Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma
Castillo, who has earned respect for her novels--most recently,So Far from God--and poetry, here reflects on the place of Mexic Amerindian women and on the need for Xicanisma, a politically active and socially committed Chicana feminism, in national and global policy debates. In ten probing, passionate essays, Castillo explores the roles that women played in the Chicano/LatinoMovimientoof the 1960s and 1970s; examines Mexicana activism in the 1986 Watsonville, California, canning strike; posits ancient Mediterranean roots formachismo; analyzes the consequences for women of the moral dualism, repression of sexuality, and fear of death that Catholicism and Communism share; assesses the "poetics ofconscientizaci{¢}on"; and argues that eroticism, traditional healing and other forms of "lived spirituality," and "the mother-bond principle" represent essential elements in a Xicanisma that can speak to women and men of many cultures and need to be reintegrated into the lives of Mexic Amerindian women. The sometimes bristly, provocative essays inMassacre of the Dreamerswill be a stimulating addition to ethnic and women's studies collections.Mary Carroll--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.