Fluimos Juntos: Re-integrating Body, Spirit & Nature in Maya Gonzalez' Children's Books

On her website, Chicana illustrator and writer Maya Christina Gonzalez states that “creating children’s books has the potential to be one of the most radical things you can do.” One site of radical transformative... [ view full abstract ]

On her website, Chicana illustrator and writer Maya Christina Gonzalez states that “creating children’s books has the potential to be one of the most radical things you can do.” One site of radical transformative potential in Gonzalez’ work is the countering of western concepts of ontological existence. In a context shared by other bilingual children’s books such as Pat Mora’s The Desert is My Mother/ El desierto es mi madre (2008), Gonzalez’ books bring together word and image to present a concept of the body as deeply integrated with the natural world via the spirit. With specific attention to the 2009 book I know the River Loves Me/ Yo sé que el río me ama, illustrated and written by Gonzalez, this paper examines the ways in which the written text and visual text work in tandem to counter divisions between body, spirit, and nature, instead depicting these elements as in living communion, flowing together and united. Drawing on the theories of Gloria Anzaldúa regarding concepts of the body and nature, as well as visuality, and the psychoanalytic work of Clarissa Pinkola Estés, this paper argues that Gonzalez’ book situates decolonization as ontological and epistemological, emphasizing that we must decolonize not only our minds but also our bodies, and the ways that we think about our bodies as they relate to the natural world. Thus, to some extent, the paper will also engage the ideas of ecofeminism, and its usefulness to Chicana feminism. Finally, this paper argues for the critical importance of situating children’s texts in the realm of Chicana literature, recognizing the radical intervention and transformative possibilities they reflect, as their own form of decolonizing medicine.