La Receta del Testimonio Mole: A Value-Rich Recipe for Folklórico Resiliance Testimonio

• In Event: 53.081 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 53.081-5 - Radical Storytelling and Creative Resistance: Exploring Testimonio as Theory and Praxis

Abstract

This testimonio explores the story of three hermanas and their connections to comunidad, familia, and self-esteem through Mexican folklórico. Each testimonio is positioned within a Latin Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) framework and further explored through Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework. The stories within this research allow each hermana’s Truth to take shape in a way that is authentic to their experience through the voice, structure, and tone of each testimonio. In this way, testimonio is used as methodology in radical storytelling (Cruz, 2012). The hermanas explore their relationship to ethnic identity and cultural heritage as Mexicanos who have a relationship to traditional Mexican folklórico. Within their stories, each of the hermanas testimonialistas discuss the unique ways in which their ethnicity intersects with other aspects of their identities, including gender, sexuality, and nationality. These stories are examples of testimonio as both a product and a process. More importantly, these testimonios illustrate the ways in which marginalized communities make sense of the world around them in a way that empowers and uplifts the MindBodySpirit.

In this paper, I share the testimonios of three hermanas who turned to folklórico as they moved through various stages of their lives. These three hermanas identify as male, masculine-of-center, queer, and Mexican. Through their bonds of amistad and closeness, these hermanas have framed their friendship as a sisterhood. As adults, the hermanas reflect on their past and current experiences moving through educational systems, while maintaining a connection to folklórico. This research explores how testimonio as a methodology both excavates and highlights the unique experiences of the hermanas in a way that honors their voice within the narrative. This research also includes a brief background on our relationship to one another and to folklórico.
This paper highlights folklórico resilience testimonios as a value-rich process, which I cariñosamente refer to as “la receta del testimonio mole.” This recipe frames the key ingredients for the Truth of the queer Mexicanos within these testimonios. This recipe becomes a script for understanding their stories, and also includes my testimonio as part of the research. My testimonio and begins with the story of a queer Mexicanito from Sacramento who started dancing traditional Mexican folklórico over twenty-years ago.

This testimonio of resilience and orgullo gives voice to the intersections of identities that exist within Mexican folklórico. As such, this testimonio is a cuento that tells stories in English, in Spanish, and in Spanglish. This testimonio explores the nuances of growing up Mexican and gay. These stories highlight the cariño and hermandad that four men can have with one another as amigos and as hermanas. These testimonios are their Truth, are our Truth, and are our home. These testimonios are shared authentically in the name of hermandad. Bernal, Burciaga, and Carmona (2012) describe testimonio as product and process and as a way for the mind, the body, and spirit to be sources of knowledge and transformation. In this way, testimonio as methodology allows for risk-taking in incorporating the MindBodySpirit into folklórico testimonio research.

Author

• Manuel Alejandro Pérez, University of San Francisco