Bodies in Movement: Developing a Latin American Feminist Identity Through Family, Memory, and Geographical and Inter-lingual Spaces
“What we talk about when we talk about love…”Bodies in Movement
Feminist geography aims to investigate the relationship between gender divisions and spatial divisions, in addition to the need to re-think and build connections between people and places (Still Challenging Place 12). Furthermore, while previous migration patterns suggest either complete assimilation into a new culture, or temporary/transient stay, recent studies demonstrate that immigrants are developing new networks and patterns of living. Presently, new social theories regarding migration, such as transnationalism and diaspora, further demonstrate how individuals torn away from their homeland are connected to ‘homeland’ in an emotional manner. Scholar Paul Gilroy argues, “the migrant is no longer ‘where you’re from,’ but ‘where you’re at’ which forms the point of anchorage. And the idea of diaspora attempts to be a solution” (Mexican Migration and the Social Space of Postmodernism 40). Although I have not personally experienced diaspora, I experience a yearning for my ancestor’s homeland. I have been taught, through my family’s stories of past places, events and ancestor’s to take pride in my Salvadoran heritage.
Bodies in Movement is a photographic, oral history and narrative journal entry media documentary which traces a personal journey of identity formation, through the themes of memory, family, and geographical and inter-lingual spaces. The artistic piece attempts to weave together the history of my Salvadoran ancestors along with my experiences as a bi-cultural, second-generation Latin-American. I anticipate that, in the process of viewing Bodies in Movement, viewers are reminded of the stories of their ancestors, and consequently experience the presence of their ancestors. I aspire that my artistic piece will encourage other Latinos, as well as other immigrant groups, to discover the stories of their ancestors, and subsequently integrate these stories with their own contemporary lives.
Bodies in Movement is a visual representation of physical and psychological spaces under constant transformation. The themes of family and geography produce an artistic piece that challenges traditional ideas of the constructed body (i.e. the corporeal body). In order to create this “body,” I utilize interviews, photography, and narrative journal entries. The grouping of interviews, photography and narrative journal entries are used to evoke a continuous thriving of past history, migration between social/cultural spaces, and their impact on contemporary life, respectively. A variety of medium are employed to highlight the Latin American feminist autobiography practice of combining various art forms in their construction of the self. I claim that the occupying of multiple social/cultural/ physical spaces, and the required navigation between these spaces, has powerful, mobilizing effects on the construction of a feminist cultural identity.
