I have a theory—one’s most charming trait is also one’s fatal flaw; the one thing you like about somebody is usually their worst defect as well. So too with communities. The comadre-ismo, as I’ve witnessed it, has kept other women out. On the other hand, the opposite extreme of this xenophobia is the over-nurturing among the women that creates the “That’s nice, mi’ja” syndrome, which doesn’t help anybody in the long run and fosters mediocrity.
