Issue 27

Latina 

Heresies Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993

The Issue 27 Collective 

Main Collective: Emma Amos, Zehra F. Arat, Jean Casella, Julia A. Christensen, Susan Spencer Crowe, Mila Dau, Tennessee Rice Dixon, Cathryn Drake, Barbara D. Esgalhado, Amy Fusselman, Carole Gregory, Gretchen Griffin, Kellie Henry, Laura Hoptman, Avis Lang, Evelyn Leong, Loretta Lorance, Xiuyuan Lu, Judy Molland, Vernita Nemec, Ann Pasternak, Sara Pasti, Jacci Rosa, Angel Velasco Shaw, Martha Townsend

Associates: Ida Applebroog, Patsy Beckert, Joan Braderman, Gail Bradney, Kathie Brown, Cynthia Carr, Josely Carvalho, Lenora Champagne, Chris Costan, Mary Beth Edelson, Su Friedrich, Janet Froelich, C.Palmer Fuller, Michele Godwin, Pennelope Goodfriend, Vanalyne Green, Harmony Hammond, Kathy Grove, Sue Heinemann, Elizabeth Hess, Lyn Hughes, Joyce Kozloff, Arlene Ladden, Ellen Lanyon. Nicky Lindeman, Lucy R. Lippard, Melissa Meyer, Robin Michals, Sabra Moore, Michele Morgan, Linda Peer, Marty Pottenger, Carrie Rickey, Elizabeth Sacre, Miriam Schapiro, Amy Sillman, Joan Snyder, Elke M. Solomon, Pat Steir, May Stevens, Michelle Stuart, Susana Torre, Cecilia Vicuna, Elizabeth Weatherford, Sally Webster, Faith Wilding, Nina Yankowitz, Holly Zox

Advisors: Ada Ciniglio, Elaine Lustig Cohen, Eleanor Munro, Linda Nochlin, Barbara Quinn, Jane Rubin, Ann Sperry, Rose Weil

From the Issue 27 Collective 

The collective process behind this 27th issue of Heresies began five years ago.

The original title was “Viva Latina!" — eventually discarded because of its evocation of clicking castanets, ruffled skirts, and Carmen Miranda hats. Latina is an awkward label to encompass the cultural diversity of two continents over the course of more than five centuries. In the U.S. the term becomes almost ludicrous when the majority outside a porous border becomes a "minority” within. History has shifted borders geographically, politically, and economically, and Latina carries much historical baggage.

From the beginning there was consensus among the editorial collective that the issue was to focus on cultural identity. Our potential contributors — artists, writers, poets, dancers, filmmakers, sociologists, lawyers, activists, art critics & historians — had long been engaged (with themselves and one another) in a dialogue on the topic. This issue of Heresies, renamed “Latina—A Journal of Ideas,” pays tribute to the rich variety of expression in women’s creative work — rigorous & free, profound and funny, timeless & contemporary.

During the five years of the issue’s development, questions of identity in the domain of cultural/multicultural power relationships have become even more overt and complex, and the question of difference in ethnic and racial identity has become more and more central to cultural, sociological, and philosophical debate around the world. The importance of Latinas’ contributions to this dialogue has become increasingly clear.

A decade of broadening discourse has thus led to reenvisioning the cultural community that is the United States, but systemic change has been uneven. Major mainstream cultural institutions continue to mount the occasional definitive authoritative Latin American art exhibition. Frequently the scholarship and curatorial premises are problematic. Women have too often been underrepresented. Latino artists living in the U.S. have recently been omitted as well. One may question the contribution these large, transient exhibitions make to the field of art history. Do they herald an alteration of routine curatorial practice, or are they finite, self-limiting events intended to mollify a constituency? The re-evaluation of cultural community has created new funding opportunities. Major institutions outmaneuver grassroots institutions for multicultural arts and education funding, repositioning themselves in the face of impending demographic shifts

In this landscape of shifting cultural borders, we of the “Latina” collective hope this issue of Heresies will help expand the ongoing discourse of self-definition. The initial editorial collective outlined the mission of the issue as the creation of a space for women of Latin American descent living or working primarily within the U.S., a space where Latinas could speak and listen to their own creative voices — room for her own. Following the first call for submissions, the project was delayed at various points. The collective tried several methods of opening up the editorial process. A debate about the politics of accepting National Endowment for the Arts money in an atmosphere of censorship interrupted work for a time. Simultaneously, much-needed funds from the New York State Council on the Arts were being drastically cut across the board.

The method used to compile this final version of “Latina—A Journal of Ideas” evolved as an attempt to respond to the diversity contained within the term Latina. Acknowledging that a three-member editorial collective could not presume to represent the multiple communities of the Latin diaspora, an invitation was extended to two dozen Latina artists, writers and scholars across the U.S. Each of the respondents was asked to compile a 4-6 page segment for the issue. A dozen segments emerged from this process; two were contributed by members of the collective. To these was added a portfolio selected by the collective, culled from unsolicited material sent directly to Heresies or solicited by us from some of the artists whose work we felt should be present in the issue. Avis Lang provided general editorial and administrative support; her infinite patience and good humor were essential to the project. The innovative work of artist/designer Ana Linnemann involved a true collaboration with the material — personal yet respectful of the contributors’ ideas and images. We owe special thanks to art activist/critic/Heresies cofounder Lucy Lippard. Her generous quidance and advice have been invaluable.

Although this issue of Heresies exceeds the usual length, it does not begin to exhaust the topic. True to the range of Latinas’ expressive forms and to our intentions, it offers a kaleidoscopic rather than an authoritative survey. Within the open forum of Heresies it integrates approaches and issues previously perceived as disparate. We hope Latinas will continue to see this forum as theirs.