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Jaycee Norris

English 264

Dr. Loya

7 December 2023

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Religion has been around for a very long time and impacted people and their actions throughout history. With its long history, it has a strong hold on people’s beliefs and ideas. This can change how people carry themselves and see the world. This can be seen in Mexican culture and its close ties with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church impacts life daily in Mexican culture, especially seen in Cañas The Hacienda through the character Andrés and the internal battle of his religious beliefs and being a witch. This is important to understand the connection of the Catholic Church and how it can create an internal battle between “right” and “wrong”.

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Religion can be common for people to be in Nepantla. Every time I went to my grandparent's house we would always go to Church. On my mother’s side of the family, they are heavily Catholic. My grandfather’s family name is in one of the Church windows since they were one of the founding families of that Church in the small town of Cedarville. My grandmother helps the Catholic Church by setting up right before Church, reading passages for Mass, and even hosting the Priest for Easter Dinner. The Catholic Church has surrounded me for as long as I can remember. My dad’s side of the family is a different story. They do not go to Church and are not that familiar with it.

Last Easter, my dad got baptized, which is a big deal on all sides of my family. Both sides were proud of him even though my dad’s side wasn’t sure why he would do that. My mom’s side was very proud of him and then the attention went to me and my siblings about why we were not baptized. My dad is pushing that we go to the classes and get it done as soon as possible. When I go to Church with my grandparents and I go up to be blessed the Priest oddly looks at me and even comes up to me and asks why I had not been baptized yet. One time when I went to Church with my friends or I took part in Lent they also oddly looked at me and said we didn’t know you were so religious.

Similarly Andrés, I feel this battle within when it comes to my religious beliefs. I am told to do one thing by my family and I want to out of respect for them, but what happens when I do? Will my friends look at me differently if I do? There is a battle in deciding if I do what my family wants. Andrés felt this pressure from his family to become a Priest and I understand what that feels like. Once he became a Priest he felt welcomed but had to chain up a part of himself and I do not want that. I like who I am and I wouldn’t change me or lock up a part of me. Andrés was banished from seeing his family because the religious part of him conflicted with his witch part. I would want a balance between both worlds. This torn part of me of listening to family to make them proud, but worried about what happens to my social life shows that I am in Nepantla when it comes to my religion similar to Andrés.

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The Catholic Church has been influential throughout Mexico’s history. This is seen throughout Cañas' novel, The Hacienda. Catholicism was very popular among the Creoles. What was happening in the 1730s to 1750s led to the Creoles needing a religious figure to identify with during economic and social pressures. This eventually led to the Virgin becoming a symbol of Mexican nationality (Conover). From the beginning of Spain coming to Mexico, the Spaniards pressured the Catholic Church onto the natives. The troubles of the Spaniards coming over led to the people needing something and someone to look to. Especially with Creoles and having nowhere to belong and needing something to look to. In The Hacienda, two fathers have Creole backgrounds and think they are higher up than the villagers. Andrés has the same background, showing that he sees the Catholic Church differently than the other fathers. Andrés sees the Catholic Church as a symbol, especially for his safety. The Fathers see the profit of the Catholic Church as a way to benefit themselves instead of what the Catholic Church is supposed to represent. According to Anzaldua, people fear the supernatural, even the divine. The need to worship is to try to control the uncontrollable, especially the undivine and unnatural parts of the world (Anzaldúa, Borderlands: The New Mestiza 17). This is exactly how Andrés feels with the conflict of being a witch being afraid of what he can unleash and his need to control it through the Church.

Shortly after The Hacienda takes place, The Mexican-American War takes place and has opposing religious beliefs. The Texas Revolution occurred with a surge of anti-Catholicism and American nativism. The Mexican Catholics were very proud of their religion in the mid-1800s and their nativism was wrapped around the Church (Guardino). This parallels The Hacienda since Andrés feels like he will only fit in the society at the time if he is a part of the Catholic Church. Andrés thinks he will find security through the Catholic Church and feels it gives him a place to belong. This was similar among the people living in Mexico at the time, especially during the Revolutions and Wars. It gives them something to hope and believe in through hard times. Andrés is in a place of nepantlera which has a division within him, but he uses it to help those around him. Nepantlera is a mediator or person in the middle of change, who chooses to help those around themselves go through Nepantla (Keating 165). Through wars and times of need with his family, Andrés is there to help. Even though Andrés is caught in the middle of two worlds, he is still helping others through the Church and his witch abilities. The Church was a place for him to find hope and reason, and the witch was to keep his family traditions alive.

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Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands: The New Mestiza. 1987.

Cañas, Isabel. The Hacienda. Penguin, 2022.

Conover, Cornelius. “Reassessing the Rise of Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe, 1650s–1780s.” Mexican Studies, vol. 27, no.

2, 2011, pp. 251–79,

https://doi.org/10.1525/msem.2011.27.2.251.

Keating, AnaLouise. The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook. Duke UP, 2022.

Guardino, Peter. “‘In the Name of Civilization and with a

Bible in Their Hands:’ Religion and the 1846–48 Mexican-

American War.” Mexican Studies, vol. 30, no. 2, 2014, pp.

342–65,

https://doi.org/10.1525/msem.2014.30.2.342.

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The light of the Catholic Church compared to the darkness of the native people. 

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Religion can cause an emotional conflict in people. This happened throughout history with religion being a reason for the killing of innocent people. It can be seen in people's lives today as they try to find themselves and where to belong. The Church should welcome and support all but one side or the other. This is especially seen in Cañas The Hacienda through the character Andrés and his battle to find what is just or not. There is no black or white area when it comes to religion and people just have to follow what they believe is “right” and not be steered away from outside forces.