Family Matters New World Studies J. Michael Dash, Editor Frank Moya Pons and Sandra Pouchet Paquet, Associate Editors Family Matters Puerto Rican Women Authors on the Island and the Mainland Marisel C. Moreno University of Virginia Press Charlottesville and London University of Virginia Press © 2012 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper First published 2012 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moreno, Marisel C., 1973– Family matters : Puerto Rican women authors on the island and the mainland / Marisel C. Moreno. p. cm. — (New World studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8139-3331-3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8139-3332-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8139-3333-7 (e-book) 1. American literature—Puerto Rican authors—History and criticism. 2. Puerto Rican literature—Women authors—History and criticism. 3. Families in literature. 4. Feminism and literature—United States—History—20th century. 5. American literature—Women authors—History and criticism. 6. Puerto Rican women—United States—Intellectual life. I. Title. PS153.P83M67 2012 810.9’9287’097295—dc23 2012012746 A book in the American Literatures Initiative (ALI), a collaborative publishing project of NYU Press, Fordham University Press, Rutgers University Press, Temple University Press, and the University of Virginia Press. The Initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For more information, please visit www.americanliteratures.org. For my husband Tom, and our beautiful children, Gabriel and Mariana In memory of my two abuelas, Mama Sonia and Abuela Neya All Puerto Ricans are today, in one way or another, inhabitants of some other island of Puerto Rico. —Rubén Ríos Ávila Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Family Matters 1 1 The Literary Canon and Puerto Rican National Culture 15 2 Our Family, Our Nation: Revisiting la gran familia puertorriqueña 51 3 Retrieving the Past: The “Silenced” Narrate 90 4 Patriarchal Foundations: Contesting Gender/Sexual Paradigms 130 Epilogue 169 Notes 179 Bibliography 211 Index 223 Acknowledgments This book represents the culmination of a great deal of effort, and like everything else in my life it isn’t something that I accomplished alone. A lot of people supported me along the way: family, friends, colleagues, and mentors put their trust in me and in this project. I can hardly imagine having succeeded in this endeavor without the cru- cial support of the American Association of University Women, which awarded me an American Fellowship for the year 2009–10 that allowed me to dedicate all my energy to the completion of the manuscript. It is difficult to overstate the role that this organization has had in my career as a scholar, and I hope that it can continue its mission of “breaking through barriers so that all women have a fair chance.” I also need to thank my home institution, the University of Notre Dame, for all the support it has provided me during the preparation of this book. Although many years have passed since I began to work on the foun- dation of this book, I am indebted to all those who provided me with their comments during those early, yet critical stages. I want to thank Verónica Salles-Reese, Ricardo Ortíz, and Ivette Hernández-Torres for their comments and suggestions but especially for believing from the beginning that this was a worthwhile project. Other friends and col- leagues also provided me with their priceless support as my book proj- ect moved forward. My deepest gratitude goes to Rubén Ríos Ávila, Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, Colleen Ryan, and Julia Douthwaite, and to my two anonymous readers from the University of Virginia Press, your insightful comments and suggestions have been invaluable. I am also grateful to Cathie Brettschneider, humanities editor at the Univer- sity of Virginia Press, for her assistance throughout this process and for having been one of my greatest supporters all along. xii Acknowledgments Thanks also to my mother, Lourdes Lugo, and my siblings, Luli, Cris- tina, and Bilso, for their emotional support during these years; to my father, William Moreno, and my grandfather Papa. To all those friends who are practically like family, thanks for being there when I most needed you. And finally, the publication of my book could not have been possi- ble without the unwavering support of my dear husband, colleague, and friend, Tom Anderson. I thank him for giving me the strength to con- tinue and for reminding me not to take life too seriously. Even though writing this book has been an emotional del tingo al tango, his humor has always been uplifting. I cannot end without expressing my deep- est gratitude to our two children, Gabriel and Mariana, who have been amazing little companions during my academic journey. They helped me keep life in perspective and provided me with healthy doses of san- ity when I most needed it. I know that we all had to make sacrifices to see my book published, but I trust that someday they will grow to appre- ciate its message and that it will help bring them closer to their Puerto Rican roots. Sections of chapters 1 and 2 were originally published in CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies under the title “Family Matters: Revisiting la gran familia puertorriqueña in the Works of Ro- sario Ferré and Judith Ortíz Cofer,” vol. 22, no. 2 (Fall 2010). Reprinted by permission. A section of chapter 4 was originally published in Latino(a) Research Review under the title “The Tyranny of Silence: Marianismo as Violence in the Works of Alba Ambert and Annécy Báez,” vol. 7, no. 3 (2009–10). Reprinted by permission. Introduction Family Matters On September 23, 2009, a group of Puerto Ricans in Hart- ford, Connecticut, participated in a historic occasion: the unveiling of the first Monumento a la Familia Puertorriqueña (Monument to the Puerto Rican Family).1 As trivial as this event may seem, its significance in the historical context of Puerto Rican migration to the United States should not be overlooked. Prominently displayed between the Greater Hartford Academic Arts and Performing Arts buildings on Vernon and Washington Streets, José Buscaglia’s sculpture stands as a reminder of the presence of Puerto Ricans in this country and of how they have con- tributed to shaping U.S. society. Its inscription, “Honoring the contribu- tion of the Puerto Rican families to the development of the United States of America,” also evokes the blood, sweat, and tears that millions of Puerto Ricans have shed as they have struggled to improve the living conditions of their families and communities in this country. That this monument stands as a reminder of the Puerto Rican pres- ence in the United States might not strike one as particularly noticeable; after all, the assertion of Puerto Rican identity on the mainland has been a predominant concern reflected in the literature, music, visual arts, and political and civic participation of Puerto Ricans in the United States. What is most remarkable about this monument, especially in light of this study, is that it not only revitalizes a cultural icon that has been pre- dominantly associated with the island’s past, but it reaffirms the patriar- chal and racial mores that define that past. The implications of symboli- cally transplanting la gran familia puertorriqueña to the East Coast are many, not the least of which is the reassertion of familial ties between the island and its diaspora. To those familiar with Puerto Rican history, the irony of two details of the monument’s unveiling, namely, its date and place, adds another 2 Introduction layer of symbolism to the already charged metaphor of la familia that this monument embodies. First, the date chosen for the event, Septem- ber 23, marks the anniversary of the Grito de Lares, the so-called first nationalist revolt against Spanish colonialism, symbolic of the Puerto Rican struggle for liberation. The significance of this date thus allows for the interpretation of the unveiling as another, albeit harmonious mani- festation of resistance against colonialism—in this case by inserting the greatest icon of Puerto Rican identity in the belly of the beast. Second, the place where the monument has been erected, Hartford, Connecti- cut, has emblematized colonial U.S.–Puerto Rico tensions since 1983.2 In that year, the nationalist revolutionary organization Ejército Popu- lar Boricua (Boricua Popular Army), better known as Los Macheteros, robbed a Wells Fargo facility in West Hartford and allegedly distributed the money among the poor. Hailed as an act of social justice by many but condemned as an act of terrorism by the government, this incident has survived in the Puerto Rican imaginary as a reminder of the conflic- tive relationship between both sides. Puerto Ricans in Hartford have striven to efface the negative stereo- types that intensified after 1983. The election of Eddie Pérez as mayor of Hartford in 2001 was celebrated as a major achievement given that he became “the first Puerto Rican mayor in New England and the first nationwide to become mayor of a state capital” (Glasser 174). Unfortu- nately, in September 2011 Pérez was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to eight years in prison, of which he will serve three. Although Pérez’s predicament does not bode well for the image of Puerto Ricans in that state once again, there is faith that his successor, Pedro E. Segarra, will be able to restore that community’s reputation.3 For the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who did, or continue to, sacri- fice for their community, the monument in the heart of Hartford con- stitutes both a celebration and a statement about the crucial role that Puerto Ricans have played in the construction of that society.