Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies

Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios The Latina Feminist GroupReview by: Judy MaloofArizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies, Vol. 6 (2002), pp. 292-293Published by: Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20641613 .

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292 Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies

overview of the culture they are study

ing and are interested in exploring

Spain from many different angles. (1)

While most would agree that students do want an eclectic understanding of Spain, this text

is more suited as an additional tool for students who already possess a good, workable knowledge of Spanish history, politics, society, literature and other cultural areas. Another concern, related to

the first, is that there is no systematic review of

Spanish history (only three areas are covered in

any detail: Franco-Cantabrian art, Spain s Roman

heritage and Al-Andalus, all in Chapter One). True, Richardson does mention a few other im

portant historical moments (i.e., Spain and its dis

covery of the New World, the Spanish Civil War

and Franco's regime, among others) but ignores any detailed description of many significant socio historical developments. Other concerns center

on less-important matters. For example, what

might be the logic behind translating some key phrases or terms from Spanish to English, and not translating others? Also, why is the better part of the first chapter focused on Latin America, its

traditions and customs?

Despite the aforementioned disadvantages, this text is very useful to the advanced learner if used as a supplementary work. It would espe

cially be valuable in a course on modern Spanish culture. Richardson's skill in carrying out this

project is no doubt evident by his in-depth knowl

edge and research into Spain, its people, tradi tions and customs. The book is a welcomed addi tion?and an important one?to the non

Spaniard's understanding of Spanish culture.

Chad M. Gasta Iowa State University

Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios

Duke University Press, 2001

By The Latina Feminist Group

This book is part of the critical series Latin Amenca Otherwise: Languages, Empires, Nations.

Telling to Live is a compelling book of testimonios

that was produced collectively by the Latina Femi nist Group. This is a diverse intergenerational group of eighteen Latina "academics" from varied social classes, sexual orientation, and national/eth

nic backgrounds including Chicanas, Puerto Ricans born on the island, Nuyoricans, Mexicanas, Cuban-Americans, Sephardic, Central American, Dominican, Native-American/Chicana and other women of mixed heritage. The members of this

group are: Luz del Alba Acevedo, Norma ?larcon, Celia Alvarez, Ruth Behar, Rina Benmayor, Norma

Cant?, Daisy Cocco De Felippis, Gloria Holguin Cu?draz, Liza Fiol-Matta, Yvette Flores-Ortiz, In?s

Hern?ndez-Avila, Aurora Levins Morales, Clara

Lomas, Iris Ofelia L?pez, Mirtha N. Quintanales, Eliana Rivero, Caridad Souza, and Patricia Zavella.

What these professional women have in common is that they are engaged in gender and Latino/a studies in their teaching and research. All of them are educators and scholars from diverse

disciplines including literature, psychology, eth

nography, anthropology, ethnic studies, Latino/a

studies, women's and gender studies. Many of them are also creative writers, poets, cultural work

ers, and political activists dedicated to their larger communities beyond the walls of the university.

They work at institutions in seven states in the

Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Western re

gions of the United States. Many were born here and others are immigrants.

These women first came together in 1993 to share their life experiences and to explore their

political and cultural identities. Telling to Live is the outcome of their multi-year encounter, includ

ing two summer institutes at the Colorado Col

lege Baca Conference Center in the summers of

1995 and 1996. This book is the product of the collaborative process in which these women en

couraged each other to write their testimonios. Their

writings, in which they often mix the use of Span ish and English, include short stories, poems and

autobiographical narratives about a wide range of

topics including childhood memories, how each of them chose the path of higher education often over

coming many social, financial, and psychological barriers, their traumatic survival of incest, sexual harassment and other forms of emotional abuse,

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Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 293

their sexual awakenings, the celebration of their female bodies and their sensuality, and their struggles against many forms of racism, sexism, and oppres sion both in their communities and at the various universities and institutions where they obtained their degrees and later worked. These testimonios

and writings are grouped onto the following four

chapters: I) Genealogies of Empowerment; II) Al chemies of Erasure; III) The Body Re/members; and IV) Passions, Desires, and Celebrations.

Novelist Julia Alvarez writes:

Telling to Live is a groundbreaking text

[...] that will fill an alarming gap in the academy, where silence or simpli fication of Latina perspectives still pre vails (cover).

In the introductory chapter "Papelitos Guardados: Theorizing Latinidades Through Tes

timonio? the women explain:

Our vision for this book has been to illustrate how Latina feminists come

together to engage our differences,

face-to-face, and work to find com

mon ground [...]. As we introduced ourselves to each other, described the work we do and why we are compelled to do it, we spontaneously began to

weave testimonios, stories of our lives,

to reveal our own complex identities as Latinas. (1)

It is fascinating the way in which sharing personal experiences empowered these women and

began a process of healing and solidarity. Episte mologically, it is significant the way in which these women used their own testimonios as "the basis for

theorizing and constructing an evolving political praxis to address the material conditions in which

they live." Angela Davis enthusiastically comments, " Telling to Live challenges prevailing research prac tices and forges a model of deep collaboration for future generations of scholars."

Telling to Live is a moving account of these women's life stories. They eloquently write about their struggles to overcome pain and abuse, to

achieve success in their personal and professional lives, and of their discovery of a profound sense of sisterhood. These Latina feminists created a safe

place to share many intimate details of their lives, their hopes and dreams, and their professional battles and accomplishments. All of the writings are informative about the diversity of Latina per

spectives (definitely an underrepresented group) within the U.S. academy; these stories and cre ative writings will evoke feelings of anger, compas sion, admiration, and joy in the readers. This book should hold wide appeal for students of Women's

Studies, American Studies, Latino/a and Ethnic Studies and the general reader interested in the

experience of Latinas in the United States!

JudyMaloof University of New Mexico

The Syntax of Spanish Cambridge University Press, 2002

By Karen Zagona

Any volume entitled "The Syntax of X," where X is a natural language and X is not En

glish, has to contend implicitly with the

longstanding injunction that Generative Gram mar (in many, if not all, of its incarnations) im

poses a cruel English imperialism on the notion of "relevant fact." Which means that, by and large,

what one expects to find in such volumes are ac

counts of how X differs from English. Arguments satisfying X can be divided into two groups. Those that have grown out of the injunction and can offer clear and rational evidence that it is false; and the rest. Obvious examples of the first group are

Italian, French, Japanese; languages that can claim direct access to Big Theory. Spanish has been less fortunate. Or at least it looks that way. The general feeling about Spanish seems to be that it had ar rived late at the Romance Language Symposium, so late that all the "good facts" had already been taken by either French or Italian. Yes, Spanish facts are

"simp?ticos," or perhaps even illustrative, but

not really connected in any substantial way to the vicissitudes of Big Theory.

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