Borderlands/La Frontera

When I first started to read Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa I was taken aback by the sudden and random switches between English and Spanish.  I am in basic introductory Spanish class here at Temple, but I cannot speak it very well at all, so I found this very annoying.  It was frustrating to try to read the story when right in the middle of a sentence she would switch to Spanish and I was no longer able to understand it.  This was not what I was expecting at all, and I had to completely change my viewpoint.  When I did stop, take a breath and consider why Anzaldúa would have chosen to do this though, I realized that the sudden language shifts were supposed to be annoying.  She is making it uncomfortable for Anglo people like me to read, and that discomfort is representative of the life of the Chicanos living in America.  White citizens chastise them for speaking their native tongue, much as I had been doing by being frustrated at her including Spanish in her writing.  Furthermore, this mix of language is what is natural for Anzaldúa!  She was raised by the border of Mexico in Texas, and as such grew up speaking both English (as in school) and Spanish.  These two languages blend themselves together into a new sort of language that she calls the “new language” of the Mestiza.  It is probably what is in her head, so therefore it makes sense that she uses it to write out her thoughts.  This blended language also parallels life on the border, and how her race is a mix of several different cultures.

So although I do still find it slightly aggravating when I am right in the middle of a good story and am suddenly unable to hear the end because the language shift, I can appreciate the reason behind it and point she is making through it.  Overall, I think it is very affective, and as long as readers can get past the initial annoyance to think about why it is done, it is successful and justified.

I also found it very interesting how the book ties in with our current society.  With the re-election of President Obama, we are hearing a lot about potential immigration reforms and the issue of illegal immigration in general.  Anzaldúa’s side of things gives that argument an interesting spin.  Americans often like to assert that we should keep illegal immigrants off our land and stop the Mexicans from hopping the border and stealing our jobs.  Anzaldúa, on the other hand, emphasizes the fact that the American South West is the location of Atzlán, the historic homeland of the Aztecs.  The Aztecs, in turn, spawned the Mexican race and as such, the South West is their cultural homeland.  It wasn’t until much later that we came in and took the lands from them by force, and now we are preventing them from returning home.  To make matters worse, the Aztecs were a migratory people, but they have a real sense of connection between where they are and the homeland.  I think it is important to consider this point of view where the topic of immigration is concerned.  Remember, how would you feel if our beloved country was taken by force and you were unable to return home….