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…”Ana Julia
Todas mis Tías eran Hermosas[i]
My body knew I had Deoxyribonucleic Acid buried in El Salvador. I am not a carbon copy of my mother and grandmother. They were born and raised in El Salvador, but will sleep on American soil until our future generations forget who we were. My roots do not end in Los Angeles, they travel across All the Americas.
¡Ay! Mi Tía Ana Julia. Siempre le fue mal. Su esposo la maltrataba tanto. Hasta su maquina de coser le vendió sólo para comprarse unos tragos.[ii]
I still do not understand why it is that beyond everyone I discovered I continue to think of you the most. I cannot explain this energy that expands inside of me every time I think of you: I feel a tingling inside my body, a stream of life coursing through my veins, an intensifying love in my heart, and a strength that keeps my spirit beating.
You are exactly who I wanted to unearth; someone I knew, but did not know how they existed. You are a woman who protects me; a woman who lives inside me despite the many generations that separate us.
We can, should and will be the best of friends. A quien le prestaré toda mi confianza.[iii] I aspire to be the same kind of woman for you.
