On Borderlands and Translation : The Spanish Versions of Gloria Anzaldúa's Seminal Work

Abstract

The long-awaited translation of Gloria Anzaldúa´s Borderlands/ La Frontera. The New Mestiza (henceforward: Borderlands) into Spanish finally made its appearance in the literary and academic scenes through the work of two different translators and scholars in the last two years. In 2015 and after 28 years of its original publication, Borderlands was rendered into Spanish by Chicana writer Norma Elía Cantú in an edition requested and funded by the Programa Universitario de Estudios de Género at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. A second, and practically simultaneous translation of Anzaldúa´s work was performed by translator Carmen Valle Simón and published in Madrid in 2016 by Capitán Swing. Translating Anzaldúa´s polyphonic, hybrid discourse into Spanish is not only a hard linguistic exercise but also an aesthetic and intellectual challenge. In Borderlands, Anzaldúa-s advocacy of a new mestiza consciousness is inextricably rooted in a revolutionary and critical vision of languages, genders, sexualities, races, and classes. Her project, at once political, feminist, social and aesthetic, enabled the non-mediated presence of new voices and experiences in a space so far governed by the paradigm of hegemonic feminism. As noted by literary and cultural critic Walter Mignolo (1996), Borderlands offers a distinct articulation of linguistic and cultural practices, which relate to the spaces, both physical and metaphorical, built around Spanish, English, Nahuatl as well as other language varieties. This chapter has two main goals. Firstly, it provides a general overview of Borderlands by placing the text within the context where it emerged while focusing on its relevance for (Chicana) feminism. Secondly, it looks at the translations made in Mexico and Spain in order to investigate the linguistic, institutional, and socio-cultural re-inscription of Anzaldúa's seminal work. More specifically, in examining the texts, attention is given to the translation strategies and techniques outlined in the paratexts as compared to those employed in the renditions to recreate the overall feminist ethos and the (Chicana) feminist content characteristic of the source text. The analysis seeks to establish whether these translations offer competing interpretations of the source text regarding the reconfiguration of Anzaldúa´s innovative philosophy and singular diction. Accordingly, this chapter explores the following questions: What are the principles guiding the task of the translator in each of these versions? What audience/s do they appeal to and what impact have they made so far in literary and academic circles? How do the translated texts build an image of the source text and its creator? How do the translators position themselves when it comes to recreating the original's feminist perspective?