Aztlán
The word Aztlán refers to the legendary place that was the home to the 'Nahua' people, a collection of seven tribes in North America (each speaking a variation of the language 'Nahuatl'). The tribes consisted of Acolhua, Tlaxcalan, Tlahuica, Xochimilca, Chalca, Tepaneca, and the Mexica. That seems like a whole lot of tribes to keep track of, but the one you should really pay attention to is the Mexica- which were the Aztecs (not that they're more important, but it's a good starting point).
There are different accounts regarding the legend of Aztlán, but what is largely agreed upon is that for whatever reasons these tribes migrated south. The Mexica were the last to migrate, so they had to settle near the uninhabited area of Lake of Texcoco, modern day Valley of Mexico. From there, the Mexica grew in power, eventually creating the most powerful empire of their time.
Significance
The exact stretch of Aztlán is not known. Scholars have
researched writings for clues, but it's difficult since most of
the indigenous people's writings were burned by the Spanish during
the conquest.
The term 'Aztlán' has now taken more of a symbolic meaning since the Chicano Movement of the 1960's and 70's. It has come to represent the states in the US that were once Mexican land. South/Western states such as California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico are considered to collectively be 'Aztlán', home of La Raza especially with most cities having Spanish names.
La Reconquista
Of course this topic brings up controversy as soon as you mention 'La Reconquista', which is basically the re-taking of Aztlán. La Reconquista is often misinterpreted as a militant movement by Chicanos to physically take over the land. My interpretation of that term is that it's simply a label that has been slapped onto the inevitable. By that meaning that with current poplulation trends and Census statistics, Latinos will eventually be a majority in these areas. Once the population numbers are there, then political power will eventually follow. So in essence, it's the repopulation of the land by a previous inhabitant.
Personally, I haven't seen anyone 'actively' participating in this movement, because seriously there isn't anything that you can really do. There's no shootings, no terrorist acts, no political figure assassinations. Yet you're bound to see some pendejo on CNN babbling some fear-injected rhetoric like "These people must be stopped, if we're not careful they will ruin this country. Mark my words." How can 'these people' be stopped, exactly? With oppression. By tainting our name and making us feel like a second-class citizen just because we're Latinos. By making us feel self-conscious of speaking Spanish, and associating the tongue with 'immigrant wetbacks.' By demonizing La Raza, political figures do a pretty good job of holding us back.
So what we should do is study and learn. Learn where we came from, our history as a people, and our history on this land. Not to reclaim ownership, but simply for the reason of self-assurance. If there's a lot of Raza here, obviously it's because Mexico is right fucking there and there have been Mexicans here for a long while now. We're not all illegal, so don't let people act or treat us like we are. Aztlán can be that pillar of strength of reaffirmation, to let us know things will turn out okay. | POST A COMMENT