ABSTRACT
Nepantla is understood as a way of resisting the mainstream while also inhabiting the in-between. Transnational participants in this study use language and nationality to navigate a space in which they have to adapt to their new reality in Mexico, accepting and rejecting aspects of their identity to help them find a sense of belonging and acceptance, while at the same time using identity as a way of cultural survival. They are perceived as being “del norte,” and, as such, they are expected to display certain attributes while at the same time being excused for certain behaviors. Their “otherness” is a nepantla state that is at the same time restricting and liberating, and school is the site where this nepantlismo takes place. This qualitative study uses the Anzalduan concept of nepantla to explore the experiences of two U.S.-born youths who were forced to live in a Mexican city near the U.S.–Mexico border after their mother’s deportation. Data collected through testimonios were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study concludes with a reflection of how, with a change in paradigm, conocimiento, the Anzalduan concept of “knowing” has the potential to turn defiance into personal and social transformation.
