Ana Lydia Vega
Encyclopedia
Ana Lydia Vega is a celebrated Puerto Rican
female writer. She has received the Premio Juan Rulfo (1982) and the Premio Casa de las Américas (1981). Vega was a professor of French literature and Caribbean studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. She retired from the University when she became an accomplished author.
, after the Spanish American War. Remorse still exists toward one of the leading causes of the war, and many people believe that the bombing of the US battleship Maine (ACR-1
) was a conspiracy
. This sentiment is present in Vega's works.
Puerto Rico became a commonwealth after adopting a constitution on July 25, 1952. Because of the nation's ties to the United States, English is mixed with Spanish to make up the dialect of the region, which is used in her writings. Migration to the United States is common, and it is also a theme in Vega's stories.
is the common denominator in all relationships. This allows her to dictate the condition of the character who is being subordinated. One way she infuses feminism
into her stories is to always put males on the subordinated side of the spectrum. In “Ajustes S.A.” (in “Pasión de historias y historias de pasion”), the main purpose of the women-driven relationship "agency" is to lessen the male's condition. This imaginary agency trains wives to get rid of their well-behaved husbands, clearly a sign of feminism. Also, it is important to notice the female's level of authority. Females are able to excel at directing a single-sex agency whose main purpose is the subordination of the opposite sex. This power and constant abuse could be seen as an extreme case of feminism.
Another example of Vega's close connection to her writings appears in “Caso omiso” ("Case"). This story, also in the same book, recounts the erotic tale between an older woman and a teenage boy. From the start, the female obviously dictates the direction of the relationship. Confident about her abusive power, she reaches farther and tests her ex-husband's will of subordination. However, the root of her power is her total control of the feelings of an obsessed teenage boy and a frustrated husband who cannot overcome the results of their separation. These short stories show the women's hierarchy plays in both relationships. Knowing her victim's feelings, she accommodates herself in the best possible position. This can be seen as another feminist element in her work.
from the United States of America.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
female writer. She has received the Premio Juan Rulfo (1982) and the Premio Casa de las Américas (1981). Vega was a professor of French literature and Caribbean studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. She retired from the University when she became an accomplished author.
Historic context
Puerto Rico's history plays a role in Vega's writings. The country became a U.S. territory under the Treaty of Paris (1898)Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
, after the Spanish American War. Remorse still exists toward one of the leading causes of the war, and many people believe that the bombing of the US battleship Maine (ACR-1
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
) was a conspiracy
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
. This sentiment is present in Vega's works.
Puerto Rico became a commonwealth after adopting a constitution on July 25, 1952. Because of the nation's ties to the United States, English is mixed with Spanish to make up the dialect of the region, which is used in her writings. Migration to the United States is common, and it is also a theme in Vega's stories.
Language
Language in Vega's works breaks every norm of grammar. Also, Vega's use of English/Spanish interaction is a backdrop of unresolved tensions.Feminism
In most of Vega's writings, hierarchyHierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
is the common denominator in all relationships. This allows her to dictate the condition of the character who is being subordinated. One way she infuses feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
into her stories is to always put males on the subordinated side of the spectrum. In “Ajustes S.A.” (in “Pasión de historias y historias de pasion”), the main purpose of the women-driven relationship "agency" is to lessen the male's condition. This imaginary agency trains wives to get rid of their well-behaved husbands, clearly a sign of feminism. Also, it is important to notice the female's level of authority. Females are able to excel at directing a single-sex agency whose main purpose is the subordination of the opposite sex. This power and constant abuse could be seen as an extreme case of feminism.
Another example of Vega's close connection to her writings appears in “Caso omiso” ("Case"). This story, also in the same book, recounts the erotic tale between an older woman and a teenage boy. From the start, the female obviously dictates the direction of the relationship. Confident about her abusive power, she reaches farther and tests her ex-husband's will of subordination. However, the root of her power is her total control of the feelings of an obsessed teenage boy and a frustrated husband who cannot overcome the results of their separation. These short stories show the women's hierarchy plays in both relationships. Knowing her victim's feelings, she accommodates herself in the best possible position. This can be seen as another feminist element in her work.
Political activity
In 2006, Vega signed a petition in support of the independence of Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
from the United States of America.
Critical studies in English
- Ana Lydia Vega, True and False Romances By: Feracho, Lesley. IN: Quintana, Reading U. S. Latina Writers: Remapping American Literature. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2003. pp. 181–96
- Spanglish, TICKLING THE TONGUE: on Ana Lydia Vega and Giannina Braschi, by Ilan Stavans, World Literature Today, 2000.
- Ana Lydia Vega: Linguistic Women and Another Counter-Assault or Can the Master(s) Hear? By: Labiosa, David J.. IN: Athey, Sharpened Edge: Women of Color, Resistance, and Writing. Westport, CT: Praeger; 2003. pp. 187–201
- The Representation of Puerto Rican Women in Two Short Stories by Ana Lydia Vega: 'Letra para salsa y tres soneos por encargo' (1979) and 'Pollito Chicken' (1977) By: Green, Mary; Tesserae: Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies, 2002 Dec; 8 (2): 127-41
- Traces of Santería in Encancaranublado By: Pardo, Diana; Céfiro, 2002 Fall; 3 (1): 25-30
- Translating Laughter: Humor as a Special Challenge in Translating the Stories of Ana Lydia Vega By: Wallace, Carol J.; Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, 2002 Fall; 35 (2): 75-87
- Ana Lydia Vega's Falsas crónicas del sur: Reconstruction and Revision of Puerto Rico's Past By: Gosser-Esquilín, Mary Ann. IN: Juan-Navarro, and Young, A Twice-Told Tale: Reinventing the Encounter in Iberian/Iberian American Literature and Film. Newark, DE; London, England: U of Delaware P; Associated UP; 2001. pp. 193–209
- Intersections in Ana Lydia Vega's 'Pasión de historia' By: Craig, Linda; MaComère: Journal of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars, 2001; 4: 71-83
- A Sense of Space, a Sense of Speech: A Conversation with Ana Lydia Vega By: Hernández, Carmen Dolores; Hopscotch: A Cultural Review, 2000; 2 (2): 52-59
- Virgins and Fleurs de Lys: Nation and Gender in QuébecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Puerto Rico By: Den Tandt, Catherine. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico; 2000 - The Hispanic Post-Colonial Tourist By: Martí-Olivella, Jaume; Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies, 1997; 1: 23-42
- Like English for Spanish: Meditaciones desde la frontera anglorriqueña By: Unruh, Vicky; Siglo XX/20th Century, 1997; 15 (1-2): 147-61
- Ana Lydia Vega, the Caribbean Storyteller By: Puleo, Augustus; Afro-Hispanic Review, 1996 Fall; 15 (2): 21-25. (journal article)
- Thematic and Narrative Strategies in Lydia Vega's 'Pollito chicken' By: Engling, Ezra S.; College Language Association Journal, 1996 Mar; 39 (3): 341-56
- 'What's Wrong with this Picture?' Ana Lydia Vega's 'Caso omiso' By: Boling, Becky; Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, 1996; 23: 315-24
- Subverting and Re-Defining Sexuality in 'Three Love Aerobics' by Ana Lydia Vega By: Puleo, Augustus C.; Letras Femeninas, 1995 Spring-Fall; 21 (1-2): 57-67
- 'Así son': Salsa Music, Female Narratives, and Gender (De)Construction in Puerto Rico By: Aparicio, Frances R.; Poetics Today, 1994 Winter; 15 (4): 659-84
- Women and Writing in Puerto Rico: An Interview with Ana Lydia Vega By: Hernández, Elizabeth; Callaloo: A Journal of African American and African Arts and Letters, 1994 Summer; 17 (3): 816-25
- We Are (Not) in This Together: The Caribbean Imaginary in 'Encancaranublado' by Ana Lydia Vega By: Vélez, Diana L.; Callaloo: A Journal of African American and African Arts and Letters, 1994 Summer; 17 (3): 826-33
- Tracing Nation and Gender: Ana Lydia Vega By: Den Tandt, Catherine; Revista de Estudios Hispanicos, 1994 Jan; 28 (1): 3-24
- Contaminations linguistiques: Actes d'anéantissement ou d'enrichissement d'une langue? By: Impériale, Louis. IN: Crochetière, Boulanger and Ouellon, Actes du XVe Congrès International des Linguistes, Québec, Université Laval, 9-14 août 1992: Les Langues menacées/Endangered Languages: Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Linguists, Québec, Université Laval, 9–14 August 1992. Sainte-Foy: PU Laval; 1993. pp. III: 351-54
- The Reproduction of Ideology in Ana Lydia Vega's 'Pasión de historia' and 'Caso omiso' By: Boling, Becky; Letras Femeninas, 1991 Spring-Fall; 17 (1-2): 89-97
- The Voice Recaptured: Fiction by Dany Bebel-Gisler and Ana Lydia Vega By: Romero, Ivette; Journal of Caribbean Studies, 1991-1992 Winter-Spring; 8 (3): 159-65
- Social Criticism in the Contemporary Short Story of Selected Puerto Rican Women Writers By: Wallace, Jeanne C.; MACLAS: Latin American Essays, 1989; 3: 113-23
- Pollito chicken: Split SubjectivitySubjectivitySubjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
, National Identity and the Articulation of Female Sexuality in a Narrative by Ana Lydia Vega By: Vélez, Diana L.; The Americas Review: A Review of Hispanic Literature and Art of the USA, 1986 Summer; 14 (2): 68-76 - From a Woman's Perspective: The Short Stories of Rosario FerréRosario FerréDr. Rosario Ferré is a Puerto Rican writer, poet and essayist. Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970...
and Ana Lydia Vega By: Fernandez Olmos, Margarite. IN: Meyer and Fernández Olmos, Contemporary Women Authors of Latin America: Introductory Essays. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Coll. P; 1983. pp. 78–90.
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican literature