Many people who grow up on the U.S.-Mexico border often find themselves in between two cultures, families, and languages.
Chicana scholar Gloria Anzaldúa used the Nahuatl word nepantla to describe the state of being and living in-between worlds. Nepantla often serves as a liminal zone for people where transformation can occur.
A collection of 30 poems, shorts stories, and essays from Mexican American nepantleros and nepantleras highlights the concept of nepantla in familiar and unexpected ways.
Works from writers like Sandra Cisneros, Reyna Grande, and Alex Espinoza all explore the hybridity of the Mexican American experience, including language loss, toxic masculinity, and familial expectations.
El Paso author Sergio Troncoso edited Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families In Between Worlds.
He said the concept of nepantla embodies the complex world of what it means to be Mexican American.
“You’re not Mexicano, you’re not an Americano, you’re somewhere in between,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter whether you go to the heart of Mexico or the heart of the United States -- they think you’re somewhere you don’t belong.”
Troncoso said despite the challenges, living between borders and cultures can create a sense of empowerment.
“What I am saying to people in this anthology, and in my work, is that this hybridity gives you power,” he said. “It gives you power to question both sides. It gives you the power to create something new.”
Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families In Between Worlds was released in paperback in September.
The collection has won awards from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, the International Latino Book Awards, and recognition for its cover artwork.
Find a teacher’s guide to the anthology below:
Teachers Guide: Nepantla Familias by Texas Public Radio on Scribd
