Event: Gloria Anzaldúa Luncheon: Honoring Feminists of Color
When: Friday, Feb. 10, Noon-2 p.m.
Where: Student Activities Center Ballroom, The University of Texas at Austin
Background: Feminist playwright, poet and essayist Cherríe Moraga edited This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981) with Gloria Anzaldúa. She is currently an artist in residence in the Department of Drama at Stanford University where she teaches Creative Writing, Xicana-Indigenous Performance, Latino/Queer Performance, Indigenous Identity in Diaspora in the Arts and Playwriting. Moraga recently completed a new collection of writings, A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness: A Decade of Discourse.
Cultural theorist, writer and teacher Gloria Anzaldúa was a guiding force in the Chicano and Chicana movement in the 1960s and 1970s and in lesbian/queer theory. Anzaldúa grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and received her master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Her papers are archived in the Benson Latin American Collection on campus.
The event is hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center and Queer People of Color and Allies. It is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and lunch will be provided only to those who RSVP via email, qpocatexas@gmail.com, by Feb. 8.
In addition to the luncheon, two related events will be held:
Reception to Honor Performance and Visual Artist Celia Herrera Rodríguez
Event: Opening reception for A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness by artist Celia Herrera Rodríguez
When: Friday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.
Where: Nettie Benson Latin American Collection, Sid Richardson Hall 1.108, The University of Texas at Austin
Background: Celia Herrera Rodríguez is a performing and visual artist whose work has been exhibited internationally and reflects Xicana/o, indigenous Mexican and North American Native thought, spirituality and politics. She teaches in the Chicano Studies program at the University of California, Berkeley, and is an adjunct professor in the Diversity Studies program at California College of the Arts.
A Performance Reading: Digging Up the Dirt
Event: Playwright Cherríe Moraga reads Digging Up the Dirt
When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m.
Where: Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St., Austin, Texas 78701
Background: Digging Up the Dirt takes place, as Moraga writes, “Inside The Poet’s head, somewhere in the fragmented Chicano nation of Aztlán.” Moraga uses the imagined landscape of the Southwest to poignantly explore those censored questions that continue to affect Chicana lives and interweaves two murder stories. There will be a post-performance talk-back with Moraga. Admission is free with the donation of a nonperishable food item.
The events are sponsored by the following units at The University of Texas at Austin: the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, the Center for Mexican American Studies, College of Liberal Arts, Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, the Department of English, the Student Events Center Events Cosponsorship Committee and the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. Community sponsors include the ProArts Collective, Austin Community College, the City of Austin, La Colectiva Femenil and Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán.
For more information contact the Gender and Sexuality Center, 512-232-1831.
