In the process of  creating this quote collection, I wanted to first and foremost, cement the basic points about decolonial thought, and then later apply this knowledge to the decolonial struggles, movements, and liberation methods of Mexico and Puerto Rico.

This particular “theme,” I’m going for is important to me personally, as I have never delved into decolonial thought like this before, and so these quotes are essentially what I learned throughout the way. These are the words that stuck out to me due to their simplicity, complexity, bluntness, non conformist, and overall liberating nature.

The first quote, one by Sandra Harding,  really bares the foundation as to what we have been studying this semester, and that is: that any form of colonization works because it appropriates control over women’s bodies and the reduction of power of Indigenous men. Bodies of women become the commodified objects that colonizers were looking for in the land itself, and thus, since colonialism and its internalization succeed by the interference and dismantling of gender the sexual relations of the Indigenous people, it is imperative that gender and sexuality is not neglected, but heavily emphasized in decolonial thought.

Since decolonization tends to refer to the region of Latin America, I thought it was important to emphasis that Abya Yala is the preferred name to refer to Latin America, meaning “land of full maturity,” in the language of the Kuna. Breny Mendoza’s article pinpoints how Iberian and British empires are tied in their imperialistic tendencies in the New World, and notices the exclusion of Abya Yala in world history, which fails to recognize the region’s impact on China, the U.S, Spain, Portugal, etc. The impact of the Iberian empire on the people of Abya Yala is also neglected in history, as only the British empires work on the United States is the focus of Western history. I personally learned an awful lot on the the intersections of Iberian and British colonialism, as well as Abya Yala’s position in a historical sense.

In learning about various regions, peoples, and their cultures, identities and so on, it is necessary to “travel” to each other world’s in the process, as well as listen, and give space. A decolonial lens means seeing others without arrogant perception, but with loving eyes, as to acknowledge and recognize someone’s perception of themselves in their world, and in ours. In doing so, Allison Weir points out that in listening, the two extremes of denial or romanticism should not happen because while it is important to learn, that particular knowledge remains with those who created it-essentially, we can only know what Indigenous people need or suffer through by them.

In using these methods and knowledge of decolonization, I applied them to Xicana and Puerto Rican feminism. The two nations are of course different, but both have obtained a “double consciousness,” a newly formed way of thinking that encompasses both the Anglo perception of being a colonized subject, and an identity formed by relationships with nation, gender, sexuality, language, race, and so on.

I emphasize this dual consciousness with Anzaldua’s quote, as well as Lugo-Lugo’s point about how Puerto Ricans have conformed or come to terms with their duality and deviance; of not being  a nation state or being integrated with the U.S nation-states.

I also found it important to emphasize that colonized subjects may engage in colonial practices as well. In reading “Settler Xicana,” Carrillo Rowe brings up a valid point, and that is that Mexicans have continued the legacy of colonialism by further marginalizing Indigenous communities, prioritizing whiteness and perpetrating stereotypes.

Finally, with the last two quotes, I wanted to call attention to how the various “worlds” of the colonized can actually be used as a form of resistance and rebellion. Since culture was stripped away from the colonized, since Spanish was deemed barbaric, practices, diabolic, or land seen as exotic destinations (as seen with postcards) to acquire, it is only right to reclaim what was was so often denied to us and to use it as a form of resistance (David Perez quote emphasizes this).

This concept of a dual identity as a revolutionary/survival tool is one that resonated with my own experiences. As I am constantly in between worlds, I may use the voices of these men and women to help me decolonize my thought, critically analysis my own culture/heritage and not simply accept what Anglo society or Xicana identity has given me, but have the ability to change what needs fixing.

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