Confronting colonial representations of Latinas : rethinking qualitative research as liberation praxis

Abstract

This article explores Latina representation and questions the use of research for the purpose of rendering the Latina “knowable” in the benevolent hopes that her strengths and resources will be celebrated by the dominant group. Drawing on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, the author argues that traditional research may unwittingly parallel the coercive function of traditional theater. The author argues instead for a revolutionary performative research “for ourselves and each other” that disrupts Latina myths, recognizes how spectacles are created to support the interests of national and transnational capital, and aims at a pedagogy of liberation that involves participants as actors in the process of inquiry and where advocacy and intervention for equity are central components of reciprocal relationships.