Intersecciones Hispánicas: Revista de Cultura, Literatura y Lingüística
Abstract
We analyze two contrasting discourses on New Mexican identity, as represented in political cartoons from Trever (2021) and García (2018). We show how visual and linguistic elements of the cartoons work together to construct identity through metaphor and metonymy. It was found that Trever (2021) relied on cultural symbols such as the Zia Sun symbol as metonyms for various aspects of New Mexico’s identity, while García (2018) subverted established metaphors for American culture such as the melting pot and Uncle Sam to critique governmental influence on Nuevomexicano (‘New Mexican’) identity formation. Using the critical discourse analysis framework of Fairclough (1995), we argue that power imbalances within the state’s sociohistorical context inform identity concepts. The distinct identities are the result of a discursive struggle. Trever’s (2021) work is representative of a dominant Ideological Discursive Formation (IDF), a speech community with its ideological norms, whereas García’s (2018) work represents a marginalized IDF which resists these discourses.
Recommended Citation
Chavez, Nicholas L. and Fátima Holguín. "A Multimodal Analysis of Conflicting Discourses on New Mexican Identity." Intersecciones Hispánicas: Revista de Cultura, Literatura y Lingüística 3, 1 (2026). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/interseccioneshispanicas/vol3/iss1/5