Gloria Anzaldúa was instrumental in the Chicana/o Movement as an activist, writer, teacher, cultural and queer theorist, and feminist. She was born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas in 1942. After receiving her triple Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, art and education from Pan American University in Texas, her writing became a central part of her activism. Her most influential work was “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,”  a mix of biography and theory that includes several literary styles, from poetry to art, in a blend of English and Spanish. “Borderlands,” belongs to a genre all its own: autohistoria-teoría. It is a truly inspirational work.  Anzaldúa died of diabetes complications in 2004.

As a part of the Chicano Movement, Anzaldúa noticed the sexism that plagued it. Women were not allowed in positions of leadership within the Movement, despite being crucial to its advancement. Anzaldúa did not think the feminist movement was anymore inclusive, having experienced classism and racism from white feminists. Anzaldúa focused most of her writing on addressing these issues, and in 1981 together with Cherríe Moraga, co-edited “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.”

Honoring Anzaldúa:

A celebration to honor the Chicana activist’s life, legacy, and work was done at the 2^nd Annual Gloria Anzaldúa luncheon, held at the University of Texas at Austin. UT’s Queer People of Color and Allies (QPOCA), a student organization for the education, empowerment, and visibility of queer people of color, organize the annual luncheon. The luncheon was started because QPOCA students felt Anzaldúa was not sufficiently recognized the way other activists of color were on campus, such as Barbara Jordan or Martin Luther King Jr.

Kim Crosby, a grassroots community educator, brought an inspirational energy to the conference, declaring, “Our anger at injustice is a powerful catalyst for change.”

Recently, the Librotraficante created an Underground Gloria Anzaldúa Library to help raise awareness about the Arizona ban on ethnic studies. Other celebrations of Anzaldúa’s life has taken place across multiple campus, including the creation of the  Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldua.

Anzaldúa’s work and legacy is important because it provided Latinas, especially lesbian/queer Latinas, new levels of visibility. More importantly, Anzaldúa inspired a new generation of Chicanas/Latinas/Tejanas to produce theory, art, and writing that resist oppression. Anzaldúa helped inspire future activists, such as Crosby, to continue theorizing and participating in revolutionary politics.

By Joel Zapata

Cecilia Rodriguez was born and grew up in El Paso, Texas and is a second generation American. She has dedicated her life to social justice. She has focused her work to advocate for the human and civil rights of Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American women. Aware of discrimination and injustice Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have faced in the United States, she worked for social justice from a young age.

As a child, Cecilia Rodriguez was punished for speaking Spanish in her school. She was attending school in El Paso in the 1970s when a judge ruled that local schools had historically practiced segregation against Mexican-Americans. She knew Mexican-Americans, and all Latinos, were treated unfairly not only in her hometown but nationwide. She wrote about this unfair treatment for her high school newspaper, but her writing was banned by the school administration. However, Mexican-American students at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) published her work in the university newspaper. When Cecilia Rodriguez started college, she joined groups like the Movimiento Estudiantil De Aztlan (A Chicano student civil rights group). In college, she protested for Mexican-American’s housing rights and labor rights. Then in 1977 she moved to the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to write a newsletter for a local TV station. There she worked for the rights of farm workers and autoworkers in Brownsville Texas.

Returning to her hometown in the 1980s, Cecilia Rodriguez helped organize La Mujer Obrera (The Woman Worker) in 1981. La Mujer Obrera is a workers’ advocacy group that began working for the rights and fair treatment of garment workers along the border. The group has since advocated for the civil and human rights of all women workers along the U.S. Mexico border and beyond. Cecilia Rodriguez helped fund La Mujer Obrera because she saw women in dangerous work conditions while being paid little. Sometimes garment factories withheld women’s wages. Meaning, women were not paid at all. Cecilia Rodriguez, along with other women of La Mujer Obrera, organized two hunger strikes that pressured the government to investigate women’s unpaid wages. Because of the hunger strikes it soon became a major crime in Texas not to pay workers their earned wages. The hunger strikes also helped workers get holidays off work.

More so, Cecilia Rodriguez led La Mujer Obrera in providing women on the border with free health screenings. Another program she helped start with La Mujer Obrera was a literacy program for illiterate women, or women who did not know how to read and write. Cecilia Rodriguez also helped start programs to aid women with immigration issues and programs to prevent them from becoming homeless. Much like she did in high school, Cecilia Rodriguez wrote articles for a worker’s newspaper that she and her husband handed out in garment factories. Most importantly though, La Mujer Obrera, led by Cecilia Rodriguez, worked to include Mexican-American women in the political process. She helped open doors for Latinas to become stronger in their families and their communities. She helped women become strong role models for future Latino generations.

Cecilia Rodriguez’s work goes beyond the United States. In 1994, she was invited to the Mexican state of Chiapas to aid Indigenous people with land problems. The problem was that Indigenous people in Chiapas had their land taken away by unfair government moves. Their land now belonged to a few rich individuals. While in Chiapas as a human rights advocate, she was raped by men who wanted her to stop fighting for social justice in Chiapas. Cecilia Rodriguez responded by making her attack public. She said, “I will not shut up, I will not stop my work or travel to Chiapas or my work in the United States.” She continued to organize health and educational projects in Chiapas for years.

In 2001, Cecilia Rodriguez moved to California to find a new way to serve others. She entered John F. Kennedy University and earned a master’s degree in transpersonal psychology. Presently she works as a family and marriage counselor in California and has focused her work on low income individuals. She continues to speak for civil and human rights. She blogs about her experiences as a Mexican-American woman and about injustices people face. She continues to push for immigration rights, environmental responsibility, workers’ rights and women’s rights—especially Latinas’ rights. Cecilia Rodriguez works for a more just and fair world.

Growing up along the Texas and Mexico border, Iliana Sosa knows a few things about hot border city topics. With a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from Southwestern University and an MFA in film production & directing from UCLA, this writer and director has made it her mission to translate these topics to the silver screen. By combining her two passions— current events in the Latino community and film arts, Iliana has made a career out of illustrating prevalent border city issues for the purpose of prompting a dialogue and promoting awareness on various matters. And her most recent project, a stage-to-screen venture of the play, Detained in the Desert, does just that.

Iliana Sosa did not dream of becoming a filmmaker as a child.  It wasn’t until college, where she was exposed to countless films charged with Latin American issues, that she even entertained the idea of working in the industry. “It was an awakening for me, seeing those films.  Being a Latin American studies major, I was reading and writing a lot about Latino identity. Seeing those films tackle similar issues, I thought, ‘wow’ this is a great medium to do this.”

After graduation, Iliana, with no experience, but plenty of drive, was accepted into the very selective UCLA film & directing program. Since then she has written and directed multiple productions including the 2011 independent film Child of the Desert. Her recent project, Detained in the Desert was originally a play written by playwright Josefina Lopez, writer of Women Have Curves. Impressed by one of her previous works, Josefina reached out to Iliana and the two decided to collaborate on a film version of her play. Detained in the Desert is about two seemingly dissimilar characters, a 20-year-old, second generation, Mexican-American woman who is out of touch with her roots and a conservative talk show host with little compassion for Mexican immigrants. The two end up detained together and during their captivity, the movie explores the topic of immigration from two oppositional sides. According to Sosa, Detained is unique in that it offers a more rounded view of the immigration issue. “The way the media approaches immigration is very one sided or very extremist. This film shows two different sides of it more complexly. There are more gray areas than the media portrays and this film tries to tackle them.”

Like many kids, Iliana once felt the pressure to pursue a career that was safe. However these days, Iliana is living proof that fulfilling one’s passion reaps great rewards. As this project nears completion, there’ no sign of slowing down for Iliana. She continues to make large strides for the Latino community through her work  in the film industry. Even after all these years, she still gets a thrill from being in the business of storytelling.“I think women have so much to say, especially Latinas,“ says Sosa. “ There definitely needs to be more women telling stories.”

The newly crowned Miss Texas Latina 2012 is Lizethe Mendoza, a junior at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  She is majoring in International Business and Government with a minor in French.  She has overcome many challenges such as bullying and credits her single mother upbringing and Latino culture for her strength and morals.  Despite her busy schedule, her belief in a giving heart is reflected in her volunteer work with the University Medical Center and El Paso Children’s Hospital.  She was even able to squeeze in a little time for an interview with Latinitas and tell us what makes her a great role model and why your dreams start with a good education.

How long have you been participating in pageants? I have been participating in pageants for about a year now.

What got you interested in doing pageants? I admired the former Miss New Mexico 2011, Brittany Toll. She was very active in her community. She is also a part of Teach For America organization, which is a program that immerses teachers in low income schools in hopes of giving these children a higher chance of furthering their education. Brittany is my role model and I figured if I could obtain a strong platform like hers, I could give back to my community. The idea and hope of being a positive impact is what drew my attention to the beautiful pageant world.

How has it changed/influenced your life? I believe and have learned that the human heart is at it’s very best when it is giving. I have been more involved in my community and  in charities such as the March of Dimes.

What was going through your mind up until they announced the winner? Oh my goodness, what wasn’t going through my mind!? It felt like when you prepare yourself to jump in a pool of cold water. You hold your breath and brace yourself. I just remember telling myself “This is it, you tried your best, now you can only pray for God’s will.”

How does winning impact your confidence? This pageant was my first time making top. I worked really hard in all areas, especially my fitness. It feels amazing to know hard work truly does pay off.

What was the biggest challenge for you and how did you overcome it? I can’t decide whether it was answering an on stage question.  I just told myself right before, “Be honest, be sincere, and mean whatever it is you say.”

What makes you proud to be Latina? Coming from a single parent home with a beautiful, hard working Latina mother and being raised with morals and with pride in my culture and heritage makes me proud of being a Latina. Latinos come to this country for a brighter future and a better education, and it makes me proud to be part of that group of Latinos.

What makes you a good role model to Latina youth? I believe I am a good role model to my generation of Latinas because I am no where near perfect.  I had weight problems growing up. I was bullied all through elementary, middle school, some of high school, and even on the cheerleading team at a college level. I relate to the issues our youth faces today. I have overcome obstacles where others told me I couldn’t do something and did it anyway. I am a person with drive and compassion which I believe are key traits to be a leader. I have set the example that anyone can do absolutely anything they set their mind to.

What advice would you give to young Latinas as far as pursuing their education and their dreams? Don’t give up! School gets tough but life only gets tougher without a solid plan and a solid education. Your education is key to pursue your dreams. You can do anything, absolutely anything. The sky is NOT the limit… if it was, we wouldn’t have footsteps on the moon.  If you can dream it, the possibilities are endless when you back them up with drive and determination to fulfill them.