Nepantla: Between Worlds
The website provides a written lesson plan built around the story of Olga Loya, a young Mexican American woman from Los Angeles. In this story, Loya discusses what it feels to be nepantla, which means “between worlds” in the Nahuatl--the ancient language of Mexico. For Loya, there was strong tension between the culture of her Mexican-American family and the larger Anglo culture of the United States. This story includes a series of stories (in 8 excerpts, with discussion questions for each excerpt) from Loya’s youth: spending time with her Mexican grandmother who encouraged her to be proud of her identity, learning to dance with her mother, confronting gangs and drugs in her neighborhood, and being discouraged from going to college by her high school counselor. Loya shares her struggle to find a place to belong and to embrace her various identities.
