INSURGENT AZTLÁN: XICANO/A RESISTANCE WRITING By Ernesto Todd Mireles A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of American Studies – Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT INSURGENT AZTLÁN: XICANO/A RESISTANCE WRITING By Ernesto Todd Mireles This dissertation examines Xicano/a resistance literature within the framework of national liberation theory around the globe and how those Third World anti colonial writings have influenced the ideology and writings of Xicano/as and other indigenous peoples in the United States. The three main sources this dissertation draws upon are the writings of Franz Fanon, Amilicar Cabral, and Mao Tse-Tung. Through discussion of these anti colonial works I will investigate Guillermo Bonfil-Batalla’s concept of permanent confrontation, Amilicar Cabral’s concept of the return to history, and the importance of literature to the political and cultural development of a national identity. These three concepts are vital to any discussion of how anti-colonial insurgencies are organized, the development of social movements within the structure of national liberation struggles, and the role literature plays in cultural transformation. I examine Xicano/a literature as it relates to the above concepts by situating the emergence of resistance literature within the anti colonial writings of African theorists Frantz Fanon and Amilicar Cabral. By examining Xicano/a organic intellectuals alongside current trends in Xicano/a pop culture production, this dissertation places those writers within a Xicano/a indigenous nationalist paradigm that foregrounds the creation of a Xicano/a national consciousness that is integral to the development of a national liberation movement. For the Xicano/a community, especially those Xicano/as engaged in resistance writing, the story of Aztlán has been at the center of efforts to put into words the idea of Xicano/a national formation. For Xicano/as within the academy, Aztlán has always been an articulation of cultural reinforcement that—by establishing indigenous origins— allows Xicano/as to press colonial oppressors for civil rights and equal treatment under the prevailing laws. This dissertation examines the intersections between these dichotomous ideological positions, as expressed by community-based and academic Xicano/a writers. I examine literature produced by the Xicano/a movement in the United States from 1848 to the present and analyze how Xicano/a literary tropes that originate in pre-conquest culture persist through the centuries, solidifying into themes of cultural resistance for the modern indigenous and ultimately generating a Xicano/a epistemology. I also show how anti-colonial history created through literature by the colonized, is fundamentally oppositional to colonial history in the United States. Within this context I analyze insurgency theories of Third World liberationists, as well as the role of literature in national liberation struggles, and apply the results of this analysis in an examination of the Xicano/a movement in the United States. Copyright by ERNESTO TODD MIRELES 2014 I dedicate this manuscript to the colonized that hold fast to the idea of nation in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. To my family, in particular my Grandmother Mabelle Pratt, my mother Sharon Patton, my children Ernesto James Mireles, Clinton E. Mireles, Olivia M. Mireles, Leona Naawug Mireles-Kota and finally to my partner in crime Jessica Kota for her undying belief in this project. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My mother Sharon Pratt Patton has always been by biggest advocate. A teen mother before the crippling stigma attached to it became widespread you gave me a love for books, learning and social justice that shaped me from an early age. Your editing and proofreading in the final days of this project was invaluable and gave me the strength to finish. Jessica Kota in many ways this document is as much hers as it is mine. Outside of the voice in my own head Jessica has debated, corrected, questioned and help me think through the hardest parts of this work. She has heard me explain this project over and over again and she still manages to smile when the subject comes up. Your smile was in my darkest hours my strongest refuge. Teresa Melendez your example of how a scholar should conduct themselves in fighting for the community has been and inspiration to me, your gentle guidance both in the classroom and out flows through this manuscript. Scott Michaelsen, your incessant questioning and incredible knowledge has driven me to the brink of academic insanity several times. It would not be untrue to say the time you spent with me during the production of this manuscript has impacted my thinking beyond words. Nora Salas you have been a loyal and fierce comrade for over two decades. Your contribution to this dissertation is in the thoughts on nationalism, ideas of organizing, the words on every page. You gave me my first copy of Wretched of the Earth; I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say I could not have written this dissertation without your presence in my life. Maria Zavala, my defender and crime partner, my first real guide to the Xicanada. When I think about what it means to be Xicano I think of you. C/S Vivian Michelle Mireles I would not be the person I am today if you were not the person you are. When I think of what a Christian should aspire to be I think of your example. vi A strong thanks to Julius Gordon and Grace Burford, a good editor is worth their weight in gold. Finally, to Apaxu Maiz I must acknowledge your monumental contribution to my development as a Xicano, a father, organizer, scholar, and a man. In all likelihood, had we never met this document would not exist. vii PREFACE I spell Xicano with an “X.” I do this mainly because I am a product of the Xicano/a student movement of the 1990s, when the X took its place. For me, and I believe for countless others of that generation and beyond, the X is symbolic of a shift toward Indigeneity that occurred during that tumultuous time. I write this in full recognition that the overwhelming majority of academy-trained scholars use the spelling “Chicano/a” in their writings. Since there is no correct way to spell in English or Spanish a word whose roots spring from Nahuatl, I believe it is sufficient to say that language, especially written language, is constantly in flux both in form and meaning, and that flux is an indication of the complexity and sophistication of the people who use it. There are instances throughout this manuscript where the reader will find the spelling “Chicano.” These are almost exclusively quotes from other writers or when the word is used as part of a cultural or political group or naming a specific period (i.e. the Chicano Power period). I have no ideological quarrel with either spelling, although I do believe the different spellings are indicative of distinct past and present politico-cultural periods for Meso-Americans in the United States. Xicano/as in the United States today are descendants both genetically and culturally of Indians from Meso-America. The words Xicano/a, Indian, and indigenous are used interchangeably throughout this document. In a few instances, I use the specific name of an indigenous nation. That is for clarity only; my contention is that Xicano/as—despite any geo-political borders created within the past five hundred years—were, are, and will continue to be indigenous peoples of the Americas. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………..1 CHAPTER ONE - LITERATURE AND INSURGENCY …….………………………………..16 Fanon and Cabral ………………………………………………………………………...17 Settler Colonialism in the Americas ………………………………………………………26 Theories of National Liberation …………………………………………………………..36 Tucson and the illegality of resistance …………………………………………………….50 Moving toward a theory of resistance …………………………………………………….55 CHAPTER TWO - INSURGENT BEGINNINGS …………….……………………………..57 El Mandato ……………………………………………………………………………….62 Aztlán …………………………………………………………………………………….68 The Virgin of Guadalupe …………………………………………………………………83 Indigeneity v. Mestizaje …………………………………………………………………..88 Insurgent Writings ………………………………………………………………………..98 CHAPTER THREE - ARMING THE NATION ……………………………………………...104 Apaxu Máiz and the national question …………………………………………………..117 Roberto Rodriguez and Centeotzintli ……………………………………………………127 Kurly Tlapoyawa and the manifesto insurgency …………………………………………133 The end of resistance ……………………………………………………………………141 CHAPTER FOUR - WHITHER AZTLÁN? THE SPECTER THAT HAUNTS THE UNITED STATES…………………………………………………………..….....144 The specter of irredentism.………………………………………………………………149 De-colonial methodologies..……………………………………………………………...157 Cholo murder films and the settler colony……………………………………………….166 Chuco’s choice…………………………………………………………………………...169 “I ain’t no chavala”………………………………………………………………………171 Escaping colonial domination……………………………………………………………177 CHAPTER FIVE - FILMING XICANO/A INSURGENCY…………….…………………….186 Summary of Pancho Goes to College……………………………………………………190 I can’t stop being brown but I can stop being poor……………………………………...193 Chicano Studies 101……………………………………………………………………..195 Party building and political territory……………………………………………………...199 Mestizaje and the literature of combat…………………………………………………...203 Machete: Making the case for Insurgent Aztlán…………………………………………..209 Plot summary of Machete………………………………………………………………..214 Machete and the insurgent model………………………………………………………..219 Machete and the myth of non-violence………………………………………………….223