Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Glora Anzaldúa

For help translating Spanish words and passages in the book, visit:

www.wordreference.com
www.freetranslation.com
www.spanishdict.com

You may not find certain words in formal dictionaries mostly likely because they are Chicano terms or written in a rural (campesino) dialect.
Tip: You can replace many of the words with apostrophes at the end with the letter 'd.' Example: se'=sed (thirst); mita'= mitad (half)

Terms and definitions:
Chicano: Mexican-American (but not Mexican)
La migra: Immigration officers in charge of border control
Mestizo: lit. "mixture"; a person of mixed Spanish and American Indian heritage; the majority of today's Latin Americans are mestizos. This word is not necessarily synonymous with "Hispanic," "Chicano," or "Latino." Ex: A Spaniard is Hispanic but very likely not mestizo. All Chicanos are Hispanic but not all Hispanics are Chicanos. A person of Latin American descent living in the U.S. is Latino.

Chapter 1: The Homeland, Aztlan/El Otro Mexico This chapter provides the historical context for the border controversies between Mexico and the U.S. (specifically Texas) discussed in the book. She mentions briefly describes Mexican history from the Pre-Columbian era to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo to the present day. Anzaldúa's main point is that Mexicans have been in the Americas (including modern Texas) centuries longer than the Anglos so it is unjust for the Anglos to draw arbitrary borders between the U.S. and Mexico.

To view a map that shows the evolution of the Mexican territories, go to: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Mexico_states_evolution.gif

Selected Quotes:
"The U.S. Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country---a border culture." (25)

"Faceless, nameless, invisible, taunted with 'Hey cucaracho' (cockroach)." (33)

"economic refugees" (33)

"The Mexican woman is especially at risk." (34)