To Live In The Borderlands - A Poem by Gloria Anzaldúa

Poem on what it means to be Mexican American living in the border

Whether you live in the frontera or not, this poem encapsulates what it means to be Mexican American in the U.S, IMO. I didn’t realize it then, but I was so lucky to take electives at the University of Texas in Austin Center of Mexican American Studies. It is crucial to see yourself in the media, your culture studied in a university setting, and to read about your experience in books. No matter how many books I read, I continue to come back to Gloria Anzaldua.

Hope you enjoy it. Happy Sunday!

TO LIVE IN THE BORDERLANDS
BY GLORIA ANZALDUA

To live in the borderlands means you

are neither hispana india negra espanola

ni gabacha, eres mestiza, mulata, half-breed

caught in the crossfire between camps

while carrying all five races on your back

not knowing which side to turn to, run from;

To live in the Borderlands means knowing that the india in you, betrayed for 500 years,

is no longer speaking to you,

the mexicanas call you rajetas, that denying the Anglo inside you

is as bad as…