Giovanni Cortez

Prof. Juan Decastro

Latino/a Lit & Identity

November 1st, 2016

Midterm: Option 3

In “Almost a Woman”, one of the things that makes Esmeralda Santiago’s

depiction of her young adulthood self unique is her detachment with the politics of the

time. The sixties was a decade marked by notions of revolution and radicalism for the

burgeoning Puerto Rican community in New York, explicit in almost every crevice of

their culture. Whether it was politicized street gangs turned political parties, or salsa

music that simultaneously harked back to the African roots while calling for a future that

saw the island liberated from its oppressor, radicalism and organization became

emblematic of what defined Puerto Ricans; for many, to be Puerto Rican in the United

States was to be political.

Born to an immigrant single mother with ten siblings, all of who spoke very little

English, and fighting off both cultural consummation and poverty, Esmeralda Santiago

seemed perfectly fit to follow this cultural legacy. There was not a facet of her life that

wasn’t affected by her background and/or the color of her skin, creeping into her pursuits

for love, her dissolving relationship with her family, and her ambitions as an artist. If it

wasn’t a man telling her that due to her heritage he had to keep her a secret to protect his

career as an aspiring politician, it was a casting director telling her how she didn’t “look
Puerto Rican enough” for a part. Still, none of these discriminations caused Santiago

neither to politicize nor align herself with the progressive Puerto Rican organizations,

such as the socialist party or the Young Lords. Aside from mentions of her brother’s

involvement, her contact with any type of these groups is practically nonexistent, to the

point where it seems possible that she in fact avoided them, as made evident by her

unwillingness in conversations with other Puerto Ricans who attempted to encourage her

political awakening.

Santiago’s stance makes it complicated to imagine what her response to the

Young Lord’s foundational “13 Point Program” may be. While she certainly would

propose an interjection of feminism into the program, which it lacks, the points by and

large go far beyond that scope. I’ve broken up the Lord’s text into four categories and

seek to conceive a Santiago perspective point by point. The categories are:

-Self-Determination, which comprises the idea of liberation and freedom from

occupation, includes points 1, 2, and 3

-Political Alignment, which makes clear the Lord’s ideology and political affiliation,

includes points 4, 7, and 13

-Service and Education, which is where the Lords propose a reclamation of services and

personal histories, includes points 5, 6, 10.

-Direct Action, which outlines exact measures the group states they will take on and/or

adhere to, includes points 8, 9, 11, and 12.

The Lord’s outline for self-determination and call for liberation is where I believe

Santiago would most agree in their program. While her alliance to the Nuyorican

community is somewhat questionable, her affinity for the island is not. Though the
yearning for her old home seems to dissipate, she certainly has an allegiance to her

homeland, as well as an understanding of the circumstances in which the island exists.

When it comes to the liberation of all Latinos and third world people, I believe Santiago’s

interest in other minority figures and cultures, such as Cleopatra and classical Indian

dancing, exemplifies her support for marginalized peoples. In some ways, she is more

interested in what it means to be a minority outside of her Puerto Rican heritage, but

instead in which the boundaries that decide what she can and cannot do as an artist.

Through her pursuit of an acting career, she creates this almost pan-brown culture and

carves out this lane for herself, in which she uses being racially ambiguous or an “other”

to her advantage. Though she makes a point of removing herself a bit from the culture

that she felt bound her as well as surrounding her social life with mostly white people,

her artistic endeavors certainly provide a level of solidarity with disenfranchised,

minority cultures.

What I denoted as “Political Alignment” is probably the points where Esmeralda

would mostly be at odds with. Between the four points, the Lords refer to themselves as

“revolutionary nationalists”, anti-capitalists, and finally socialists. These are all concepts

that are significant to the New York Puerto Rican in the’60s, but Santiago at no point

neither reflects any of these ideals nor expresses interest in them. This isn’t an indictment

to say that she is the opposite of any of those things, but rather neutral, existing in a place

where nationalism isn’t representative of the constraint she feels. Two moments in the

memoir provide proof for this notion: the imagery of Esmeralda drifting into a dream

where she is colorless, raceless, and classless, hence denouncing everything that makes

her culture a part of her, only driving by in a convertible blissfully, and then her
confrontation with another male Puerto Rican artist who encourages her to prop up her

own culture as opposed to the classical Indian style, a conversation that ends with

complete disagreement. Put simply, Santiago’s lack of political demeanor make for a

Young Lord reading from her perspective dismissive and more so incomplete.

I believe that “Service and Education” is where the Esmeralda’s outlook can truly

come through, as a whole criticism and constructive as well. Specifically to point 5, I

think Esmeralda would be right if she said the proposition doesn’t directly address the

needs of women living in poverty. There are mentions of reforming and taking the health

service, but it’s not enough. She would certainly support community controlled

institutions, but coming from where she does, I can see her advocating for reproductive

justice, proposing measures for abortion rights and contraception. I am hesitant to call her

a feminist or say that this is a feminist gesture, but more attributed to the point in her life

where she was both discovering her sexuality, while also witnessing first hand the

troubles of a mother who had children at a young age and continued to. I could see her

taking a similar stance on point 10 in which the Lords press the need for women’s

equality, saying “Machismo must be revolutionary... not oppressive.” Just as the women

of the YLO did in November 1970, Santiago would suggest a revision here to alter the

inherent sexism. Though machismo is an issue more dealt with by her mother, it’s no

secret that this is a problem that plagues Latino communities. Machismo could never be

revolutionary as it’s rooted in oppression. It may be ironic to make this case considering

how the book ends with Esmeralda and her lover, but it’d be hard to imagine her not

amending this one.

 Similar to the category “Political Alignment”, I don’t think Santiago would be

very interested in the final “Direct Action.” The points are made up by demands to

withdraw all Puerto Rican soldiers, free political prisoners, fight anti-communism, and a

declaration to armed struggle. None of these type of issues seemed to stimulate Santiago

whose mind was truly more caught up in a predominantly white art institution, her

various love interests, and Jewish best friend. Of all the categories, this is the most

important to the ethos and ideology of the Lords during this period. It occurs to me that

Santiago would not necessarily oppose these things, but perhaps struggle with them

before choosing complacency about the welfare of her community, leaving it in someone

else’s hands, much like she chalks her political connection to the organizations her

brother and sister are involved with. Her investment in Puerto Ricans was very low;

instead it was misplaced into more superficial endeavors. By the end, I can’t see this text

affecting her very much. There are things that are simple to agree with, but in some ways

what the Lords stress, Santiago doesn’t consider her reality. As mentioned before, her

dreams entail being raceless and colorless, driving in a convertible, a dream that, one can

safely assume, no Young Lord ever aspired to.