Symbols of Latinidades in the 2020 Election
Dr. Michael DeAnda decodes signs of the times
A rendering of Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent deity in Mesoamerica. Image: John Hain
"According to the accounts of our Mexican ancestors, Quetzalcoatl is a God of life, Creator of humanity, a God who loves people and rejects human sacrifice, a God who sacrificed himself to give life to his creatures, a God who gives light like the morning star, breaking the dominion of darkness." —Elsa Tamez, "Quetzalcoatl Challenges the Christian Bible," 1997
Gritos
“When they drove across the arroyo, the driver opened her mouth
and let out a yell as loud as any mariachi.”
—From “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros
November 7, 2020. With Pennsylvania votes favoring the democratic candidate, media declare Joe Biden the President Elect of the United States. Within seconds, it’s as if my social circles exhale from the anxiety of the extended ballot-counting time period. That afternoon, I put on a face mask and walk to a Starbucks in Edgewater to give myself an opportunity to breathe and reflect.
Little do I know that I’m about to experience an impromptu Pride parade, one that will quickly find its way into my heart. As I round the corner onto Broadway Street, a group of people in a car drive by, windows down, sun roof open, screaming, waving, honking, and blasting “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga. A young man pokes out of the sun roof, holding up a POC- and trans-inclusive Pride flag behind him so that it flutters in the wind as the car moves. As I wait for my coffee, I see two women kissing on a motorcycle, waiting for the light to change. The woman sitting in the back waves a Pride flag on a pole. Passersby honk; pedestrians cheer them on. On my walk back home, I witness several more people taking to the streets with a variety of Pride flags—rainbow flags, trans flags, kink flags, Puerto Rican flags with rainbows—wearing outfits matching the colors of the gay and trans flags, hooting and hollering.
In her short story “Woman Hollering Creek,” Sandra Cisneros uses the grito as a moment of sinvergüenzería, resistance, and celebration as Felice helps Cléofilas escape the hands of her abusive husband. Importantly here, as they cross the river, Felice works with Cléofilas to understand the systems of her oppression, a moment of theologizing latinamente, and models gritando. The story ends with Cléofilas practicing her own grito, a ribbon of laughter like water.
Like Felice and Cleófilas, the LGBTQ people in the impromptu Pride parade gritan at a moment of catharsis. Biden’s win signals the removal of a fascist from office, one whose platform exacerbated violence against people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, women, and people with disabilities. Escaping the four-year clutches of an abuser, they wave flags and shout, celebrating a moment of hope before returning to la lucha.
And like Felice and Cleófilas, Puerto Rican performer Jennifer López would later belt out a message in Spanish and her own grito—“Let’s get loud!” (refrain from her 1999 track)—while performing a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America The Beautiful” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Trenzas and red lipstick
January 20, 2020. At President Biden’s inauguration, Lady Gaga sings the national anthem wearing a braided hairpiece, red lipstick, a haute couture gown designed by Daniel Roseberry, and a golden brooch in the shape of a dove. I read—perhaps too-closely (a queer-decoding method used by D. A. Miller)—Gaga’s accessories and outfit as a weaving of referential symbols that emphasize Latinaxos as inspirational tejadoraxes of culture.
In her songs and interviews, Lady Gaga has discussed how cholas have shaped her style and performance. Several looks in the “Telephone” and “Judas” music videos, as well as her references to cholas in the “Born this Way” litany, provide such examples. Based on her previous use of Latina symbols, I would argue that her styling for the inauguration performance also draws from these cultural contexts, specifically the braided hairpiece and the red lipstick.
Lady Gaga sings a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C., 20 January 2021. Photo: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II, United States Department of Defense
Top: Ballet Folklórico Costa de Oro, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, CA, 22 June 2013. Photo: Mark
Gaga’s platinum-blonde hair, braided into a crown with a black ribbon and a red flower in the back, resembles the trenzas worn by Mexican folklórico dancers. These hairstyles serve both aesthetic and functional purposes in the dance that celebrates Mexican culture and history. Functionally, the braids keep hair out of the dancer’s face and, for dances like “La Bruja” from Veracruz, help the dancer balance a candle on her head. Red lipstick for Latinas, as Neomi De Anda notes, arises from lo cotidiano as an everyday symbol to express empowerment and resistance. Adorning with red lipstick signals that one wishes to look professional, is ready to speak, and commands attention. In these contexts, both Gaga’s use of lipstick and trenzas transcends simplistic gender structures and become vehicles through which to communicate skill and empowerment.
Found from Chiapas, Mexico to western Panama, the resplendent quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala. Considered divine, it plays an important role in Mesoamerican mythology and is associated with the "snake god" Quetzalcoatl.
The quetzal
“Gaga is giving Hunger Games vibes,” several fans observed on social media, identifying the similarities between her brooch and the badge given to Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is set in a dystopic society, in the fictitious North American nation of Panem. A fascist dictatorship rules over thirteen isolated districts, keeping The Capitol in power by debilitating them. In addition to subjecting the districts to surveillance and militaristic occupations of Panem as a means of systemically maiming the districts, The Capitol designs the annual Hunger Games, a brutal battle royale broadcasted across the nation.
Mockingjay birds in this society symbolize resistance and eschatological hope for the districts. The mockingjay is a hybrid, the unintended result of government oppression: The Capitol had genetically formulated a bird called the jabberjay as a surveillance mechanism able to record and parrot human voices; when sicced upon the districts, these birds bred with the mockingbird, creating the mockingjay. Underscoring the limits of The Capitol’s technological prowess, the mockingjay became a symbol of hope to the people—not unlike the quetzal for the Maya, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican peoples. In many of their languages, quetzal can also mean “precious,” “sacred,” or “erected:” The districts conferred the title of Mockingjay upon Katniss Everdeen after she took her sister’s place in the annual Hunger Games.
we’re missing one of our mockingjay pins, has anybody seen it?
— The Hunger Games 🔥 (@TheHungerGames) January 20, 2021
Lady Gaga enters the inauguration platform as she prepares to sing a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. Photo: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II, U.S. DOD
My reading of latinidad’s influence on Lady Gaga’s inauguration outfit reflects a network of symbols through which I celebrate Latinaxo existences and resilience. As she sings the National Anthem, Gaga is not the Mockingjay, but we—who have been systemically marked for debilitation and death (see Puar and Mbembe in References below)—are en conjunto.
¡Gritemos! as we continue to cross bridges and borders and revel in our methods of worldbuilding.
References
Cisneros, Sandra. “Woman Hollering Creek.” Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Penguin Random House, 1992.
Mbembe, Achille and Steve Corcoran (trans.). Necropolitics. Duke University Press, 2019.
Medina, Nestor "The Doctrine of Discovery, LatinXo Theoethics, and Human Rights," Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology, Vol. 21, No. 2, Article 4, Nov. 2019: 157-173. Available at: https://repository.usfca.edu/jhlt/vol21/iss2/4
Miller, D. A. “Anal Rope.” Representations, Vol. 32, October 1990: 114–33. DOI: 10.2307/2928797.
Puar, Jasbir K. The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability. Duke University Press, 2017.
Tamez, Elsa. "Quetzalcoatl Challenges the Christian Bible." Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 4.4, May 1997: 5-20. Available at: https://repository.usfca.edu/jhlt/vol4/iss4/2/
