At Borders and Crossroads

At Borders and Crossroads: Conceptualizing the New Mestiza in Chicana Literature is a close reading of Sandra Cisneros short-story Woman Hollering Creek and Gloria Anzaldúas poem Cihuatlyotl, Woman Alone. These two works reflect the changing self-conception of the new mestiza, theorized in Anzaldúas Borderlands/La Frontera. This study aims to illustrate that the new mestiza consciousness is one developed in the borderlands, shaped by transgressing boundaries and has resulted from the struggle at cultural crossroads. The term border crossing is extended to cover not only physical borders, but also symbolic, such as the influence of mass media, la raza, mythology and sexuality. Furthermore, the approach to the notion of crossroads shows that the new mestiza cherishes ambiguity, unites and directs influences of the past, present and future.