Cultural Hybridity and Its Complexity in Esmeralda Santiago's Almost a Woman

Abstract

This paper discusses hybridity in Esmeralda Santiago's Almost A Woman. This novel tells about cultural problems experienced by Negi, the main character, as a Puerto Rican immigrant in New York, where she must appropriate American cultures in order to be accepted by the host community. To discuss this problem, we will apply Bhabha's postcolonial theory. Textual analysis is used to explain selected data from a postcolonial perspective without ignoring its contextual relationship with the dynamics of immigration and diaspora. The results of this study show that the main character must carry out hybridity as a cultural strategy to support his modern dreams. Despite enjoying appropriately American culture, she does not forget Puerto Rican cultures. With this strategy, the diasporic subject can negotiate its interests in the midst of the host society and the dominant cultural power, without completely abandoning Puerto Rican culture