NARRATIVE IDENTITIES - THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE MEXICAN ON THE US-MEXICAN BORDER

On the U.S.-Mexican border, the label ''Mexican'' refers simultaneousl y to both nationality and ethnicity. Playing with the multiple meaning s of the word, border actors construct narratives about themselves and Others to deal with a local hegemonic discourse that states that ''po verty is Mexican.'' Thus, while border identities are constructed with in a culturally specific system of classification, people also develop a sense of themselves as subjects by imagining themselves as protagon ists in stories. To know border narratives is important because people generally act according to how they understand their place in any num ber of social relations whose meaning is narratively constructed.