In this article--a combination of personal narrative mixed with conceptual ponderings--I seek to explore the development of a continuum of identities, which range from Chicano/a to Xicana/o. The former is rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, while the latter has its roots in the transnational, globalized, and neoliberal policies of the early years of the 21st Century.

I wish to highlight how these two identity movements came out of (and, in a reciprocal way, influenced) the particular social and political moments of their times but also how each has implications for identity, ideology and issues, and imagination toward the development of a critical consciousness. I also intend to extend the argument to how these identities, ideologies and issues, and imaginations serve as a frame for the kinds of praxis one can engage in when one is committed to social justice.

Because identity and positionality profoundly impact how one teaches for multicultural education (Bennett, 2001), and because many Xicana/o educators see their identity and ideology both similar to but different from Chicano/a educators of an earlier generation, pedagogical pursuits for activism are equally likely to be different. In sum, this article intends to move from the politics of identity to the politics of critical thinking, from a distinctly Mexican American version of ("old school") Chicanismo to a more contemporary ("la nueva onda") Xicanismo.

I wish to acknowledge that most of these ideas are inspired by the lessons I have been taught by the many people who have influenced my ways of looking at the world as I seek to make sense of my own experiences. These include the consejos de las mujeres (my mother, my grandmothers, and my sisters, angeles todas). It's rooted in the confianza of my father and those, too many to mention, who've mentored me throughout my life. It's fostered by the respeto of my children, my students, and my colleagues/peers but also the respeto I have for them. It's inspired by the buen ejemplos I have for those teachers and community activists and scholars (most notably, for this essay, the work of Franquiz, Gomez-Pena, and Urrietta) whose work I admire from both close in and from a distance.

As mentioned, I intend to juxtapose the birth of the Chicano/a movement with the contemporary rise of a new Xicanismo. In doing so, I wish to highlight important differences and similarities of these two historical moments, looking all the while at what we learn about a critical pedagogy toward praxis. I acknowledge at the outset that some of the comments made herein are generalities about these two identities and socio-political moments. Thus, it is important to also recognize differences as noteworthy counter examples. In fact, I see these two identities/ideologies and historical moments as falling upon lines of differential possibilities and variations (Sandoval, 2000).

Take, for example, the question of identity. There are many kinds of Chicano/a identities evident in these terms: American, Americano, Mexican American, Hispanic, Latino, vato, cholo, lowrider, gangsta, gran vato,...