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. 

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. 

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.

English 264 

Dr. Loya 

7 December 2023