Revelation in Aztln

Bridging the fields of Religion and Latina/o Studies, this book fills a gap by examining the spiritual rhetoric and practices of the Chicano movement. Bringing new theoretical life to biblical studies and Chicana/o writings from the 1960s, such as El Plan Espiritual de Aztln and El Plan de Santa Barbara, Jacqueline M. Hidalgo boldly makes the case that peoples, for whom historical memories of displacement loom large, engage scriptures in order to make and contest homes. Movement literature drew upon and defied the scriptural legacies of Revelation, a Christian scriptural text that also carries a displaced homing dream. Through the slipperiness of utopian imaginations, these texts become places of belonging for those whose belonging has otherwise been questioned. Hidalgos elegant comparative study articulates as never before how Aztln and the new Jerusalems imaginative power rest in their ambiguities, their ambivalence, and the significance that people ascribe to them.