Borderlands / La Frontera Character Analysis

Gloria Anzaldúa

The author of Borderlands/La Frontera was a prominent Chicana, Tejana lesbian feminist poet, teacher, and activist from the Rio Grande Valley in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Throughout the book, she weaves together episodes from… read analysis of Gloria Anzaldúa

Anzaldúa’s Mother

Like her father, Gloria Anzaldúa’s mother Amalia was a hardworking farm laborer who dreamt of a better life for her children. Anzaldúa recalls important details from her relationship with her mother throughout Borderlands… read analysis of Anzaldúa’s Mother

Malintzín (La Malinche, La Chingada)

Malintzín was an enslaved Indigenous woman who is today better known by the nickname La Malinche, or the derogatory moniker La Chingada. In the 1500s, she helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés take over Mexico by… read analysis of Malintzín (La Malinche, La Chingada)

Coatlalopeuh (The Virgin of Guadalupe)

The Virgin of Guadalupe, an image of the Virgin Mary that appeared to an Indigenous peasant named Juan Diego around the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, has since become the most famous symbol… read analysis of Coatlalopeuh (The Virgin of Guadalupe)

La Llorona

In Mexican folklore, La Llorona (“the crying woman”) is the spirit of a woman who wanders the earth mourning her children—whom she drowned. Some versions of the story assert that her husband cheated on or… read analysis of La Llorona

Coatlicue/Tonantsi

Coatlicue and Tonantsi are two different names for the Azteca-Mexica creator goddess, whose associated serpent imagery echoes throughout Anzaldúa’s work. Anzaldúa argues that she was once a single goddess, with both positive… read analysis of Coatlicue/Tonantsi

Narrator (“El sonavabitche”)

In the poem “El sonavabitche,” the narrator is a teacher from the Rio Grande Valley who witnesses the farmer call immigration enforcement on his own undocumented workers in order to avoid paying them. She threatens… read analysis of Narrator (“El sonavabitche”)

Farmer (“El sonavabitche”)

The title of the poem “El sonavabitche” refers to the farmer, who threatens and exploits his undocumented farmworkers—only to call immigration on them on payday, getting them deported instead of paying them. His behavior demonstrates… read analysis of Farmer (“El sonavabitche”)

Saint Teresa of Ávila (“Holy Relics”)

St. Teresa of Ávila was a prominent 16th-century Spanish nun and church reformer. The poem “Holy Relics” describes how priests repeatedly robbed her grave and stole her body parts—her “holy relics,” which they have since… read analysis of Saint Teresa of Ávila (“Holy Relics”)

Minor Characters

Anzaldúa’s Father

Gloria Anzaldúa’s father Umberto was a farmworker who spent his life working the land his family once owned. He “worked himself to death” and passed away at just 38 years old, when Anzaldúa was still young.

Anzaldúa’s Grandmother

When Anzaldúa was a girl, her widowed grandmother frequently visited her family. Anzaldúa reflects on her grandmother’s faith and conversations about men, which reveal how Chicano culture limits women’s rights, voice, and imagination.

Narrator (“Interface”)

In the poem “Interface,” the narrator is a woman resembling Anzaldúa who discovers a spirit (Leyla) living in her house, then becomes her caregiver and lover.

Leyla (“Interface”)

In “Interface,” Leyla is a spirit who lives in the narrator’s house. Through her relationship with the narrator, she eventually takes on a physical body and learns to act like a human. She learns quickly and soon surpasses all human abilities.

Narrator (“La Curandera”)

The narrator of the poem “La Curandera” is a woman resembling Anzaldúa who mysteriously falls ill and later becomes a curandera (folk healer).

Juan Dávila (“La Curandera”)

Juan Dávila is a young man who becomes the narrator’s apprentice in the poem “La Curandera.” He is likely a relative from the Rio Grande Valley, as Anzaldúa’s maternal grandmother came from the Dávila family.

Silvio Rodríguez

Silvio Rodríguez is a prominent Cuban folk singer whose lyrics Anzaldúa quotes for two of her epigraphs.

Borderlands / La Frontera Characters