México's Nobodies: The Cultural Legacy of the Soldadera and Afro-Mexican Women (Genders in the Global South)

Analyzes cultural materials that grapple with gender and blackness to revise traditional interpretations of Mexicanness.

Winner of the 2018 Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize presented by the Modern Language Association

Winner of the 2016 Victoria Urbano Critical Monograph Book Prize presented by the International Association of Hispanic Feminine Literature and Culture

México’s Nobodies examines two key figures in Mexican history that have remained anonymous despite their proliferation in the arts: the soldadera and the figure of the mulata. B. Christine Arce unravels the stunning paradox evident in the simultaneous erasure (in official circles) and ongoing fascination (in the popular imagination) with the nameless people who both define and fall outside of traditional norms of national identity. The book traces the legacy of these extraordinary figures in popular histories and legends, the Inquisition, ballads such as “La Adelita” and “La Cucaracha,” iconic performers like Toña la Negra, and musical genres such as the son jarocho and danzón. This study is the first of its kind to draw attention to art’s crucial role in bearing witness to the rich heritage of blacks and women in contemporary México.