Altars, and altar-making, were very important to Gloria Anzaldúa. She had many little altars (altaritas) located throughout her home–in her kitchen, on bookshelves, near her bed, in the living room, and even en el baño!
In an unpublished essay, she describes altars as “[t]he sanctuary of the soul,” a “hope-filled activity,” “sources of inspiration and visualization,” a “symbology system,” and a method for “facilitating change.” Additionally, she reminds us that altars assist us in building community–with ourselves, our ancestors, our spirit guides, local spirits, and each other.
In the tradition of Anzaldúan altar-making, we invite you to share your Anzaldúan-inspired images and/or words on this page.
Through this ongoing creative process, we carry on Gloria’s work and build community of almas afines (like-minded souls). We inspire ourselves and each others, building the world we envision–El Mundo Zurdo.
Art. Words. Collections.
IN MEMORIAM
“Though we tremble before uncertain futures may we meet illness, death and adversity with strength may we dance in the face of our fears.”
Art & Words for and about Gloria E. Anzaldúa and her work
Below is a collection of art and words that Anzaldúa’s work and legacy have inspired.
Click on the picture or book to find out more about the author and/or artist.
If you have art, books, and/or visual ofrendas that were inspired by or about Gloria and you’d like to share them here, please fill out this form.
We will be in touch.
2022
Shapeshifting Subjects
Gloria Anzaldúa’s Naguala and Border Arte
1981
Gloria Anzaldúa
Angela Yarber
2021
nos/otras
Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Multiplicitous Agency, and Resistance
Artist Unknown
1996
Women Reading Women Writing
Self-Invention in Paula Gunn Allen, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Audre Lorde
Grace Rosario Perkins
LEAVE UN OFRENDA
As part of the Trust’s vision and to honor the impact of Anzaldúa’s work on folx around the globe, we invite you into this space, to share your word ofrendas in whatever form feels like your heart, in the comment section below.
By submitting your ofrenda you become forever linked in solidarity with Gloria E. Anzaldúa—co-creating, with Anzaldúa herself, El Mundo Zurdo.
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My deepest gratitude for the lessons you continue to impart, the grace you continue to extend, and the love you continue to share. I’ve found the best parts of my life because of your work. Mil gracias.
I think every woman has to deal with battles both internally and externally, but it takes a ambitious, assertive, and graceful woman to actually fight the battle within the world and within herself regardless of societal standards.
Dear Gloria,
Thank you for leaving me with the concept of nepantilism. Nepantilism is important because it acknowledges how culture and spirits can be overlapping, crossing one another, and torn between many intersecting identities. You, Gloria, quoted it as a “state of perpetual transition” (78) and I love this because it brings awareness that identities are ever-changing and cannot ever be confined to a category. You also referred to this idea as a sort of crossbreeding/crossroads where it is a phenomenon closely resembling corn, where its survival was premised upon this combination of identities. I appreciate how this act of kneading, uniting, and togetherness gives new meaning to the previously rigid structures of what a Mestiza represents. I like how Anzaldua’s perspective surrenders all notions of what is ‘normal’ and reconstructs them into a transformative version of dignity, as the New Mestiza.
pappas y huevos… the word made flesh… I can belong. 16 mar ‘24 lf