My grandmother was a single mother who raised eight children and defended her family against burglars by firing gunshots in the air in 1960Æs Mexico. She is central to my personal myth that Latin women are strongùeven, at times, stronger than menùand capable of doing anything they need to in order to protect and take care of their families. This image of the strong Latin woman is perpetuated throughout society and has become an indelible part of the modern concept of Latin women. Strong Latin women in movies, such as Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, master their men and call the shots. Strong Latin women in the music world, such as Mariana Montalvo and Bello Velloso, portray Latin women as both lovers and warriors (de Barros). Strong Latin women in books, such as the characters in Mexican literary queen Angeles MastrettaÆs novels, are audacious and defiant in the face of traditional female roles:
Those characters are courageous and disorderly in a world that is constructed for them to be obedient, timid and quiet. TheyÆre women who donÆt transform reality, but they do transform their reality. They decide their own destinies. The stories are like photographs taken of the women at that instant in which they do precisely that (Santiago).
The strong woman in any culture is generally a paradox, because gender typing assigns women the role of subservient and compliant underling to the man. However, the failure of men to perform their own role as head of the household or strong leader has forced women into the position typically held by the man. The woman, however, does not merely fulfill the male role by asserting strength and dominance; she must also fulfill the traditional female role of mother and nurturer. The old standard of machismo is giving way to a new standard of machisma as the woman holds the family together economically, emotionally, and spiritually. The reality is that Latin men are bailing
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