Summary
The Guardians is one of Castillo’s most noteworthy pieces of work. As a resident of New Mexico an obvious political, social, and cultural issue was happening in her vicinity at the border. The Guardians addresses the perpetual crimes innocent people face who are looking for a better life on the other side, or as Castillo says, “el otro lado.”
The Guardians is a story about Regina, who is raising her nephew, Gabo in El Paso, Texas. Regina's brother, Rafa, crosses back to Mexico to be with Gabo's mother, Ximena. When they attempt to cross the border together, Ximena and Rafa were separated. Soon after, Ximena's body was found and she was mutilated with her organs removed. When Gabo’s father, Rafa, has gone missing after attempting to cross the border, Regina and Gabo seek solace in their own ways and support from classmates and colleagues. Gabo is very religious, and aspires to be a priest when he is older. He is a top student who embodies high morals and yearns to live a happy life on the U.S. side of the border. When his thoughts think the worst, he gets involved with a gang, Los Palominos, in hopes that they can help find his missing father.[17] On Regina’s end, she teams up with a colleague Miguel and his grandfather, Milton. When Miguel’s ex-wife is kidnapped, all characters team up to find their missing loved ones. In the end, Miguel finds his ex-wife alive who was also found with Tiny Tears, and both were in dire shape. On the other hand, Regina and Gabo’s instincts that the worst occurred, came true, as Rafa was found dead in a house belonging to Los Palominos. That same night, Gabo was killed by Los Palominos member, Tiny Tears, who was initially helping Gabo in his quest to find his father.[18]
Analysis
Castillo’s writing about the novel proves to be straightforward yet explained creatively while always keeping in mind her duty to make readers aware of the current events at the border. This novel uncovers the truths about life on both sides of the border for Mexican immigrants. On one hand, many people and families migrate to the United States so they can receive a better education and find better jobs. Conversely, the United States does not feel like home for many migrants and yearn for reunification with family members. They are conflicted between where they feel they belong and opportunities. This exact reason is why Rafa returns to Mexico after already having crossed the border.[19]
Criminal organizations, commonly referred to as the cartels, smuggle all kinds of goods across the border.[20] Cartel members do not see migrants not as humans, but rather just a small piece of their many smuggling operations.[21] In Mexico, migrants cannot cross themselves. The U.S. has militarized the border, making it a dangerous territory.[22] Consequently, criminal organizations involved in human smuggling are able to capitalize on this, making human smuggling across the border a lucrative business. Instead, they must pay a coyote to get them across. If they tried to do it themselves, they could face serious consequences from the criminal organizations and narcotraficantes that “own” the borderlands.[23]
As a result, these criminal activities are informally engrained in the economy of the towns and communities living near the border. Thus, when Gabo and Regina fear the worst, it is not difficult for them to find a cartel association who may have information. The approach in which Abuelo Milton uses to look for Rafa is walking the streets with his dog and questioning pedestrians. These examples display the typical nature of these circumstances for families on the border.
Main Themes
Violence Against Women
Castillo addresses the crimes that people living in border towns may be subjected to.[24] Specifically, crimes against women. Ximena's death, the kidnapping of Miguel's ex-wife, and the life story of Tiny Tears are all representative of border violence against women.
When women cross the border, sexual violence is not uncommon. Already in a vulnerable state, men and cartel members take advantage of the circumstance.[25] As a result, women living by the border or immigrants trying to cross are subjected to such violence. Additionally, these crimes have psychological effects that can cloud one's judgment or influence behavior. In The Guardians, Tiny Tears yearns for family and other forms of bonds to fill the voids in her life. as a result of violence. Consequently, she looks for family in a criminal sense, by joining Los Palominos.
Chicano Culture
Castillo not only addresses the common horror stories, but also addresses the cultural implications of what it means to be Mexican but live in the United States.
To illustrate this, Castillo accentuates Regina’s experiences on both sides of the border. On one hand, Regina has experienced the hardships that many Mexican people and migrants endure, such as picking crops or partaking in manual labor that is bodily taxing.[26] However, when she immigrated and worked to become a teacher’s aide, she is no longer in the same boat as many of her confidantes. One may internalize this new experience and feel conflicted between where they came from versus their new way of life. In turn, feelings of betrayal and isolation for some may arise. For others, remembering past experiences or holding onto the stories of close ones can be a source of strength.[27] For Regina, her life as a teacher’s aide is refreshing; although, people like her brother Rafa and their circumstances will always stick with her.[28]
Story collections
- Loverboys. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996. ISBN 0-393-03959-5
Poetry
- Otro Canto. Chicago: Alternativa Publications, 1977.
- The Invitation. 1979
- Women Are Not Roses. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1984. ISBN 0-934770-28-X
- My Father Was a Toltec and selected poems, 1973–1988. New York: W. W. Norton, 1995. ISBN 0-393-03718-5
- I Ask the Impossible. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. ISBN 0-385-72073-4
- "Women Don't Riot"
- "While I was Gone a War Began"
Non-fiction
- black dove: mamá, mi'jo, and me. New York City: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2016. ISBN 9781558619234 (paperback)
- Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8263-1554-2
Translations
- Esta puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos (with Norma Alarcón). San Francisco: ism press, 1988. (Spanish adaptation of This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga.)
As editor
- The Sexuality of Latinas (co-editor, with Norma Alarcón and Cherríe Moraga). Berkeley: Third Woman Press, 1993. ISBN 0-943219-00-0
- Goddess of the Americas: Writings on the Virgin of Guadalupe / La Diosa de las Américas: Escritos Sobre la Virgen de Guadalupe (editor). New York: Riverhead Books, 1996. ISBN 1-57322-029-9
Bibliographical Resources
https://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mmartin-rodriguez/index_files/vhCastilloAna.htm
