Borderlands La Frontera

This chapter celebrates the fertility goddess, Serpent Skirt, and the women who have come out of her tradition. “Holy Relics” describes the entombment of Saint Theresa, which Anzaldúa then links to the other wailing women in “En el nombre de todos las madres que han perdido sus hijos en la guerra.” “Letting Go” describes the experience of dealing with one’s inner demons: “You must plunge your fingers into your navel, with your two hands / split open” (186). Ultimately, one arrives on the other side, becoming one with the creatures inside. “I Had To Go Down” positions the basement as a space for confronting one’s history, becoming aware of the horrors within oneself. “Cagado abismo, quiero saber” is written with Chicano slang, probing for knowledge within the self. “that dark shining thing” deals with Anzaldúa’s experience of being “the only round face, / Indian-beaked, off-colored / in the faculty lineup, the workshop, the panel” (193), describing the alienation that experience engenders. “Cihuatlyotl, Woman Alone” reenacts the new mestiza’s struggle to stay part of her community while fighting for change, with the goddess Cihautlyotl standing in for the mestiza.