1974), p.11.

8 Generations United Kansas Humanities Council, Topeka, Kansas, March, 1994, p. 8. As a direct result of this sensational population growth, an estimated 300 Mexican communities of various sizes were flourishing in the Midwest by 1930. In Illinois, Kansas, Mis- souri, and Oklahoma, about 70 Mexican settlements alone were clustered along the line of the Santa Fe Railroad. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 113

19 Interview with Anthony "Tony" Navarro, Davenport, Iowa, June 23, 1986. Mr. Navarro is a long time resident of the Quad- Cities area and continues to remain active in various community organizations and activities. In Kansas, Mexican families settled in East Wellington, Northwest Fredonia, South Garden City, Southwest Hutchinson, South Wichita, Southeast Dodge City, South Horton, Southwest Newton, and Southwest Par- sons. Elsewhere in the Middle West, there were Mexican communities in North Minne- apolis, Southeast Albert Lea, and West St. Paul, Minnesota; South Milwaukee, East Waukesha, and South Racine, Wisconsin; West Gary, South South Bend, West Fort Wayne, and East Chicago, Indiana; West Sterling, East Aurora, West Moline, South Rockford, and West Silvis, Illinois; East Tulsa, Oklahoma; Southeast Scottsbluff, Ne- braska; South Toledo and West Cleveland, Ohio; Southwest Davenport and West Des Moines, Iowa; and East Flint and Southwest Detroit, Michigan.

20 Interview with Ester Scobee, Wellington, Kansas, June 17, 1987. Ms. Scobee's relatives were one of the original families to settle in Wellington, Kansas. In addition, Ms. Scobee and her family have been active with the fiestas for years. Also, telephone interview with Frank Montez, Depue, Illinois, January 11, 1995. Mr. Montez noted that it was not uncommon for Mexican communities to have their own distinct name during the 1920s.

21 Fiesta Brochure, Fort Madison, Iowa, 1985. Also see Judith E Laird, Argentine, Kansas: The Evolution of a Mexican American Community, 1905 -1940, Ph.D. Dissertation, Uni- versity of Kansas, 1975; Ciro H. Sepúlveda, La Colonia del Harbor: A History ofMexicanos in East Chicago, Indiana, 1919 -1932, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Notre Dame, 1976; and Louise Año Nuevo Kerr, "Chicanos in Chicago: A Brief History," Journal of Ethnic Studies, Vol. 2 No. 1, 1975, pp. 22 -32. Additional designations for Mexican communities in the Midwest during the 1920s and 1930s included The Flats, La Colonia, Smelter Hill, Las Lomas, Silver City, El Huarache, Little Chihuahua, Little Mexico, Cement Row, Mexican Village, Las Casitas, La Negra, La Garra, El Jardin, La Paz, West Bottoms, Santa Cruz, Goat Hill, McClue Flats, the Y, the Strand, La Hoyita, Holy City, Barrio Dogpatch, Sandtown, El Pozo, El Serape, Oakland, La Polvosa, Mexican Town, El Barrio Nuevo, The Q, The Bush, Steelton, and El Palomar. In addition to their distinct community names, many of these Mexican communities were geographically identified by certain streets and key intersections within the larger city. 22 Interviews with Eva Hernandez, Hutchinson, Kansas, January 23, 1987; Rosendo M. Terronez, Silvis, Illinois, June 21, 1986; Federico Herrera, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 11, 1986; and Ray Soltero, Kansas City, Missouri, March 30, 1995. All of these individuals shared common stories about sympathetic Anglos who assisted the Mexican community in many ways, despite negative reactions from their Anglo counterparts. Also see Louise Año Nuevo Kerr, The Chicano Experience in Chicago: 1920 -1970, Ph.D. Disserta- tion, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, 1976. 23 Interview with Jose Montes, Horton, Kansas, June 28, 1988. Mr. Montes was a key organizer in the Mexican community in Horton and was largely responsible for establish- 114 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ing a mutual -aid society and the fiestas in the early 1920s. Also see Stanley A. West, The Mexican Aztec Society: A Mexican American Voluntary Association in Diachronic Perspec- tive, Arno Press, New York, 1976, and Jose Amaro Hernandez, Mutual Aid for Survival: The Case of the Mexican American, Krieger Publishing Company, Florida, 1983. 24 Interviews with Avelina Hernandez, Parsons, Kansas, March 8, 1987; Maria Flores, Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, July 10, 1986; Gloria Alfaro, Hutchinson, Kansas, March 24, 1988; and Jesus (Jessica) Sauceda, Elgin, Illinois, April 15, 1987. All four of these women have been active for years with their respective churches. Also see Juan R. García and Angel Cal, "El Círculo de Obreros Católicos San José, 1925 to 1930," Forging A Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest, Indiana, 1919 -1975, edited by James B. Lane and Edward Escobar, Cattails Press, 1987, pp. 95 -114. Some of these women's religious groups were La Sociedad del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, La Sociedad Católica Mexicana, Las Hijas de María, La Sociedad Santa Cruz, La Sociedad de Damas de Guadalupe, Los Padres de Familias, Our Lady of Guadalupe Women's Club, Las Damas Católicas, Las Madres Católicas de Nuestra Señora, the Legion of Mary, and the Altar Rosary Society. 25 Interviews with Victoria Quintana, Parsons, Kansas, July 9, 1988, and Dora Falcon, Dodge City, Kansas, February 27, 1987. Both women noted that women have been active with various churches in the Midwest, and have been in the forefront for social justice. In addition, the author has collected dozens of photographs showing women dominating religious groups and conferences prior to the 1940s. Also see Allen Figueroa Deck, S.J., Gilbert M. Hinojosa, Michael J. McNally, and et. al., "Midwestern Catholi- cism and the Early Mexican Parishes, 1910 -1930," Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church, 1900 -1965, edited by Jay P. Dolan and Gilberto M. Hinojosa, University of Notre Dame Press, 1993. 26 Interview with Petra Rodriguez, Dodge City, Kansas, June 24, 1988. Also see Robert Oppenheimer, "Acculturation or Assimilation: Mexican Immigrants in Kansas, 1900 to World War II," The Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. XVI, No. 4, October, 1985, pp. 429 -448.

27 Interview with Leonarda Barretos, Dodge City, Kansas, June 24, 1988. Also see Ruth C. H. Crocker, "Sympathy and Science: The Settlement Movement in Gary and Indianapo- lis, 1889 to 1930," Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University, 1982, and Barbara Macklin, Structural Stability and Change in a Mexican American Community, Arno Press, New York, 1974. 28 Interview with Micaela Chavez Calvillo, Hutchinson, Kansas, January 24, 1987. Some of the most active women's groups in the Midwest included La Sociedad Femenina Mexicana, La Sociedad Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, La Sociedad Mutualista Hijas de México, El Club de Madres Mexicanas, El Club Femenil Aguiletas Aztecas, El Club Auxilar Femenil de La Unión Benito Juarez, La Femenil Tesoro Del Hogar, Las Hijas de Juarez, La Sociedad de Señoras y Señoritas, La Asociación Feminil Pro -México, and La MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 115

Brigada Cruz Azul. La Brigada Cruz Azul, for example, had chapters in communities throughout the Midwest, including Detroit, Chicago, East Chicago, Gary, Lorain, Ohio; and Hutchinson and Parsons, Kansas.

29 Interview with Jose Inez Santa Cruz, Fairmont City, Illinois, March 14, 1987.

30 Interview with Froilan Aguinaga, Elgin, Illinois, April 14, 1987. Also see Paul L. Warnshius, "Crime and Criminal Justice Among Mexicans in Illinois," National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Report on Crime and the Foreign -Born by the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Washington, D.C. Government Print- ing Office, 1931, and R. Arturo Rosales, "Mexicans, Interethnic Violence, and Crime in the Chicago Area During the 1920s and 1930s: The Struggle to Achieve Ethnic Con- sciousness," Perspectives in Mexican American Studies, Vol. 2, 1989 Mexicans in the Mid- west, Mexican American Studies & Research Center, The University of Arizona, pp. 59- 97.

31 Interview with Josephine N. Paz, Waukegan, Illinois, April 13, 1987. Also interview with Julie (Macias) Cuellar, Newton, Kansas, June 18, 1987.

32 Interview with Russ Cuellar, Newton, Kansas, February 1, 1987. Also see Nicolas Kanellos, "Mexican Theater in a Midwestern City," Latin American Theater Review, Vol. 7, Fall, 1973, pp. 43 -48.

33 Interview with Hazel Gomez, Topeka, Kansas, February 9, 1987. Also interviews with Grace Rivera, Rockford, Illinois, April 20, 1987, and Virginia (Rodriguez) Radford, Horton, Kansas, written correspondence dated February 9, 1995.

34 Interview with Luci C. Gajec, Detroit, Michigan, May 14, 1987. Also interviews with Alejandra Alcala, Topeka, Kansas, June 30, 1988, and Magdalena Mora, Chanute, Kan- sas, June 10, 1987. All three women have been long -time fiesta participants in their communities.

35 Interview with Juanita Vasquez, East Chicago, Indiana, May 18, 1987. Also interviews with Linda de Leon, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Rita (Pompa) Camacho, Elgin, Illi- nois, April 13, 1987. These women have excellent knowledge regarding the rich history of Mexican music in their respective community.

36 Interview with Carol García Martinez, East Chicago, Indiana, May 18, 1987.

37 Ibid. Harbor Lights, p. 80.

38 Interview with Eva Hernandez, Hutchinson, Kansas, January 22, 1987. Also interview with Aurora Boyos, Chanute, Kansas, March 7, 1987. The fiestas in Chanute, Kansas can be traced prior to 1920. There is speculation that Chanute, Kansas may have sponsored the first fiesta in the Midwest. 39 Interview with Mariano Placencia, Waukegan, Illinois, May 22, 1987. 116 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

40 Interview with Clementina Placencia, Waukegan, Illinois, May 22, 1987. In addition, it appears that some Mexican women worked in the shipyard industry in the Midwest. Carmen (Ortiz) Pérez, for example, worked at the Prairie Shipyard in Seneca, Illinois. She helped with the construction of LSTs (Long Ship Tanks) between May 1942 and June 1945. Telephone interview with her daughter, Mamie (Pérez) Guerra, Lake Forest, Illinois, October 5, 1995. 4I Interviews with Marge Villanueva Lambert, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 3, 1987; Gloria C. Fraire, East Chicago, Indiana, May 18, 1987, and Romana Acosta Sinclair, Kansas City, Missouri, May 27, 1988. Lambert served with the Women's Army Air Corp (WAAC) while both Fraire and Sinclair enlisted with the Women's Air Corps Service (WACS). Also, written correspondence with Virginia (Rodriguez) Radford, Horton, Kansas, De- cember 19, 1994. Mrs. Radford worked in military intelligence during the war as a translator for the War Department. She was assigned to the Censorship Station located in San Antonio, Texas, translating materials arriving from Spanish -speaking nations. 42 Interview with Hazel Gomez, Topeka, Kansas, February 9, 1987. During the war, the fiestas, in many Mexican communities, were used to sell war bonds, to collect scrap metal, to write letters to servicemen and women overseas and at home, and to recruit volunteers for the local Red Cross chapter and civil defense teams. 43 Ibid. Interview with Hazel Gomez. 44 Interview with Natalie Martinez, Sterling, Illinois, May 26, 1987. Also, interview with Ila Placencia, Des Moines, Iowa, June 17, 1986. Ms. Placencia lost two brothers during World War II. 45 Interview with Ester Beard, Ecorse, Michigan, May 16, 1987. A general review of the literature reveals only one book that discusses in detail Mexican American female defense workers. Sherna Gluck's study examines the lives of several Mexican American aircraft workers who were employed in the Los Angeles area. Gluck's book is entitled Rosie The Riveter: Women, The War, and Social Change, Twayne Publishers, Boston, 1987. 46 Interview with Ermelinda G. Murillo, East Chicago, Indiana, October 16, 1987.

47 Interviews with Ben Franco, Omaha, Nebraska, August 18, 1985; Joe Terronez, Silvis, Illinois, June 21, 1986; Charles Sandoval, East Moline, Illinois, June 22, 1986; Felisa Ruiz, Kansas City, Missouri, February 24, 1987; Ventura Tellez, Bethlehem, Pennsylva- nia, July 13, 1987; and Antonia Molina, Flint, Michigan, May 5, 1987. These individuals were active with the post -war civil rights movement for social and economic equality for Mexican Americans. Also see Raul Morin, Among the Valiant: Mexican Americans in World War II and Korea, Borden Publishing Company, Alhambra, California, 1966.

48 Interviews with Julia Padilla, Aurora, Illinois, April 25, 1987; Juanita Vasquez, East Chi- cago, Indiana, May 18, 1987; and I.C. Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska, June 16, 1986. These individuals were also active with several post -war organizations and activities promoting equal rights for the Mexican American community. MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 117

49 Op. Cit., interview with Juana Caudillo. Also interviews with Jenny (Valenzuela) Beck and Natalie Martinez, Sterling, Illinois, May 26, 1987; G. Lupe Flores, Detroit, Michi- gan, May 15, 1987; and Felisa A. Terronez, Davenport, Iowa, written correspondence dated February 24, 1994.

50 Interview with Victoria Morales, Topeka, Kansas, February 11, 1987.

51 Interviews with Anthony "Tony" Navarro, Davenport, Iowa, June 20, 1986; and I.C. Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska, June 16, 1986. These two men noted that men eventually saw their political aspirations linked directly to a stronger voice for women at all aspects of community life.

52 A group interview with the Women of Soy, East Chicago, Indiana, May 18, 1987.

53 Interview with Ester Perez, East Chicago, Indiana, May 18, 1987. Many Mexican Ameri- can women worked in both wars. For example, Margaret Rocha Bridges and Margaret Lopez Vargas of Davenport, Iowa, worked at the Rock Island Arsenal. In addition to defense work, a few Mexican American women served in the armed forces during the Korean War. Stella Sanchez of East Chicago, Indiana, for example served in the United States Air Corp. Her sister, Ann, had served in the WACS during World War II.

54 Interview with Maria Luz Corona, East Chicago, Indiana, August 16, 1986.

55 Ricardo Parra, Victor Rios, and Armando Gutierrez, "Chicano Organizations in the Mid- west: Past, Present and Possibilities," Aztldn, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1974. Also see Richard Santillán, "Latino Politics in the Midwest," Latinos and the Political System, edited by F. Chris García, University of Notre Dame Press, 1988. These new organizations included the Latin -American Veterans, Mexican American Servicemen's Association, Latin -American Social Clubs, Latin -American Association, Inc., United Betterment Club, Civic Coun- cils for Mexicans, Latin -American Youth Clubs, Organization for Political Action, Latin Clubs, Mexican American Democratic Clubs, Mexican American Veterans, Latin Ameri- can Democrats, Hispanic American Club, Our Lady of Guadalupe Club, Catholic War Veterans, Mexican G.I. Club, Kansas Civic Council, and La Asociación Educativa.

56 Op. Cit., Harbor Lights, p. 67.

57 Op. Cit., interview with I.C. Plaza.

58 Interview with Eva Hernandez, Hutchinson, Kansas, January 22, 1987. Also interview with Alejandra (011ie) Zuniga, Saginaw, Michigan, May 7, 1987. Both women have a long history of leadership within the G.I. Forum. 59 Interviews with Dante Navarro, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 27, 1986; Jesse Villalpando, Griffith, Indiana, July 21, 1986; Perry García, Davenport, Iowa, June 21, 1986; and Eva Zavala, East Moline, Illinois, June 25, 1986. 6o Interview with Nancy "Rusty" Barcelo, Iowa City, Iowa, June 26, 1986. Ms. Barcelo is currently an administrator with the University of Iowa and has a great interest in the 118 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

history of Mexican American women in the Midwest. 61 Op. Cit., interview with Eva Hernandez. 62 Interviews with Joseph Ramirez, Omaha, Nebraska, June 16, 1986; Dante Navarro, Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, August 27, 1986; and Jesse Villalpando, Griffith, Indiana, July 21, 1986. All three of these individuals were active in the 1960 "Viva Kennedy" campaign in the Midwest.

63 Op. Cit., interview with Eva Hernandez. 64 Interview with Lydia Gonzales, Garden City, Kansas, January 19, 1987. 65 Op. Cit., Harbor Lights, p. 34. 66 Op. Cit., interview with Ester Beard.

67 op. Cit.,interview with Eva Zavala.

G8 Interview with John Sanchez, Kansas City, Missouri, February 27, 1990. Some of the civic groups in which women played key roles included the Westside Improvement Asso- ciation of St. Paul; the East Topeka Civic Association; the Association for the Advance- ment of Latin Americans of Detroit; Latinas Unidas Para Acción de Toledo; the Mexican Civic Association of Dodge City; Latin Americans United for Progress of Holland (Michi- gan); Concerned Citizens Project of Silvis (Illinois); the Mexican American Council of Chicago; the Mexican American Citizens Club of Lorain (Ohio); United Mexican Ameri- cans of South Bend; La Voz of Parsons (Kansas); Council for the Spanish -Speaking of Milwaukee; Missouri Citizens for Democracy; and El Club Americano of Akron, Ohio. 69 Interview with Jenny Perales García, Omaha, Nebraska, June 2, 1987. 7o Op. Cit., interview with Aurora Boyos.

71 Rodolfo E Acuña, Occupied America: The Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation, Canfield Press, San Francisco, 1972.

72 Interview with Patrick Velasquez, Omaha, Nebraska, June 16, 1986.

73 Interviews with Leticia Patino, Columbus, Ohio, September 1, 1985; Jose Trejo, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 1, 1986; Francisco Rodriguez, Madison, Wisconsin, July 7, 1986; Miguel Teran, Des Moines, Iowa, July 18, 1986; and Rudy Perales, Lincoln, Nebraska, August 17, 1985. All five individuals have served as executive directors of state commissions in each of their respective states. Also see Richard Santillán, "Latino Political Development in the Southwest and the Midwest Regions: A Comparative Overview, 1915- 1989," Latinos and Political Coalitions, Political Empowerment for the 1990s, edited by Roberto E. Villarreal and Norma G. Hernandez, Greenwood Press, 1991. 74 Interviews with Olga Villa -Parra, South Bend, Indiana, August 30, 1985; Francis García, Hutchinson, Kansas, August 15, 1985; Laura Reyes Kopack, Detroit, Michigan, Octo- ber 21, 1981; and Carmen E. Guerra, Kansas City, Missouri, February 27, 1987. These MIDWESTERN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 119

women have been active in numerous political organizations and activities. García served, for example, as mayor of Hutchinson, Kansas, Villa -Parra served on the South Bend School Board, Guerra served as a Democratic committeewomen, and Reyes Kopack has been active within the Michigan Republican Party.

75 Interview with Paula Jasso, Topeka, Kansas, September 11, 1994. In the Kansas state election in 1994, Ms. Jasso ran for the office of Secretary of State, the first Mexican American to do so. Although she did not win the statewide seat, her campaign and vote total were impressive. Also see interviews with Maria Enrique, Flint, Michigan, May 11, 1987 and Lourdes Flores, East Chicago, Indiana, July 28, 1986. Both women have been active in women's issues and organizations for years. Some of the Midwestern community groups which have embodied the resurgence of the women's movement since the 1970's have included Adelante Mujer, Mujeres Unidas, Las Mujeres de la Esperanza, El Grupo de Mujeres Hispanas, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, the Mexican Ladies Associa- tion, the Mexican American National Association, the Mexican American Women's Busi- ness and Professional Club, La Asociacion Latina de Servicios Educacionales, Mas Mujeres, the Hispanic Women's Network, the Hispanic Women's Forum, Comité de Las Damas, Club Norteño, Las Mujeres Unidas de Michigan, and the Alliance of Latin Women of Waukesha.

76 Interview with Hazel Gomez, Topeka, Kansas, September 9, 1994. Mrs. Gomez was very active serving the Mexican community during World War II and is currently involved with assisting senior citizens. Her husband, Robert, served in both World War II and Korea, and has been a long -time leader with the League of United Latin American Citi- zens in Kansas.

COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS: ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN A NORTHERN NEW MEXICAN VILLAGE

María Ochoa

Our ancestors came to this valley nearly 200 years ago seeking pasture for their sheep. They lived off the land surviving harsh mountain isolation through cooperation and self reliance. These values created Tierra Wools which is one of the programs of Ganados del Valle (Livestock Growers of the Valley). Ganados aims to insurethat weaving, wool growing, and shepherding continue as a way of life here.'

Afmid the expansive, scenic rural lands of Northern New Mexico, at a distance rom the tourist -congested towns of Santa Fé and Taos, in the village of Los Ojos, are a group of women and men who are developing the means to sustain their vision of rural economic development. In this region, which can claim the questionable status as one of the most impoverished areas in the nation, villagers are struggling to create and maintain themselves within a cooperative economic venture whose multi -leveled mission is the cultural reclamation, local development, and long -term planning of the region. This non -profit economic development corporation, Ganados del Valle, is the parent organization to a series of local business -based initiatives. First came Tierra Wools, a spinning and weaving cooperative; later on, the self -described Rio Arriba Wool Washing emerged; followed by Pastores Lamb, an organically- raised meat marketing and distribution enterprise; and eventually, Pastores Feed & General Store. What follows is a description of one aspect of Ganados del Valle's work; specifically, the oral histories contained herein concern themselves with the formation of Tierra Wools.

Many thanks are due to the member -owners of Tierra Wools, who took valuable time away from their families and their weaving to speak with me.It is clear that without their individual and collective assistance this manuscript would not exist today. Angela Y. Davis, Angie Chabram -Dernersesian, Bar- bara Epstein, and Gini Matute- Bianchi deserve un grito de gracias for their close readings and comments during all the stages of this work; and a special grito de alegría to Barbara Ige and Teresia Teaiwa for their encouragement in the later stages of my project. 122 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Tierra Wools is the name of a decade -old Northern New Mexico -based weaving cooperative of Hispanas2 based in the Chama Valley in the village of Los Ojos. In 1981 the cooperative existed as an idea in the minds of three people. In 1992 it operated as a quarter million dollar local economic development venture consisting of thirty workers. Of these workers, there are twenty- nine women and one man; most of the women are Hispanas of mestiza ances- try; two are Indias, and two of the women are Anglo.3 Their ages range from eighteen to sixty. They are single women and married women, mothers and grandmothers, and many come from families that have lived in the area for more than two generations. Some of the weavers learned their art at their grandmothers' knees, and others are new to the art form. They each brought a commitment to making Tierra Wools a success. Their accomplishments, in turn, have meant a number of positive things for the villagers. Tierra Wools was begun as a means of economic survival; the weaving cooperative was created to provide an economic form of community. The resulting growing membership of women and their creative collaborations have provided the Hispanas with a certain kind of economic agency. That this small group of committed villagers would, with no personal capital, limited or no weaving skills, and no marketing experience, successfully establish and maintain a small business in a world of increased globalization of capital is remarkably significant. However, the achievements of this venture have been long in coming. In spite of the organization's seemingly large annual income, cooperative members exist close to the economic edge. The most successful weaver's annual salary is approximately $17,000. As a young business venture, Tierra Wools is most vulnerable to the fluctuating trajectory of the economy, and because it continues to operate almost exclusively out of storefront offices in isolated Los Ojos, a rural village almost three hours north of Santa Fé, it is highly dependent on seasonal tourism. This reliance on tourist travel means that peak periods of positive cash flow are the spring and summer months. Tierra Wools members make very little money during the winter, when the mountainous roads leading to the village are snowbound. The Hispanas of this village are not new to economic struggle, however, and this project was about more than creating a small business. The weaving cooperative was also a cultural reclamation and reinvention project. The woven art made by Tierra Wools weavers reflects the historical confluence of Native COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 123

American, Spanish colonial, and Mexican mestizo cultures as interpreted by late twentieth century artisans who, in their turn, are affected by the electronic media, computer technologies, and other forms of mass communication. The Hispanas of Tierra Wools, through the assistance of an Anglo weaver, and a Hispana community organizer, came to learn the various weaving traditions which were historically centered in this valley. That cultural knowledge provided them with another way of understanding themselves in relation to being Hispanas, and this self -knowledge allowed for Tierra Wools members to reconsider and to represent themselves in the myriad ways in which they operate in the course of their lives. As a result, they have developed and woven their particular brand of political and cultural consciousness into the fabric of the venture. The women of Tierra Wools have created a space in their commercial dealings where the value of their weavings has a significance beyond the "exchange value of the product." In order to understand how the successes of Tierra Wools can encompass all of these separate accomplishments, it is necessary to briefly revisit some of the history that preceded the establishment of the cooperative. In this territory that is sparsely populated there is a great value placed on the relationship of people to the land, and on the number of generations that one can count as having family stewardship to "The Land." This has been the case for 300 years, especially for those living in the Chama Valley. In this way, "The Land" serves as both subject and object in the social and political struggles of the area. It exists as the historically and socially constructed object of material desire between binary forces, such as between "natives" and "imperialists." Examples of such binary conflicts can be seen in various moments of Northern New Mexi- can history: indigenous people battling Spanish imperialists; Mexicans against "Americans "; Las Gorras Blancas contra the Santa Fé Ring; shepherds versus cattle ranchers; La Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres fighting the State of New Mexico; Hispana weavers in dispute with Anglo environmentalists. "The Land" serves as the imaginary subject of spiritual desire within Anglo cultural production: such as in the literature of D.H. Lawrence, in the artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe, and in the photography of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. How- ever, for people such as the Hispanas/os, who maintain another kind of relationship to "La Tierra," and who call it, "Mother "; and for people, such as the Indias /os, who believe "The Land" exists in a state of animus, the earth is not 124 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

bifurcated into object /subject relations. For indigenous people as well as the Hispanas /os, who are immigrants with a long tenure on "La Tierra," their cultural representations of it are rendered by their relationship to, or by their stewardship of the earth. The resulting social, economic, and cultural structures that have emerged in Northern New Mexico, within the tensions of the political economy and cultural traditions, have been rendered into a particular form of belonging. This structure of belonging, identified as being unique to Latina /o populations, has been named as "cultural citizenship." Cultural citizenship, as defined by Rina Benmayor, is based on those "affirmative actions toward empowerment [which] are claims based on human, social, and cultural values, rather than on legal rights. "4 The works of Tierra Wools exemplify this notion of "belonging" as the Hispanas /os have successfully shown that, despite generations of poverty and disadvantage, they are not passive, do not "accept their fate," and are actively searching for ways to improve their lives and community life through cultural expression.

Social Conditions in Northern New Mexico One significant effect of colonization was the cultural and social mixing of indigenous people, Indias /os, and the Spaniards, Españoles. Their progeny were called mestizas /os, mixed -blooded people, who would later call themselves Mexicanas /os, and even later, Hispanas /os. Initially, mestizas /os were generally unwelcome and held in low- esteem by Indias/os and Españoles because of their perceived lack of ethnic purity. As the mestiza /o population increased, they come to be tolerated if not accepted. This co- existence was frequently tumultu- ous, but the harsh climate and terrain of Northern New Mexico forced a certain level of cooperation among the people inhabiting the region. Shepherding, itself, demanded cooperative behavior and sharing of resources: grazing land, breeder sheep, and water. The distribution of land through the Spanish land grant system tended to include a large number of communal land grants, which Malcolm Enbright, a New Mexican land grant legal scholar, described as follows:

A community grant is made to a group of usually ten or more who receive private allotments of land for their homes, gardens, and fields. They use the rest of the grant in common for grazing their animals, gathering fire- COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 125

wood, collecting building materials, and gathering other resources from the land such as herbs and acorns.5

In addition to land holdings and shepherding activities, aesthetics from the different cultures were shared, merged, and altered among the Indias /os, Españoles, and mestizas /os. One aesthetic and economic tradition that emerged from this period was the weaving of wool blankets, rugs, and clothing. During this period certain weaving patterns, colors, and techniques emerged as the core elements in the fundamentals of contemporary weaving.' After the U.S. -provoked "Mexican War" in 1848, the United States appro- priated a region, approximately half the land of the nation of Mexico. Geo- graphically, it consisted of what is now called the Southwest: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Texas, as well as parts of what would become the states of Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming.' The taking of communal land, contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, was detrimental to the local economies of the region, because the structure of community lands generally meant "the combining of private ownership of small individual plots with communal ownership and governance of vast areas of common lands for purposes of grazing and harvesting. "8 The near annihilation of the cultural and economic notion of pastoral communality in Northern New Mexico resulted in the impoverishment of, and eventual migration out -of -area by many families. However, some villagers chose to resist the incursion and remained. Those families who stayed did so because of "fierce cultural pride and deep ancestral con- nections to the land. "9 In addition to these individual forms of resistance, there were loosely organized responses to the expropriation of lands. Las Gorras Blancas was active in Northern New Mexico, where most of the land grants were awarded to communities rather than to individuals.10 Between 1889 and 1891, Las Gorras Blancas, whose primary organizers were members of the small, but influential middle -class, engaged in a series of direct actions that included cutting fences and destroying the property of the Anglo ranchers who had expropriated what was formerly communal grazing land. They operated in a rather fragmented fashion and outside of these activities, seemed lacking in strategy and goals." Las Gorras Blancas were allied to the Knights of Labor, a national anti -capitalist organization of workers, with a predominantly Anglo membership. The Knights of Labor were more interested in building upon the anti -monopolist sentiments 126 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

aroused in the Mexican community by the direct actions of Las Gorras Blancas than they were in helping reclaim communal land grants.12However, they cooperated in the effort to assert the claims of Las Gorras Blancas. In turn, both groups worked within an electoral coalition that evolved -El Partido del Pueblo Unido. The alliance that comprised El Partido included Las Gorras Blancas, Hispano Democratic Party activists, Anglo Knights of Labor, and disaffected Hispano Republicans. With such an eclectic group, competing strategies emerged, but were never fully realized. El Partido had some inital electoral successes, but eventually fell victim to factionalism. However unsuccessful they were in the long run, the combined activism of these groups did stave off, for a few years, the ever expanding use of land for single -family ranching. During this same period a new form of colonization developed in the name of conservation in the form of the National Forest Service.13 Nearly a million acres were taken from Northern New Mexico villagers between 1854 and 1930 by the Forest Service on behalf of the federal government.14 Sheep ranchers paid grazing fees to the Forest Service to use lands that were once theirs. This taxation and the economic difficulties confronted by small -scale sheep ranchers created severe economic hardship for the villagers. The loss of communal grazing lands required pasturing the sheep on small family plots that were inadequate to ensure a profit. In spite of the hardship, some families held on to their flock, as the sheep served as a connection to the old pastoral way of life. The flock also served as an important food source and as a buffer from total impoverishment.15 No one who was a sheep rancher in this period escaped the winter storms in the early 1930s or the general economic malaise of the Great Depres- sion. These two factors destroyed most of the large -scale sheep operations which were primarily operated by Anglos. During the period dating from the days of Las Gorras Blancas in the 1890s to the time of La Alizana Federal de Pueblos Libres in the 1960s, the residents of Northern New Mexico carried on the struggle to reclaim their lost lands and to hold on to their cultures.16 In the 1930s, many people left the villages in order to secure jobs through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) with mining firms, and by following seasonal agricultural work. During the three decades between 1930 and 1960 more than half of the population of the Rio Arriba region migrated to urban areas as the local economies failed to sustain the people living there. By the 1960s, 41 percent of the remaining population COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 127

of Rio Arriba County survived on less than $3,000 a year.' 1963, the villagers of Northern New Mexico organized themselves into the La Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres. They intended to accomplish nothing less than recovering their ancestral lands and regaining water access rights.18 In response to their activism, the National Forest Service systematically reduced the number of grazing permits it issued to the locals. As the government action became more punitive, the membership of La Alianza grew. The traditional communality of the Hispanas /os was reflected in their almost exclusive focus on matters directly related to community cohesion.' There were attempts, particularly by the older members of La Alianza, to extend the practice of communality by creating a shared leadership. It was suggested that this could occur among members representing the various contested land grants by con- stituting a ruling mesa cósmica.2Ó The potency of the younger, male- dominated leadership, most notably that of Reies López Tijerina, thwarted such egalitarian aims.21 The village of Tierra Amarilla and the surrounding area situated in the northern quarter of Rio Arriba County, was the site of La Alianza's major activities in 1966 and 1967. While those actions are not recounted here, it is important to note that they brought national attention to the severe economic and social circumstances of the villagers living in Northern New Mexico.22

Kitchen Table Activism María Varela had been a part of the Civil Rights Movement as a member of the Student Non -Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She served as both a national staff member in New York and as an organizer in Mississippi.23 Dur- ing her tenure with SNCC, Julian Bond introduced her to Reies López Tijerina.24 López Tijerina was, at the time, the primary leader of the Northern New Mexico land grant movement, and he invited María to work with him. She arrived in Northern New Mexico in 1969. After a few months with López Tijerina, she left his organization and worked on land -related issues with other people living the Chama Valley. She fell in love and married one of the villagers. María and her husband lived modestly in their trailer on the edge of the village of Los Ojos. In the years that followed, María worked with other villagers to establish first an agricultural cooperative, then later helped re- establish a local health clinic.25 128 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Ironically, it was her history of activism and tendency to engage in direct action that made her suspect in some people's eyes. So, when she sat down for a kitchen table meeting in 1981, with two other villagers of Los Ojos, she was still thought of as an "outside agitator" by one of them, Antonio Manzanares. Manzanares was a sheep rancher, who found himself at this meeting, which had been called by Gumercindo Salazar, a school teacher and part -time sheep rancher. Both Antonio and Gumercindo counted generations of their families as villagers in Northern New Mexico. Their provinciality was not so paramount as to obscure their shared visions of an improved quality of life for the villagers of the area. They talked about their visions and they also shared their suspicions regarding each others' political motivations.26 In deference to their political suspicions and in respect to the need for a social strategy, the three chose to participate in a series of informal kitchen table sessions. The trio came together with the common desire to improve the quality of life for the village that included: developing a business enterprise that would utilize local resources, creating jobs for people living in the area, and preserving the region's unique cultural identity. Antonio and Gumercindo were frustrated by the lack of sufficient grazing land for their small flocks27 and the out- migra- tion of local people seeking work. All three were interested in asserting more local control over the prevailing economic conditions of the region; but above all, they were all three committed to the people and the land. María, Antonio, and Gumercindo were college graduates who, over the years, had opportunities to build professional careers. These jobs, however, required that they, like so many before them, leave the village. For their own reasons, each chose to remain in Rio Arriba County.28 The three held regular brainstorming sessions in which a collectively created vision and strategy began to emerge. In keeping with many of the cultural and economic traditions of the area, they imagined a cooperative venture where villagers could raise sheep, which in turn, would provide wool for spinning.29 From 1981 to 1983, Gumercindo, Antonio, and María were able to launch their program by successfully reinstituting communal shepherding practices in the area.30 The interest of local residents and the propitious collaboration of the organizers meant that the establishment of an institution was now feasible and desirable. It was possible for Ganados del Valle to be born. The market for lamb fell into two categories: wool and meat, as did the division of labor and efforts COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 129

of the Ganados leadership. Antonio and Gumercindo coordinated the sheep ranching; María headed the wool production component that eventually became Tierra Wools.

A Weaving of Economics and Cultural Production Ganados members chose the craft of spinning as their initial project. This allowed them to enter into wool production with little capital outlay. They began their research and development work by meeting and talking with weavers and spinners throughout New Mexico. Rachel Brown, a nationally regarded Anglo weaver, spinner, educator, and successful business owner from Taos,31 was introduced to María. Rachel said of this first meeting:

I was working with a group called The Mountain and Valley Wool Associa- tion, and Lorraine Mooney, who was active in that group, introduced us. We met for lunch one time and we just got along great immediately."

When she arrived in Los Ojos in 1983, Rachel found "the lustrous, long - stapled wool of the region perfect for hand spinning. "[I also] saw in the community an intense interest in spinning and weaving. ..and an interest in learning to use a spinning wheel. "33 Most spinners in the area had spun wool on a hand spindle called a malacate. They had never used the more expedient spinning wheel. Because of the speed and the opportunity for greater quality control made possible by the use of the spinning wheel, it became a tool that was vital to the success of the nascent art project. Rachel suggested holding a workshop to introduce the wheel to the local spinners. A few weeks later she returned to conduct a spinning workshop and more than fifteen participants attended. Afterwards, she visited an exhibition of weavings by local residents at the community health center. After viewing the exhibit, she asked to meet the weavers and was taken to a former convent in the village. There she found several women elders working on looms crowded next to each other in a tiny room. Both María and Rachel agreed that the interest in weaving, and quality of the local weavings suggested the inclusion of woven goods into their enter- prising efforts.34 The parameters of their artistic venture were established: Tierra Wools would be involved in the spinning and weaving of locally grown wool products. The hand -woven items, produced by the local weavers, were initially 130 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

done in the traditional weaving style of the Rio Grande. Rugs and blankets with stripes and geometric designs such as the saltillo, a chevron design typical in Mexican and New Mexican weaving, and the vallero, a star design of Spanish origin, were made with natural and hand -dyed colors.' Rachel Brown was hired as a consultant with money María raised from progressive funding organizations such as the Shalan Foundation and the New World Foundation.36 For the first year Rachel commuted the 160 mile round - trip to Los Ojos once a week on Tuesdays to conduct spinning and weaving classes.37 The curriculum, specifically designed for Tierra Wools by Rachel, was covered in fifty lessons. The class content included beginning and advanced weaving, spinning, dyeing, and marketing. The training required applied arts projects, two -hour lectures and demonstrations, and reading assignments. The first training series was, of course, conducted by Rachel; those participants who graduated earned the title of maestra. They were expected to teach the curriculum to subsequent classes. Rachel had designed and written the curriculum specifically for the needs of the cooperative. Her contract with the cooperative, however, included a provision specifically stating that the curriculum was the property of Tierra Wools. This contractual provision ensured the continuation of the training through peer education, and made the cooperative more independent of Rachel.

Collective and Personal Development In addition to the technical training, Rachel also "taught" the women aesthetics as they created their woven projects. Rachel said:

I was designing the products that they would do. ..[and providing]... guidelines for picking colors because their color sense was kind of wild. Their color sense was very limited.

At first, I made the guidelines, and I said, `OK, now the rug had to be two - thirds one value, not just half light and half dark. I kind of figured things out in my head that were a few simple rules, and within that they could choose whatever colors they wanted.38 This aspect of the training raises questions about the nature of and the formulation of creative expression within the parameters of aesthetics that were imposed upon the weavers. However, all of the four weavers that were interviewed felt that Rachel helped them improve their work. 'When Rachel estab- COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 131

lished an aesthetics guideline, she was probably grounding her criteria in the marketing and sales of the woven products as much as in her own personal sense of weaving aesthetics. This aspect of the training might have contributed to the initial sense of fear the Hispanas had in thinking of themselves as artists. But, as the beginning weavers came to have faith in their abilities, they lost the fear and gained confidence in their work, as well as in their personal lives.39 Today they need no encouragement or prompting to call themselves artists or weavers. They actively seek out and work with other weavers, such as neighbor- ing Navajo women, for ideas and support. As has been the case over the centuries in New Mexico, there continues to be a blending of cultures. Most notably for the weavers, the manifestation of the cross -over occurs in their woven works. For example, the pattern of a tapestry woven by María "Nena" Russom was inspired by a tile floor she saw while watching a video. About this technologi- cally induced inspiration, she said:

One day I was watching the movie Beetlejuice, and I saw that the tile on the floor looked three -dimensional. So, I stopped the video and copied the pattern onto a sheet of paper. I later wove a rug that had the three- dimen- sional look like the tile had. I like doing stuff like that 40

Or, as in the case of Sophie Martínez, some weavers look to the everyday for inspiration in their weaving patterns and combine their ideas with material from art books and museum catalogues. She said:

Most of the ideas that I have are from things that I see.It could be a shape or something. Lots of times I take ideas from books on weaving and make them unique.I combine those ideas with my own shapes.41

Because the work of Tierra Wools eventually attracted international attention in the world of weavers and wool growers, it has not been uncommon for people from as far away as Germany, England, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Argentina to make the long trek to the Tierra Wools store. During such visits there are frequently exchanges of weaving ideas, patterns, and technologies between the Hispanas and their visitors. One of the most influential opportunities for inspiration happens when the weavers travel out of the area on behalf of Tierra Wools. When they are "on the road," whether it is to the Smithsonian Museum for a cultural fair, or to Bloomingdale's in Manhattan for a display of weavings, or to a wool growers convention in San Antonio, the 132 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Hispanas who travel seize the moments for creative inspiration. While it can be said that Tierra Wools is a weaving cooperative of Hispanas, it is important to note that it was not born of a sisterhood whose foundation was a "politics of unity' solely based on gender ";42 rather, Tierra Wools came out of "pursuit of solidarity' through different political formations. "43 The weaving cooperative members were not unlike many of their Chicana urban and suburban counterparts in that they saw themselves as operating within a broad political and cultural terrain that includes making many kinds of alliances. As a result, they did not hold rigid or fixed notions about the ethnic or cultural backgrounds, or the sex, or the class position that allowed or permitted one to become a member -owner of the cooperative.44 This attitude likely contributed to the fact that even though the weaving cooperative is predominantly Hispana, there are weavers who are of other cultural backgrounds, and there is one man who weaves. When asked if they considered themselves "feminists," the members ofTierra Wools neither embraced nor rejected the category; they were all indifferent to the notion. While their lives as women had clearly been marked by the experiences of building the weaving cooperative, and while they were very much a part of a cooperative of women weavers, their work within a woman -run business was not critically examined. The notion of a tentative "sisterhood" existed for some of the women as they talked about their relationship to another group, the Rainbow Weavers, which was composed of Navajo women. Nena Russom said of their relationship:

The Rainbow Weavers are Indian weavers. We kind of call them our sisters because we help them out and they help us out 45

Some of the women responded to the question by talking about how their lives had been altered by becoming weavers. Joanna Terrazas was one woman for whom becoming a weaver meant a change of direction in life.46 As of 1992, Joanna was a member of the Ganados del Valle Board of Directors as well as a member -owner of Tierra Wools. Joanna's affiliation began in 1983 when her husband, Randy, was talking to Antonio Manzanares. Antonio mentioned the new weaving enterprise and encouraged Randy to send Joanna over to the classes. At the time she earned money by painting details on brass model trains and crocheting apparel. Joanna approached the spinning group and was invited into COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 133

the class; she, along with seven others, formed the first class of Rachel's training program. Joanna said of her early experiences in the cooperative:

I started just crocheting, and then I went on to spinning and to the weaving. Then I started to get into the management part of the business.I was the marketing manager. Last year my health got real bad, and I felt it was because I was marketing manager, vice president of Ganados, and I was weaving. I felt like an octopus. So, I eliminated a lot of things. Right now I'm not doing any administrative jobs. I'm just weaving.47

In actuality, Joanna was involved in more than the weaving aspects of this "sheep to shawl" enterprise. Both she and her husband, Randy, raised sheep, and in 1991 their flock of 70 included the churro and karakul breeds. Her children also worked with the flock. Her daughter was raising two sheep, a ewe and a ram; and her son accompanied his father on his rounds of tending the sheep. The familial effort in sheep ranching was fairly common among the members of Ganados. Adults and children alike, regardless of sex, had opportunities to learn some aspects of sheep ranching. In addition to the pastoral work, children were encouraged to learn traditional arts through a cultural program which taught them the crafts of weaving, tin work, and pottery. Classes were held in a space just off of the main showroom in the Tierra Wools outlet.48 Peer training among the weavers was always an intentional aspect of the Tierra Wools program. Joanna, now a maestra, trained several other women in the spinning and weaving processes. Shortly after she became a maestra in 1983 she trained Nena Russom.49 Before Nena became a weaver, she worked as a bookkeeper for Tierra Wools. After a few weeks of working in the outlet and watching the weavers at their looms, her interest grew. She asked to join a newly begun series of classes where she learned weaving from Joanna and Rachel. Nena described spending long periods of time, six to eight hours a day, five days a week, in front of the loom as she learned the art; she also said that she asked everyone, especially Joanna and Rachel, a lot of questions. Since that time she has become one of the most esteemed weavers and her work is in high demand.5o Nena was also expanding her interests and abilities beyond weaving for Tierra Wools. She was taking general education courses at the local community college ( "local" in this sense means the school is 75 miles from Los Ojos). She planned to receive an A.A. in art and then transfer to the University of New Mexico at Los Alamos to work on a bachelor's degree. Nena ended her first 134 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

semester in school in the spring of 1992 with a perfect 4.0 average. Even though she has her sights focused on other work for herself, she, like Joanne and other member -owners, echoed similar feelings regarding the personal and creative fulfillment weaving gave them. Nena said:

I like weaving because of the fact that you can see the finished product means more. If you type a letter and you mail it, you don't appreciate the work that went into it as much as you can when you see a rug hanging on the wall.It's especially exciting when somebody comes in, loves it, and buys it.

I really like the weaving more than I like the bookkeeping. Now that I am the Treasurer of the Board, I oversee the bookkeeping, but I don't do the work. I have a bookkeeper. But, now she's gotten into weaving, so I'm scared. I don't want to loose her as a bookkeeperj51

Joanna also made distinctions between the creative satisfaction she received from weaving and the more mundane but important aspects of the Tierra Wools work when she said:

Weaving is a lot more rewarding because you can see it being worked on, and little by little you create this wonderful, beautiful thing. In administrative work, you really can't see until the end of the year if you did well.52

Because so many of the administrative workers have been drawn by the creative work of the weaving, the cooperative is not encouraging any more prospective weavers. As of the summer of 1992, they had stopped training new weavers. Individuals were permitted to come into the loom room and learn by watching and by working on small pieces, but there were no classes taking place. This was a frustrating, yet understandable, hiatus for marketing manager Cindy Friday, who after working in the administration of the organization, had the same attraction to the weaving component of the organization.53 Initially, she worked as a part -time shopkeeper in the Tierra Wools outlet. In 1991, Molly Manzanares, the only Anglo member -owner, knew that Joanna Terrazas would be leaving as the marketing manager in order to weave full -time. Molly invited Cindy, an Anglo, to apply for the opening of shopkeeper with the possibility of advancement to the position of marketing manager. After a few months as shopkeeper, the member -owners offered to pay for Cindy to attend a class taught by Rachel Brown on marketing woven products. When she completed the course, she was asked to become the marketing man- COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 135

ager. Cindy said, "I think they [member- owners] wanted me as marketing manager because I'm good talking with people. . .doing things like greeting them and telling them about Tierra Wools."'

Organizational Growth Through Social Conflicts Two significant issues arose among the Hispanas of the cooperative, one early in its history and the other within the past two years. The first large cultural dis- juncture took place along generational lines. It has not been resolved, and there remains a tension about the relationship of elder women, who were weavers long before there was a Tierra Wools, to the weaving cooperative. It seems there was a generational split between the elder weavers, with whom Rachel Brown first met in the convent, and the mostly younger weavers, who eventually became the driving force of Tierra Wools. None of the weavers interviewed, all of whom were of the younger generation, spoke about this part of their histories. When later asked about this historical lacuna they demurred on the matter. It was Rachel who talked about the elders. She said:

[At the beginning] there were several older women and they were doing rugs. Kika Chávez was doing some very wonderful tapestry. She knew her stuff. They all just wove along on their own.

In some ways I feel kind of bad because the starting of Tierra Wools discouraged some of those older women. They were kind of left in the dust because the group got so energetic. The older women who had loved to come over got discouraged because you had to work at it a certain number of hours a day in order to be affiliated with the project.

Some of the older ladies who really weren't into taking hold of this thing and making something of it kind of dropped behind -I hope they have continued weaving at home.ss

However, not all of the older women were discouraged. Kika was one of the two elders who remained, providing a cultural and historical continuity to the group. Kika completed the weaving curriculum as one of the original graduates and earned the title of maestra. This was an exciting moment because, while Kika Chávez understands spoken English, she is unable to read in the language. Rachel's class materials and exams were written entirely in English. Therefore, all materials were read to Chávez and she performed all exams orally.56 In spite of her successes over the eight years in which she was closely connected to 136 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Tierra Wools, she cut back on her hours as her husband objected to her working outside of the home.57 Over time she did manage to entice her daughter -in- law, Sophie Chávez, to enroll in the weaving classes. Sophie was also successful in her work and today is the production manager for Tierra Wools. Elder Hispanas were not the only group for whom there arose difficult issues. For those with young families, the matter of child care was and is critical.58 Until the spring of 1992, weavers brought their children with them to the weaving room at the Tierra outlet. At that time, the member -owners determined that, with the increase of volume, the decrease of space, and the numbers of children, the weaving room would be off -limits to children. The result was a reversal of the longstanding policy allowing pre -school children to ac- company their mothers to work. In the absence of low -cost, quality child care options and /or the means to pay for child care, the mothers of young children were unable to weave regularly if at all. For some Hispanas the alternative was to purchase a loom and to weave at home. However, looms can cost between $2,000 and $4,000, and most families were unable to make such a costly investment. The member -owners were beginning to look at other options such as providing on -site child care for weavers. In an effort to create a more suitable environment for children, Tierra Wools applied for and received a grant from the Save the Children Fund; this money made it possible for them to purchase playground equipment. However, the ban on children at the work site was still in effect as of the summer of 1992. Sophie Chávez noted of this situation:

There were just too many small kids. It was getting dangerous. We have to build some kind of child care. But, I have noticed that production is down a little bit now that children can't come.

Some of the mothers can't afford child care, so they stay at home most of the day with their kids, and they come in the evening, or they come early in the morning.59

This type of decision- making, especially within the consensual process, was not simple or easy for the weavers. Many member -owners cited the decision - making process as the most difficult part of working in the cooperative. A variety of management configurations were in effect over the years. Joanna remem- bered one particularly difficult period when: COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 137

Instead of having three different managers, we decided to try out only having one. It didn't work. I think that the reason it didn't is because we don't have the right training. All the people in management don't have any training. Everything they learn is `on the job,' and it is really difficult to learn like that. I think that's the one mistake. We don't train people to have some idea of what and how they are going to do in the job. °

Production manager Sophie Chávez, whose mother -in -law, Kika Chávez, was a co- founder, held a job which required her to assign weaving tasks and production goals to all weavers including the member -owners. She was acutely aware of the stress these responsibilities brought. She also talked about the difficulty of working with people who are related to each other in an intimate way:

We have mothers, daughters, and people who have been friends for a long time. It is kind of hard to say `no.' Also making the right decisions is hard. Sometimes you make decisions and it just doesn't work out and it is stress - ful.61

Nena expressed both her frustration and love for working with women who are close friends:

It is hard working with women. We have a lot of conflicts going on a lot of time, and we're ready to kill each other half the time. But, at the same time, we are real supportive of each other. When it comes down to it, we would do anything for each other. If anybody is going through something, everybody pulls together, and we all kind of go through it with them. We try to be there for them. Then the next day, we are talking about them. That's how it is. ..living here as long as we have, knowing each other, growing up with each other ... knowingeverything! I tell people that we live in Paradise and we pay a price. We can't have really good jobs, but we have a little modest house, and it is all kicked -back. The children are growing up in an atmosphere that is really nice.62

There was a price for the sense of community and well -being, but for many villagers the rewards outweighed the difficulties. The cooperation and self -reliance of the weavers of Tierra Wools seemed to be a direct extension of the villagers' need to be flexible and creative in the face of tough economic, political, and environmental conditions. While it would be a mistake to believe that these histories will eventually unfold with a happy ending where the villagers shepherd their way into the sunset, there are certain indicators which point in the direction of success. The most obvious evidence of a positive economic 138 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

change for the villagers was seen on the main street of Los Ojos. Cindy Friday summarized the ways in which economic success physically manifested itself:

When we first started here, there was not a single thing on Main Street that was open for business except for Tierra Wools. Nothing was here. Every- thing had gone out of business. Then after us came Pastores Feed & Gen- eral Store; then the gentleman across the way started his printing press and art gallery. Now we even have Mary Ann's cafecito. And several people have shown an interest in buying the building across the street and opening a business.63

The path to this economic recovery was not smooth and required the member- owners of Tierra Wools to acquire a working knowledge of macro- econom- ics, and skill in small business management. In ten years time, Tierra Wools' annual operating budget grew from zero to $225,000. This was an amazing rate of growth given that 90 -95 percent of all sales occurred at the isolated rural outlet. Because their marketing budget was quite tiny, the predominance of advertising about the cooperative is word -of- mouth, generally by the proud out -of -area owners of Tierra Wools weavings. Rugs and blankets ranged in price from $175 to more than $4,000. Smaller items such as coasters, pillows, and throws were priced between $20 and $250. One of the more thorny issues the organization grappled with in the early months of existence was the seemingly high price of their goods and the wages paid to the weavers. When the outlet first opened there were disgruntled rumors of exploitation. To deal with the situation, María and Rachel held several meetings in which the wage and pricing system was explained. Each product in the cooperative had a "labor allowance." Spinners and weavers were paid every two weeks, using that allowance as the basis for their pay. For example, it might be determined that a single pillow had a "labor allowance" equivalent to four hours wages; a weaver who was contracted to create ten pillows would be paid at the prevailing wage (approximately $10 an hour) times four hours per pillow times ten. In other words, a weaver would earn $400 for weaving the ten pillows. In addition to the weavers wages, costs such as yarn, the shopkeeper's wages, rent, and utilities were factored into the final price. It was the disparity between the wages and the sales prices which caused alarm and suspicion among weavers and villagers alike in the early days of Tierra Wools. However, after public discussions of the factors involved in the pricing policies, the initial fears of exploitation were dissipated. COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 139

Both María and Rachel had training in business administration and were able to share these skills. Member -owners learned basic business practices such as the development of income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow projec- tions as part of the basic curriculum required of all prospective member -owners. In addition, the weaving cooperative acquired a computer system. The introduction of this technology was a result of the involvement of Robin Collier64 of San Francisco. He has a background in computer systems and crafts cooperative management, and initially came to Rachel Brown to assist her in comput- erizing her business. After working with Rachel, he began to spend time at Tierra Wools. Robin trained the member -owners so that they were able to bring all of their financial, stock inventory, and word -processing information on -line. There was no question for member -owners that María, Rachel, and Robin were critical, at different junctures, to the growth of the cooperative. Yet one of the benchmarks of success for member -owners is the absence of all three from the 1992 Tierra Wools' annual meeting. They had determined that they were able to conduct the planning for the upcoming fiscal year on their own; so the member -owners did not invite anyone outside of the immediate body of governance to attend. One of the items on the 1992 annual meeting agenda was the matter of wholesale and consignment sales. The member -owners might take weavings and spun wool to three or four fairs such as the Taos Wool Fair, but the majority of the sales occurred out of the Los Ojos outlet. Outside vendors continued to show a great deal of interest in selling Tierra Wools goods, but the move to expand the business in this direction was slow in coming. In fact, in 1992 the cooperative was turning down all requests from outside wholesale vendors. There were two reasons for this reaction. First, the weaving cooperative was at a level of production in which they were adequately stocking their outlet, but they did not have a surplus of woven goods to ship out of the store. It was possible that when the business at the outlet slowed down in the autumn and winter months that the member -owners would consider these requests. However, the second reason for the cautious approach was a bit more complicated, as Cindy Friday explained:

We are really, really, really particular. We have a four -page application that we send to prospective wholesalers. We include a letter of explanation of the conditions of sale. They have to agree to tell the story of Tierra Wools, 140 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

and not just sell the piece. We go through those applications and we very carefully check into them and find out if they are the kind of business we want to carry our products. Right now we have only two places that are carrying our products -Rachel Brown's gallery in Taos and a gallery in Albuquerque.65

The Tierra Wools Terms and Letter of Agreement also included specific directions to wholesale vendors on the telling of the Tierra Wools history. The latter point was particularly important to the member -owners. As Sophie Chávez, production manager, pointed out, "A lot of people want to buy our stuff wholesale and they don't know anything about us. "66 Prospective vendors were also expected to answer questions regarding their promotional capabilities, annual retail sales, and the types of products sold. Finally, wholesalers were asked to complete an essay describing "why you feel that your outlet would be a good place for the display and sale of Tierra Wools' weavings."' This request was included so as to try and avoid situations such as the one Sophie Chávez re- membered:

Once we did some wholesaling with these people in Sutters Dam. So, Joanna and I dropped by one day to see how things were going. One of Joanna's tapestry blankets was on the floor, dirty, and it didn't look good. Plus it was very expensive. It wasn't ours anymore, but they weren't being respectful. Joanna talked to them, and they said they'd try to display it a little better.68

Because of the success of Tierra Wools, the villagers of Los Ojos have begun other ventures including: Rio Arriba Wool Washing, Pastores Lamb, and Pastores Feed and General Store.All of these serve as models for other rural self - sustainment programs. Because of the positive results produced by the economic development strategies, the villagers of Los Ojos and the surrounding area are beginning to believe that they may be able to collectively improve their family economies with their own resources and talents. It is possible that migration out of the area by many young people will quite possibly diminish as the opportunities for meaningful employment increase. Maria's, Antonio's, and Gumercindo's early vision has grown with each successive achievement. The three organizers continue their belief and involvement in the projects with an eye to the future. They are rather realistic in their assessments of the struggle that successes born of collective action require. Of the human struggle involved in collaborative efforts such as Tierra Wools María said: COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 141

The growth of the sense of ownership in a cooperative business often de- velops unevenly among members. The larger the member group, the longer it takes the entire group to `own' the business. Human development is a long -term, labor intensive process, and changes in markets, competition for the resource base, or new production technologies can derail fragile new businesses whose operators do not possess advanced skills.6"

Another level of struggle occurs in the long -time conflict over land and land use. Member -owners are generally part of the "sheep to shawl" process, which means that they raise sheep as well as spinning and weaving the wool from the sheep. The most pressing problem facing the ranchers is the perennial lack of adequate grazing land. In their efforts to develop alternatives to the annual search for grazing sites, Ganados members are working with such unlikely allies as government bureaucrats, university researchers, and environmental activists. However, Ganados' grazing recommendations are not always met with support or enthusiasm. In fact, many of their current grazing proposals are openly and vigorously opposed by some government agencies and environmental organizations.

Wool Growers Facing a Wall of Green Opposition When the sheep ranchers were forced to continually feed their flock on their small home properties, the sites quickly become overgrazed. This meant the vegetation that the sheep consumed did not have a resting period wherein it could regenerate and be available for grazing in a subsequent year. Another problem with the small sites was that such plots do not allow for increasing the flock. This inability to grow made it impossible for the wool growers to increase flock numbers to the profit point. As has been the case over the last 150 years, local villagers were unable to acquire multi -year grazing leases. In the absence of such land, the Ganados projects, including Tierra Wools, faced certain limitations in their abilities to prosper and grow. One controversial solution proposed by Ganados del Valle members was the acquisition of grazing leases for the 44,000 acres of elk game lands located in Rio Arriba County. This proposal was based on a successful program under way in the state of Oregon that permitted closely supervised and managed livestock grazing on game and park lands. Huntsmen, fishermen, and environmentalists argued that such a proposal would, in effect, discourage the grazing of elk 142 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

and thereby destroy that aspect of the local economy that relied on hunting and tourism as a source of capital. María Varela countered:

Ironically, compared to resort tourism, mining, or timber cutting, [the] Ganados approach to development is more sustainable and ecologically sound. Yet we have not been successful in persuading environmentalists of the need to balance conservation of gamelands with the development needs of local human communities.70

Even among the various government bureaucracies there was no agreement as to the viability of the Ganados proposal. New Mexican Department of Agri- culture officials argued that "Vegetation needs something to recycle it, and grazing has been shown as a good way to do that. ' Former New Mexico Commis- sioner of Public Lands, Bill Humpheries, agreed that good management of the grazing land can insure Ganados' future while protecting wildlife. He said:

Ganados is people trying to help themselves and their culture, and they deserve our support. I think the wildlife areas can adapt to a reasonable number of sheep.72

The New Mexico Department of Fish and Game was resolutely opposed to the proposal on the belief that sheep destroy grasslands through overgrazing. And, indeed this has often been the case. But, as Ganados members were quick to point out overgrazing was a problem with the relatively newer Anglo -based system of large -scale sheep ranching. By following the older traditions of Hispana/ o ranching, which meant moving the flock from winter to summer lands and back, the issue of overgrazing was moot. In the absence of any unified governmental response, Antonio and María proposed that the Department of Fish and Game and Ganados sponsor a joint study to confirm or reject the Ganados' and Department of Agriculture's assertions. The Fish and Game people demurred. These debates were complicated by other factors. For example, prior to the Ganados del Valle requests for grazing permits, other ranchers, mostly Anglos, had been allowed to graze their livestock on these same lands. The Hispanas /os of Ganados felt that not a small amount of racism was being practiced in the releasing of grazing permits. In addition, there was dissension among the various environmental organizations regarding the Ganados proposal. The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club were unequivocally opposed to the idea. The Audubon Society's David Henderson had a historical perspective on the matter: COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 143

We've made some myopic decisions in our desire to protect wildlife. We haven't considered the human factor as much as we should. Maybe there should be more flexibility.73

For Antonio Manzanares, there was no ambivalence or confusion on the matter. "We're looking for a home in our homeland," he said.74 In 1989, after having spent every single year of the decade in grazing lands negotiations, An- tonio decided to take a more aggressive approach to the dilemma. In a direct action move that harkened back to the days of La Alianza and before that to Las Gorras Blancas, Antonio and his wife, Molly, drove a flock of 1,000 ewes and lambs onto the Humphries Wildlife Management Area. Some Ganados members were hesitant to agree with this action because of its militancy. But, in the wake of yet another denial for an emergency grazing permit from the Commis- sion for Public Lands, the entire group rallied behind Antonio and Molly. They grazed their flock for four days until park rangers arrived and threatened to arrest the Manzanares and confiscate the sheep. In an effort to avoid a more serious confrontation, the governor interceded and offered grazing land in a nearby state park. Antonio and Molly left with their flock and the point was made.75 This direct action was successful in attracting national attention to the conditions of the villagers in Rio Arriba County,'6 and forced the interested parties to the negotiating table. A historic meeting took place during the summer of 1990. Some of those present included representatives of the Nature Conser- vancy, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Southwest Organizing Project, South- west Research and Information Center, and of course, María Varela, Antonio Manzanares, and Gumercindo Salazar of Ganados del Valle. However, a resolution on the matter of grazing lands was not reached, and Ganados del Valle members continue to scramble through their contingencies each year.

Lucha Con Esperanza Important questions were raised by the villager activists as to whether people in an economically depressed area have the right to use public land -land they once held in common -for their own sustenance, even when that land is set aside for the important purpose of preserving wildlife and biodiversity. The answers to their questions have significance beyond the valleys of Rio Arriba County, for these are issues that many indigenous people are grappling with in 144 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

other states such as California, Hawaii, New York, North Dakota, and Ari- zona. Indeed these are similar struggles to those being fought by indigenous people in Latin America, Africa, and Australia. In addition to raising issues regarding a people's self -determination and the environment, there is no doubt that the work of Ganados del Valle has had a profound impact on the lives of the villagers of Rio Arriba County. These consequences are seen most dramatically in the lives of the Hispanas who are the member -owners of Tierra Wools. In the work of managing the weaving cooperative, the Hispanas are personally empowering themselves and rethinking the possibilities of their lives; they are learning about the inter -connectedness of political and social issues; they are reacquainting themselves with their cultural history and heritage, and they are learning the very specific creative and technical skills of being weavers and spinners. All of these achievements have come within the context of an on -going struggle over the use of land and the right of a community to take responsibility for planning and realizing its future. The future stories of Tierra Wools are not yet written, but if the recent past is any indication, the Hispanas of the weaving cooperative (and their affiliated business ventures within Ganados del Valle) will emerge more tenacious than ever from the intense social and political struggles that are certain to come.

NOTES Tierra Wools marketing brochure, 1991. 2 "Hispanas," is the name used in New Mexico by mestizas, women of Indian. and Spanish descent. They do not use the term "Chicana," which is more commonly used by mestizas living in other parts of the Southwest and West; nor do they use the term "Hispanic," which is U.S. government -developed and issued. For further discussion on the specific New Mexican use of "Hispana,"see the work of Patricia Zavella, "Feminist Insider Dilemmas: Constructing Identity with ` Chicana Informants," Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies 13:3 (1992). In this insightful essay, she deconstructs her own political relationship to the category "Chicana," while concurrently discussing the role of naming within Chicano cultural nationalism.She explores the effect of categories such as "Chicana," "Hispana," "Hispanic," and "Spanish" on her work as a Chicana cultural anthropologist conducting ethnographic studies among mestizas in New Mexico.She also remarks on the reception her work received when the way in which she spoke of mestiza /o identity did not comply with the pre- conceived notions of naming and identity held by Chicana /o scholars.In "The Folk Performance of `Chicano' and the Cultural COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 145

Limits of Political Ideology," José Limón examines the process of group naming; and while he situates his critique within the borderlands of Texas- Mexico, he does comment on the use of the category Hispanas/os by New Mexicans. He says "Younger people in New Mexico preferred [being called] Chicano although the majority chose "Spanish - American," "Hispano," or "Mexican." New Mexico has a peculiar denial of things Mexi- can and its apparently still continuing romance with the Spanish past." And Other Neigh- borly Names: Social Process and Cultural Image in Texas Folklore, eds. Richard Bauman and Roger D. Abrahams (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981) 197 -225.

3 In this work "Anglo" refers to persons of European descent.

4 Rina Benmayor, "Testimony, Action Research, and Empowerment: Puerto Rican Women and Popular Education," Women's Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, eds. Sherna Berger Gluck and Daphne Patai (London: Routledge, 1991) 158 -174.

5 Malcolm Enbright, Spanish and Mexican Land Grants and the Law (Manhattan: Sun- flower University Press, 1991) 10.

6 For example, the form of the Río Grande blanket and the application of the saltillo (chevron) and vallero (eight -pointed star) pattern are design elements descended from this early period. Guadalupe Tafoya, Shared Traditions: New Mexican and Peruvian Weavings (Taos: Millicent Rogers Museum, 1992) 2.

7 Elizabeth Martínez, 500 Years of Chicano History in Photographs (Albuquerque: South- west Organizing Project, 1992) 36.

8 María Varela, Unpublished manuscript, 1990, 17.

9 Varela, 18. Enbright, too, emphasizes the importance of the relationship of Northern New Mexicans to the land.

10 Mario Barrera, BeyondAztla'n: Ethnic Autonomy in Comparative Perspective (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1990) 11.

11 Barrera 12.

12 Barrera 13.Ironically, even as they sought to capitalize on the sentiments stirred by Las Gorras Blancas, the Knights of Labor were disapproving of their actions! 13 Enbright 5.

14 Shirley Flóres- Muñoz, Ph.D. Qualifying Essay, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1990, 5.

15 Varela 20. 16 Barrera 35.

17 Frances Quintana. Pobladores Two: Hispanic Americans of the Ute Frontier. (Notre Dame: Notre Dame Press, 1991) 145. 146 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

8 Barrera 35. Quintana 144. Juan Gómez -Quiñones. Chicano Politics: Reality and Promise 1940 -1990. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990) 115.

19 Barrera 36.

20 Flóres -Muñoz 6.

21 Telling the story of the Alianza is problematic in that many of the histories of this period of land grant activism tend to dwell on the role of Reies López Tijerina.Tijerina, a Christian fundamentalist from Texas, was for many years the spokesperson and a primary strategist for La Alianza. However, he cultivated a personal leadership style as a bold, action -oriented charismatic; he was uninterested in developing a leadership model which allowed for a collaborative ruling force.

22 For an elaboration on these activities see the works of Elizabeth Martínez, Carlos Muñoz Jr., and Juan Gómez -Quiñones. 23 María was one of two Chicanas who worked in this organization, whose leadership and rank and file members were predominantly black and white people. The other Chicana activist involved with SNCC was Elizabeth "Betita" Martínez, who like María, moved to New Mexico and became involved in many of the popular movements of the region. She was the founding editor of the Northern New Mexican newspaper El Grito del Norte. Today, Elizabeth regularly publishes commentary in the journals Crossroads and Zeta. 24 Donald Dale Jackson. "Around Los Ojos: Sheep and Land Are Fighting Words," Smithsonian Magazine (April 1991) 37. 25 Shortly before the research for this project began, María was the recipient of a "genius award" from the MacArthur Foundation. The foundation cited her long -term community involvement, stemming from the Civil Rights Movement, and her critical role in the development of Ganados del Valle.

26 Gumercindo was the instigator of this working trio. It was he who introduced María and Antonio to each other. "`I'd seen her around,' Antonio recalled. 'A lot of people thought she was, you know, a subversive. Well, she is -in a good way.'María, for her part, wondered about Antonio's willingness to commit to a collective project.`It wasn't an easy relationship,' she says."Michael Ryan, "The Village That Came Back to Life." Parade Magazine (May 3, 1992) 39.

27 In the current struggle for grazing land, sheep ranchers usually begin negotiating with large landowners in February and March. In some cases, they must deal with up to 15 different contingencies in the effort to find adequate land for foraging. Some of these sites include use of U.S. Forest Service land , land situated on the site of a proposed ski resort, and land owned by the Jicarilla Apaches. Sometimes the negotiations for grazing land can extend into the late spring, a critical time when lambs are being born. This can make it almost impossible to move flocks the considerable distances from the winter to COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 147

the summer grazing sites. Jackson 41.

28 During the Carter administration, María was invited to head VISTA. She declined saying, "I didn't believe government could do anything for communities anyway." Antonio, who has a B.A. in psychology, abandoned his plans for a career in law in order to work the land that his family had owned for generations.

29 Jackson 39. Ryan 10.

30 This occurred through the development of a partido (shares) system. People are initially loaned 10 sheep apiece. They are supposed to return a lamb every year to the loan stock. At the end of five or six years they will be expected to contribute 10 sheep to the loan stock.In addition to this commitment, each sheep rancher must pay the price of one lamb each year to the Gandos del Valle Scholarship Fund,. The fund assists local high school graduates who wish to continue their education in agriculture or related fields.

31 Rachel Brown is best known for her development of a portable spinning wheel and her book The Weaving, Spinning, and Dying Book, first published in 1978. In its first edition there were five printings; it is now in its fifth printing of the second edition. She is the current owner /manager of Rio Grande Weavers supply in Taos. 32 Interview with Rachel Brown on June 13, 1992.

33 National Wool Growers Magazine (December 1989) 34 Interviews with María Varela on November 1, 1990, and Rachel Brown. 35 Tafoya 2.

36 Interview with María Varela. 37 In the winter, when snow storms blocked the mountainous pass between Taos and Los Ojos, she travelled an additional 100 miles each way in order to teach classes.

38 Interview with Rachel Brown.

39 One woman, Sophie Chávez, is often cited as an example. She was so shy that when she came into the village stores she would order her goods without so much as raising her head to look someone in the face,. However, she is now the head of production; in this role she leads groups of people on tours of the Tierra Wools and Rio Arriba Wool Wash- ing facilities.Interviews with Cindy Friday and Joanna Terrazas on June 12, 1992, and Sophie Chávez herself, on June 11, 1992.

40 Interviews with Cindy Friday, Joanne Terrazas, and Sophie Chávez.

41 Interview with Sophie Martínez on June 12, 1992. 42 Norma Alarcón, "This Bridge Called My Back and Anglo- American Feminism," Criti- cism in the Borderland: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture, and Ideology, eds. Héctor Calderón and José David Saldívar. (Durham: Duke University Press, 1991) 28 -41. 148 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

43 Alarcón 28 -41.

44 In order to become a member of Tierra Wools, one must have completed the weaving curriculum and performed unpaid work of twenty hours a month for three years. Mem- ber- owners are persons with decision -making powers and responsibilities. As of the summer of 1992, there were six member -owners: Joanna Terrazas, María "Nena" Russom, Molly Manzanares, Sophie Chávez, Norma Martínez, and Irma Martínez; three were interviewed for this study: Joanna, Nena and Sophie. They meet once a month for policy - related decisions. Management meetings are held weekly and have to do directly with the day -to -day affairs of Tierra Wools. These meetings include Nena Russom, treasurer; Sophie Chávez, production manager; and Cindy Friday, marketing manager. 45 Interview with Nena Russom on June 12, 1992. 46 Interview with Joanna Terrazas on June 12, 1992.

47 Interview with Joanna Terrazas.

48 When their projects were completed, the children also had the opportunity to sell their finished works through the Pastores General Store; the money made from these sales was theirs to keep. Thus, the children of the village were able to participate in the cultural and economic projects of Ganados, even as they learned about the histories of their people and the land. 49 Interview with Nena Russom.

50 Nena's weavings were in a joint exhibit with Joanna Terrazas' and Sophie Martínez's work at the prestigious Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos. 5' Interview with Nena Russom.

52 Interview with Joanna Terrazas.

53 Interview with Cindy Friday on June 12, 1992.

54 Interview with Cindy Friday.

55 Interview with Rachel Brown.

56 Interview with Rachel Brown. 57 Interview with Rachel Brown. At the time of these interviews, rumor was the Kika Chávez would be rejoining Tierra Wools shortly. ss Interviews with Sophie Martínez, Joanna Terrazas, Sophie Chávez, and Nena Russom.

59 Interview with Sophie Chávez. 60 Interview with Joanna Terrazas. 61 Interview with Sophie Chávez. 62 Interview with Nena Russom. COOPERATIVE RE /WEAVINGS 149

63 Interview with Cindy Friday.

64 One note of irony is that during the early part of this century Robin's grandfather, John Collier, was Commissioner of the much -hated U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The BIA was and is responsible for the administration of the repressive policies, which have been promulgated by the government, against indigenous people of the United States.

65 Interview with Cindy Friday. 66 Interview with Sophie Chavez. 67 Tierra Wools Terms and Letter of Agreement for 1992. 68 Tierra Wools Terms and Letter ofreement for 1992. 69 Interview with María Varela. 70 Interview with María Varela.

71 James N. Baker, "A Land Battle in New Mexico," Newsweek Magazine (September 18, 1989) 27.

72 Jackson 48.

73 Jackson 46.

74 Jackson 42.

75 "Tierra o Muerte: Land or Death," the documentary video about the work of Ganados de Valle, captures on film the events that transpired during this non -violent direct action. The video was produced in 1991 by KDHI, the Denver public television station.

76 Robert Redford, the filmmaker and actor, became an ally of the Ganados efforts. In 1989, Redford offered, as a fundraising event, the Santa Fé premiere of The Milagro Beanfield War, a film that he produced and directed. He has also featured for sale some of Tierra Wools' woven goods in his "Sundance" mail order catalogue. 150 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

TROUBLE RODE IN TEXAS, on a fresh mount. It galloped over the plains, lay at ambush in the hills, stalked the mesquite thickets, camped at the waterholes, swaggered and strutted in the towns. Trouble whispered to the domineering Anglo, to the marauding Indian, to the mercurial, high- tempered Mexican. Trouble kindled the fire beneath a pot where simmered racial antagonisms, religious fanaticisms, wrongs fancied and wrongs real -and brought it from the simmer to boiling, up to the edge and spilling over. The adventurer, the outlaw, the siftings of the East, came to the new state and each took what suited his individual fancy. Mexicans were killed for a cow or horse, for no reason at all. The Texans, grabbing the spoils, fixed the southern boundary of the state at the Rio Grande and marked it down with the black of gunpowder and the red of blood. The Mexicans marked it at the Rio Nueces and harassed the in- vaders of what they considered Mexican territory. The Rangers, formed of dire necessity and recruited, too often, with men whose sole virtue was a daring courage, were reluctantly recognized by the army units which came now by water and by land ... The Rangers hated the Mexicans, who hated and feared them in return. Politics stretched out its tenuous fingers and drew in the weak, the ignorant, and those lusting for power. There was turmoil and strife unending. There was blood. Texas dipped a pen deeply in it, and wrote its history with it. Yet slowly, relentlessly as Time, the idomitableness of the Americans laid its foundations for permanency and order and built firmly upon them. The Mexican hidalgo and the high -bred ranchero, by nature slow to recognize the logic of events, failed to gauge the future by happenings of the past. Serene in the belief that his heritage of conquest was a sort of super- bravery which must, inevitably, conquer again, he built a wall against the Americans - against everything American -and excluded himself within it. (Caballero, Chapter Three) DECONSTRUCTING THE CORRIDO HERO: CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE

María Cotera

Another important current function for us as critics is to remember our literary history. While contemporary writers may feel that they are seeing the world anew, those of us who are searching out our literary roots are finding women writers who were raising many of the same concerns women voice today- written in a different tone and style and conforming to a different mode; nevertheless, contemporary writers have not arisen from a complete void. If the written word did not survive in enough texts to be known today, nonetheless the oral forms of women's concerns, of women's images have lived in the tradition from one generation to another. Thus the critic as literary historian is able to fill in the lacunae and to connect the past and the present.

In 1938 Jovita González de Mireles and Margaret Eimer settled on a title for their mammoth manuscript, Caballero: An Historical Novell and sent it off to major publishing houses, expecting that it would be received with much excitement, given the interest at the time in folklore of the Southwest. They were shocked to learn that publishers found the text unmarketable, especially since Jovita González de Mireles had achieved some measure of success in the field of folklore: she had completed her master's work under J. Frank Dobie at the University of Texas in the late 1920s, and had a successful term as the first Mexican -American president of the prestigious Texas Folklore Society.' Caballero represented both the culmination of González de Mireles' research (assisted by a Rockefeller Foundation grant of $1,000) into the history of the aristocratic settlers from Mexico who "founded" South Texas (a history she proudly proclaimed as her own), and a departure from the ethnographic style of folklore a la J. Frank Dobie. Biased as this research was, it formed the basis for the novel which attempted toreconstruct a "true" history of the Mexican -American War and its effect on the inhabitants of that strip of land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. Caballero is the story of a patriarch and his family, living in South Texas in 1848 at the outbreak of the Mexican -American War. The patriarch, Don Santiago, finds himself caught in 152 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

a period of change, and is unwilling to mediate between the old order and the new. His response to U.S. imperialism is to isolate his family and support acts of aggression toward the enemy forces. When his family and servants begin to "consort with the enemy," and he sees his world changing before him, Don Santiago begins a slow descent into madness and, eventually, death. Like Américo Paredes' groundbreaking book, With His Pistol in His Hand Caballero attempts to give voice to a conquered people by reconstructing the history of the period of conquest. However, it not only predates both With His Pistol in His Hand, and Paredes' newly discovered novel, George Washington Gomez, but also differs from them in its focus on the lives of women in tejano communities. Perhaps this focus is what made Caballero unpalatable to publishers, despite its message of cooperation and peaceful resolution to conflict. Caballero went the way of many other early works by women of color, finding its final resting place at the bottom of a box of faded mementos. Whether González de Mireles undertook the task of writing Caballero on her own is still unknown. The copy of the manuscript that was sent to the publishers for review bears two author's names, hers, and that of Margaret Eimer.' González de Mireles' letters to J. Frank Dobie from Del Rio, updating him on the progress of Caballero, refer to the project as "our brain child." In Margaret Eimer's letters to González de Mireles written after Caballero was finished and Margaret and her husband had moved away, she refers to characters from the novel as if they were real members of her own family, notifying Jovita of births and other events in their lives. Since we do not have access to either author (both González de Mireles and Eimer have since passed away), the creative process behind Caballero remains a mystery. Such close collaborative efforts necessarily complicate the placement of a text like Caballero in one literary canon. While the novel offers a radically alternative -even oppositional-per - spective of a period that has been presented asa glorious moment in Texas history, by such scholars as J. Frank Dobie, and Walter Prescott Webb, it cannot be considered a "purely" Chicana narrative since we do not know the extent of Margaret Eimer's involvement in its creation. A critical reading of Caballero, situating it in the Chicano literary canon, would inevitably place it in comparison with Américo Paredes' foundational text, With His Pistol in His Hand.' In such a reading, Caballero's collaborative creative process; the period in which it was written (a period which saw the CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 153

birth of LULAC and other such organizations bent on the quick and easy assimilation of "Latin Americans" into mainstream culture); González de Mireles' education at the University of Texas at Austin, an institution which produced such racially -biased scholars as Walter Prescott Webb; and the novel's message of "cooperation" with the forces ofAnglo domination would lead many scholars to read the novel as an "assimilationist" text. However, I would like to pre -empt this possible mis- reading by suggesting a reading that would place Caballero in the context of other works by women of color, works which question the male- centered nationalist images born from Paredes' pen and taken up by the Chicano authors who followed him. Jovita González de Mireles is then a precursor not to Américo Paredes and his reading of resistance, but to writers like Ana Castillo, Cherrie Moraga, and Gloria Anzaldúa, who represent a radically different subject position and consequently a different understanding of resistance. Read from this perspective,the novel's trenchant critique of the patriarchal world view of nationalistic texts like With His Pistol in His Hand becomes clear.Caballero then takes on meaning as the ironic title of a novel that deconstructs the myth of the warrior -hero while politicizing the domestic sphere. As such, it presents an oppositional response to dominant patriarchal culture as a whole, and to elements of that culture in "traditional" Chicano texts. Caballero is an early, and important attempt to give a voice to the Chicana speaking subject during a historical period which witnessed the rise of nationalist movements among tejanos in response to U.S. imperialism. In her essay, "And Yes. ..The Earth Did Part," Angie Chabram Dernersesian traces the development of the Chicana speaking subject as a response to the exclusively male focus of the poetas del movimiento of the late 1960s. The nationalistic discourse of this period leveled critiques at dominant culture, while positing a universal Chicano subject that privileged "male forms of identity or subjectivity." Chabram Dernersian contends that when Chicanas began challenging the au- thenticity of a monolithic Chicano voice, the "earth" did part under the feet of the universal Chicano subject, and "under the pens of not one but many Chicana poets and cultural practitioners. "This "splitting" of Chicana /o subjectivity along gendered lines resulted in cultural productions by Chicanas which deconstructed and even subverted nationalistic discourse and, "entrust[ed] them with their own self -definitions and subject positions; [while combatting] male- oriented figurations of Chicanas." 8 Powerful examples of Chicanas re- 154 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

claiming a subject position include Loving in The War Years, in which Cherrie Moraga calls for an understanding of identity which defies those boundaried designations of the self which nationalism and heterosexism construct; and the important historical and analytical work of Adelaida del Castillo and Norma Alarcón, which recontextualizes and challenges the traditional "male- oriented figuration" of La Malinche. Caballero's revolutionary act is to give authority to voices which are often effaced in nationalist movements because of their challenge to "singular con- structions of idealized, homogenous subjects of...identity." 9 Its multiplicity of voices provides a literary counterpoint to the emergent myth of the singular Chicano "warrior hero" who battles the forces of outside oppression "with his pistol in his hand," while maintaining a patriarchal code of oppression within the home. In itsunflinching depiction of patriarchal values in Chicano culture, its deconstruction of the idealized male hero, and its thematic use of the issues surrounding "Malinchismo," Caballero forecasts the cultural production of women of color that Chabram Dernersesian cites as emerging in response to the nationalistic male- centered discourses of the early seventies.

Hombres Necios10 Caballero opens on the eve of 1848 in a ranching community in Matamoros. It depicts early hacienda life with a curious mixture of vitality and meticulousness typical of González de Mireles' studies in folklore. The story centers around one hacienda, Rancho La Palma de Cristo, and its patriarch, Don Santiago de Mendoza y Soria. We are introduced to the inhabitants of Rancho La Palma as they gather together for El Alabador l under the watchful eyes of the patriarch. His wife, Doña María Petronilla, with her "self- effacing meekness and the faded thinness," enters first, followed by his eldest daughter, María de los Angeles, dressed in "doleful nun's garb," a sign of constant rebellion against her father's injunction forbidding her to enter the convent. The household servants, peones and vaqueros also attend the evening Alabado, and afford us a look into the hierarchical world of a working rancho, where servants wear "flat huaraches," peones shuffle about on bare feet, and vaqueros peer at the master from the periphery, aware that they must attend the service, but afraid to come too close to the "civilized" realm of the hacienda. CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 155

Susanita, Don Santiago's second and favored daughter, the picture of blond femininity and childlike submissivness, enters next, followed by Doña Dolores, his widowed sister, whose strident questioning of patriarchal values is a constant source of conflict within Rancho La Palma de Cristo. Another source of conflict is Luis Gonzaga, Don Santiago's younger son, whose talent for drawing and love of art relegate him to the world of women. Unlike his elder "macho" brother, Alvaro, who loves to shoot and ride, and beds as many of the servant women as possible, Luis Gonzaga prefers the company of his sisters to that of his father, who considers him an "insult to his...manhood! A milksop. "12 The novel's conflict arises when Don Santiago agrees to move the family to their town home in Matamoros for the holidays. The decision is a result of planning by other Mexican hidalgos who wish to have a common place to meet and organize against the "Americanos." Matamoros, because of its proximity to Fort Brown, is ideal for this purpose. What the hidalgos (male aristocrats) do not realize is that prolonged exposure to Americano men and Americano values will have a profound effect on those people in their culture who are not insu- lated by power, and who are not included in their decision making: their wives, children, and peones. Slowly, as his children leave him to explore a wider range of possibilities in the world of the Americanos, and his peones reject the slave -like system of the hacienda in order to explore their identities as free labor in a world of capital, the power base that Don Santiago has been consummately unaware of, yet which has held his hacienda together, begins to erode beneath him. Unable to negotiate with the incoming Anglos, as many of his children and compañeros have done, Don Santiago and his savage son Alvaro isolate themselves on the rancho, spending their days riding and shooting.

Alvaro filled a need, a violence in Don Santiago, born from his frustrations. There was a need of something to cover the breach in the wall where a son and a daughter, and old nurse and valuable servants, had gone through.(274)

Ironically, Don Santiago looks to his macho son Alvaro to fill a violent need which is "born" from a "breach." The references to maternity are significant in that they point out the misguidedness of Don Santiago's formation of a patriarchal alliance with the overtly masculine Alvaro in response to his own maternal need for his children. Don Santiago's inability to mediate between the pa- 156 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ternal and the maternal is indicative of his narrow understanding of identity, which is locked into essentially heterosexist designations of male and female. His is an "absolute notion of the self as an autonomous, independent entity" that denies possibility of understanding "the otherness within the self and the incessant presence of the self in the other. "13 Don Santiago worships a fetish, an exclusive and all- powerful self that is "The Patriarch," a male of god -like proportions and power. He worships this image of himself at a natural altar, a secluded place at the uppermost region of his ranch, a spot that Don Santiago aptly calls his "rendezvous."

It was a rendezvous beloved by the master of Rancho La Palma. Here pride could have a man's stature, here he was on a throne. He stood beside the cross, monarch of all he surveyed.(44)

The identification of this special place as Don Santiago's "rendezvous," a word typically indicating a place of meeting for two or more people, is important. For as Don Santiago looks down upon his domain, he is visited by a vision of power personified: the alter -ego of the patriarch, who is its reflection in the material realm.

Power was wine in his veins. Power was a figure that touched him, and pointed, and whispered. Those dots on the plain, cattle, sheep, horses, were his to kill or let live. The peones, down there, were his to discipline at any time with a lash, to punish by death if he chose. His wife, his sister, sons and daughters, bowed to his wishes and came or went as he decreed.(45)

The vision whispers to Don Santiago and points to the problematic nature of the patriarch's identity. The master's power requires possession, the ability to "punish by death if he chooses." When his possessions are stripped from him, his power is dissipated and his identity threatened. Don Santiago's vision is reflected later in the novel, after his retreat from Matamoros to Rancho La Palma de Cristo. The move is an attempt by Don Santiago to escape the deleterious influences that Americano culture is having on his family by imprisoning them in the isolated domestic sphere. He is shocked to find that Anglos have invaded even this remote territory, and his servants have greeted them with smiles of curiosity instead of gunshots. Feeling violated by what he considers a breach of trust amongst people that he considers his possessions, Don Santiago vents his rage on Tío Victorino, an elderly goatherd, CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 157

whipping him mercilessly. Don Santiago escapes once again to his "rendezvous" to seek comfort and justification for his violent act.

The Master of Rancho La Palma stood beside the high stone cross which centered the bluff that was like the fragment of a huge stone wall. It was the first visit to his rendezvous since his return and he galloped to it in a need to justify the morning. His kingdom stretched as fair as ever, but the magic of it refused to come and fill his soul. He had rationalized his deed to himself but the gnaw of regret had not lessened, Tio Victorino's grief stricken eyes refused to leave. There was a flatness in his mouth as if he had drunk water long stagnant.

And then a man with his own face came and stood beside him and looked at him with quiet eyes, pointed an arm and said, "listen to me Don Santiago. "(273)

The "man with his own face" points to the plain, but this time the vision offers a different reading of those "dark spots in the distance. "Don Santiago's "steers and cows," his sheep, and "galloping horses being driven to corral" are joined by the "oxen and mules and fowls you do not see but you know are safe at home. "(273 -74) Instead of affirming Don Santiago's figuration of power as total possession,the vision reminds the patriarch that to be the legitimate master of Rancho La Palma, he cannot rule over its inhabitants with his "heel on their necks. "(274)

The man held out a hand and smiled. He had a warming, a sweet smile. "Your choice is now. You can be the man you are, or the one I am. You know me. I am the part given you by your splendid mother and I once lived with you."

Don Santiago scooped up earth and looked at it, and as he looked possession took him in the grip of its pride and he gave himself to it as a shame- less woman to a lover. He struck out with the empty hand at the man with the quiet eyes, and struck again and again. (275)

The "man with the quiet eyes," the legacy left to Don Santiago by his mother, is the image of compassion and acceptance, the "feminine" locked within his "masculine" identity. It is the voice of "the other," a mediating force that allows the master to see himself as servant, the man to figure himself as woman. It is a voice that Don Santiago attempts to silence with his lustful grasp of the one element of the rancho that he can posses, the earth. This inability to negotiate the interior threat that the voice poses to his identity reflects Don Santiago's 158 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

limitations in negotiating external conflict, "because a fixed identity," like that of Don Santiago, "can be persuaded, coerced, and ultimately controlled. "14 As he is increasingly threatened by the very real invasion of Anglo military forces into his territory, and the encroachment of Anglo culture into his domestic sphere, Don Santiago's idealization of Alvaro grows. Alvaro, the patriarch's eldest son, is the consummate caballero and the image of patriarchal privilege.

Alvaro, spurs clinking, swaggered past the servant women, lustful, posses- sive eyes on the youngest and prettiest ones. Slender but powerfully built, the muscles revealed by the tight fitting suit of buckskin moved with the coordination of a creature of the woods. Don Santiago watched his first -born with approval, greeted him with a slap on the shoulder and playfully shoved him beside his mother.(5)

Alvaro's heroic appearance stands in contradiction with his swaggering and brutal demeanor. The idealized masculinity that Alvaro represents is demystified through the voices of the women that he claims to be protecting, but in reality victimizes. While he bravely joins a band of guerrilleros in response to the invasion of American troops into Mexico, he gains fame not only for his military skill, but also for his prowess in using and discarding "camp women." In fact, it is one of these "used" women that betrays him to the Texas Rangers, leading to his capture. Alvaro is brought to his home town of Matamoros, where the Rangers intend to make an example of him by hanging him in the plaza.

This one was a prize, in a way, because his depredations were so -ah mani- fold, if I may use the word, his evasion of our traps so clever that he achieved that high ambition of the desperado, a name. He is known as El Lobo and a wolf he is, too. He's a bad hombre, lieutenant, and I agree with the men that a public execution in a town where he is known would he very beneficial. The other two with him are harmless enough, I believe, and have evidently had their fill of war. Unfortunately a fourth of' this gang whom we particularly wanted, one Cortinas, got away. El Lobo should be hanged - and high. (399)

The numerous references to Juan Cortina in Caballero are important. As a real historical figure, and, according to Américo Paredes, the earliest border corrido hero,15 Cortina places Alvaro in the socio- historical context of the corrido (folk ballad). His prowess at eluding the law, his "tag" of "El Lobo," and his reputation as a lover are all elements which establish Alvaro as the consummate warrior hero. When Susanita, his younger sister, learns of Alvaro's fate, she takes quick CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 159

and decisive action, arranging to make the dangerous journey from Rancho La Palma to Matamoros on horseback accompanied by a male servant. Once in Matamoros, she contacts her Anglo lover, Lieutenant Warrener, and with his help, saves Alvaro from public hanging. Expecting her brother to be thankful for her sacrifice, she instead encounters the insolent gaze of a guerrillero.

Susanita gave an involuntary gasp at the sight of him. Somehow he managed to shave, his trousers were brushed and his shirt at least half clean. He now wore a long mustache with twirled outstanding ends, sideburns ran down to his ears and his black hair lay back smooth and shiny. His black eyes traveled insolently over the Rangers, passed Warrener as if he were not there, and flung contempt at his sister so plainly that blood diffused her cheeks...

...Alvaro grasped Susanita's wrists when she stretched hands to him. `No, don't kiss me,' he snapped. `When I saw you, you, sittingalone in a room full of men -how did you come here? When ?'

She told him what happened from the time Pancho came to the hacienda, hurt to tears at his manner to her. She had scarcely finished when he flung further indictment at her. "Riding all night alone with a peon, you a Mendoza y Soria! Going to a soldier camp, riding with them, consorting with them, alone! Couldn't you let me die instead? It would have been an honor to our name, dying for my people and my country, now you have dishonored us forever. "(402 -403)

Like Gregorio Cortez, Alvaro "becomes the typical guerrilla, the border raider fighting and fleeing, and using warrior's tricks to throw the enemy off."' These attributes alone would, had he been the central, unproblematic hero of Caballero (as the title implies), transform the novel into "a folk hero's tale of almost mythic proportions. "" However, Caballero goes beyond retelling the traditional myth of the corrido hero by pointing out that a "man fighting for his right with his pistol in his hand, "18 is fighting for his right, and the rights of other men to maintain a traditional patriarchal order. By exposing this inconsis- tency, Caballero establishes Susanita as the true hero, a brave woman who risks her life and her honor to save the imprisoned "corrido hero," and suffers severe consequences as a result of her actions. Because she has "soiled the family honor" Susanita is banished from the hacienda. Her punishment reveals the contradictions inherent in a patriarchal code of honor which "protects" women, yet banishes them from the sphere of protection when they transgress its narrow limits. In one of the frequent eruptions of the female narrative voice in Caballero, the 160 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

concept of "feminine honor" is revealed as a tool to keep women enslaved.

Honor! It was a fetishism. It was a weapon in the hands of the master, to keep his women enslaved, and his fingers had twisted upon it so tightly he could not let go.(419)

Caballero reveals the corrido tradition, as represented in and through characterizations like Don Santiago and Alvaro, for what it is, an attempt of "patriarchal Mexican -American communities to retaintheir traditional culture in the face of advancing Anglo- American hegemony. "'9 As such, Caballero represents an attempt, far before its time, to deconstruct traditional male- centered images of resistance, and bring a multiplicity of voices to the tejano experience.

A Long Line of Vendida?

The potential accusation of "traitor" or "vendida" is what hangs above the heads and beats in the hearts of most Chicanas seeking to develop our own autonomous sense of ourselves, particularly through sexuality. Even if a Chicana knew no Mexican history, the concept of betraying one's race through sex and sexual politics is as common as corn. As cultural myths reflect the economics, mores and social structures of a society, every Chicana suffers from their effects.2'

The paradigmatic image of La Malinche has tremendous importance for anyone investigating Chicana cultural production. From the early work of Adelaida del Castillo to Cherrie Moraga's Loving in the War Years, the image of woman betraying her race his been explored and redefined. The myth of La Malinche is based on a historical figure, Malintzín Tenépal, who, though only fourteen at the time of Hernán Cortez' arrival, acted as his translator and advisor. Because of this relationship with the Spanish conquerors, Malintzín Tenépal figures symbolically as both mother of the mestizo race and traitor to the indian people. Norma Alarcón traces the transformation of Malintzín Tenépal from historical figure to symbolic scapegoat, "the receptacle of the very real hostilities that all the members of the community feel for one another. "22 It is by identifying such scapegoats that communities maintain unanimity, displacing the violence they feel for each other on a single symbolic source.

That mechanism then structures many cultural values, rituals, customs, and myths. Among people of Mexican descent, from this perspective, any- CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 161

one who transgressed the boundaries of perceived group interests and values often has been calledmalincheor malinchista.23

Thus, the negative epithets usually associated with this historical figure, like "traitor" or " vendida" ( "sell- out "), stigmatize Chicanas who do not accept the limitations that traditional Chicano patriarchal culture places on their autonomy; while the very threat of being called a vendida or a malinchista has a limiting effect on the quest for an autonomous identity. When a culture is faced with an outside threat, it is the inhabitants of the domestic sphere that are expected to uphold cultural values from within. Thus, the wife "puts all that remains of her personal will into defending the violence [of her own society] of which she has been the object," and "her husband of whom she is the internal other... leaves her no possibility of asserting herself as a free subject. "24 Caballero explores the politics underlying betrayal, by transferring the concept of malinchismo from one historical period of conquest to another. It also expands the role of betrayer from wife /mother /daughter to include others who are outside the realm of power in traditional patriarchal systems and therefore pose a threat to hegemonic values. In its explication of malinchismo, Caballero does not rationalize Anglo imperialism; in fact the novel offers a critique of the American slave system, comparing it to Mexican peonage, and negatively depicts Anglos who treat their women shabbily. Rather, it recontextualizes what has been envisioned as betrayal, and thereby creates a more sympathetic view of the actions of the outcasts, the malinchistas. Caballero depicts the struggles and sacrifices of these people to achieve an autonomous identity, an identity which can only survive outside the narrow limits of the patriarchal code en- forced by the "heroes" of traditional Mexican culture. Thus, the malinchistas resist the "absolutizing tendencies of a racist, classist, patriarchal bourgeois world that founds itself on the notion of a fixed and positive identity"25 like Don Santiago's, and embrace the transgressive and autonomous identity of La Malinche. As mediators between cultures, languages and borders, they exhibit a fluid subjectivity that can better negotiate the difficult transition period between old order and new. Manuel, the orphaned grandchild of Paz,a trusted house servant, is the first to defect, spending hours upon end in the enemy army's camp. Manuel's position as servant, child, and orphan confer upon him the last place in the hierarchical structure of the hacienda. Manuel achieves some status in the en- 162 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

emy camp as "mascot," though he does not know what the word means. He appropriates the enemy's language, and even their clothing, exchanging "the suit of the domestic, badge of the peon," for "trousers of the brown jean which the Rangers wore and a coat of blue of the enemy. "(154) Manuel, a true "turn- coat," returns home, shocking Don Santiago with his appropriation of the enemy's language and culture, but filling Paz with secret pride:

Manuel fixed impudent eyes on Don Santiago and chanted, again in the infidel's language: "Manuel like `Mericans like bacon and ham damn it all. Hurry up Bony you old slow -poke three of a kind beats two pair the top o' the morning to ye holy Saint Michael. Manuel you little devil bring me a drink this isa helluva hole." The words came in confusion and highly ac- cented, sounding like wild curses to the ears so new to them..

."He will remain at home hereafter or I lock the both of you up, you hear? This is a shame beyond enduring, Paz."

"I also feel the shame, Santiago. I will punish him." Calling mutteringly on more saints, Paz ran to the sanctuary of the servant's quarters, trying hard to kill the secret pride in her darling's latest accomplishments.(155)

Don Santiago banishes this "imp of Satan" from the domestic sphere for "consorting with the Gringo." It is a justly deserved banishment, for in Don Santiago's world view "[t]hose who use the oppressor's language are viewed as outside of the community, thus rationalizing their expulsion. "26 However, he cannot see that "paradoxically, they also help to constitute the community. "27 Manuel appropriates the enemy's language to build a new tejano community by facilitating the formation of alliances based on love between members of the Anglo and Mexican communities: he becomes the messenger between Susanita and her lover lieutenant Warrener. The connection between Manuel and La Malinche is more than simply alliterative. His role as consort, and "compan- ion, mentor, pupil, teacher "(325) to Lieutenant Warrener, resonates with the descriptions of La Malinche who was "translator, strategic advisor, and mis- tressi28 to Cortez. Manuel's willing passage from a state of slavery within his own culture to a limited freedom in the culture of the conquerors and his status as translator and mascot to the military mark him as a "renegade" and a traitor to the rancho. By defying his subservient role, and taking control of his own destiny, Manuel throws the patriarchal code into question, and sets an example for others. In response to Don Santiago's hatred of Manuel, Doña Dolores is impressed by his independence and observes that "it is something to have the CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 163

courage to follow one's inclinations. It took courage for Manuelito. " (258) Manuel's banishment saddens Don Santiago's daughter, María de los An- geles, who sympathizes with his alienation. She is a figure of silent rebellion, whose thwarted wish of joining a convent is represented in her donning the "rough and unattractive" clothes of a nun. Her wish to do missionary work is as much a desire for a constructive life as a rejection of traditional values surrounding the role of women on the hacienda. When Don Santiago forces her to discard her plain wardrobe, the last vestige of her dream of a more meaningful life,and attend a dance orchestrated for the purpose of displaying eligible daughters, her reaction is violent: " `Papa, not to dance, please papa, please! No dresses with flowers and no jewels - I -' Angela choked and burst into tears." (51) Her horror at taking up the masquerade of femininity is interpreted by her father as an act of childish rebellion. But the modish clothes, the flowers and the jewels violate María de los Angeles' "true identity" which she sees as defined by her actions, not by patriarchal conventions of what is sexually desirable. Don Santiago forbids her from exploring this identity because he cannot see the value of a life that is devoid of men.

...no daughter of his could be called away from him. In his opinion only weaklings went to convents, or those whom no man would marry. That the small group of nuns who had a house back of the church, teaching the children of the hidalgo in the winter and doing missionary work in the summer had an intrepidity beyond that of any man in his entire group, Don Santiago had never stopped to consider.(51)

Much to Don Santiago's disappointment, María de los Angeles relinquishes her dreams of becoming a nun, not for an eligiblehidalgo,but for marriage to a powerful Anglo entrepreneur, Red McLane. McLane wishes to marry a Mexi- can woman from a "good family" in order to build a Texas dynasty based on the ability to "get the Mexican vote." He quickly assesses what will most attract María de los Angeles and offers her money with which to do "good deeds," power to effect change amongst the underprivileged, and most importantly, intellectual freedom. When María de los Angeles reads his letter of proposal, she begins to envision a life beyond the constricting walls of the hacienda.

The walls of her small world fell away and she saw life stretching out wide and full to brimming. For her corporal and spiritual works of mercy, were sweeter by far than prayer. Feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, comfort- ing the afflicted... (338) 164 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

María de los Angeles sees her marriage to McLane as a sanctified social contract in which she exchanges her "good name" for a variety of resources to which she has no access under the Mexican patriarchal code. She embodies Adelaida del Castillo's image of Doña Marina29 not only in her personal and political relationship with the invader McLane, but also in that her decision reflects:

effective, decisive action in the feminine form, and most important, because her own actions synchretized two conflicting worlds causing the emergence of a new one -our own. Here woman acts not as a goddess in some mythology, but as an actual force in the making of history.3°

Like Manuel and María de los Angeles, Don Santiago's effeminate son, Luis Gonzaga forms an alliance with the enemy in order to pursue an identity outside of the hacienda. He is a sensitive and artistic young man caught in a patriarchal culture that allows no suitable outlets to his creativity. "Prettier than a girl, "(137) Luis Gonzaga has trouble conforming to the idea of manhood held up by his father in the image of Alvaro.

A man who had sown his wild oats so that he could be more true to the one he had married, one who possessed a proud name and could be the father of strong sons. This time frustration broke and he muttered imprecations upon an unjust fate, he had been such a man -and had only Alvaro worthy to be called `son.' Luis Gonzaga, the maricaj31 Eighteen and without an affair, never even kissing the servant girls he sketched!(54)

Luis Gonzaga's lack of interest in traditional male activities, and his fond- ness for the feminized world of the artist, defy Don Santiago's rigid notions about gender. His love of art becomes a trope for the issue of his sexual orientation. It is his ardent desire to become a trained artist combined with his subli- mated desire for an Anglo man that pulls him away from his father. Although Luis Gonzaga never voices his preference, the sexual tension that lies beneath the surface of his relationship with Captain Devlin, a lame (perhaps more figu- ratively than literally) army doctor who becomes his mentor, is palpable. Their first meeting occurs when the young Luis wanders into the Skeleton Bar, a hangout for American soldiers and a forbidden zone for young hidalgos. Luis is drawn into the bar by Devlin's mural of a skeleton, which he can see from the street. Inspired by the mural he begins to draw in his own sketch pad. CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 165

... Luis Gonzaga sawthe two men, and felt a stir within him as the older man smiled, rose, and put a finger on the drawings lying on the table ...

"May I have one of these ?" Devlin asked. "It is more than a mere pleasure to meet you, for I too am an artist. But of sorts, for I can only draw the body but cannot breathe life into it. I who drew the skeleton on the wall, bow my head in shame. May I congratulate your super talent ?"

The world rocked and shook for Luis Gonzaga... to meet an artist at last -he had dreamed and hoped and prayed to someday meet a man who would understand the thing which drove him forever to crayons and paints. What a cruel jest that he should be one of the enemy, and on the very day that his father had cursed them. Even if Angela had stopped the words, it had been there. Then there was loyalty, to his father, and to his people. Impulses urged and warred, beckoned and threatened, disrupted and con- fused him.(158)

Luis Gonzaga rejects both the "stir" he feels within himself and Captain Devlin's extended hand which caresses his drawings. He is unable to respond to Captain Devlin, even though he feels both physically and intellectually drawn to him. This chance meeting leads Luis to question his loyalty to his father, who derides him for his effeminacy, and to a community which holds no place for him.

Beyond his pride had been the urge to respond to the invitation in Warrener's eyes and sit and talk with him awhile. And the lame man who went to church, how he wanted to take his hand. For a moment -a happy, expanding moment -he had a feeling that he belonged. That he would not have been considered peculiar and effeminate, as his family and those his age saw him to be, he felt certain. Nor would he have been scorned for his artistry, as others scorned him.(159 -160) Luis Gonzaga longs to enter into the community that Captain Devlin is offering him, yet he cannot break free from the sense of duty he feels to his father and his people. After Alvaro has run off with the guerilleros, his role as "ill- fitting" replacement seems clear. When a priest approaches him with Devlin's invitation to go to Baltimore and study art, Luis is torn.

He turned a grief stricken face to the priest. "I am already a traitor to my father and my people and my country.If my brother should not -come back I will be the last Mendoza y Soria. And if he does I -there is a duty-"

"Sometimes one is a traitor only to himself, Luis Gonzaga." The priest laid an arm over the young man's shoulders.(245 -246) 166 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Despite the priest's assurance that Luis owes himself a duty to develop as an artist, he returns to Rancho La Palma to fill in for his "macho" brother Alvaro. Luis cannot long endure the stultifying environment of the rancho; he feels "impotent" and resentful, and finally rebels, explaining his feelings to his father in what sounds like a ranchero "coming out" statement.

"I know I am a great disappointment to you, papa, but if I do not like killings and cruelties it is that I was made that way and cannot change." Now, now, say it quickly! "I do not like anything here anymore. With all my trying I cannot become a ranchero. I know I never will. "(310)

Don Santiago's reaction to this statement is to enforce an identity upon Luis Gonzaga which is consummately alien to him. He commands Luis, not only to stay, but also to destroy the very creative tools which have defined his identity.

I, your father, command you to learn the things you must. I command you to be a ranchero as I am, as your grandfather was before you and his father before him. Your task begins today. As soon as you get home you will destroythose childlike things with which you amuse yourself, you will burn all your paints and crayons. This is my final command.(311)

Empowered by his confession, Luis Gonzaga asserts that he will leave the rancho, blessing or no, and follow his dream. When his father calls him despi- cable for "consorting with a gringo," Luis Gonzaga realizes that the real issue is not "his consorting with an American, or even his leaving; the issue [is] a test of the mastership of his father over his family. "(312) The heavy burden of guilt is lifted after the realization that in choosing to assert an autonomous identity, Luis is not "betraying his people," but rather challenging patriarchal authority. Thus "malinchismo" is revealed for what it truly is: not a rejection of one's culture, but an assertion of an identity outside the scope of patriarchal authority. Like Cherrie Moraga, Luis Gonzaga allies himself with the culture of the other in order to preserve and explore an identity which is considered transgressive in his own. In Moraga's words:

I did not move away from other Chicanos because I did not love my people. I gradually became anglicized because I thought it was the only option available to me toward gaining autonomy as a person without being sexually stigmatized. I can't say that I was conscious of all this at the time, only that at each juncture in my development, I instinctively made choices which I thought would allow me greater freedom of movement in the future. This primarily meant resisting sex roles as much as I could safely manage and this was far easier in an Anglo context than in a Chicano one. That is not to CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 167

say the Anglo culture does not stigmatize its women for gender transgres- sions -only that its stigmatizing did not hold the personal power over me which Chicano culture did.32

Manuel, the translator; María de los Angeles, the founder of Texas dynas- ties; and Luis Gonzaga, the bi- cultural sexual transgressor; all reflect the many facets of the complex and powerful image of La Malinche. They are expelled from the hacienda, willing sacrifices in a patriarch's futile attempt to maintain the rigid social structure of his domestic sphere. They stand, with Moraga, in a long line of vendidas, exiles from a culture which considers them, as does Don Santiago, "chaff, winnowed out by their love for things un- Mexican- depraved and perverted and better away. "(444)

Thus the narrative voice of Caballero stretches over the expanse of fifty years and speaks to us today. It is a voice that was silenced due to lack of interest on the part of the publishing industry and the lack of support for women writers within their own marginalized communities. In its deconstruction of the male myth and its call for unity among the people which patriarchal culture marginalizes, Caballero is a powerful precursor text to writings by women of color, works that question conventional values and defy tradition in their theme and style. It also presents an interesting problem for critics of Chicano literature, a literary tradition which, until now, has conceptually traced its genealogy along distinctly patrilineal lines, as Ramón Saldivar suggests.

[T]he male- oriented system of values cultivated during the period of open conflict and transmitted through the corrido will initially be replicated by male authors. Only later still, with the emergence of narrative texts by women authors in the late 1970s and early 1980s, will the patriarchal virtues promulgated by the corrido and narrative texts be modified and indeed resistedas they too seek to employ the tools of symbolic action.33 (emphasis added).

If what Ramón Saldivar asserts about the genealogy of Chicano narrative is true, then in what canon do we place Caballero, a novel written some twenty years before the foundational text he cites as establishing the male -centered themes of Chicano narrative? Caballero, is an example of a text which, "modi- 168 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

fies" and "resists" the "patriarchal virtues promulgated by the corrido." Its existence is testament to the fact that women were employing the "tools of symbolic action" even before Paredes' time, but they were simply ignored or silenced, and their works, like Jovita González de Mireles', lie in the cloister of dusty boxes filled with other such mementos.

NOTES Diana Tey Rebolledo, "The Politics of Poetics: Or What am I, a Critic, Doing in this Text Anyhow ?" Chicana Creativity and Criticism: Charting New Frontiers in American Litera- ture, ed. María Herrera -Sobek and Helena María Viramontes (Houston: Arte Público Press, 1988) 133.

2 The research behind the "discovery" of Caballero was a collaborative effort between the author and Dr. José Limón at the University of Texas, without whose intrepidity, guidance and perseverance the manuscript would have remained packed away in an attic.

3 At this juncture in her career, Jovita González de Mireles had presented a variety of papers to the Texas Folklore Society on the folklore of South Texas, concentrating her fieldwork on that sector of the population that she consistently distinguished herself from in class terms: the laboring vaqueros and peons. Many of these papers were published by the Texas Folklore Society or J. Frank Dobie himself. For more information on Jovita González de Mireles' years at the University of Texas at Austin, and her relationship with Dobie and the Texas Folklore Society see José Limón, "Folklore, Gendered Repres- sion, and Cultural Critique: The Case of Jovita González," Texas Studies in Literature and Language vol. 35, no. 4 (Winter 1993).

4 The original manuscript of Caballero was typed on the reverse of business correspondence from a gun shop owned by Margaret Eimer's husband, "Pop" Eimer. Although the return addresses on the correspondence span at least four states, a few of the letters bear a return address in Del Rio, Texas, where González de Mireles was living during the time that she was writing Caballero.

5 While it is essentially a folklore study and not a novel, a case can be made for viewing With His Pistol in His Hand as an originary text for much of Chicano fiction. Concern- ing the influence of With His Pistol in His Hand on Chicano literature, Ramón Saldivar writes: "[the text] became the primary imaginative seeding ground for later works because it offered both the stuff of history and of art and the key to an understanding of their decisive interrelationship for Mexican American wrtiers. Paredes' study is crucial in historical, aesthetic, and theoretical terms for the contermporary development of Chica- no prose fiction because it stands as the primary formulation of the expressive reproduc- tions of the sociocultural order imposed on and resisted by the Mexican American community in the twentieth century." See Ramón Saldivar, Chicano Narrative, The Dialectics CABALLERO AND ITS GENDERED CRITIQUE OF NATIONALIST DISCOURSE 169

of Difference, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990) 27. Angie Chabram Dernersesian, "And Yes...The Earth Did Part," Building With Our Hands: New Directions in Chicana Studies, ed. Adela de la Torre and Beatriz M. Pesquera (Berke- ley: University of California Press, 1993) 39. ' Chabram Dernersesian 39.

8 Chabram Dernersesian 39.

9 Chabram Dernersesian 39. 10 Translation: Foolish Men. `Hombres Necios" is the title of a poem written in the late seventeenth century by poet and nun, Sor Juana Inéz de La Cruz. This poem is considered by many to be a precursor of feminist thought because of its indictment of patriarchal culture's double standard of setting impossible goals of purity for women, while encouraging promiscuity as a proof of manhood. An evening prayer, usually presided over by the jpatriarch of the Rancho in the absence of a priest.

12 Jovita González de Mireles and Margaret Eimer, Caballero, University of Corpus Christi, 5.

13 Saldivar174.

14 Saldivar 174. 15 Americo Paredes writes: "Cortina definitely is the earliest Border corrido hero that we know of , whether his exploits were put into the corridos in 1860 of later." See Américo Paredes, With His Pistol in His Hand (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1958) 140.

16 Paredes 119 -120.

17 Saldivar 34.

18 Paredes 149.

19 Saldivar 38.

20 Cherrie Moraga, Loving in the War Years, lo que nunca pasó por sus labios (Boston: South End Press, 1983) 90.

21 Moraga 103. 22 Norma Alarcón, "Traddutora, Traidora," Cultural Critique Fall (1989): 60. 23 Alarcon 60. 24 Alarcon 57. 25 Saldivar 175. 26 Alarcon 59. 170 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

27 Alarcon 59.

28 Moraga 99. 29 The name given to Malintzín Tenépal by the Spanish. 30 Adelaida R. Del Castillo, "Malintzín Tenépal: A Preliminary Look into a New Perspec- tive," Essays on La Mujer, Eds. Rosaura Sánchez and Rosa Martínez Cruz (Los Angeles: University of California Chicano Studies Center Publications) 125.

31 Spanish slang term for homosexual men.

32 Moraga 99.

33 Saldivar 39. THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES: A CASE STUDY

Isidro D. Ortiz

In White Collar C. Wright Mills set forth a pessimistic thesis about the role of white -collar workers in the struggle for political change. Known as the "rearguarders" thesis, it holds that white -collar workers are dependent variables in the structure of power, and their political tendencies are contingent on the actions of other classes, in particular the class winning the struggle for political power. According to Mills, white -collar workers would not create independent political organizations, "form or inaugurate any political movement," nor "take upon themselves any specific political struggle."Instead, they would be "rearguarders." As a group they would remain "at the tail of the bloc or movement" that "seemed to be winning" the struggle for power at any point in time. In the "political market -place of American society," Mills argued, white -collar workers are "up for sale," to be bought by "whoever" seems "respectable enough" and "strong enough."' In the late seventies García and de la Garza's analysis of Chicano political leadership suggested that the rearguarders thesis might not apply to Chicano white -collar workers. García and de la Garza observed that the Chicano middle class had "begun to produce a new type of leader. "' According to the authors, the new leaders possessed an unprecedented potential to unify Chicanos. More- over, they were in a position to play a pivotal role in Chicano political activity. Five years later Piven and Cloward's analysis of Reaganomics also implied that the thesis might not apply.' They anticipated that white -collar workers would become a leading oppositional force against the assault by large corporations and the Reagan administration on income -maintenance programs in the United States. Some advocates of the conservative English -Only Movement, such as Butler,' maintained that Chicano leaders had assumed an oppositional role, and were spearheading a separatist movement among Chicanos that in opposing assimilation, threatened the national security of the United States. In the late eighties, however, other scholars suggested that Mills' thesis did apply to Chicano professionals during the Reagan years. For example, Acuña's 172 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

analysis of developments during the 1980s in the third edition of Occupied America: A History of Chicanos implied that the rearguarders thesis applied to Chicano professionals who were leading national advocacy organizations.' Ac- cording to Acuña, the professionals, rather than assuming either an anti- corpo- rate or separatist strategy, had become "brokers" who served corporate interests during the eighties, the so- called "Decade of the Hispanic."' Barrera's analysis of Chicano ethnic goals in the post- Chicano Movement era postulated that the most common stance on the part of Chicano organizations and leaders was not opposition to assimilation, but some variation on the traditional "integration- ist" approach.' Mario García's analysis of Mexican American leadership during the 1980s likewise implied the applicability of Mills' thesis.' In MexicanAmeri- cans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity García declared: "Harder political times in turn have weakened Mexican American leadership and its resolve to wage concerted campaigns for equal rights, equal rewards, and ethnic integrity. While some pockets of progressive Mexican American leadership remain, primarily in the labor movement and university campuses, Mexican American leadership on the whole has seemed more disposed to conform to the conservative temper of the times. "9 The actual applicability of the rearguarders thesis remained unsubstantiated, however, in the analysis offered by García, Acuña, and Barrera. It is my contention that the rearguarders thesis applies to at least one group of Chicana professionals that was active in the struggle to improve the socioeconomic and political status of Chicanos during the 1980s. This group, Na- tional Network of Hispanic Women (NNHW), is an organization of women of Mexican descent, which Juan Gómez -Quiñones has characterized as the most representative type of organization to emerge among middle -class Chicanas during the 1980s.10 Consistent with Mills' thesis, the NNHW advocated the defense of programs and gains threatened during the era of Reaganomics; however, it eschewed adopting a separatist or anti- corporate strategy. Instead the NNHW opted to pursue the strategy of accommodation. It sought to adjust Latinas to the society of the 1980s by promoting their structural assimilation into corporate and government leadership structures by encouraging them to participate in the social and political life of the nation.Methods included advocacy of cultural assimilation for the purposes of socioeconomic mobility. In the pursuit of structural assimilation and advocacy of cultural assimilation, the NNHW performed several functions vital to corporations, as Acuña sug- THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 173

gested. Through its actions the NNHW became a participant in the efforts of companies to increase, as Vogel has noted, their political effectiveness and reshape the political and institutional climate of opinion towards business in American society."

Promoting Structural Assimilation According to Barrera, structural assimilation "refers to a minority group becoming integrated into the social structure of a society. "12 The NNHW sought to promote the integration of Chicanas by serving as an intermediary between Latinas and societal institutions, unifying Latinas and raising consciousness about the status of Latinas in American society. Through these activities the NNHW sought to overcome the barriers to the structural assimilation of Chicanas, in particular Chicana professionals. The NNHW was the brainchild of Sylvia Castillo, a young Latina professional. In 1978 Castillo, an assistant dean of student affairs at Stanford Univer- sity, conducted a study of Latinas reputed to be leaders in their communities. During the course of the study she became aware of how to address a problem of concern to her, the image of Latinas possessed by Anglo Americans; moreover, she was inspired to address the problem in a concrete way. She also perceived a void in the organizational life of the Latino population, and observed that Latinas were leaving Latino organizations because the organizations were not fulfilling a distinctive need on the part of Latina professionals or pursuing a distinctive agenda. As she noted:

I began to think that if we (the Hispanic community) could communicate about our experiences that maybe that would be one way we could inform society at large that we had changed as people. We are no longer ignorant, poor, unemployed, underemployed, but we are graduating from college and we were affiliated with professional organizations.I was respectful of the success of someone like Gloria Steinern, who had not only helped bring about a movement for women, but who also created a business enterprise and a foundation which existed until recently -the foundation for Ms. Magazine.

What I thought was necessary for Hispanic women was an organizational model that would allow us to link with industry...The [community] groups were no longer meeting their [professional Latinas] needs.I kept hearing women say "I can't just go out and raise issues at the city council or the local board of education. I'm now at my job which demands so much 174 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

of me. I'm not understanding my job sometimes, the structure, the culture.I need places where I can go to get that kind of support and development, because I feel lost out there. "13

The result of these developments was a decision to contact other Latinas, and to develop a newsletter. In November 1980 Castillo organized an informal meeting of Latinas in higher education who were "concerned with the educational equity of Chicanas in post secondary education." According to Castillo, the meeting was "the first attempt made by Hispanic women in academia to reach out across the disciplines, and systems of higher learning to address the issues and barriers that affect the access, retention and professional advancement of Hispanic women as students, faculty and administration. "14 At the meeting Castillo and others sought to build upon a shared awareness of the severe under -representation of Latinas in institutions of higher education. They concurred that "`equity' in higher education remained central to the problems of under -representation of Hispanics across all disciplines and professional walks of life." They also resolved to establish "a formal networking system that could facilitate the interchange of women and students both in academic settings and with all Hispanic women" who shared in the experience of Latina professionals. In addition, they agreed to create a newsletter for the incipient network. The network was to be known as the Hispanic Women of Higher Education (HWHE).Its purpose would be to "provide a forum for the discussion of ideas, policy issues, and interchange among Hispanic women" that "would serve to impact the advancement of education and training of women" in Latino communities. The network sought to attain this objective by "increasing the leadership representation of Hispanas in decision -making ranks. "15 Through its newsletter, Intercambios Féminiles, the HWHE proposed "to attempt to build a network of information and exchange among all Hispanic women interested and concerned with the equity" of Latinas. It also sought "to bridge the gap between higher education and community-based advocacy." Ideally, the newsletter was to be a publication for women in the greater South- west. It would facilitate "the communication and exchange of resources, information, policy issues, events and opportunities in education /training that would advance and improve the educational and leadership status of Hispanic women."16 THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 175

Shortly after the initial meeting, the members of the fledgling organization, in particular Castillo, visited university and college groups, community -based organizations and women's advocacy projects "to promote the concept of networking aimed at improving the quality of life for all Hispanic women." The organization also "reached out to the professions with the goal of developing its leadership potential and resources as women advocates.i17 In late 1980 appeared the first issue of Intercambios Féminiles, in which Castillo introduced the HWHE. In an article entitled, "A Statement of Who We Are" she described the origins of the network and its purpose, and delin- eated the goals of the newsletter. She also invited the assistance and cooperation of readers, linking the newsletter's success to the provision of such help. She declared: "The success of Intercambios Féminiles depends on your efforts to reach out and to tap the Network of Hispanic Women. "18 She underscored the need for the network and its newsletter by describing the status of Latinas in higher education in California. In an attempt to motivate Latinas to action, she also offered a gloomy assessment of the consequences of inaction in a conservative political environment:

..The problem of access and retention remains a critical battle of meeting the decade of the 80's. In a period of conservative policies and no growth in higher education, Hispanic women will continue to gain entry at the lower level appointments and remain in the traditional "helping" professions of the university and college system. Hispanic women will remain in a supportive role in the mission and enterprise of higher education and not within the policy and decision -making charges of higher learning."

Convinced that Latinas would be inspired to network if offered concrete evidence of its feasibility and impact, Castillo touted the concept by celebrating the work of Dr. Alicia Cuaron, a co- founder of Adelante Mujer Hispana, a women's organization in Denver. Castillo documented that Cuaron, through "traditional organizing efforts and in collaboration" with other women, had "promoted the concept of hermandad (sisterhood), political action and equity for the employment /training of all Hispanic women.i20 Cuaron, Castillo further pointed out, had also "sensitized" the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau to the training needs of low -income Latinas. As a result of her advocacy efforts "the involvement of the Women's Bureau to address the largest ethnic minority group of women Hispanas" had undergone a change.21 176 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Cuaron had presented a networking workshop to a diverse array of Latinas in California. "The common theme and uniting force for the group," Castillo wrote, "was the endorsement of the idea that all groups and organizations could unite behind the forces that affect the quality and standard of life for all His- panic women." The efforts ofAdelante Mujer, she declared, had "impacted the community by bringing together over a thousand women." Castillo also printed a poem by Cuaron entitled, "The Rebirth of the Hispanic Woman. "22 The poem exhorted Latinas to struggle to attain their goals so that their lives would not be a "world of inaccessible dreams" but rather "full of good fortune for them, their families," and other Latinas.In concluding, Castillo noted that Cuaron remained active and supportive of organizing and networking by Latinas. Moreover, she reminded readers "that education went beyond the university" and that they faced the challenge of serving as a resource for improving the quality of life for future generations. Castillo included a report in the same issue about a study that was to be undertaken on the Chicana undergraduate experience by two Stanford Univer- sity investigators.Its author, María Chacón, depicted the severe under- repre- sentation of Chicanas and noted that despite the "gravity of the education and economic situation of Chicanas little empirical research" had been done on the group. Chacón hoped the study would help remedy the scholarly neglect. The results of the project would include recommendations regarding education policies, programs and practices that "affected access to higher education and completion of educational goals for Chicanas and Chicanos." Chacón wrote that the study would also "provide reassurance to individual Chicanas by showing that many of the difficulties they are encountering are part of a broader social experience. Individuals will thus be less likely to blame themselves for those situations they did not create and over which they had little control. "23 Castillo and her colleagues also brought attention to publications on networking, research on Latinas and support for research, and programs for women. In a section entitled "Conferences: Exchanging Resources and Ideas," the editor and her staff identified forthcoming conferences on the basis of "the idea that events, conferences, and gatherings of mujeres (past and present) are worth mentioning, reflecting on and tapping as a resource in planning for future events." Readers were encouraged to write and share their ideas and experiences in the planning, organization or sponsorship of conferences.In a section entitled THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 177

"Professional Development /Training Opportunities" Intercambios provided information on fellowships, internships and scholarships. Lastly, it listed future events related to the objectives of HWHE; for example, a forthcoming series of one -day seminars on management and leadership skills for women in business, government and the professions. In 1981, the HWHE, under Castillo's leadership, further elaborated its consciousness -raising campaign. It endeavored to shed light on the plight of Chicanas re- entering college, and the status of Chicanas in the field of medicine. An article in Intercambios Féminiles declared:

The educational status of Chicanas is a reality that reveals that only four percent of Chicana high school graduates go on to enroll in two or four year colleges. The profile begins to fade as statistics reveal that only two percent go on to graduate and professional schools.Despite the current demographic projection that this is the "Decade of the Hispanic" and that by the year 2000, Hispanics in California will comprise fifty percent of the elementary school population, the barriers for mujeres remain as unconquered challenges for equity ...24

To raise awareness of the status of Chicanas in higher education, the HWHE enlisted the services of Dr. Shirlene Soto, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at California State University, Northridge. In an article written for Intercambios entitled "Chicanas in Higher Education" Soto affirmed the HWHE's call to activism by underscoring that Chicanas, who historically had struggled for equality, had not made "sufficient gains in higher education." After pointing out that Chicanas remained under -represented at all levels of higher education, she offered an analysis of the factors underlying the under -representation.Soto's analysis stressed institutional failures to address the cultural needs of Chicanas, the persistence of negative stereotypes about Chicanas, limited access to sources of information about higher education, and a lack of role models. According to Soto, the low numbers and concentration of Chicanos in the lowest ranks of the administrative hierarchy of institutions of higher education was a function of "racism and sexism and their concomitant social oppression." Chicanas, she wrote, faced economic, cultural and sexual oppression.25 Soto also wrote of her experiences in the California State University system as a professor and administrator, and noted the existence of allies for Chicanas within the administrative circles of institutions of higher education, as well as 178 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

effective programs for incorporating Chicanas into educational institutions. She cited outreach and retention programs, affirmative action programs, and the administrative fellows program in the California State University system as concrete examples. She underscored the urgency for action by citing the content in which Chicanas were living in the 1980s:

How can we increase the numbers of Chicanas in higher education? First, let us place the foregoing comments within the context of two important phenomena affecting higher education in 1982. These phenomena are: a) shrinking budgets due to State and Federal cutbacks, and b) conservative backlash directed at affirmative action and related kinds of programs. Sec- ond, let us accept the fact that we must struggle. As we advocate change, we will be attacked. As the budgets are cut, our special programs will be attacked. When attacked, we must strengthen our resolve to fight.If we do not fight, we lose by default!26

Soto recommended that Chicanas "continue to apply pressure on the uni- versities and other pivotal entities and continue to network." She expressed optimism in spite of the dismal futures confronted by Latinas. Her optimism lay in the increasing numbers of Chicanas and other minorities in the state and the perception that increasing numbers would provide Chicanas with increased political leverage. She urged Chicanas to join that struggle, declaring, "It is your struggle too.It is absolutely critical that we deepen our inroads into the higher educational systems for our nation. "27 The HWHE also strove to make non -Latinas aware of the distinctive psychological and emotional needs of Latinas. For example, it published an article by Dr. Carmen Carrillo, a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the counseling of Latinas. Carrillo sought to contribute to an understanding of these issues by stressing that Latinas faced a large burden and possessed universal, as well as distinctive needs. In "Role and Status of the Latina in the United States" she wrote:

The Latina in the United States faces the double burden of seeking to maintain her identity as a Latina and as a woman in a society which dis- criminates against both groups. The Latina woman shares with all women basic psychological and emotional needs which cut across ethnic lines. Yet her Hispanic origin makes her priorities distinct and her stresses and bur- dens different from those of non -Latina women.28

To raise awareness of the status of women in medicine, the HWHE pub- THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 179

lished an article by Raquel Bauman, the director of the American Medical Studies Association. Bauman documented the severe under -representation of Chicanas in medicine, examined the historical and sociological processes that led to the under -representation, including stereotyping, and stressed the importance of information in the struggle to change the status of Latinas:

The medical heritage of Chicanas is rich, but medicine today does not reflect Chicana participation. The significance of Chicana under- repre- sentation in the health care delivery system is evidenced by the ineffective- ness of care that is given to Chicanos. Our lack of awareness of the discrep- ancies between past and present roles contributes to the maintenance of the status quo. A step towards increased information is a step toward more effective health care for Chicanos throughout the U.S.29

Accompanying the article was a fact sheet that provided information on the numbers of Latinas in the United States and their characteristics. The data was drawn from a publication by Latina activist Lupe Anguiano.3o During 1982 the HWHE focused on enhancing awareness of the struggle for legal and political rights for women in general, and Chicanas, in particular. The HWHE also sought to increase consciousness about Chicanas in higher education and the incidence and significance of poverty among women. To achieve the former the HWHE published an article entitled "Chicanas and the Law: Civil and Constitutional Issues" by Maria Rodríguez, the director of the Chicana Rights Project of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). Rodríguez documented the history and achievements of the struggle for legal and political rights by women. She informed readers that Chicanas had been active in the struggle for legal rights and shared certain struggles with other women, but pointed out that Chicanas confronted more intense discrimination and had a socioeconomic status different from that of other women.31 After reviewing the struggles by Chicanas and the activities of MALDEF's Chicana Rights Project, she made clear the urgency of additional activism:

All Chicano organizations must be persuaded to actively work on Chicana issues. Chicanas must demand that Chicanos take up the struggle against sexism and that the women's movement actively combat racism. Without this, the Chicana's socioeconomic status will not improve.32

During 1983 the HWHE attempted to raise awareness of Latina contribu- 180 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

tions in the sciences. An Intercambios article by Dr. Shirley Malcom and Paula Hall noted that the phrase "scarce as hen's teeth," described the status of Latinas in the sciences.33 After documenting the under -representation of Latinas, they argued that American Indian, Black, Mexican and Puerto Rican women "faced the double bind of racism and sexism in pursuing science and engineering careers." And, they reported that at a 1975 conference of minority women in science, the participants had concluded that sexism was the "predominant factor" serving as a barrier to women's advancement. Despite such barriers, Latinas had entered scientific fields. As Malcom and Hall noted:

Hispanic women scientists and engineers are researchers, teachers, and administrators working in business, industry and government. They are working and achieving. They may be scarce, but they and we are working to change the underrepresentation.34

Throughout 1983 and 1984 the HWHE continued its networking and consciousness -raising activities. During 1984, it focused on raising awareness of the experiences of Latina college and business graduates. To achieve this end, the HWHE published an article entitled "A Study of the Educational and Career Experiences of Anglo and Hispanic College of Business Graduates" by Dr. Lynda de la Viña. The article reported the findings of a study on the Latino experience in business schools. Latinas, the author pointed out, had received a lower return from their educational investment than did non-Latinas.' The HWHE also brought attention to the growing presence of Latinas in politics, and the potential for political power on the part of Latinos nationally through a special issue of Intercambios Féminiles. The issue included articles by scholars Christine Sierra and Leo Estrada.Sierra's was an overview of Latina political participation in the United States;36 Estrada's was a profile of Latina voters that illuminated their increasing political influence.37 His article was prefaced by the editor of the newsletter as follows:

It's easy to tell an election year. You hear a lot of talk about the power of the Hispanic vote. Just how powerful are we? Leonardo Estrada studied the most recent census statistics for the United States and California, and emerged with a conclusion that shouldn't be too surprising: we, as Latinos, could be a powerful political resource, if only we can find the secret of motivation.38 THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 181

The NNHW sought to inspire Latinas to become active in politics. As the editor made clear:

...in order to make an impact, we must be able to debate the issues and to generate ideas that will lead to positive action.

If any message pervades this issue, that message is:get involved! Not all of us will (or want to) be legislators, directors of commissions, or presidents of boards, but living in this democratic nation, we all have the right to have our voices heard and our presence known. As Latinas, the right becomes an obligation.

Reading the articles in this issue of Intercambios, you will be reminded of both the struggles and the triumphs Latinas have experienced in the political arena. Though the overall outlook is optimistic, with increasing rates of participation at virtually all levels of legislative politics, civic and community organizations, it is also clear that we have a long road ahead of us. The groundwork has been laid for the development of a platform for change. ...I hope that you have been inspired by the call to action heard throughout this issue.39

Serving Corporate Interests The late 1970s and 1980s witnessed "the resurgence of corporate political power in the United States. "40 The resurgence was, in large part, the consequence of systematic efforts on the part of corporations, to increase their political effectiveness and "reshape the political and institutional climate of opinion" toward business.41 In the pursuit of the latter, corporations employed several strategies, including initiatives by corporate executives to become more visible, corporate philanthropy, and advocacy advertising campaigns. Political scientist Karen Orren has noted that minority group organizations can perform a variety of functions beneficial to corporations.42 The performance of these functions is vital to the maintenance or enhancement of the legitimacy of corporations and capitalism within minority communities. These functions are: amplification, protection, and auxiliary services.43 The NNHW performed these functions as it sought to realize its goals, and in doing so contributed to the corporate efforts, documented by Vogel,44 to reshape the political and institutional climate of opinion. Amplification refers to the articulation within the minority community "of the good will and material achievements of the corporation. "45 Amplification may occur in written form through organizational publications, or through 182 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

speeches and presentations at organizational events such as annual conferences. As Orren has noted, the "function is crucial to business aims, not only because the goal of ghetto projects is heightened legitimacy, but also simply because of the small scale of the individual projects."' The NNHW's amplification occurred in the context of an unfavorable climate for "cowboy capitalism," free -market policies and corporations. As Dolbeare observed in the eighties:

There is also a time bomb ticking in the Sunbelt. Among the fifteen core states of the Sunbelt, six are distinctively high in black proportions of the eligible electorate. Two others, Texas and California, have very high proportions of Blacks and Hispanics. These minorities historically have been supporters of economic welfare programs and the strongest opponents of cowboy capitalism and free market policies.47

Corporations possessed a negative image. They were seen as largely unre- sponsive to the Latino population by Latino elites. In a Hispanic Business magazine survey, for example, 86 percent of Latino elites rated corporations as fair or poor in their responsiveness to the Latino community.48 The NNHW's performance of amplification began in 1982. Intercambios Féminiles served as the principal mechanism for the performance of the function. In 1982 the NNHW initiated the regular listing of its corporate sponsors. In the Fall of 1982, the NNHW revealed its sponsorship by the Atlantic Richfield Corporation, the Adolph Coors Brewing Company, Mervyn's, Pacific Telephone Company, Wells Fargo Bank, and Anheuser Busch. In its 1983 Spring /Summer issue of Intercambios Féminiles the NNHW specifically amplified the support of Wells Fargo Bank by placing a picture of members of the Network "enjoying the Corporate Board room of the Wells Fargo Bank penthouse" during a seminar on Latina corporate representation. One year later the NNHW attributed the existence of the newsletter to corporate sponsorship. The amplification occurred in an editorial urging support of the newsletter, as follows:

Only 10% of our readers support the budget of our newsletter. So how do we publish? With the support of our annual corporate sponsors, affiliates, and in -kind assistance...Why are we successful? It all happens because of the generous support of our corporate sponsors and subscribers who believe in the purpose and success of Intercambias Féminiles." THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 183

In 1984 the NNHW sought additional corporate and foundation sponsors. It also planned a national conference for Hispanic businesswomen and corporate leaders, and a symposium for Hispanic scientists and private- sector scientific enterprises. Its efforts received corporate support. NNHW amplified this support as follows:

...Ogilvy and Mather has extended to the NNHW their expertise in developing promotional materials introducing the NNHW to potential corporate and foundation sponsors ... In addition to the fundraising goals of the NNHW we are proud to report that the Network will initiate through the support of Anheuser Busch Companies our first national conference for Hispanic Businesswomen and Corporate leaders.... Withthe support of the Getty Oil Foundation, Syntex and the National Action Council for Minority Engineering, NNHW will convene a symposium to bring together Hispanic scientists with leaders from industry, education, and government to develop strategic program interventions to increase the participation and career development opportunities for upcoming scientists."

In the succeeding issue, NNHW published a picture of an Anheuser -Busch Companies official presenting a check to the NNHW for the organization's activities.51 Performing a variety of auxiliary services is another function that an organization can perform for corporations. A group may perform only one service or, as in the case of the NNHW, several services. One such service is to act as a broker between corporations and prospective clients and employees. The NNHW did this throughout the eighties.Indeed, this role was envisioned during the creation of the organization. As Sylvia Castillo clearly noted:

What I thought was necessary for Hispanic women was an organizational model that would allow us to link with industry... I see ourrole as a network to be a broker between the talented Hispanic woman and the needs of corporate America."

The NNHW fulfilled the role through the sponsorship of conferences and seminars that brought together Latinas and representatives of the corporate sector.In the Fall of 1984 the network organized a conference for Hispanic businesswomen and corporate officials. The theme of the conference was "An Investment in America's Future." The network proposed bringing together 200 mid- to senior -level Hispanic women from across the country "to partici- 184 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

pate in a variety of roundtable discussions covering such topics as corporate based appointments, first -time entrepreneurship, and career development." These discussions would serve as forums for the development of "action strategies and recommendations to further the advancement of Hispanic women in business and corporate leadership roles. "53 The goal of the conference was spelled out by Castillo in the Autumn 1984 issue of Intercambios

We are very pleased to be hosting the first national roundtable summit for Hispanic business and corporate leaders. Our goal is to develop a meaningful and motivating exchange amongst senior level Hispanic women that will allow us to better understand the challenges and barriers confronting upward mobility and successful entrepreneurship.54

The NNHW also sponsored a symposium "to bring together Hispanic scientists with leaders from industry, education, and government."55 Three years later the NNHW elaborated its broker role through the publication of Intercambios Féminiles in magazine format. The magazine that was envisioned by Castillo would enable the NNHW "to offer recruitment advertising and corporate image advertising opportunities to our corporate sponsors, patrons, and friends." The magazine "introduced a tremendous benefit to network members and Intercambios subscribers." Corporations could "now communicate their opportunities" to the NNHW directly.' NNHW, in turn, would bring that information to Latinas.

Promoting Cultural Assimilation Organizational activities can also serve to protect the right of corporate capital to produce what it wishes, as it wishes, and without regard to damage caused to workers, consumers, the physical environment, and the democratic process. In the case of government the function is performed via ideological inculturation by the institutions of socialization. According to Greenberg57 the diffusion of liberal culture in the United States serves to protect corporate dominance from challenges. Liberal culture protects corporate dominance by legitimatizing decision- making by private business, encouraging mass consumption and under- mining political movements of the left.58 The NNHW protected corporate dominance from challenges by advocating that Latinas adopt ideas and values identified by Greenberg as central "tenets of liberal culture. "59 Through its THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 185

promotion of these ideas and values, the NNHW encouraged the cultural assimilation or acculturation of Latinas. Competitive individualism, the right to private property, limited government, and the free market are component elements of liberal culture. This culture "takes on a variety of observable forms as it translates into the concrete everyday life of the American people. "60Competitive individualism is often expressed in terms of the "success ethic" -the belief in "getting ahead," "making it," striving, and achieving.61 The ethic is frequently perpetuated through the celebration of the "self -made man," the Horatio Alger character. Through- out the 1980s the NNHW perpetuated the ethic primarily through the celebration of success stories in Intercambios Féminiles. The celebrations of successful Latinas took the form of biographical "profiles" of the upwardly mobile, in particular Latina "pioneers" in the private sector. The ethic was also promoted via autobiographical accounts and articles that concentrated on advice and information for women to move independently and successfully in their personal, professional, and social lives. These accounts and profiles suggested that success was a function almost exclusively of personal qualities such as self - confidence, assertiveness, determination, in conjunction with a measure of prac- tical knowledge. Epitomizing the celebrations was the following profile of Nancy Gutierrez,a recruiter for Pacific Telephone, in an early issue of the newsletter:

Dynamic, aggressive, involved. These are but a few of the qualities that characterize Nancy Gutierrez. This multifaceted woman is the antithesis of the stereotypical Hispana. She has come a long way from her childhood days in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A product of a traditional upbringing where sons went to college and daughters didn't, Gutierrez went to wori for Pacific Telephone as an operator directly out of high school. From the beginning, she was an independent thinker, a hard worker, an achiever. She moved through the ranks of entry level jobs into management. Twenty years and a variety of management assignments later, Gutierrez is a success-

ful middle manager with a reputation for creativity, energy, and results.. . Impatient for change, outspoken in her beliefs, Gutierrez has had her share of bureaucratic road blocks along the way. But a singular commitment to her purpose has kept her on track. With a multitude of projects underway and a myriad of ideas yet to be developed, she continues to move forward, making her mark on corporate recruitment.62

The following passage by Julia Arrellano typifies the autobiographical articles that served to promote the success ethic: 186 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Success is a product of unremitting attention to purpose" (Benjamin Disraeli).Competency, dedication and opportunity are essential for success in any field. Trying to make it without any of these is virtually impossible. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some insights into my experiences as a Chicana working in industry.

It was through a combination of all three factors that I now find myself to be the only Chicana currently enrolled in one of the top MBA programs in the country. That is, I am the only Chicana MBA candidate at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Looking back at my high school experience I cannot separate my dedication to hard work from my experiences in student government and campus activities. Opportunity at this stage was the next factor. My background and 4.0 GPA sparked the interest of the General Motors Corporation. Before I knew it,I was recruited and enrolled in the General Motors Institute (GMI) in Flint, Michigan ... The studies were rigorous, but above all it was in the plant that I learned about myself and what it takes to "make it" in business. My successes and failures have taught me something about myself and the organization we call business. Soon I began to realize that despite all of my childhood socialization, I had become an assertive woman. My family, offering the support they could, could not really understand why their youngest daughter was working so hard and making more money than their sons. In a way they were all proud, but also had trouble coping with my roles as a "pioneer" in business.G3

After delineating the norms and values that made a difference in success and survival within business, she concluded:

The business world is an unconquered frontier.Being a "pioneer" poses unique obstacles and challenges for Chicanas. To all of you who are aspir- ing for a career in business, I say "Buena Suerte" and "See you at the top.j64

Materialism is an outgrowth of the individual success ethic, and money is the principal indicator and symbol of success. Intercambios served as the vehicle for the promulgation of materialism. A 1982 article entitled "Do Hispanic Women Enjoy the Benefits of Business?" served as a forum for the advocacy of materialism by an author who sought to account for the under -representation of Latinas in the corporate sector and as business owners.65 She wrote:

Few Hispanic working women are employed by Corporate America and fewer still have taken the challenge of self employment. Why? Several factors, both cultural and economic, have limited the participation of His- panics in business. Perhaps the most crucial of these factors is our perception of money. THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 187

Traditionally we have been taught to subdue our interest in money and those things material. According to Ms. Gilda Bojorques -Gjurich, partner in the Robert Parada Construction Company, Inc., of Los Angeles, we need not be demure about our desire for money. She believes, as does this author, that the time has come for Hispanas to be vocal about their real interest and desire for money. Ms. Bojorques -Gjurich understands well the fact that money is "merely a necessary commodity in today's world." It is this commodity that is the basis for personal security, professional mobility, and clearly the primary vehicle for political influence and power ... For Hispanas it is also important to understand the role that money plays in every aspect of contemporary society. Bojorques -Gjurich notes that today "accumulating money is easier than ever." She stresses that many opportunities for profitable entrepreneurship are available and that Hispanas ought to consider taking advantage of them. Once Hispanas accept the fact that there is nothing wrong with wanting money, we can go forward and explore the many opportunities that are available to us in the business world."

Success was possible, according to the author, and there were many networks of Hispanic business persons to provide support for those who wanted to advance.' The NNHW also promoted the success ethic through advice columns by Latinas who had succeeded in the corporate world. The theme was that Latinas could succeed in the corporate world if they possessed the appropriate characteristics. The NNHW's promotion of the success ethic in this manner is typi- fied by the 1982 article "Hispanas: Can They Succeed in Business and in Corporate America ? ":

Can Hispanas be successful in business and Corporate America?Yes. Take it from one who has been there, has survived, and profited from there (emphasis in original).

It is true that Corporate America is not for everyone. However, should you decide that you belong in the fast lane, Corporate America is certainly the place to be. Because of its great demands on one's time and energies, it is easy to get discouraged; but if you are motivated and can stick to it, the rewards are definitely there.

In my case, motivation came early in life -at the age of 12 when I first started working an eight hour day while going to school. Motivation came by way of working long hours as a waitress -one of this earth's hardest and least paid jobs. Later as a teenage credit investigator, the worth of college credentials became exceedingly clear to me...Yes, I learned that a college business degree truly does translate into dollars and opens the doors to the executive floors.

It's important to state outright that capability and the ability to work hard 188 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

and long hours knows no ethnic or sexual barriers.But this alone won't make you successful in the corporate world. So here are some tips for our survival."

The acquisition of money was also implicitly promoted as a worthy goal by Bettina Flores, whose first non -fiction book, Chiquita's Cocoon, took a serious look at the plight of the Latina women within their own traditions and culture. Flores was profiled in a 1984 issue of Intercambios. In her analysis, money was the solution to the problems faced by Latinas.InChiquita's Cocoon, Flores wrote:

I was 38 years old before I realized that "happy are the poor" is a platitude used to deceive people, to keep them under control and to prevent them from reaching out for prosperity ... Lack of money brings the ills of poverty and, in reality, poverty is the sin, not money. Poverty fills prisons with thieves and murderers.Poverty drives men and women to illegal occupations: prostitution and drug addiction.It drives potentially fine, talented children to delinquency and crime.Poverty causes worry, strain, and tension, all of which lead to personal and social illness.

Money is important. Money buys food, housing, health care, education, justice, recreation; money brings security, stability, peace of mind, self - confidence and inner satisfaction. As long as we live in a money- oriented culture, it should be an important part of our lives. Foremost, to be prosperous not only means having adequate income or money in the bank; it also means improving the quality of lift to a fuller, more satisfying one (emphasis in original).

The Intercambios profile, which included the excerpt above, concluded by noting that money could be used to help others. Its author was unashamed of "desiring and declaring a boldness for prosperity" even if others considered such a desire and declaration as a "wart" on her personality.C9 A central belief of American culture, according to Greenberg, has been that interference with the market mechanism produces both inefficiencies, and people of deficient and warped character.70 Nevertheless, at times the fear of monopoly and concentration has fueled efforts to limit concentration and corporate operations. In 1983 the NNHW defended corporations from such challenge by publishing a quote which, if accepted, would allay the fear of concentration.It was a quote from Adventures of a White Collar Man by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.:

Some see the danger in bigness. They fear the concentration of economic THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 189

power that it brings with it.That is in a degree true.It simply means, however, that industrial management must expand its horizons of responsibility.It must recognize that it can no longer confine its activities to the mere production of goods and services.It must consider the impact of its

operation on the social and economic welfare of the entire community .. . Those charged with great industrial responsibility must become industrial statesmen!'

The NNHW also offered protection by offering corporate executives a forum in Intercambios in which they could articulate their views. In 1986, for example, John Young, Chief Executive Officer and President of Hewlett- Packard Company, analyzed the factors necessary for success in a high technology career. His analysis stressed individualistic striving as well as culture as key factors underlying the potential for Latina success in science.In addition he contended that opportunity was unlimited for individuals with the appropriate skills.72 During the early seventies many major corporations began to allocate an increasing portion of their total advertising budgets for "advocacy advertising" as they sought "to reshape the political and institutional climate of opinion. "73 Mobil Oil pioneered these endeavors, but was increasingly joined by other corporations. Throughout the seventies and eighties advocacy advertising found outlets in a wide array of publications. In 1987 the NNHW, as noted above, afforded corporations an outlet for such advertising when it began to publish Intercambios in magazine format. In the first issue in the new format, it published three advocacy advertisements purchased by the Atlantic Richfield Com- pany, Syntex, and the Adolph Coors Company. The advertisements promoted the image of the corporations as institutions cognizant of theLatino population, and solicitous of the issues important to the welfare of Latinos. In its advertise- ment, for example, Coors promoted itself as a company that was "finding more and better ways to foster Hispanic representation in an even broader range of professions." It carried a picture of a young Latina student who was pursuing a degree in chemical engineering with the assistance of a Coors scholarship.74 In subsequent publications the NNHW carried similar advertisements.

Conclusion During the 1980s, the rearguarders thesis applied to Latinas organized in the form of the National Network of Hispanic Women. Contrary to the hopes and 190 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

expectations of analysts such as Piven and Cloward, and the claims of advocates of the English -Only Movement, the NNHW did not spearhead an anti- corpo- rate or separatist movement. Instead, consistent with Mills' thesis and the claims of other scholars, the NNHW, in its quest to promote the interests of Latina professionals, accommodated the corporate offensive that Vogel75 has documented, linking itself with the corporate sector and performing vital functions. It actively advanced the interests of Latina professionals and at the same time, it helped make the 1980s a decade favorable to corporate interests. As noted above, the NNHW in 1984 advocated participation in electoral politics. However, its advocacy cannot be mistaken for a call for the formation of an autonomous electoral political movement.Rather, like the NNHW's consciousness -raising efforts, it can be seen as activism associated with a type of political dynamic that Charles Hamilton has described as "patron- recipient politics."'In this type of relationship resources flow from a "patron" to a "recipient." The flow of resources is contingent upon the demonstration of needs by the recipient, and among a constituency that the recipient claims to represent. During the 1980s corporations served as "patrons "; the NNHW served as a "recipient" that sought to address the needs of professional Latinas. In practicing "patron- recipient politics" the NNHW succeeded in acquiring resources to address specific Latina needs but, it also served corporate interests. Why was the NNHW able to pursue a strategy that served corporate interests during a decade when Reaganomics, the intellectual brainchild of certain corporate- funded institutions, such as the Heritage Institute, was "shortchang- ing" Chicanos and other Latinos ?" Following the analytical lead offered by Katznelson,7ß several reasons can be given for the NNHW's strategic capacity: the first is that the NNHW enjoyed visibility and legitimacy as advocates for Latinas, which served to immunize the organization from criticism and opposition; the second was the absence of a vigorous anti -capitalist movement among Chicanos and other Latinos during the 1980s. In the presence of such a movement, the NNHW's course of action would have been subjected to judgement by an alternative set of standards and evoked criticism. However, throughout the 1980s, as Gómez - Quiñones has pointed out,'9 such an ideological counterforce was absent among Chicanos, the largest sector of the Latino population and the national origin group from which the NNHW drew the prepon- derance of its membership. The absence facilitated the growth of conservative THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 191

political tendencies. At the same time, moreover, the ascendancy of Reaganomics reduced the potential governmental sources of funding for organizational advocacy and service programs, stimulating pessimism that the government would be a source of funding and a recourse to the private sector for funding.80 The ascent appeared to be accompanied by a marked shift towards conser- vatism in American politics that promoted the idea that it was necessary for Latinos to pursue more conventional forms of political action. This type of sentiment was captured by political scientist F Chris García at the end of the eighties, when he wrote: "Competition, not cooperation, egocentrism rather than social concern, ethnocentrism rather than toleration of diversity seems to be descriptive of the 1980s. In light of this situation, it seems incumbent for Latinos to use more accommodative and conventional tactics in pursuing their political, social, and economic goals. "81 The NNHW charted a course of action consistent with this conclusion.

NOTES C. Wright Mills, White Collar: The American Middle Classes (New York: Oxford Univer- sity Press, 1951): 351 -354. z F. Chris García and Rudolph O. de la Garza, The Chicano Political Experience:Three Perspectives (North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press, 1977): 157 -159.

3 Francis Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, The New Class War:Reagan's Attack on the Welfare State and Its Consequences (New York: Pantheon Books, 1982). 4 R.E. Butler, On Creating a Hispanic America (Washington, DC: Council on Inter- Ameri- can Security, 1985).

5 Rudolph Acuña, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, 3rd edition (New York: Harper & Row, 1988). 6 Ibid.

7 Mario Barrera, BeyondAztlán: Ethnic Autonomy in Comparative Perspective (New York: Praeger, 1988).

8 Mario T. García, MexicanAmericans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989). 9 Ibid., 301.

° Juan Gómez -Quiñones, Chicano Politics: Reality and Promise 1940 -1990 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990): 178. 192 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

11 David Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes: The Political Power of Business in America (New York: Basic Books, 1989): 213. 12 Barrera, op. cit., 81. 13 Quoted in Julia K. Kilgore, "Of Singular Vision," Hispanic Business 10:7 (1988): 25 -26. 14 Sylvia A. Castillo, "A Statement of Who We Are," Intercambios Féminiles (November/ December 1980): 1.

15 Ibid., 1.

16 Ibid. '7 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Sylvia Castillo, `Adelante Mujer Hispana: A Tribute to the Achievements of Women," Intercambios Féminiles (November /December 1980): 2.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 María Chacón, "An Overdue Study of the Chicana Undergraduate Experience," Intercambios Féminiles 1 (November /December 1980): 4.

24 "The Chicana Re -Entry Student: An Invisible Minority," Intercambios Féminiles 1:2 (1981): 1.

25 Shirlene Soto, "Chicanas in Higher Education: An Analysis," Intercambios Féminiles 1:6 (1982): 1.

26 Ibid.

27 Ibid., 2.

28 Carmen Carrillo, "Roles and Status of the Latina in the United States," Intercambios Féminiles 1:6 (1982): 3.

29 Raquel Bauman, "The Status of Chicanas in Medicine," Intercambios Féminiles 1:3 (1981): 1.

30 "Some Facts About Hispanic Women," Intercambios Féminiles 1:3 (1981): 1.

31 María Rodríguez, "Chicanas and the Law: Civil and Constitutional Issues, Intercambios Féminiles 1:5 (1982): 1.

32 Ibid

33 Shirley Malcom and Paula Hall, "Some Facts About Women in Science," Intercambios THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 193

Féminiles 1:8 (1983): 1-3. 34 Ibid.

35 Lynda de la Viña, "A Study of the Educational and Career Experience of Anglo and Hispanic College of Business Graduates," Intercambios Féminiles 2:1 (1984): 1.

36 Christine M. Sierra, "Surveying the Latina Political Landscape," Intercambios Féminiles 2:3 (1984): 1.

37 Leobardo E Estrada, "Characteristics of Latina Voters," Intercambios Féminiles 2:3 (1984): 1.

38 Margarita Prieto, "Editor's Note," Intercambios Féminiles 2:3 (1984): 2.

39 Ibid. 4° Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes, 213. 41 Ibid. 42 Karen Orren, "Corporate Power and the Slums," in Theoretical Perspectives on Urban Politics ed., D. Willis et al., (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1976): 46. 43 Ibid. 44 Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes.

45 Orren, op. cit., 46.

46 Ibid.

47 Kenneth Dolbeare, Democracy at Risk: The Politics of Economic Renewal (Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers, 1984): 185. 48 "The 100 Influentials and Their Assessment of the Community Issues," Hispanic Busi- ness 9:8 (1987): 20 -32.

49 Gabriela Zuñiga, "Guest Editor's Note," Intercambios Féminiles 2:1 (1984): 2.

50 Sylvia Castillo, "President's Message to the Network," Intercambios Féminiles 2:2 (1984): 19.

51 "Highlights from the First National Roundtable of Hispanic Business and Corporate Leaders," Intercambios Féminiles 2:4 (1984): 24.

52 Quoted in Kilgore, "Of Singular Vision," 25.

53 Sylvia Castillo, "Hispanic Women's Conference to Focus on Executive Level Opportuni- ties," Intercambios Féminiles 2:3 (1984): 22.

54 Ibid.

55 Sylvia Castillo, "President's Message to the Network," Intercambios Féminiles 2:2 (1984): 19. 194 PERSPECTIVES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

56 Virginia García, "From the Editor: A Step Forward,"Intercambios Féminiles 2:6 (1987): 4. 57 Edward S. Greenberg, The American Political System,5th edition (Glenview, IL:Scott, Foresman and Company, 1989).

58 Ibid.

59 Ibid.

60 Ibid 42.

61 Ibid.

62 Margaret Cerrudo, "A Profile of Nancy C. Gutierrez," Intercambios Féminiles 1:4 (1981): 8.

63 Julia Arrellano, "Pioneers in Business: A Chicana Perspective," Intercambios Féminiles 1:3 (1981): 2.

64 Ibid.

65 Miriam Ojeda, "Do Hispanic Women Enjoy the Benefits of Business," Intercambios Féminiles 1:7 (1982): 2.

66 Ibid.

67 Ibid., 3.

68 Francis Garcia, "Hispanas Can They Succeed in Business and in Corporate America," Intercambios Féminiles 1:7 (1982): 4 -5.

69 Bettina Flores, "In Search of Latina Millionaires," Intercambios Féminiles 2:2 (1984): 11- 12.

70 Greenberg, op. cit., 42.

71 Intercambios Féminiles 1:8 (1983): 3.

72 Linda Helena Moya, "Charting a Career Path in High Technology: An Interview with John Young," Intercambios Féminiles 2:6 (1986): 4.

73 Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes, 213.

74 Intercambios Féminiles 2:6 (1987): 18.

75 Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes.

76 Charles V. Hamilton, "The Patron -Recipient Relationship and Minority Politics in New York City," Political Science Quarterly 94:3 (1979): 214 -215.

77 Shortchanged: Recent Developments in Hispanic Poverty, Income and Employment (Wash- ington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1988).

iIibi bibi Hhi I 111 THE REARGUARDERS THESIS AND LATINA ELITES 195

78 Ira Katznelson, Black Men, White Cities (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). 79 Juan. Gómez -Quiñones, Chicano Politics:(Albuquerque:University of New Mexico Press, 1992).

80 Kurt Whisler, "How Hispanic Organizations Have Fared With the Cutbacks: A Survey," Caminos 3 (1983): 54 -55.

81 F. Chris García, conclusion to Latinos and the Political System, ed. F. Chris García (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988): 498. Perspectives in Mexican American Studies

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