Author Sandra Cisneros to explore complexity of Latina identity

The kaleidoscope of U.S. Latino identity includes people from 20 countries, different ethnicities, religions and distinct accents who speak a mix of Spanish, Portuguese and English. This complexity will be explored in the Hispanic Heritage Month keynote address by writer and poet Sandra Cisneros titled, "Why I'm Not Hispanic."

Cisneros (Photo by Ray Santiesteban)

Cisneros, 52, will speak at Rackham Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28. The provocative title of her talk is, "It is Hispanic Heritage Month, but I Have Never Self-identified as Hispanic."

Author of the landmark novel "The House on Mango Street" (1983) that sold more than 2 million copies, Cisneros also will share a very personal dialogue with Ruth Behar, U-M professor of anthropology and women's studies. "Talking In Our Pajamas: A Conversation Between Sandra Cisneros and Ruth Behar" is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 29 in 3512 Haven Hall.

Cisneros now is working on a book called "Writing in My Pajamas," devoted to how she teaches writing. Students can find their voices by imagining they are in their pajamas "talking to someone who they know so well, they wouldn't have to excuse themselves and get dressed," she says.

Behar, also a poet and author, looks for creative ways to discuss and share ideas.

Behar (Photo by David Frye)

"Having a conversation with Sandra in pajamas will allow an audience to listen in as we talk about writing, reading and a range of issues, just as we do during our periodic phone conversations, which usually begin at midnight and last until 4 or 5 in the morning," Behar says.

Cisneros and Behar met and became friends at U-M when Cisneros was a visiting professor 15 years ago. Behar had just returned to Ann Arbor from her research in Mexico, and Cisneros set up a Day of the Dead altar in the American Culture Program office, which still is a tradition to this day. The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos in Spanish, is a fusion of ancient Aztec and Catholic rituals surrounding the memory of deceased ancestors that is celebrated Nov. 1 (All Saints' Day) and Nov. 2 (All Souls' Day). It is a national holiday in Mexico and many Latin American countries.

As a writer, Cisneros lives in the complexity of bilingualism (she cannot swear and cannot love in Spanish) and biculturalism. In her novel "Caramelo" (2002), she uses very special English, a narrative elaborated in one language but pronounced in the other, according to Ilan Stavans, an expert in Latin American culture.

Other work by Cisneros includes "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories" (1991), "My Wicked Wicked Ways" (1987), "Loose Woman" (1994), the poetry collection "Bad Boys" (1980), a children's book "Hairs/Pelitos" (1994) and "Vintage Cisneros" (2003), a compilation of her works. In 1995 she was awarded the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and in 2003 she received the Texas Medal of the Arts. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, where she has created the Macondo Foundation, a unique writers' workshop with a Latino focus and a commitment to community service.

The visit of Cisneros for Hispanic Heritage Month is co-sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs and the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center, King-Chavez-Parks Visiting Professors Program, the Office of the Senior Vice Provost, Latina/o Studies, Anthropology Department, English Department, Creative Writing Program, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, Center for World Performance Studies, and Program in Comparative Literature.