NEPANTLERAS

self-directed . community-centered . woman-powered

ORIGIN

The Neplanteras is a group of young women formed in 2013 around the idea of empowerment and a safe space for women to discuss issues pertaining to women and women’s rights. Original members were high school age girls from the Eastern Coachella Valley, including Coachella, Indio, Mecca, Thermal, and North Shore, working with young adult Latinx women mentors. The work involved the examination of colonialism & patriarchy, promotion of self-love & self-care, exploring sexuality & individuality, and mining personal narrative & promoting storytelling.

nepas now

An all-ages women-identifying space with biweekly meetings to explore topics related to the lived experience of women and women within social constructs in a unique safe setting. A new component of group advocacy leading to self-determined direct action complements this program. The goal of the advocacy work is to connect to social issues locally and globally.

Nepantlera Meaning

It represents a concept of "in-between-ness." Nepantla is a Nahuatl word which means "in the middle of it" or "middle." Nepantlera originates from Gloria Anzaldua’s work. She was an American scholar of Chicana cultural theory, feminist theory, and queer theory. The word references a particular vision of selfhood - a philosophical self living on and crossing “borders” and facilitating movement “between worlds.” The word Nepantlera means “boundary-crosser, thresholders who initiate others in rites of passage, activistas who, from a listening, receptive, spiritual stance, rise to their own visions and shift into acting them out, haciendo mundo Nuevo (introducing change).” This is the methodology for this group.

We strive to create new worlds and introduce change, together.