Sounding Aztlán: Music, Literature, and the Chicana/o Sonic Imaginary by Wanda Alarcón A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Laura E. Pérez, Chair Professor Beth Piatote Professor Paola Bacchetta Professor Jennifer Stoever Fall 2016 1 Abstract Sounding Aztlán: Music, Literature, and the Chicana/o Sonic Imaginary by Wanda Alarcón Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Laura E. Pérez, Chair This dissertation explores the question: What does Aztlán sound like? Informed by decolonial feminist theory and sound studies concepts, I consider listening as a new praxis with which to remember complex narratives of belonging and citizenship against the assimilating force of national forms and political limits. This interdisciplinary research engages the idea of Aztlán, the mythical homeland of the Nahuas, and the imagined solidarity it mobilized in 1960s activism as a Chicana feminist concept with a history of generative interventions that challenge its nationalist logic. Taking up the contested notion of Aztlán as historically marginalizing to women and la joteria, I use a method of listening to “tune in” to multiple, heterogeneous, and alternate histories of Chicana/o belonging in the musical and literary soundscapes of Greater Mexico. This work explores the diverse audible markers of race, gender, sexuality, citizenship and migration that circulate in the Chicana/o musical, literary, performance and new media objects I examine. I argue that through the soundscape, Aztlán becomes a plural concept. “Sounding Aztlán” is organized as four linked discussions that test the portability of sound as a new interpretive method and epistemology for Chicana/o Studies, sound studies, and decolonial feminism: Ch. 1, “Tuning In to Coalition: Listening to This Bridge Called My Back,” revisits the foundational feminist text, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. I think of Bridge as an artifact of coalition, a multiplicity of radical voices embodied in its very form. Just as the act of writing for women of color is connected to life, the stakes of being heard are high. I claim that there is an aural dimension to Bridge beyond the textual that has to do with perceptions of the sound and noise women of color make. Practicing a decolonial feminist "listening," this chapter engages Bridge anew as a soundscape of coalition. Ch. 2, “Decolonial Feminist Soundscapes in Post 1980s Chicana Literature,” and Ch. 3, “Soundtracks, Chicana Butches, and East L.A.: Verónica Reyes’s Chopper! Chopper! Poetry from Bordered Lives and Raquel Gutiérrez’s The Barber of East L.A.” posit that literature is noisy and therefore calls for the reader to listen as a new mode of interpretation. The soundscapes in Chicana/o 2 narratives have not been fully engaged in prior readings of the poetry, fiction, and drama by Sandra Cisneros, Luis Alfaro, Estella Gonzalez, Raquel Gutiérrez, and Verónica Reyes. I argue that literature becomes a site for hearing creative sonics of subjectivity, coalition, and queerness. Against the dominant imaginary of Aztlán, feminist solidarities, decolonial feminist poetics, butch/femme histories, alternative music scenes, and East Los Angeles become audible in these post 80s literary Chicana representations. Ch. 4, “Performing América On The National Stage,” examines a repertoire of three Chicana/o performances of “The Star Spangled Banner” by contemporary pop/rock, mariachi, and banda musicians. I take Jimi Hendrix’s iconic 1969 performance at Woodstock as a jumping off point to explore how dissonant moments between the visual and aural performance of nation captured on social media provide openings for multiple interpretations of citizenship. When the national anthem becomes part of the Chicana/o repertoire, what map of the Americas is sounded through these Chicano performances of the national anthem? These performances highlight meaningful disruptions, tensions, resistances, and variations on the theme of América. i For my abuelitos, Guadalupe y Arturo Zapata, my mother Guadalupe, and my father, Amando, who filled my childhood with music and love. ii Table of Contents Abstract of Dissertation 1 Introduction A Queer Musical Childhood 1 The Non-Place of Aztlán 5 Decolonial Feminism 7 Soundscapes, Noise, Listening 12 Chapter Summaries 17 Chapter One Tuning into Coalition: Listening to This Bridge Called My Back 19 How Do You “Close Read” Sound? 20 Activating the Aural Metaphor in Bridge 21 Hearing the Soundscape 22 A Decibel is not a Decibel 24 The Napa Valley Wine Train Controversy and the Apology 26 Letter Genre Amplifying the Coloniality of Gender 28 Between Remembering and Listening 29 Remembering Coalition 31 Sounding Aztlán at the Intersections of Women of Color 32 Feminist Thought Chapter Two Decolonial Feminist Soundscapes in Post 80s Chicana Literature 34 Gritonas, Laughter, and Queer Noises in Sandra Cisneros’s 36 “Woman Hollering Creek” The Aural/Visual Paradigm and the Problem with Apparitions 38 The Sense of Place or How Do We Know This is a La Llorona Story? 39 A Phone Call Between Comadres: Graciela and Felice 40 Hearing Felice 41 An Unanswered Question 43 The Decolonial Feminist Poetics of Caló in Estella Gonzalez’s 43 “Chola Salvation” Pachuca Caló 44 Who is Speaking Caló? 45 A Caló Vocabulary 47 The Decolonial Feminist Poetics of the Augmentative in 48 Pachuca Caló Saving One’s Soul 49 Conclusion 50 iii Chapter Three Soundtracks, Chicana Butches, and East L.A.: Veronica Reyes’s 52 Chopper! Chopper! Poetry from Bordered Lives and Raquel Gutiérrez’s The Barber of East L.A. Chopper! Chopper! Poetry from Bordered Lives by Veronica Reyes 53 Torcidaness: Tortillas and me 54 The Barber of East L.A. by Raquel Gutiérrez 58 Curating Butchness 60 Chonch Fonseca: The Extended Play 62 Conclusion 66 Who is Listening? Eavesdropping from East Los Angeles 67 Chapter Four Performing América on the National Stage 69 Contexts for Listening in Los Angeles 71 Marisoul Hernandez: Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Viva Los 73 Dodgers Day (2012) Jenni Rivera: Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Viva Los Dodgers 76 Day (August 26, 2012) Sebastien de la Cruz: AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, 78 Game 3 NBA Finals, Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs (2013) Conclusion 80 “El Grito Can Still Be Heard In Space” 82 Conclusion “Libertad” 83 A Decolonial Feminist Soundscape for Aztlán 84 Hearing the Accent in América 86 Bibliography 89 iv Acknowledgements I am happy and honored to thank my brilliant committee, Laura Pérez, Beth Piatote, Paola Bacchetta and Jennifer Stoever for supporting me in this work. Your scholarly and creative guidance has been a tremendous gift for me these past seven years. This final work bears the imprint of your intellectual generosity. The truth is that my time at Berkeley has been wonderful because of you and the many wonderful scholars I have been fortunate to learn from. I especially thank Professors Juana Maria Rodriguez, Shari Hunhdorf, Lok Siu, Abdul JanMohamed, and Genaro Padilla for sparking so many ideas and offering indispensible advice. Graduate school is rigorous but luckily it is also fun and for this I have so my graduate colleagues to thank. Annie Fukushima, Ariko Ikehara, John Dougherty, Josh Troncoso, Jason Chang, Abraham Ramirez, Javier Huerta, Gustavo Buenrostro, and Alisa Sanchez. Your friendship means everything to me. This journey began at Binghamton University and for this I must thank Professors Maria Lugones, Joseph Keith, and Jennifer Stoever, once again. Your continued mentorship from afar has been more than I could ask for and I feel very fortunate to have your support even now. I want to thank my tiny Santa Cruz village, Marcia Ochoa, Cecilia Rivas, Regina Langhout, Eddie Mosqueda, and Ella Ben Hagai for your friendship and solidarity and for giving me a social life! Going to the movies at the Nick, singing at Queeroake Tuesday’s, and sharing comforting home cooked meals together balanced out the too frequent late night writing sessions at McHenry and midnight cafes all over town. Grad school has taken me far from Los Angeles and my oldest, dearest friends, Jose Legaspi, Rubi Fregoso, Gwen Dashiell, and Erin McLaughlin, yet I always know that you are there cheering me on. I can’t wait to see you all for NYE 2017! This would not have happened without the love and support of my family, my sister Amanda, my brothers Clifford, Amilcar, and Asdruval, and my nieces Eli and Maya. To my mother Guadalupe, your wisdom, strength, and kindness gives me faith in all things. I love you all. Cindy, I saw you do this first. There is too much to say and too much to thank you for, not least the love, certainly always the adventure. I dedicate this this song to you, I think you’ll know it: “This is a song about your wavelength and my wavelength, baby. You turn me on, when you get me on your wavelength…You never let me down, no, never let me down.” v Curriculum Vitae WANDA ALARCÓN EDUCATION Ph.D. Candidate, Ethnic Studies; Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality, University of California, Berkeley Dissertation: “Sounding Aztlán: Music, Literature, and the Chicana/o Sonic Imaginary” M.A. Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley 2011 M.A. English & American Literature, Binghamton University 2009 B.A. Music; Minor in French, California State University, Long Beach 2005 HONORS & AWARDS Carlos E. Castañeda Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mexican American Studies, University of Texas, Austin 2016-2017 Berkeley Connect Fellowship, UC Berkeley 2014-2015 Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship, UC Berkeley 2012-2013 Graduate Division Summer Fellowship, UC Berkeley 2012 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship (Honorable Mention) 2011 Clifford D.