Latina Issues: Fragments of Historia(ella) (Herstory): Fragments of Historia(ella) (Herstory)

The second of six volumes in the series explores the fragments of history available about Latinas in the US and highlights their emerging voices, in a unified collection of reprinted articles. Each of the articles illustrates Latina perspectives on colonization, gender, race, and class. The earliest of the articles were originally published in 1974: Puertorriquenas in the United States: The Impact of Double Discrimination; and Chicanas and El Movimiento. The most recent were originally published in 1992: Two Legal Constructs of Motherhood: "Protective" Legislation in Mexico and the United States; and Chicana Studies: Is There a Future for Us in Women Studies? Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR History, literature and popular belief normally introduce us to the story and image of Dona Marina, La Malinche, in either of three ways: (1) the woman is oftentimes presented very simply and insignificantly as just another part of the necessary back-drop to Cortes triumphant conquest or, as is more commonly done, (2) her portrayal assumes synonymity with destruction when she is singled out as the sole cause of the fall of the "patria" and becomes the scapegoat for all Mexican perdition thereafter while, on the other hand, (3) romanticists find themselves almost instinctively driven to depicting Dona Marina as the misguided and exploited victim of the tragic love affair which is said to have taken place between herself and Hernan Cortes. This book attempts to make Latina history visible and Latina voices heard. It focuses solely on women – not to marginalize Latina stories but to showcase them, illustrating Latina perspectives on colonization, gender, race, and class.