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Ambrosia Alderete
Tejano Women: Culture and literature of the hidden Minority
During my childhood, my culture was not visible in mainstream society. As a
young Tejana I did not have any media or literature that I felt reflected my own
experience or culture. American media and literature presented me with “All
American Girls”; protagonists in my favorite books had pale skin, colored eyes,
and bathrooms and bedrooms that they did not have to share with everyone and
their grandmother. Yet Mexican culture was saturated in the unknown: a language
I could hardly understand let alone speak, and traditions that my family had not
acknowledged for generations. Similar to Mexican Americans experiencing the
awkward in-between of identifying with both minority and immigrants, Tejanos
often find themselves living on the outside of two different groups, not
embraced by the Americans (even though they have lived in the country before its
birth) because of their racial identity linking them to Mexico, yet not accepted
by their cousins across the border because many Tejanos have experienced
acculturation in that they have adopted so much of the southern American
heritage that they have grown a whole other culture within themselves. For this
reason, I am incredibly thankful for female authors and artists who have since
become activists for unveiling Tejano culture to the world and giving the hidden
minority a voice.
Selena Quintanilla was a feminist Latina icon in the 1990’s; her lyrics and
drive opened up the Latin and Tejano world to the public eye. She has been
heralded as “The Queen of Tejano Music”, a singer whose reign was cut short when
the president of her fan club murdered her in cold blood. Her tragic death
secured Selena in the hearts of Tejanos and Mexican Americans alike and to this
day we celebrate her identity and mourn her death. A pioneer in the music
industry for Latin artists, Selena was one of the first Latina artists to
crossover from international to American charts with immense popularity. Selena
was a member of a hidden minority (Tejano) who was celebrated for not only her
music but her confidence in herself and embracing her native culture. Her
posthumous popularity is so strong, it created a near revolution of celebration
for her life that author Deborah Paredez in her biography coined a word for the
explosion in support: “Selenidad”.
In fact, that to this day her statue in Corpus Cristi, Texas is visited by fans
from all over the country, and the town holds an annual festival in celebration
of her life. Even the governor at the time, George W. Bush, recognized her
birthday as a state-wide holiday. “Anything for Selenas” has become the tagline
of her fan base, and young Tejana girls such as myself would look up to her and
realize that though minority identity can be confusing, the confusion does not
need to stop you from celebrating your culture and being proud of the
differences that make your cultural heritage unique.
As a
Tejana artist, Quintanilla’s lyrics and image reflected the blend between
American culture and Mexican descent. Although she did not learn Spanish until
she began singing with her family’s band, Selena sang in both English and
Spanish and eventually became proficient, although not perfectly fluent. Even
so, when her success overflowed into mainstream American popularity, she
continued to be vocal and proud of her history and culture. She toured many
border towns and even parts of Mexico as her popularity began to climb and
although her Spanish was not perfect, Quintanilla was embrace by Mexican,
Hispanic American, and Tejano audiences alike. One of her most popular songs,
“Dreaming of You” beautifully blends Spanish and English in the way Tejano
culture mixes and melds Western and Mexican life. Her shows would flow between
“cumbia” (a Latin-American style of song and dance), Tejano, and disco pop for
all audiences to enjoy. While most of her songs are love songs and ballads,
within the lyrics of songs like “La Tracalera” and “God’s Child (Baila
Conmigo)”, songs about wandering alone without others’ understanding reflect the
distance that is easy to feel when one feels as if they do not belong, much like
Tejanos do. However, with her stardom, charisma, and pride in her culture Selena
Quintanilla was able to turn away a bit of that solitude and bring Tejano
culture into the world’s eye.
Another strong Tejana voice in the realm of literature is author Carmen Tofalla,
born in the Tejano culture hub of San Antonio, Tofalla grew up in the barrio—a
predominantly Latin district within the city. Her work appears in over 200
anthologies and she has been recognized by the Texas State Poet Laureate in
acknowledgement of her literary achievement over the years. Tofalla’s authorship
in children’s literature has been honored with an Americas Award and even been
acknowledged by the Library of Congress. Such success as a Tejana author,
alongside her works offering a look into the life of the culture.
Tofalla’s poem, “Both Sides of the Border” illustrates perfectly what a gray
area the hidden minority exists in. “Born… a lullaby between Tex and Mex…”
Tofalla describes the pride of Tejanos, to be “… free from Mexico, not even
bound by their laws” but mocking America’s lack of authority in their lives as
they, “sassily insisted on still saying ‘La Capital’…for Mexico City”. She goes
on to celebrate the rift between the two cultures of American and Mexico that
Tejanos preside in as she declares, “These places are mine, these spaces are
mine. These borders are mine. Both sides of the river.” Tofalla’s poem
identifies not only the identity of who Tejanos are but also the freedom and the
beauty that our culture represents. Not belonging to one minority or another, a
fluidity that passes through the river from Mexico to America and back again,
Tejano identity is unrestrained—separate but content in the freedom it brings.
