Wikipedia
Nepantla is a concept used often in Chicano and Latino anthropology, social commentary, criticism, literature and art. It represents a concept of "in-between-ness." Nepantla is a Nahuatl word which means "in the middle of it" or "middle."
Nepantla was a term that was first used by the Nahuatl-speaking people in Mexico ( Aztecs) during the 16th century. During this time, they were being colonized by the Spaniards and the concept of being "in between" was useful to describe how the experience felt. Some attribute the concept directly to the colonized Aztec, and others have attributed anthropologist, Miguel Leon-Portilla, as first describing the concept. Leon-Portilla further describes how indigenous people who were conquered by the Spanish created their own "in between" culture. They would leave behind aspects of their culture that they could not synthesize into the new culture being imposed on them. The new world that they inhabited was made up of parts of both cultures and offered a limited, but real sense of resistance, since at least part of their own culture was kept.
In the arts, nepantla is a creator's imaginary world that encompasses historical, emotional and spiritual aspects of life. Nepantla as a term might also refer to living in the borderlands or being at literal or metaphorical crossroads.
Nepantla can also describe individuals or groups who are today in conflict with a larger, perhaps more globally reaching culture or ideology. Nepantla has also been identified as a tool for political change. Individuals who live within two different "worlds" or "cultures" can act as "fulcrum" to engage political change.
Nepantla as a concept has also been identified as a painful experience, where a person's sense of self has been "shattered." It can also signify a personal state of "invisibility and transition." Writer, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, described nepantla as time where individuals experience a loss of control and suffer anxiety and confusion as a result.
Nepantla can be described as a "liminal" space, where multiple forms of reality are viewed at the same time. This concept can be useful when addressing multicultural groups of people where trying to come to a consensus isn't always easy. Allowing individuals to examine concepts that seem to compete and understanding both is also a process of using nepantla.
Nepantla is also the name of several different journals.