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Chicanos and Mexican Americans |
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Chicano literature is an aspect of Mexican-American literature that emerged from the cultural consciousness developed in the Chicano Movement.[1][2] Chicano literature formed out of the political and cultural struggle of Chicana/os to develop a political foundation and identity that rejected Anglo-American hegemony.[1][3] This literature embraced the pre-Columbian roots of Mexican-Americans, especially those who identify as Chicana/os.[3][4]
Chicano literature first emerged in the mid-1960s and is notable for its early embrace of Spanglish in published literature as well as its use of hybrid forms and styles.[2][5] Chicana/o writers often include earlier published literature as residing within or as being a precursor to the tradition.[6][7] In addition to prose, Chicano poetry and playwriting are included as forms of Chicano literature.[3][5]
Chicano literature is therefore written by a group of people who identify with the political, cultural, and social Chicano movement... to document the history of Chicano consciousness in the United States... Chicano literature then becomes a response and counter-narrative to the hegemony of American literature that excluded ethnic voices not germane to the Anglo-American literary heritage.
Although "Chicano" and "Mexican-American" are often used interchangeably, the former indicates an added political sensibility; an asserted self-awareness of a cultural identity that cannot be separated from social and material struggles for equality and inclusion.
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).