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Abstract
In this study, I show that the artists Alina Troyano (aka Carmelita Tropicana), Josefina Bez, and Nao Bustamante engage in performances in which they provide alternatives to conceptions of Latinidad while using the stage to create new modes of existence that challenge dominant discourses that seek to define and limit them. I propose that the artists achieve these goals through the use of their bodies (i.e. bodily movements, dressing in drag, etc) and through the manipulation of language (word play, the use of music in place of verbal language, etc). In my work, I analyze performances and texts by the three artists, who are of Cuban, Dominican, and Mexican descent, respectively. I propose that their performance art serves to respond to stereotypes and is thus a tool used to rework definitions of Latinidad. My study contributes to the field of U.S. Latino/a literature by linking literature and transnational feminism with the realm of performance art and considers the stage as a space of resistance against such transnational processes such as globalization and capitalist patriarchy. I argue that while both text and performance can be effective in reexamining and redefining the power structures that operate in society, the performance aspect enhances the experience for the audience by allowing for direct communication and a live engagement between artist and spectator. In addition, although specifically focusing on three performance artists, this study has wide implications for postcolonial subjects in U.S. society.