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Gemma Jimenez

Professor Batty

English 102

September 25, 2017

Inner-healing/Curacion-interna

There is a popular saying among Chicanx Yo soy ni de aqui, ni de aya this translates to,

I am neither from here or there. This saying comes from the lack of identity people often feel

when they have to adapt to a new culture. The rise of the Chicanx movement was because they

were marginalized and eradicated just because of they were different. Gloria E. Anzaldua,

scholar of feminist, chicanx, and queer theory, expresses these sentiments in their poem La

Curandera. This poem can be seen as advocating for integrating for more than one identity.

When you are proud of who you are, not only does it raise your self esteem but promote a better

living. Unfortunately, there are social constructs in life that prevent this from happening because

of the belief it should not benefit everyone. By analyzing La Curandera closely we will see the

importance of multiple identity for Chicanx.

La Curandera is a narrative poem that contains a lot of repetition, trochaic beats, and

enjambert. From the beginning you get the feeling that you are in for a long journey. They are

speaking to the reader directly and want to tell you how they came to be a curandera. We are

introduced to important characters: Sobrino, Juan Davila, and our narrator. Juan Davila, whose

name is repeated many times, begins a journey across the border to heal the narrator. I was sick,

my leg turned white./ Sobrino went to Juan Davila...Juan Davila crossed the border/ to bring the

healer.(2-3, 8-9) The illness can be seen as a metaphor that implies being assimilated by

American society. An American doctor probably would not have the cure for assimilation. That
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is why one must go outside the borders of The United States to find a curandera, a traditional

Native healer. A curandera has learned the importance of spirituality and traditions of their

people. There is an urgency for one, but when one is not found a sense of hopelessness persists.

When Sobrino falls sick, Juan Davila explains how this occurs, In his mind he wanted to

die / In his mind he thought he was dying/ So he died. (18-19) The repetition confirms that the

illness is not physical but mental. Although Juan Davila is aware of how to prevent the illness he

himself can not completely fight it off. Assimilation is not an uncommon thing, it took a whole

generation of Chicanx to create a movement to fight the injustice many of them and past

generations had to face. Anzaldua herself was criminalized for her skin color and preference of

language according to an article by the American National Biography Gloria's sense of

difference was heightened when she entered Texas's segregated educational system in 1949.

Because she spoke only Spanish, her teacher mocked and punished her (Keating) It is very

difficult to surpass what many colored minorities have to face. According to the book The

Chicano Labyrinth of Solitude, Once a marginal personality becomes culturally alienated and

apathetic to ethnic bonds, reconciliation to primary ethnic psychological patterns from which it

was severed during its formative years and youth is difficult.(Orozco 84) When the poem

describes the illness consuming them by the word pain, it is reminiscent of the psychological

trauma Chicanx face. When there is no alternative available to you, you have no choice but let

the pain swallow you.

Self-actualization is of course possible once one matures, gains self-confidence, and

ethnic or racial awareness. When our narrator is rebirthed, a new sense of self is present:

You want to die, dont you, he said.

No, I want to be with her, la virgen santisima.

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But you are with her, he said,

She is everywhere.

And I heard the wind begin to blow.

As I breathed the air in and out,

I breathed her in and out. (68-74)

La Virgen Santisima, is referring to the Virgin Mary a very important motherly figure to

indigenous people of Mexico. Chicanx have grown up with this figure at home and have learned

to see her not just as a religious figure but a savior. When one is free to express both parts of

their identity everything becomes much more clear. The poem mix of Spanish and English

becomes more consistent towards the end of the poem. La Virgen Santisima are actually the first

words spoken in Spanish by our narrator. They are no longer referred as healer but a curandera.

Chicanx desire and need ego-satisfaction to become a mentally healthy person, this all

can be accomplished by being proud of both identities.Anzaldua has centered many of their work

on the importance of identity as stated in Gloria E. Anzalduas Decolonizing Ritual de

Conocimiento She erases lines beyond the separations of color to question gender labels, calling

for a mission to recognize the malleable quality of categories, lines and labels. (Ohmer ,5) La

Curandera can be seen to express these sentiment not only through writing but its historical

context. Chicanx struggle to find their identity when no one around them offers the answer to

them. Chicanx must search and create a balance of their multi-identity. The poem begins with

death and ends with rebirth. The poem dances between spanish and english once enlightenment

has been made. La Curandera proofs that the existence of multiple identity is real and can

makes one's life complete.

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Work Cited

Gloria E., Anzalda. La Curandera

AnaLouise, Keating. "Anzaldua, Gloria E."American National Biography Online April 2014.

http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-03593.htmt

Sarah, Ohmer. "Gloria E. Anzalda's Decolonizing Ritual De Conocimiento." Confluencia, no. 1,

2010, p. 141. EBSCOhost,

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E.C., Orozco. The Chicano Labyrinth of Solitude: A Study in the Making of the Chicano Mind

and Character Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company,1996