Drawings by Celia Herrera Rodríguez  xiii

Prólogo: A Living Codex  xv

Agradecimentos  xix

A Xicana Lexicon  xxi

One. Existo Yo  

A XicanaDyke Codex of Changing Consciousness  3

From Inside the First World: On 9/11 and Women-of-Color Feminism  18

An Irrevocable Promise: Staging the Story Xicana  34

Two. The Warring Inside  

What Is Left of Us  49

MeXicana Blues  51

Weapons of the Weak: On Fear and Political Resistance  54

California Dreaming  73

Cuento Xicano  76

Indígena as Scribe: The (W)rite to Remember  79

The Altar of My Undoing  97

Three. Salt of the Earth  

Aguas Sagradas  105

And It Is All These Things That Are Our Grief: Eulogy for Marsha Gómez  107

Poetry of Heroism: A Tribute to Audre Lorde and Pat Parker  111

The Salt That Cures: Remembering Gloria Anzaldúa  116

Four. The Price of Beans  

South Central Farmers  133

The Other Face of (Im)migration: In Conversation with West Asian Feminists  135

Floricanto  146

Modern-Day Malinches  148

What's Race Gotta Do With It? On the Election of Barack Obama  151

This Benighted Nation We Name Home: On the Fortieth Anniversary of Ethnic Studies  163

Still Loving in the (Still) War Years: On Keeping Queer Queer  175

Epílogo: Xicana Mind, Beginner Mind  193

Appendix: Sola, Pero Bien Acompañada: The Art of Celia Herrera Rodríguez  201

Notes  209

Bibliography  229

Index  237

Celia Herrera Rodriguez

“Moraga’s prose is characteristically trenchant and her stance unapologetic as ever. But there is a tender quality of reflection here, too, even nostalgia, that strikes a new note. . . . [T]he sense of trying to hang on to, to remember, something vanishing is palpable in this book. It is a posture that Moraga strikes superbly, and the result is a strong articulation of resistance and, yes, hope, from one of the most important queer Chicana intellectuals of our time.”—Victoria Bolf, Lambda Literary Review

“Nostalgia, evolving consciousness, and the concept of (w)riting –writing to remember / making rite to remember / having the right to remember–lyrically permeate the pages of this book. Moraga’s ideas have matured and become more profound with the passage of time; I look forward to reading more of her eloquent resistance and wisdom in the coming years.”—The Feminist Texican [Reads]

“This is an overall compelling, timely, and on many fronts, prophetic read. There is just enough background discourse on Chicana feminist thought and history for those uninitiated readers, and many new critical reflections and insights for the more seasoned readers wondering what this author has to offer since her last influential work. Both will potentially walk away from this book with an overdue sense of indignation, as well as a sense of hope that within the burgeoning nest of Chicana consciousness and social activism, lies the golden egg of a just, social democracy in the United States.”—Christiane Grimal, GRAAT Anglophone Studies

“A Xicana Codex reminds readers about the contributions women of color have made to feminist inquiry. . . . The book is a must for everyone, especially those interested in the intersections informing transnational women of color feminist practice.”—Alvina E. Quintana, Women’s Review of Books

“[T]his collection has a vitality and a concern for human equality that does remind us of the positive reasons for politics.”—Mary Evans, European Journal of Women's Studies

“Moraga’s prose is characteristically trenchant and her stance unapologetic as ever. But there is a tender quality of reflection here, too, even nostalgia, that strikes a new note. . . . [T]he sense of trying to hang on to, to remember, something vanishing is palpable in this book. It is a posture that Moraga strikes superbly, and the result is a strong articulation of resistance and, yes, hope, from one of the most important queer Chicana intellectuals of our time.”—Victoria Bolf, Lambda Literary Review

“Nostalgia, evolving consciousness, and the concept of (w)riting –writing to remember / making rite to remember / having the right to remember–lyrically permeate the pages of this book. Moraga’s ideas have matured and become more profound with the passage of time; I look forward to reading more of her eloquent resistance and wisdom in the coming years.”—The Feminist Texican [Reads]

“This is an overall compelling, timely, and on many fronts, prophetic read. There is just enough background discourse on Chicana feminist thought and history for those uninitiated readers, and many new critical reflections and insights for the more seasoned readers wondering what this author has to offer since her last influential work. Both will potentially walk away from this book with an overdue sense of indignation, as well as a sense of hope that within the burgeoning nest of Chicana consciousness and social activism, lies the golden egg of a just, social democracy in the United States.”—Christiane Grimal, GRAAT Anglophone Studies

“A Xicana Codex reminds readers about the contributions women of color have made to feminist inquiry. . . . The book is a must for everyone, especially those interested in the intersections informing transnational women of color feminist practice.”—Alvina E. Quintana, Women’s Review of Books

“[T]his collection has a vitality and a concern for human equality that does remind us of the positive reasons for politics.”—Mary Evans, European Journal of Women's Studies

“Cherríe Moraga’s A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness is a hope fulfilled. After the passing of Gloria Anzaldúa, Chicana/o studies suffered something like an eclipse of the moon but here comes radical, creative light into our lives and scholarship once more. Moraga’s intellectual and emotional courage about sexuality, race, queerness, and feminist energy shows us that Barack Obama and all Americans also live in the time of Latinos and Xicanas. Underlying these essays is the creative question ‘how can this new demography of many colors and genders be cultivated into a new democracy?’”—Davíd Carrasco, author of Religions of Mesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial Centers

“‘I am no prophet, only a witness to the writing already on the wall that divides my own native homeland’ says Cherríe Moraga in the opening of her contemporary codex. Moraga speaks directly, as a powerful voice of a pivotal generation, a generation that is aging and coming to terms with its urgent, collective story. This political memoir in essays is a testimony to the awakening of an indigenous consciousness that has been disappeared in the memory of colonized Americas. The collection is blessed by the drawings of Celia Herrera Rodríguez. They provide the ceremonial flow. They represent the voices of the plants, earth and elements that give dreaming to the human mind. What a powerful offering in a time of reckoning.”—Joy Harjo, Mvskoke Nation, poet, musician, performer, playwright

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