Becoming Tejana: A Familial and Academic Genealogy of My Tejanidad

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Documenting Tejanas: Tejana Cultural Identity within the Tejanx Ethos 1
4. Part I ¿Quiénes somos? Searching for and Finding Who We Are
5. Madre Land: An Abridged Guide for Blooming in the Borderlands by Seven Generations of Tejana Mothers & Mijas 19
6. Becoming Tejana: A Familial and Academic Genealogy of My Tejanidad 41
7. From Luby’s to Graceland 54
8. Fear, Voice, and Gritos: The Complexity of Embracing My Identity as a Tejana 57
9. Un puente 69
10. Rite of Passage 72
11. Tejanas unidas en identidad, sacrificio, y celebración (Tejanas United in Identity, Sacrifice, and Celebration) 75
12. Embracing Our Tejanidad: Becoming Comadres Chingonas during COVID-19 86
13. You Bring Out the Tejana in Me 100
14. Somos Tejanas 103
15. Part II Music, Dancing, and Cultural Movidas
16. Tejano Music: Two Cultures, Two Genders 109
17. Tejanidad y Conjunto: Remembrance, Performance, and Expression of Tejanidad through Conjunto Music 121
18. Dynamics of Movement: Tejana Representation and Inclusion in the Dance Community 140
19. “(No) soy Tejana” An Interview with Cynthia Pérez, with an Essay on Tejana Storytelling 148
20. Lotería as an Expression of Tejanidad 168
21. The Sandía 186
22. Miel de mesquite 188
23. Part III Resilience
24. Notas on Teaching Tejana Studies in the Twenty-First-Century Classroom 193
25. Unsilencing the Past and Re-membering: The Spirit Work of Movement-Era Tejanas 204
26. Tejanas Remembering Segregation: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Memory 222
27. Los círculos sociales: Tejanas in Higher Education 1925–1940s 242
28. A Legacy of Tejana Athleticism: Community, Civil Rights, and Belonging since 1930 257
29. Midwest Tejanas: Navigating entre Mundos Juntas 278
30. Radical Self-Love: A Theory of Being 300
31. SNOVID, the Storm within the Storm 309
32. Blackout: White Walkers in Winterfell, c. 2021 321
33. Spanglish Sonnet 328
34. Part IV (Im)migration
35. Vernix Caseosa 331
36. Tejas Is My Aztlán: On Migrating from South to North and Affirming My Tejanidad 332
37. Crossing the Border to Better Times 340
38. Changing Cultural Rhythms 349
39. Los Alacranes: Una Familia’s Migration Story 355
40. Zapatos 360
41. Desert Women 365
42. Part V Artwork
43. Urban Ecology (Reconquista) 369
44. Emma Tenayuca 370
45. Texans vs. Tejanos 371
46. Chicano Kitchen 372
47. Culebra Azul 373
48. Healing Borderland Hand 373
49. Soy Tejana 374
50. Siempre Selena 374
51. Frances con el Arbol de la Vida 375
52. Acknowledgments 376
53. Contributors 377
54. Index 388