Apparently today you can be a sexy Latina, a pregnant Latina, a spicy Latina, but pair the adjective wise with the noun and parts of the populace froth and roar and tell formally avowed Wise Latina that she has "some 'splainin' to do."
Since I was raised by, work with and am one, I thought I would bring up a couple of examples, and a meal in their honor.
From the distant past:
Malinche: So wise she has confounded historians and been reviled by the populace she practically spawned. Her linguistic talents brought collaboration (some say betrayal) between the Spaniards and the natives.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: the first writer and intellectual of the new world. Oh, gosh, she did this in Spanish. Perhaps you haven't heard of her.
From the nearer past: Linda Chavez, conservative aide to Ronald Reagan.
Dolores Huerta. Ever hear of her hubby, Cesar Chavez?
Immediate? She's not just wise, she's brilliant. Alma Guillermoprieto is an incisive
intelligent journalist.
A spackling, a sampling. And as you chew on the pervasive power of ethnic branding, Starving Reader, and identify a number of wise Latina contemporaries in your world, here's a meal:
Mole, in honor of the educated Spanish nuns and the wild mixture of flavors, brought by the ingredients the laborers harvested.
Beans, a pre-Conquest staple.
Hand made corn tortillas. Inhale the scent of freshly ground corn, turned into masa and then heated on a comal or griddle. Rustic and elemental. Like wisdom.
Accompanied by a bottomless vodka martini. So I can forget that "wise latina," for certain people, is an oxymoron.
