Feminism, Nation and Myth

Feminism, Nation and Myth explores the scholarship of La Malinche, the indigenous woman who is said to have led Cortes and his troops to the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The figure of La Malinche has generated intense debate among literature and cultural studies scholars. Drawing from the humanities and the social sciences, feminist studies, queer studies, Chicana/o studies, and Latina/o studies, critics and theorists in this volume analyze the interaction and interdependence of race, class, and gender. Studies of La Malinche demand that scholars disassemble and reconstruct concepts of nation, community, agency, subjectivity, and social activism. This volume originated in the 1999 'U.S. Latina/Latino Perspectives on la Malinche' conference that brought together scholars from across the nation. Filmmaker Dan Banda interviewed many of the presenters for his documentary, Indigenous Always: The Legend of La Malinche and the Conquest of Mexico.Contributors include Alfred Arteaga, Antonia Castaneda, Debra Castillo, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Deena Gonzalez, Maria Herrera Sobek, Guisela Latorre, Luis Leal, Sandra Messinger Cypess, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Amanda Nolacea Harris, Rolando J. Romero, and Tere Romo. These academic essays are complemented by the creative work of Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Jose Emilio Pacheco, both of whom evoke the figure of La Malinche in their work.