Exclusive Interview With Luz Schweig, Editor of “Somos Xicanas” and Rey M. Rodríguez

Luz Schweig, editor of Somos Xicanas, granted Storyteller’s Corner an exclusive interview to discuss her massive undertaking. On December 14, 2024, Riot of Roses Press released this widely anticipated anthology of Xicana writers. It is a book that deserves tremendous support and recognition. It explores the rich and diverse assertion, exploration, and cultivation of what it means to be Xicana. 

At a time when we need to understand each other more, Somos Xicanas delivers vital messages about race, culture, class, economy, sexuality, and spirituality. The power and beauty of this triumph of literature is that it grabs by the neck the mainstream narratives and definitions of Xicanidad and wrestles them to the ground to assert what this term means through the writings of Xicanas themselves. There is no colonial filter or whitewashing down of who they are. The reader can learn from the source. 

This extraordinary book raises the voices of 80 Xicanas, including Xicana trailblazers like Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Irene I. Blea, Carmen Tafolla, and the 24th poet laureate of the United States, Ada Limón. Other contributors include poet laureates Melinda Palacio,  ire'ne lara silva and Angie Trudell Vasquez, along with the first Queer/Muxer Chair of el Partido Nacional La Raza Unida, La Doctora Chola, Vanessa Marie Bustamante. 

A little more on Luz Schweig. She works as a volunteer staff member at Somos en Escrito Literary Foundation and is the creator of the Raza Story of the Year Contest. She grew up in Mexico City. Ms. Schweig also ran an international women's poetry journal for ten years, through which she edited and published five anthologies and a posthumous poetry collection. For more information: www.somosxicanas.com

In this exclusive interview with Luz Schweig, we get the unique opportunity to discuss why Somos Xicanas was constructed and why it is so vital to read this book during this political moment.

I hope that you will enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Luz Schweig. Welcome to the Storyteller’s Corner of Chapter House, the literary journal of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Thank you so much for having me, Rey. It's my pleasure, and I'm looking forward to our conversation.

How did you get into writing? 

I was thirteen when my family came here from Mexico, and it was a big cultural shock for me. I had a hard time assimilating into the California public school system. I felt I didn't fit in anywhere, and I was missing my life in Mexico. It was my first time going to an all-English-speaking school, and I found myself feeling very lonely and sad as a young girl. And so, I started writing poetry. It helped me process my feelings and everything that that big transition in my life was bringing out of me. So that's how I started writing.

When did you start publishing?

Well, I haven't published that much of my own work. It's remained mostly private. But that is part of why I started an online poetry project about 12 years ago. It was open to women, and I invited them to share their poetry, in a way, to help me find the courage to share my own. In doing so, the community grew, and so many participants were able to release their voices in ways in which they hadn't been able to do previously because of the strength of the community. It was an international, diverse community. But then my Mexican father passed away, and my focus shifted: I wanted to produce books that honor my own heritage. That's when I started the idea for the Somos Xicanas Anthology. It was around 2019.

So, Somos Xicanas is a way to honor your father? In the book’s introduction, you mentioned that he passed, and it touched me because I had lost mine. 

Yes, I think Somos Xicanas would have made my father proud. 

You also mentioned, “I have no doubt that if someone had introduced my teenage self to a book written by a Chicana it would have made a world of difference to me.” Can you talk about that? Because I feel the book is medicine for many people.

Yes, as a teenager, I was very isolated and disconnected from the culture I was raised in. As someone with a Mexican American essence, someone with Mexican ancestry, Mexica roots, I experienced a lot of discrimination and prejudice, as most of us do. My parents thought that it would be helpful for us to assimilate, so they stopped speaking to us in Spanish. They downplayed that part of our culture. But I felt that made it worse, because, I experienced it as the erasure of who I was. Had I encountered this type of literature as a young girl, I would have felt like I wasn't alone, and I would have regained a sense of community: Chicana sisterhood and support. I would have found more strength to be myself.

Please talk about the power of writing and why it is so important to you.

In writing, a space is created where one’s voice can be freely expressed. Often in very vulnerable ways. This kind of project—of putting together an anthology—leads to the sharing of voices. Every time we share our writings something very special happens. Although writing can, at times, feels like a solitary practice, when it’s shared, and when we enter into conversations with others, that is what leads to the most healing, for me. It is healing to have a dialogue with others who may be having similar experiences to us. I wish I had that when I was a young immigrant. 

That's the more personal context. In the larger context, there's so much power in recording our own lived experiences, and also, in filling out all the blank spaces that the school system curriculum has in it, where we've been made so invisible in many ways. It’s very important to bring back the history that was left out.

It's a very special role to play and, like you were saying, yes, that is part of the medicina. That is part of what's healing us. Our stories no longer need to be hidden. And yes, writing our own stories encourages other to also share theirs. 

I appreciated your book because I haven't seen anything like it, specifically the importance of Chicanas writing in community. The voices are so diverse, and the ideas are so powerful. I see joy, and I see anger, and I'm curious about what you feel in terms of working through this process. What did you gain from it?

First of all, it was a great honor for me to have so many Xicanas entrust me with their work so that I could arrange it into the final product of the book: our offering to la Raza. I wanted to reach as many potential participants as I could, so I put out a call for submissions online hoping to reach all types of Xicanas—not just those who are very proud of their Xicana identity, but also ones who, maybe, were timid about claiming that identity. 

You mentioned diversity and part of what I discovered when reading through all these submissions—and I was inundated with them! I mean, they were just filling my inbox. It was so amazing, and I was so happy, like hundreds of poems, and reading through them was just like, Wow. But, paradoxically, one of the things I discovered, was that part of the Xicana identity, for some, included this lack of confidence, almost like a hesitation to really claim the Xicana identity: a questioning of the authenticity of their own Xicanisma. 

What is that, really? Why? And so that was also part of what prompted my motivation for the project as it developed: a desire to lift the veil on the mysteries surrounding all the complex narratives that feed into the Xicana identity. Because we can look at the history, and go back to the Pachucas, and later, the early sixties and the whole Chicano movement, and everything that women fought for in the nineties, and Xicana voices emerging and everything. But even today—and that's what's surprising to me even after so much lucha— there's still a lingering feeling, for some, of not fully claiming it. Of not fully feeling “Xicana enough”. It made me a little sad, especially because some people are so very determined to claim, and to represent, Indigenous identity, who don't even have Indigenous roots and cultural connections! And, when those who do have a legitimate claim to being a Xicana, question if they are “Xicana enough” to do so, and send in their submissions to an all-Xicana anthology anyway, that’s resilience, that’s strength, that’s courage: a reclaiming of our own voices.   

So, knowing about that hesitation, and seeing how all these hermanas Xicanas were emerging from the woodwork—from so many parts of the land—in spite of it, made me very happy. And I was thrilled to receive pieces from all ages: from las grandes Chicanas—the trailblazers—to teenagers who are publishing their poetry for the first time. It was such a beautiful feeling for me to have so much representation show-up for this project. I was so grateful and so appreciative. 

I learned so much from this collection, and I'm in awe, really, of the contributors, and I admire how vulnerable so many of them made themselves by opening up their stories—like you were saying—there's joy, but also, alongside it, there are struggles and a lot of pain. We all have a painful history, and that's part of what unites us. From the time of the invasion, to this continued settler colonialism that seems to be everywhere today, and especially now with, the new President, we are not easily defeated. We are strong. We are resilient. We are warriors. We are curanderas. So, now is a very ripe time for this anthology, because it is resistance literature. Somos Xicanas represents strength in unity. 

I sometimes fantasize about young girls getting a hold of the anthology and not having to navigate through everything by themselves, but feeling that support.

So what would you tell your 13-year-old self now that you've created this anthology?

I would say you're not alone. Don't forget who you are. Don't forget your roots. You have so many valuable things to offer the world. Share them uninhibitedly, be brave. Bravery in sharing is something I'm still working on myself.

I can't wait to read your poetry. How did you decide on who to include if you had hundreds of submissions? It must have been really difficult.

Yes, making those decisions, and sending out emails in which you’re declining someone’s work, can be one of the hardest things for any editor to do. I would have loved to accept everyone into the project by virtue of the kind of project it is and in the spirit of community. But it is a thick book, and we wanted it to be affordable to everyone. 

I was very fortunate to have a team of editors who worked with me, initially, at the beginning of the project, to help with that vetting process. I first presented the idea of Somos Xicanas to the Somos En Escrito Literary Foundation, which is where I was volunteering at the time. Armando Rendon, who's the founder of that press, first considered my book proposal 2021. It felt like I had to jump through lots of hoops before the book went into production! Then my colleague, Scott Russell Duncan Hernandez really gave a push for Somos Xicanas, expediting the process. Finally, in 2023 my book was approved and I sent out the call for submissions. I never imagined that so many would come in so fast! The Somos en escrito editorial team members—Armando, Scott, myself, and Jenny Irizari—were integral to vetting submissions. We all worked together. 

I went through the material by looking at it through a thematic lens. I organized it into categories according to subjects, and I also took into consideration age and location, aiming for a very diverse, fair representation. As it turned out, many of the contributors were from Texas and California, but I think that's pretty predictable. I wanted to have a wide range of contributors representing the full Chicana spectrum that is out there, honoring how each of the writers responded to the prompt. A lot of care went into selecting the pieces. 

For those whose work was not selected, I always do my best to let them down gently. I thank them first and then redirect them to other similar projects that still have open calls for submissions. There are so many inspiring Raza/ Chicano publications and presses out there! I will send contributing writers links so that they're just not left to feel rejected. I will encourage them to keep writing. Your voice is valuable, I’ll tell them. Look at all these other projects. Please go out and share your contributions because we need your voice.

So that's how I try to do it. But I rarely get a response. And I understand, because I've also been on the receiving end of emails from editors declining my work, and it always stings. 

As nice as you try to be it hurts. 

Yes. I still think about some of the work that didn’t make it into the book. So, I am considering dedicating a section of the Somos Xicanas website to promoting the work of Xicanas in general, not just the ones that were a part of the anthology. Because each of the submissions I received, including those that did not make it into the book, are valuable parts of the greater Xicana voice. And I would like to create a virtual space on the Somos Xicanas website that people can visit to find works by Xicanas. And not just literary works, but also other kinds of artistic and creative expressions. I want Xicana cultural production to be more visible and more readily accessible. There is so much incredible Xicana talent and drive out there to be proud of and showcase! 

What surprised you in terms of finding Chicanas in Michigan?

We are scattered all over the place! So that's another reason why books such as this are so important because they unite us wherever we may be, and even in locations such as the one I live in. I'm in Southern Virginia. The Raza population is very small here. But thanks to modern technology, we can connect across the miles, even if we're the only Xicana in our town. 

So cultural production, like our Somos Xicanas anthology, is wonderful because we need that representation from Xicanas all over. Yes, there are many of us scattered across many locations. And there are just as many stories waiting to be told of how we each got here, how we endured, and how we intend to thrive, as a community. Now, more than ever, those stories need to emerge as part of what unites us. 

Readers are often comforted and inspired by books filled with familiar stories that validate their own experiences. We are so underrepresented in the publishing world at large. That's one of the reasons why I went with Riots of Roses as my publisher.  What better way to publish a book by Xicanas than through a Xicana-run press! Although I had offers from other presses, I deliberately picked Riot of Roses Publishing House, because I loved that its founder, Brenda Vaca, identifies as a Xicana. Additionally, Brenda’s vision for her press: “to amplify the stories of historically silenced voices” and “publish books that heal and liberate others,” resonates with the spirit of Somos Xicanas. The fact that Riot of Roses Publishing House also happens to be “mujerista focused” was just the cherry on the cake. Our purposes were aligned. 

Yes, I just read a piece by Daniel Chacón. He's out of New Mexico and he argues that there are two reasons why persons have purpose. It is to endure and to flourish. I thought that was beautiful. Your book is a perfect example. It expresses how we endure when it discusses our past pain, grief, joy, and beauty, In other words, our humanity. And then it also speaks to our flourishing in the actual poetry of each of the pieces. I love the way you've organized the book into seeds, stems and leaves, and then flowers and fruits. What was your inspiration for that?

I've always had a very strong connection with the earth, and the elements. This is part of Indigenous culture that is most nourishing and most sustaining, and we are all a part of it. And so, when I was reading through all these beautiful submissions, that theme of connecting, connecting with nature and our ancestral views of life kept drawing me in. And all these different, very ancient paradigms, were surfacing in so many pieces, and it was so inspiring to me. Especially, because there is such an urgent need for all of us to return to caring for and honoring the land, like our antepasados did. In working on this book, I almost felt like I was tilling the soil. And now we got these seeds coming in. And now, they're growing and—like you were saying—the poems and other writings are like the flores that bloom even after enduring so much. 

Yes, you put it beautifully. There's something so representative of life purpose, and especially resilience, when we share our humanity in such vulnerable ways. In the end, there are so many flower offerings that we have, together, to give. And this symbol, of a plant thriving, is what I felt best represented these new writings.

Wow, I love that. That's wonderful.

Well, let’s get into some of the work. There's so much that I want people to get a taste of it. But they have to buy the book, too. Indeed, everyone should read this book. Had I had this book when I was growing up, it would have helped me. There are very few Chicana books growing up in Colorado.

It's so exciting because your book shows how much talent there is out there.

Yes.

Why is this book important for men to read?

Well, one of the things that I appreciate so much about our ancestry is that their views of gender were very sophisticated. And so, even though my call for submissions for this book specifically targeted Xicana writers, there are also those within the Xicana community who identify as Xicanx, which deemphasizes gender as a binary concept. It’s very important to honor these voices. But I didn’t feel it was up to me to create an exclusively Xicanx anthology since I don’t identify as Xicanx myself. Instead, my work has focused on countering the historic oppression of women’s voices. Since I am more experienced in publishing the voices of others who identify as women, I specifically wanted to make this a Chicana anthology. 

That is not to deny my own two-spirit connection and all the valuable knowledge our Indigenous Mexica ancestry offers us. These are valuable realities to share. Especially now, with what's happening in the disturbingly volatile political context we find ourselves in. The gender identities of so many members of our community are being completely discounted. Including people who are very close to me. This would never happen in a more evolved culture. 

So, I don't feel that art, poetry, or writing will exclusively, or necessarily, speak to one gender or another. (Though it can.) But I feel it's—like you said—something that speaks to “our humanity.” And, as I see it, the human heart, is beyond gender, to some degree. And, to another degree, it can also be very impacted by it. 

This is great.

Yes, so for anyone with a beating heart who has been through trauma, who has been through struggles, who has been oppressed, who come from a history of genocide, etc., and, reaching beyond that, who is resilient, who endured through it, who, just like you said, is so talented, the voices in this book are for you! I'm in awe of the contributors. I feel anyone who encounters their writings, their offerings, will find some benefit: it is medicina for everyone. It's not just about whether this book speaks to men, women, or those who are gender-fluid or non-binary. Read it. It's for everyone, anyone.

But I also think that it's powerfully talking against the patriarchy. It needs to be examined now, more than ever. There's this idea in our community. There's a certain male toxicity that especially boys are expressing. They are figuring out what it is to be a man.

Hmm.

They need some wisdom from Chicanas to reach out to them. That's the power of the book, too. Men will understand more about the human condition by reading the book. I think there's less connection between people now and reading can be powerful in establishing an initial connection. I don't know if you are a grandmother of a boy or a girl, or if that matters, but it is a gift to this generation.

I'm reading a lot of Chicanas and a lot of Latina writers, and they're teaching me so much, and I'm 60. I wish I would have had them in my youth because I wouldn't have been guessing. I would see in these stories another experience and grow emotionally sooner.

As a man, you walk through this world, and you don't feel insecure from the moment you wake up. The books that I've read by Latinas and Indigenous women are so important to show men to wake up and see the world from a different perspective. 

Yes, well, thank you for sharing that. That is such a valuable perspective. It just made me feel so good about having put this book together because this is part of what I love about projects like this one. I may have served as an instrument through which this anthology was created, but afterward, it takes on a life of its own! And a lot of the effects that a book like this can have on a community are ones that I could have never anticipated. When I was curating the material I didn't think oh, let me arrange this in such a way that a man will benefit from reading this. But somehow it happened anyway. So, I think that's the beauty of any creative project: that when books like this come out, it’s not so much that they come out into the world because of one little idea, but they come out in response to what needs to happen in the world and the desires of all the readers out there who are calling these books into existence.

And so, I so much appreciated what you said, because it's almost like you were wishing to have these insights into the female mind and the female heart, and these women's experiences and you could never quite get close enough to them. And then you read this book, and it helped, you can better understand and relate now, and yet, this was something that you didn't have as a young man. And so that makes me so happy to hear, because if men can receive those perspectives through reading Somos Xicanas before they age, it may help them better navigate through their relationships with Xicanas, and support them along the way.  

Wouldn't that be helpful?

Yes, that would be so good, because it's true: there are so many valuable messages in this book. You reminded me that there's a whole section in the middle of the book, the “Stems & Leaves” section, that talks a lot about the patriarchy, misogyny, and abuse, and a lot of traumas that the authors went through in their relationships with men. Men who didn't have these kinds of books. So, if we can prevent that kind of violence from happening—violence on many levels, not just physical, but also the emotional violence that happens when women’s voices are muted—then the whole project will be worth it. If it can touch just one young man. I'm so grateful that the contributors opened up their lives in this way, so vulnerably. To touch hearts, one has to write from the heart. And the contributors to Somos Xicanas definitely did that. I give my thanks to them. 

Yes, I thank them, too.

Awesome.

I think we're running a little bit out of time. So I want to focus on the poem, “Serpiente de Primavera.”

Oh, yeah, by Xánath Caraza.

Yes, and what I love about it is that it is in 3 languages.

The Nahuatl is gorgeous. I'm so happy that she contributed. This came from her recently published book, Corazon de Agua, published early in 2024 with Somos en Escrito. It was an honor for me to help publish that collection. Her poem is a very special offering that she made to Somos Xicanas.

And I love the Spanish. Why did you choose it and why is it important to the anthology?

Yes, it's a special poem. First, I love how she's representing the three languages and therefore echoing back the ancestral tradition and our connection to it. It appears early in the anthology because it goes with the theme of the seeds: small things then grow into things bigger than we could have ever imagined. And I think that's the power of the Chicana voice.

Yes.

La primavera is the season where all the flowers, like you're mentioning, are wildly blooming. And what are these flowers? It's our writings. One line stands out to me in this regard: “Llevo la esencia de las flores en el corazón.” So, yes, it's very special to carry so many stories in our hearts. But, it’s remarkable when we express them. This poem, to me, represents what fertile hearts Xicana writers have. And this anthology is but one fragrant bouquet of many that are emerging from them. 

Oh! And Xánath’s book participated in the Guadalajara International Book Fair: the largest book fair held on the continent. She's an inspiring, very prolific writer. 

Wow! What's your next project?

Everyone keeps asking me: Are you going to publish a sequel? When is Somos Xicanas II coming out?

You don't have a choice.

I guess it's just what happens, but I haven’t committed myself to anything yet. After 12 years of championing the writings of others, I think I‘d like to focus on releasing my own voice now.  

Okay, so it must be your book of poetry.  Well, this has been fantastic. Thank you so much for your time.

I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for your questions, Rey. And for supporting Xicana voices! 

Rey M. Rodríguez is a writer, advocate, and attorney. He lives in Pasadena, California. He is working on a novel set in Mexico City and a poetry book inspired by a prominent nonprofit in East LA. He has attended the Yale Writers' Workshop multiple times and Palabras de Pueblo workshop once. He also participates in Story Studio's Novel in a Year Program. He is a first-year fiction creative writing student at the Institute of American Indian Arts' MFA Program. His poetry is published in Huizache. His other interviews and book reviews can be found at La Bloga, the world's longest-established Chicana-Chicano, Latina-Latino literary blog, Chapter House's Storyteller’s Blog, Pleiades Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review.