Between Nationalism and Feminism: Mary Helen Ponce Remembers her Barrio

Abstract

This essay departs from monological approaches that have treated Mary Helen Ponce's Hoyt Street: An Autobiography solely as a nationalist text that defends the Los Angeles barrio of Pacoima against Anglo domination. Heeding Gloria Anzaldúa's assertion that it is the writer's duty to defend her cultura but also to critique internal patriarchal structures that discriminate against women, I argue that Ponce's work is a multidimensional text that advances both a nationalist and a feminist narrative. First, I draw on Raúl Homero Villa's work on barriological culture to demonstrate that Hoyt Street upholds nationalist ideals and sentiments. It promotes cultural practices that foster the author's sense of pride and belonging while also criticizing dominant views of the barrio as a space of disruption. Second, I focus on the different forms of feminist critique that the text makes possible. The discourses of machismo, marianismo, and malinchismo oppress women in Pacoima, instilling in Ponce feelings of disillusionment. At the same time, women's traditional roles as social and biological reproducers at times provide a source of strength in relation to patriarchy. Finally, I engage with Chela Sandoval's theory of "differential consciousness" to better understand the text's ambivalent embrace of conflicting standpoints and sentiments.