It's a....Pronoun!!
So I had my 18 week ultrasound yesterday morning and after an extra 1/2 hour of checking, we learned the gender. It' a girl! The technician seemed very sure. In her words, "there's no weiner here." She also said the baby looks healthy, which makes me a lot less stressed. We are also glad to finally have a pronoun to use to refer to the baby. "It" has never really worked for me. My due date is early November, though I'm still likely to deliver in October. Her name will be Pilar Xochitl Stiffler y Garcia. Pilar was the other girl name we considered for Lena, but decided Helena went better with her middle name, Jason. Xochitl was my grandmother's middle name. When she found out I was pregnant the first time, she suggested it as a good girl's name. While I really like the name, I just couldn't find it in myself to inflict it upon her as a first name since she would forever be explaining how to pronounce it.
Anyway, we're all doing well here. Lena's still her crazy self. She figured out how to climb her changing table last week, so until I can move it, she's not allowed to play in there without me. Jason's on summer schedule, which is lovely. Lena and I get to accompany him on a work retreat to the Disneyland Hotel (I think) in a couple of weeks. Should be fun.
posted by Lysa @ 9:48 AM
3 Comments:
Lysa!
What a beautiful name. I imagine that Nana would be so very happy. I remember the first time she told me what her middle name was; she said her father had wanted a princess (apparently Xochitl was one?) so she always had to have that name on diplomas and things . . . But I suppose she secretly loved it.
About Aztlan--
For my College Prep Comp class (taught by my mentor, De Maret) we had to write an "argument paper," and, long story shorter, I ended up writing it about MEChA and how it began, how it has been portrayed, and how it's changed through the years. The argument part was that media (the main focus of the class) chooses always to portray the sections of the Aztlan movement that are CRAZY, wanting to reclaim land, kick out all the gringos, take over the country, etc. They very rarely (if ever) talk about how MEChA has chapters for students in many universities all over the United States, that it promotes higher education for Chicano(/a)s and helps them find community within the academic world, that it runs local programs for increased public school funding, etc. !! And in doing all my research, I just stumbled onto so much information about . . . just everything! I just learned so much and kept thinking, How did I not know about this??!?! There's one article in particular that I can send to you, if you want, about marketing alcohol. Anywho.
And I agree so completely with what you said about the word "Chicano"--we learned in that class alot about linguistic reclamation and discourse and all that fun fun fun stuff (can't wait for college!) so I thought it was interesting too. I like that it "embraces the mestizo," like you said.
I suppose my other particular question is do you know of any writers who you like who talk about the issue of Chicano culture in America?
P.S. Do you know Deborah Tannen? I think she's pretty cool.
I would really be interested to see those articles. As you say, most media regarding the Aztlan movement is negative, I'd love to see something positive. I've never really equated Mecha with the movement, but I do know about all the cool stuff they do in the Chicano/a community. Unfortunately, my college's chapter of Mecha was full of people trying to out Chicano one another, so I never joined. However, I think most Mecha's are not as bad.
Yeah, I also think the term Chicano is interesting because it is so recent. When I was in college, I told grandpa about using it and he told me if anyone ever called HIM a Chicano he'd punch them in the face. :)
There are many author's I would recommend. Off the top of my head:
DEFINITELY Gloria Anzaldua's Borderlands/ La Frontera. I wrote my master's thesis on it. It's probably one of the most personally influential books I've ever read. I'll send you a copy.
While I don't agree with most of his premises, Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory is beautifully written. His second book, Days of Obligation, is not bad either. He basically takes the opposing view to Anzaldua's and I think it's always good to look at both sides.
As for literature, there is, of course, sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. Helena Viramontes' The Moths and Other Short Stories and Under the feet of Jesus. Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents though there is also In the name of Salome and In the Time of the Butterflies, both about Dominican history and very good. Rudolpho Anaya's Bless me Ultima is beautiful. There are many many more. I would also suggest the anthology This Bridge called my Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. There are poems, short stories and essays you might find interesting.
I'm sure I'll find other stuff to send you now that I know you're interested. I don't get to discuss literature (and epecially not Chicano/a literature) with many people other Than Jason.
As for Deborah Tannen, I've never read her. What kind of stuff doe she write? How is she cool?
Hey Lysa--sorry it took me so long to respond, I've been out of town (Texas for Forensic Nationals, and Taos with a friend). I will dig up the file of articles and send them to you--I might even inflict my essay on you, if you have a strong stomach.
I have read House on Mango Street, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, and Bless Me, Ultima, and I loved them all. I can't wait to read Borderlands!! And actually, my trip to Taos (I got back just a few hours ago) made me want to talk to you about something--we went to Taos Pueblo, and it was incredibly depressing (they call it a "living community," but "living" is hardly the word for it). Do you think it is possible for a writer to be a really strong, thoughtful writer, and not write about some of the issue that are connected to their background? In other words, what the heck am I supposed to write about??!
Deborah Tannen has written about gender and discourse, and conversational styles, and one article in particular that I loved about how a woman can never be "unmarked"--that is, no matter how she does her hair, or what kind of shoe she wears, it always MEANS something or says (/seems to say) something particular about her. I'll look for a copy of that too. My mentor De Maret gave me some of her stuff early on this year, and we've just kept talking about it.
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