“Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Table of Contents

“Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer first appeared in her 1980 poetry collection Terms of Survival, a work that powerfully explores the cultural duality and identity struggles of Latina women in the United States. The poem reflects the spiritual and linguistic tensions experienced by Latin American immigrants who worship “in incense sweet churches” and “pray in Spanish to an Anglo God / With a Jewish heritage.” Cofer captures both reverence and alienation, portraying the women’s faith as sincere yet tinged with displacement. The central image of “this Great White father / Imperturbable in his marble pedestal” underscores the cultural and racial distance between the worshippers and the divine image they have inherited. Through the names “Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel,” Cofer universalizes the experience of countless Latina women, suggesting both devotion and endurance in the face of unresponsive divinity. The poem’s enduring popularity lies in its concise yet layered critique of religious and cultural assimilation, its fusion of irony and empathy, and its closing plea that God “be bilingual”—a poignant call for divine and societal recognition of Latino identity and language.

Text: “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Latin women pray

In incense sweet churches

They pray in Spanish to an Anglo God

With a Jewish heritage.

And this Great White father

Imperturbable in his marble pedestal

Looks down upon his brown daughters

Votive candles shining like lust

In all his seeing eyes

Unmoved by their persistent prayers

year after year

Before his image they kneel

Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel

All fervently hoping

That if not omnipotent

At lease he be bilingual

Annotations: “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Lines / Section	Annotation	Literary Devices	Symbols & Meanings
1–3“Latin women pray / In incense sweet churches / They pray in Spanish to an Anglo God”	Latin women are shown praying in traditional Catholic churches filled with incense and devotion. Their use of Spanish represents cultural identity and pride. Yet, praying to an “Anglo God” shows the conflict between native faith and foreign religious influence.	Imagery – “incense sweet churches” evokes sensory atmosphere.Contrast – “Spanish” vs. “Anglo God” shows cultural tension.Repetition – “pray…pray” emphasizes devotion.	Incense: faith and ritual purity.Spanish language: symbol of identity and resistance.Anglo God: colonized faith or cultural domination.
4–6“With a Jewish heritage. / And this Great White father / Imperturbable in his marble pedestal”	Cofer connects Christianity to its Jewish origins, showing irony in faith’s evolution. The “Great White father” suggests the Westernized image of God—white, male, and distant. “Marble pedestal” symbolizes unfeeling authority, reinforcing divine detachment.	Irony – Christian God’s diverse heritage contrasts with white portrayal.Personification – God as “imperturbable” human figure.Symbolism – “marble pedestal” for cold authority.	Great White father: Eurocentric divinity.Marble pedestal: distance and rigidity of organized religion.
7–9“Looks down upon his brown daughters / Votive candles shining like lust / In all his seeing eyes”	The image of “brown daughters” reflects humility and ethnic identity. The candles “shining like lust” suggest passion and intensity of prayer, not sin. “All his seeing eyes” emphasize divine omniscience but also indifference.	Metaphor – “candles shining like lust” for burning faith.Imagery – visual contrast between light and brown skin.Alliteration – subtle repetition of sounds enhances flow.	Brown daughters: faithful Latin women.Votive candles: endurance, hope, and passion.Eyes: divine vision yet emotional distance.
10–12“Unmoved by their persistent prayers / year after year / Before his image they kneel”	Despite their faith, God remains unmoved—highlighting futility and endurance. “Year after year” shows the repetitive nature of devotion. Their kneeling symbolizes submission before an unresponsive image of divinity.	Repetition – “year after year” for persistence.Tone – reverent yet sorrowful.Symbolism – kneeling as surrender and faith.	Image of God: external form of distant deity.Kneeling: humility, obedience, and devotion.
13–15“Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel / All fervently hoping / That if not omnipotent / At least he be bilingual”	The Spanish names personalize the collective faith of Latin women. Their hope is not only for miracles but for understanding — that God hears them in their own language. The final line’s irony exposes linguistic and cultural alienation in religion.	Irony – “At least he be bilingual” questions divine inclusivity.Allusion – to colonial and linguistic power structures.Tone – humorous yet poignant.	Spanish names: unity and shared heritage.Bilingual God: equality, inclusion, and desire for cultural recognition.

Literary And Poetic Devices: “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

No.	Device	Example from Poem	Detailed Explanation
1	Alliteration 🎵	“sweet churches,” “persistent prayers”	The repetition of initial consonant sounds gives the poem a musical rhythm. It mirrors the repetitive, soothing cadence of prayer and enhances the devotional mood. Cofer uses it to emphasize the women’s faith as soft yet powerful, echoing through sacred space.
2	Allusion 📜	“With a Jewish heritage”	Cofer alludes to Christianity’s Jewish roots, reminding readers of the religion’s multicultural origins. The irony lies in how a faith born from diversity became racially exclusive — a subtle critique of Western religious and cultural hierarchy.
3	Contrast ⚖️	“Spanish to an Anglo God”	The juxtaposition of “Spanish” and “Anglo” exposes the cultural and linguistic divide faced by Latin women. It highlights how they communicate faith in their native tongue to a deity represented through colonial imagery, symbolizing the tension between belonging and exclusion.
4	Enjambment 🔄	“year after year / Before his image they kneel”	The continuation of thought across line breaks mimics the flow of endless prayers. This uninterrupted rhythm reflects the persistence of faith — year after year — despite divine silence, symbolizing endurance, habit, and hope woven into daily worship.
5	Epiphora 🔁	Repetition of “pray” at line endings	The repeated use of “pray” at the end of lines reinforces the act’s constancy and ritualistic devotion. It gives the poem a circular motion — mirroring how faith and hope return daily, undiminished by the lack of divine response.
6	Hyperbole 🌟	“All his seeing eyes”	Cofer exaggerates divine perception to stress God’s omniscience and emotional detachment. This hyperbolic image portrays a deity who observes everything yet remains “unmoved,” highlighting the painful imbalance between the women’s passion and heaven’s silence.
7	Imagery 🕯️	“In incense sweet churches”	Sensory details evoke the smell of incense, the glow of candles, and the sacred atmosphere. The vivid imagery situates readers inside a Latin Catholic church, immersing them in a blend of faith, warmth, and cultural continuity passed through generations.
8	Imagined Dialogue 💬	“At least he be bilingual”	The poem ends with a line that reads like a spoken wish — an internal plea that God understand their Spanish prayers. This subtle use of imagined dialogue humanizes the women’s faith, blending reverence with quiet humor and cultural resistance.
9	Irony 😌	“At least he be bilingual”	The final plea is deeply ironic — suggesting that if God cannot be all-powerful, he should at least know Spanish. It humorously exposes a serious truth: the alienation of non-English speakers in religious spaces, while revealing faith’s enduring adaptability.
10	Juxtaposition 🎭	“Brown daughters” vs. “White father”	Cofer sets racial identities against one another to highlight inequality within divine imagery. The contrast of “brown” and “white” evokes both colonial history and gendered hierarchy — a poetic protest against exclusion masked as reverence.
11	Metaphor 🔥	“Votive candles shining like lust”	The poet compares the candles’ flames to human desire, merging spiritual yearning with emotional intensity. This metaphor transforms ritual objects into symbols of passion — where faith itself becomes an act of love, persistence, and longing.
12	Metonymy 🏛️	“Marble pedestal”	The “pedestal” stands for institutional religion — cold, rigid, and unreachable. By invoking marble, Cofer captures the emotional distance between the divine image and the women kneeling below, criticizing how faith becomes monumental yet impersonal.
13	Mood 🌙	Reverent yet sorrowful tone throughout	The poem’s mood oscillates between devotion and quiet frustration. The sacred setting creates reverence, while the irony and cultural conflict introduce melancholy. This mood captures the spiritual paradox of love for a God who does not fully understand.
14	Parallelism 🔔	“They pray in Spanish… / Before his image they kneel”	Structural repetition mirrors ritual and order in worship. It reflects how faith structures the women’s lives — rhythmic, consistent, and full of discipline — conveying both comfort and constraint in religious devotion.
15	Personification 🙏	“Looks down upon his brown daughters”	God is personified as a patriarchal figure who “looks down” yet remains unmoved. This device underscores divine detachment and gendered power — portraying God as both observer and judge, distant from those seeking his mercy.
16	Repetition 🔂	“They pray… They pray…”	Repetition deepens the rhythm of worship, symbolizing faith’s endurance. It also reflects the poem’s cyclical structure — endless devotion, endless waiting — showing how prayer becomes both hope and habit in the lives of Latin women.
17	Symbolic Naming 🪶	“Margarita, Josefina, Maria, and Isabel”	The common Spanish names unify Latin women under shared faith and identity. Each name evokes familial warmth and collective resilience, transforming individual voices into a cultural chorus of devotion and perseverance.
18	Symbolism 🕊️	“Great White father,” “brown daughters,” “votive candles”	These images carry layered meanings — power, race, gender, and piety. The white father signifies colonial religion; brown daughters represent marginalized faith; candles symbolize undying hope — all merging into a critique of spiritual hierarchy.
19	Theme 🧭	Faith, identity, and alienation	The poem’s structure and tone build around the conflict between devotion and exclusion. Cofer portrays faith as both comfort and struggle — where love for God coexists with cultural displacement and a yearning for divine recognition.
20	Tone 🎨	Ironic yet reverent	The tone combines prayerful sincerity with gentle satire. Cofer honors her subjects’ faith while questioning the system that marginalizes them, balancing empathy and critique — a hallmark of her bicultural poetic voice.

Themes: “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

✨ 1. Faith and Devotion 🙏

In “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, faith stands at the heart of the poem, portrayed through the tireless prayers of Latin women who “kneel” before an image of God “year after year.” Their devotion is sincere and deeply rooted in cultural ritual, symbolized by “incense sweet churches” and “votive candles shining like lust.” These sensory details evoke the sacredness and repetition of their worship. Cofer depicts their faith not as naïve but as enduring — a spiritual lifeline amid silence. Even when the “Great White father” remains “unmoved by their persistent prayers,” the women continue to pray, reflecting the timeless strength of belief as both hope and endurance. Their devotion embodies the resilience of marginalized faith — unacknowledged yet unwavering — showing how spirituality can sustain dignity even within systems of exclusion.

⚖️ 2. Cultural Identity and Displacement 🌎

Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Latin Women Pray” captures the tension between cultural identity and religious assimilation. The women “pray in Spanish to an Anglo God,” a line that powerfully reveals their cultural dislocation. Their prayers in their native tongue symbolize an attempt to preserve identity within a faith system that does not fully represent them. Cofer’s inclusion of the names “Margarita, Josefina, Maria and Isabel” underscores collective Latin heritage — a sisterhood of believers who navigate dual cultural realities. The poem’s final plea, “That if not omnipotent / At least he be bilingual,” becomes a metaphor for linguistic and cultural recognition. Through this juxtaposition, Cofer critiques how Latin identity must negotiate space within a Western-dominated spiritual framework, revealing the quiet pain of praying to a God who might not “speak” their language of the heart.

🕊️ 3. Gender and Power in Religion 👑

In “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the relationship between gender and religious authority is strikingly visualized. The “Great White father,” described as “imperturbable in his marble pedestal,” symbolizes patriarchal and institutional power — distant, rigid, and unfeeling. In contrast, the “brown daughters” kneeling before him represent submission, humility, and unacknowledged piety. This hierarchy mirrors broader gendered and racial inequalities, where women’s voices remain unheard despite their devotion. Cofer’s use of the phrase “votive candles shining like lust” suggests a transformation of suppressed desire into spiritual energy — the women’s faith becomes both sensual and sacred. The act of prayer thus becomes an expression of power within powerlessness, where women channel their silence into steadfast endurance, transforming subjugation into quiet rebellion through unwavering faith.

💬 4. Language, Communication, and Divine Understanding 🌐

The theme of language in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Latin Women Pray” is both literal and symbolic — revealing how communication shapes belonging. The women “pray in Spanish to an Anglo God,” highlighting the alienation of expressing faith in a language not privileged by the dominant culture. The final line — “That if not omnipotent / At least he be bilingual” — fuses irony and yearning, reflecting a desire for divine empathy and recognition. Cofer’s use of “bilingual” expands beyond language; it represents the hope for mutual understanding between cultures, races, and faiths. Through this theme, the poem suggests that true divinity would transcend linguistic boundaries — that spiritual connection must also honor cultural expression. The women’s prayers, therefore, are not only acts of worship but also assertions of identity, seeking a God who listens in their own voice.

Literary Theories and “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

No.	Literary Theory	Core Interpretation	Textual References and Explanation
1	Feminist Theory 👩‍🦰	Feminist criticism highlights gender inequality and the patriarchal nature of organized religion. Cofer’s portrayal of women as “brown daughters” praying before the “Great White father” exposes the male-dominated structure of faith and power. The poem’s tone of reverence mixed with irony emphasizes how women’s devotion is undervalued despite being central to religious life.	Lines: “Looks down upon his brown daughters,” “Before his image they kneel.”→ These lines symbolize gendered subordination — women kneel before a male divine figure who remains “unmoved.” Feminist reading reveals how faith becomes a site of both oppression and resilience for women.
2	Postcolonial Theory 🌍	Postcolonial analysis explores cultural displacement and power dynamics between colonizer and colonized. The women’s act of praying “in Spanish to an Anglo God / With a Jewish heritage” shows how colonial religion imposes foreign imagery and authority over native believers. Cofer’s irony critiques the persistence of Eurocentric dominance in spiritual and cultural life.	Lines: “They pray in Spanish to an Anglo God,” “Great White father.”→ These lines reveal colonial residues — a Westernized God replacing indigenous spirituality. The postcolonial lens reads this as both cultural alienation and survival through adaptation.
3	Psychoanalytic Theory 🧠	A psychoanalytic reading examines inner conflict, repression, and desire. The women’s prayers embody subconscious yearning for acknowledgment and connection. The metaphor “votive candles shining like lust” transforms suppressed emotion into sacred ritual, where religious devotion becomes an outlet for unspoken desires and identity conflicts.	Lines: “Votive candles shining like lust,” “Unmoved by their persistent prayers.”→ The candles act as Freudian symbols of sublimated desire — faith becomes both expression and repression of inner longing for recognition, both divine and social.
4	Cultural Studies Theory 🎭	Cultural theory interprets the poem as a reflection of hybrid identity, language politics, and cultural negotiation. Cofer’s bilingual and bicultural imagery — Spanish faith in an English-speaking religious world — demonstrates how culture shapes communication, belonging, and power. The ending plea for a “bilingual” God captures the quest for multicultural recognition.	Lines: “At least he be bilingual,” “Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel.”→ The poem functions as cultural commentary — portraying language as identity and resistance. Through this lens, faith becomes both a spiritual and cultural dialogue for Latina women in a dominant Anglo world.

Critical Questions about “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

🌺 1. How does Cofer portray the intersection of faith and cultural identity in “Latin Women Pray”?

In “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, faith and cultural identity are intertwined as sources of both strength and struggle. The women “pray in Spanish to an Anglo God / With a Jewish heritage,” a line that encapsulates the layered complexity of cultural belonging within religious practice. Their prayers, uttered in their native language, become acts of preservation — an assertion of their heritage against the silent dominance of a Westernized divine image. Yet, this same act reveals alienation: they worship a God who does not reflect them, a “Great White father / Imperturbable in his marble pedestal.” The imagery of “incense sweet churches” and “votive candles shining like lust” situates their faith within Latin Catholic tradition, rich with sensual devotion and communal symbolism. Through this delicate fusion of reverence and irony, Cofer illuminates how spirituality can embody cultural resilience, even when filtered through a lens of imposed hierarchy and displacement.

✨ 2. What role does irony play in the poem’s critique of religion and communication?

Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Latin Women Pray” uses irony as a subtle yet piercing tool to critique both religious exclusion and linguistic disconnection. The poem’s closing line, “That if not omnipotent / At least he be bilingual,” drips with gentle sarcasm, transforming a prayer into a plea for recognition. Cofer’s irony exposes the paradox of faith: these women pray with sincerity to a deity whose “seeing eyes” witness all, yet who remains “unmoved by their persistent prayers.” The humor of asking for a bilingual God underlines a serious truth — the alienation of non-English speakers in a world where language equates with access and legitimacy. Irony thus becomes an instrument of empowerment; it allows the poet to voice critique without blasphemy, maintaining the sanctity of faith while questioning the systems that make God linguistically and culturally distant.

🌿 3. How does the poem reflect gendered power dynamics within religious imagery?

In “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, gender operates as both a literal and symbolic axis of power within religious representation. The “Great White father” — unyielding, distant, and enthroned upon his “marble pedestal” — epitomizes patriarchal authority within the Church and faith at large. In contrast, the “brown daughters” kneeling below him embody humility, submission, and silent endurance. This spatial hierarchy between divine male and mortal female reflects centuries of gendered religious power, where women’s roles are confined to obedience rather than leadership. Yet, Cofer’s tone transforms this subservience into strength. The act of prayer itself becomes a quiet rebellion — “year after year” they return, unmoved by divine indifference. The women’s persistence transforms passivity into endurance, suggesting that within the very posture of kneeling lies a spiritual defiance: the power of faith as survival in a patriarchal world.

🌸 4. How does language function as a metaphor for divine and cultural understanding in the poem?

Language in “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is not merely a medium of prayer — it is the poem’s central metaphor for cultural identity, recognition, and exclusion. The women “pray in Spanish to an Anglo God,” signaling a spiritual dialogue fractured by linguistic difference. The phrase “at least he be bilingual” becomes both humorous and heartbreaking — a plea for God to understand the tongue of those marginalized by empire and language. Spanish here symbolizes authenticity and heritage, while English and “Anglo” religiosity represent authority and assimilation. Cofer’s bilingual irony underscores the gap between faith and communication, as if divine understanding itself requires translation. Through this metaphor, language becomes sacred territory — a bridge between earthly and divine, colonized and colonizer, self and silence. The poem thus asserts that faith cannot be fully realized without the recognition of one’s cultural voice.

Literary Works Similar to “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

🌸 1. “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora

Like “Latin Women Pray,” this poem examines the dual identity of Mexican Americans who live “in-between” two cultures, navigating the tension between belonging and exclusion with quiet dignity and irony.

✨ 2. “Prayer to the Masks” by Léopold Sédar Senghor

Senghor’s poem, like Cofer’s, uses religious imagery to reclaim cultural heritage — turning prayer into resistance against colonial erasure, merging spirituality with identity and ancestral memory.

🌺 3. “Child of the Americas” by Aurora Levins Morales

This poem mirrors Cofer’s theme of bilingualism and cultural hybridity, celebrating mixed identity through the rhythm of English and Spanish — both as languages of faith and self-definition.

🌼 4. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou

Though more assertive in tone, Angelou’s poem echoes the same spiritual resilience found in “Latin Women Pray,” transforming suffering and subjugation into empowerment through repetition and reverence.

🌷 5. “Refugee Ship” by Lorna Dee Cervantes

Cervantes’ poem, like Cofer’s, captures the internal conflict of language and belonging — depicting a speaker torn between her heritage and the dominant culture, seeking wholeness through spiritual and linguistic reconciliation.

Representative Quotations of “Latin Women Pray” by Judith Ortiz Cofer

No.	Quotation	Context / Interpretation	Theoretical Perspective
1 🌸	“Latin women pray / In incense sweet churches”	Opens the poem with an image of devotion rooted in sensory spirituality. The phrase sets tone and culture, revealing Latin women’s deep Catholic faith shaped by ritual and tradition.	Cultural Studies: Emphasizes how cultural practices define spiritual expression and collective identity.
2 ✨	“They pray in Spanish to an Anglo God”	Highlights cultural dissonance — worshipping in their native tongue to a deity symbolizing colonial dominance. It exposes linguistic and racial alienation within faith.	Postcolonial Theory: Critiques colonial imposition and the tension between indigenous and Western spirituality.
3 🌺	“With a Jewish heritage.”	Adds irony by referencing Christianity’s origins, showing how cultural layers in religion have been forgotten or replaced by racialized imagery.	Historical / Postcolonial: Reveals faith’s hybrid ancestry and Western erasure of non-European roots.
4 🌼	“And this Great White father / Imperturbable in his marble pedestal”	Presents a cold, distant God, symbolizing patriarchal and colonial authority. The marble imagery conveys emotional rigidity and exclusion.	Feminist Theory: Examines patriarchal constructs within religion that marginalize women’s spirituality.
5 🌷	“Looks down upon his brown daughters”	Depicts a racial and gender hierarchy — divine whiteness above brown womanhood. It’s an image of reverence blended with submission and distance.	Postcolonial Feminism: Connects racial and gendered subjugation within colonial religious systems.
6 🌹	“Votive candles shining like lust / In all his seeing eyes”	The metaphor transforms faith into passion. The women’s prayers glow with desire — both spiritual and emotional — blurring sacred and sensual boundaries.	Psychoanalytic Theory: Interprets desire and devotion as intertwined human impulses directed toward the divine.
7 🌻	“Unmoved by their persistent prayers / year after year”	Suggests divine indifference despite continuous devotion. The repetition of time reflects both endurance and futility.	Existential / Feminist: Addresses women’s perseverance in a patriarchal faith system that remains unresponsive.
8 💮	“Before his image they kneel”	Portrays ritualistic submission — the act of kneeling symbolizing humility but also societal conditioning of female piety.	Feminist Spirituality: Reads the posture as internalized reverence shaped by cultural expectations of women.
9 🌿	“Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel”	Listing Spanish names personalizes faith, representing collective Latin womanhood and shared identity. It roots spirituality in community and heritage.	Cultural Identity Theory: Highlights collective voice and shared experience as resistance to cultural erasure.
10 🌾	“That if not omnipotent / At least he be bilingual”	The poem’s ironic and powerful conclusion — merging humor with longing for understanding. It critiques linguistic imperialism while affirming cultural self-worth.	Linguistic / Postcolonial: Challenges dominance of English as divine language, affirming bilingual identity as sacred.