Border Identities Project 2050 2006

1. Border IdentitiesProject 20502006 Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

2. A border is…… “an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of another” Ambrose Bierce Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

3. An elastic geo-cultural landscape: • El Norte • La Línea • The Southwest • Aztlán • The Frontier • Desert Country • The Margin • The Edge Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

4. Two countries Two cultures Two ways of life Two levels of consumption Two infrastructures A meeting place of: Inherent inequality Inherent opportunity Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

5. “Hard” realities: politics economics legislation demographics environment law enforcement national security The border is both: Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

6. “Soft” expressions: language emotions rituals art work memory community hope Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

7. The Border is… “a tangible artifact imposed upon the human populations and the natural geography” Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

8. The Border is…“an intercultural world unto itself” Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

9. Views of the Border: • Romantic: “something falls off you when you cross the border into Mexico, and suddenly the landscape hits you with nothing between it, desert and mountains and vultures” William Burroughs Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

10. Harsh “On the US side everything was calm and reassuring, everything uniform….on the other side, a swarming mysterious world where furtive figures prowled on every corner of darkness and one sensed human heat, and gestures, and whispers.” Georges Simenon Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

11. Views of the Border: • Parody: “Americans have not looked for a Mexico in Mexico; they have looked for their obsessions, enthusiasms, phobias, hopes, interests---and these are what they have found” Octavio Paz Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

12. State Power Imagination Desire Folk Life Work The border “happens” in and through Gender Sex Race Class Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

13. The border produces… Millions of workers essential to the economic machines of North American agriculture, tourism, and industry: farmworkers, low-tech labor, dishwashers, gardeners, maids….. but also a military machine of low-intensity conflict: INS helicopters, Border Patrol agents, infrared cameras, detention centers, books of regulations… Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

14. Border is also….a discourse of sadness Violence and death are dimensions of everyday life in the border that receive a lot of attention Women of Juarez Desert Crossers Drug-related deaths Toxic illnesses Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

15. 2,000 mile stretch 4 U.S. states (CA, AZ, NM, TX) 6 Mexican states (BC, SON, CH, COH, NL, TML) 60 mile zone from the line on each side Natural barriers: Rio Grande, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts Factual Border Matters Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

16. 12 million people in border region On U.S. side: 19% below poverty line (13% nationally) On U.S. side: 50% are “Hispanic” Mexico: border states’ poverty rate is 28% (37% nationally) In TX and NM: 300,000 people live in 1,300 “colonias” 12 million people living in US illegally Approximately 6.2 million (56%) are from Mexico Population • Health problems: • Sanitation • Pollution • Movement • Access Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

17. Most frequently crossed international border in the world: 350 million people cross legally every year --- 1 million cross illegally 45% agricultural workers in US are here illegally 12,000 trucks cross border daily (up 63% since 1994 when NAFTA was enacted) Crossings • 660, 000 people cross every day legally • 35 points of entry • 20% crossing into US are on foot • In 2004, pedestrian crossing in Texas • alone was 20 million Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

18. US is Mexico’s # 1 trading partner Mexico is US’s # 2 trading partner $795 million traded every day 2,7000 maquiladoras in Mex. Border states Average maquiladora salary: $45 per week Economy Average maquiladora work week: 48 hours Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

19. Historical Border: Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

20. 1819 Adams- Onis Treaty between Spain and US 1821 Mexican Independence Mexico permits Texas settlement 1836 Texas Independence 1846 Mexico-US War Chronology of a Fence: 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1853: Gadsden Purchase Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

21. 1849 Gold discovered in CA 1882 Chinese Exclusionary Act (railroad and mining workers) 1904 Border Patrol established 1910 Mexican Revolution begins 1921 Immigration Act (Quotas) 1924 Border stations established 1942 Bracero Program 1948 Mexican-American GI Forum 1953 Operation Wetback deports 3.8 million 1962 Cesar Chavez organizes farm workers in Delano, CA Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

22. 1964 First Maquiladoras (BIP) Bracero Program repealed 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act (family reunification / skills) 1982 Peso devaluation crisis in MX 1986 IRCA (hiring of illegal aliens a crime) 1994 NAFTA enacted Zapatista Army rebellion Operation Gatekeeper 1996 Immigration Reform Act *BP agents: 11,000 (89% at US- Mex border) *Bush: at the end of 2008, 6,000 more agents *2005: 473 migrant deaths; 2,570 rescued *Surveillance includes: electronic sensors, night vision scopes, aircraft, ground vehicles *Current security contract RFP: $ 2 billion Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

23. Major arguments Against Immigration --Security --Taxes --Crime --Welfare --Jobs --Ecology --Language --Culture Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

24. Major arguments For Immigration --Remittances (12 Billion) --Globalization -Jobs --Family --Wealth Disparity --History --Exploitation/Crime --Culture Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

25. Words can’t hurt me…? • Illegal alien? (beaner?) • Illegal immigrant? (wetback?) • Undocumented worker? (greaser?) • OTM: “Other than Mexican” Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

26. Effects of criminalization discourse: • Create “class” of persons, --legal --illegal • Social reality vs. legal status • Emphasis on control • Rise of oppositional moral discourse: --deserving v. undeserving --just v. unjust deportations • Administrative apparatus to “unmake” illegality Mae Ngai:, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

27. The border is a place…but it is also an idea… Some people think “border” is a perfect metaphor to talk about identity…. Some people think “border” is a perfect metaphor to talk about the conditions that frame life in the world today… Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

28. Border v. Borderlands “A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge…. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary…” Gloria Anzaldúa Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

29. For Anzaldúa, there are two “border territories” “The actual physical borderland that I am dealing with…is the US Southwest-Mexican border… The psychological borderlands, the sexual borderlands and the spiritual borderlands are not particular to the Southwest…..in fact…. Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

30. …the Borderlands are physically present wherever two or more cultures edge each other, where people of different races occupy the same territory, where under, lower, middle and upper classes touch, where the space between two individuals shrinks with intimacy…” Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, 1987 Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

31. What is a “metaphor”? “He is a pig” • A figure of speech • Comparison of two seemingly unrelated subjects/things • Uses forms of the verb “to be” • Does not use “like” or “as” “My house is a prison” “Scratching at the window with claws of pine, the wind wants in” “What a thrill –my thumb instead of an onion… A celebration this is… out of a gap a million soldiers run, redcoats every one.” Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

32. Why metaphor? • Metaphors are pervasive in everyday life • Our ordinary conceptual system is fundamentally metaphorical in nature • One way to see this is by looking at language • Metaphors structure how we perceive, think, act *A Concept: argument *Conceptual Metaphor: argument is war *Everyday Language: “He attacked every point;” “I’ve never won an argument with you;” “She shot down all my points;” “His criticism was right on target” Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

33. Metaphors…. • Enliven ordinary language • Encourage interpretation • Maximum meaning with minimum words • Create new meanings • Express things for which there are no easy words Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

34. Guillermo Gomez-Peña’s border metaphors: “I live smack in the fissure between two worlds, in the infected wound…. ….” Worksheet # 1: What meanings are conveyed By G-P’s metaphors? Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

35. Too much metaphor? Anthropologist Alejandro Lugo thinks the phrase “border crossing” as a metaphor for identity has become “overly optimistic.” “Border inspections” are actually more pervasive than “border crossings” in the lives of most people at the physical border. Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

36. Luis Alfaro’s “border dilemmas” I am a Queer Chicano A native in no land An orphan of Aztlan The pocho son of farm worker parents The Mexicans only want me when they want me to talk about Mexico But what about Mexican Queers in LA? The Queers only want me when they need to add color add spice like salsa picante on the side With one foot on each side of the border not the border between Mexico and the United States but the border between Nationality and Sexuality I search for a home in both yet neither one believes that I exist. Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

37. What kinds of “border inspections”and “border crossings”have you experienced? Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

38. Can “the border” withstand being a buzzword for theories of power, struggle, and connection? Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006

39. Developing a critical conscience about uses of metaphor…. • What kinds of issues are border metaphors useful for? • Are there instances in which this metaphor is not helpful? Dr. Maribel Alvarez, University of Arizona, September 2006