La Voz - March 2015 by Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

a publication of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

March 2015, Vol. 28 Issue 2

Women’s History Month Three Decades of Engendering History:

Antonia Castañeda

San Antonio, Tejas

LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 2•

La Voz de Esperanza

r. Antonia I. Castañeda will be honored at the Esperanza this month. Her work as a historian is legendary, less known is her lifelong passion for community activism and the arts. The following article, The Vagina Monologues: Re-membering Body and Soul in San Antonio in the April 2002 issue of La Voz demonstrates Antonia’s passion for social justice and the cultural arts: Walking down Houston St., we joined throngs of women ...to hear The Vagina Monologues. The Empire Theatre was filled to capacity. Dressed in brilliant red tops and black trousers, the three March 2015 monologuers walked on stage to roaring applause and launched into an hour and a half of woman vol. 28 issue 2 talk and women’s voices peeling off the layers of silence about that unmentionable space of woman Editor: Gloria A. Ramírez power, the Vagina. Women laughed and cried as they heard their own unspoken fears, joys, rages, Design: Monica V. Velásquez passions and desires about their sexuality issue forth... The vagina and the performers got a standing ovation. Contributors ...All evening long I kept hearing how brave the author and the performers were to bring this Antonio Chávez Cabral, Antonia Castañeda & Luz María Gordillo, Mary C. Flores, Marina first-ever public presentation on the vagina to San Antonio. No, I said to myself. As important as this Saenz Luna, Rogelio Saenz, Yoly Zentella performance is and as brave as the performers are, it is neither the first performance on the vagina in San Antonio, nor perhaps, the bravest. La Voz Mailout Monica Palacios, the courageous and outrageously funny “Chicana Lesbo Comic,” performed Juan Díaz, Mary & Charlie Esperiqueta, a vagina monologue in her CONFESSIONS. . . A Sexplosion of Tantalizing Tales, at the Esperanza Juanita Gallardo, María Helia García, Gloria Hernández, Lee, Leroy, Lydia Hernández, Peace and Justice Center in 1997. The equally courageous Rosemary Meza followed Palacios on Mildred Hilbrich, Patricia Llinas, Olga Martínez, stage in a performance entitled, The Laughter Between My Legs and Other Phenomena. Ray McDonald, Angie Merla, Eliza Pérez, Maria ...Though the artists treated basically the same subject, women’s sexuality, why was The Vagina Reed, Blanca Rivera, Mary A. Rodríguez, Mike Monologues extolled and hailed, and the productions at the Esperanza denigrated and dismissed in Sánchez, Guadalupe Segura, Roger Singler, the local press? At issue for columnist Roddy Stinson, who disparages by ridicule, and who in this Argelia Soto, Helen Suárez, Dorelia Uler instance directed his barbs at both the Department of Cultural Affairs (DACA) and at the Esperanza, Esperanza Director was that the artists performed “at a theater partly funded by city tax dollars.” Graciela I. Sánchez ...Despite city-wide support for public funding of the arts, at its September 11, 1997 meeting, Esperanza Staff the City Council cut public funding to all arts organizations by 15%, but singled out the Esperanza Imelda Arismendez, Itza Carbajal, Marina Peace and Justice Center for complete de-funding... Sexuality was the viewpoint at issue; and, more Saenz Luna, René Saenz, Saakred, Susana explicitly, homophobia the taproot of the discrimination. Segura, Amelia Valdez, Monica Velásquez Refusing to be cowed or silenced, the Esperanza filed an unprecedented lawsuit in Federal Court Esperanza Interns against the City of San Antonio for viewpoint discrimination. Esperanza’s courageous lawsuit—its Elizabeth Joy Delgado, Iliana Medrano, Elisa Pérez, Gianna Rendón unshakeable defense of the right to one’s cultural and sexual self as an inalienable human right—won that right for all of us in this city. In publicly naming and challenging the politics of culture and the Conjunto de Nepantleras -Esperanza Board of Directorspolitics of sexuality in San Antonio, Esperanza created a public space for performance of sexuality, Brenda Davis, Rachel Jennings, Amy and most specifically, of women’s sexuality. Kastely, Jan Olsen, Kamala Platt, Ana Lucía Limitations of time do not permit me to expand the discussion to issues of race and class, ...also Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, on my mind as I watched the performance at the Empire Theater. Tiffany Ross, Lilliana Saldaña, Nadine ...Let us not allow that historical memory to be erased. Let us remember that the unflinching Saliba, Graciela I. Sánchez, Lillian Stevens struggle the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center waged from 1997 to 2001, and the production of • We advocate for a wide variety of social, The Vagina Monologues in San Antonio in 2002, are seamed together in the cultural fabric and hiseconomic & environmental justice issues. • Opinions expressed in La Voz are not tory of this City. necessarily those of the Esperanza Center. Let us remember that women’s bodies led, and bore the weight, of that protracted struggle. And let us remember that it was the EsLa Voz de Esperanza Note: For more on is a publication of peranza’s Arte es Vida campaign with initial support from The CoAntonia Castañeda, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center alition for Cultural Diversity and later the San Antonio Arts CoaliSu Obra y Su Vida see 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212 tion plus the everpresent support of comunidad that remembered 210.228.0201 • fax 1.877.327.5902 the next article and body and soul giving voice to public space for women’s stories www.esperanzacenter.org back page. and recovering the cultural memory of the gente of San Antonio. Inquiries/Articles can be sent to: - Antonia Castañeda lavoz@esperanzacenter.org Articles due by the 8th of each month Policy Statements

* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published. Esperanza Peace & Justice Center is funded in part by the NEA, TCA, theFund, CoYoTe PhoeNix Fund, AKR Fdn, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Fdn, Horizons Fdn, New World Foundation, y nuestra buena gente.

ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to lavoz@ esperanzacenter.org. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list, for whatever reason, please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/ spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.

Plática I:

El Cuerpo

y El Baile

The Body as Site of Knowledge

with Drs. Antonia Castañeda and Luz María Gordillo When the hop harvest was over, we’d lived seven months there, the boys had gotten sick, I’d gotten pneumonia and had to go to the doctor. Well—with the fright we’d had on the road, we didn’t feel like returning [to Texas] and we decided to stay in Washington. The work ended in Brownstown and we came to Toppenish. Then we went to live at the Golding hop farm—this was made up of rows of shacks— without doors and all falling apart—there was only a wall between the next unit where another person lived. The houses weren’t insulated—they didn’t have floors, and we worked in the hop. They paid us women $.75 per hour and $.85 for the men.1 Irene Castañeda, “Personal Chronicle of Crystal City.” 2

The book contains well-noted historical articles as well as recent writings by Antonia. It also includes 3 pláticas with her conducted by Dr. Luz María Gordillo. Plática I is reprinted here with permission from the publisher. A conclusion by Dr. Deena González summarizes the importance of this “path breaking” book. The event will include invited guests sharing stories about Antonia. Excerpts of Antonia: A Chicana Story, a documentary co-produced by Drs. Luz María Gordillo and Javier Pescador will also be screened. Antonia’s influence as a historian, activist, arts advocate and an engaged member of multiple communities has had great impact. Her work validates the lives of gente de labor, women, children, elders and indigenous people as an integral part of American history. As Linda Heidenreich states (p.3), Antonia’s work —has shaped and influenced two generations of Chicana/o historians and will undoubtedly shape many more to come... *Note: Archival images appearing in this reprint are not in the book .

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ut in the empty fields near Crystal City and in front of recording devices, Castañeda recreated movements that as a young woman she repeatedly performed while picking potatoes. Dr. Castañeda’s anachronistic “danza del jale,” her rhythmically graceful though punishing movements, represented a sense of dignity and accomplishment of the body as well as a sense of sensuality and sexuality—the miracle of a gendered social, cultural and political resistance. When I conducted the interview “El Cuerpo y El Baile,” Dr. Castañeda and I had already engaged in discussions about the body and its movement while working in the fields and living at the camps. Neither one of us knew exactly how the conversation and interview would develop, but we knew it was important. Castañeda had been working with different concepts regarding the body and knowledge for some time while I was working with transnational sexualities that included experiences of working class Mexicanas in the United States. Both of us felt it was important that we did not exoticize the fields and diminish or minimize the intensity and exploitative impacts of the labor; but on the other hand we needed to recognize the influence that field labor camp life had on the body itself and on the experience of growing up. Castañeda was able to articulate and theorize experiences of the body and labor; throughout the interview we were able to break this down and analyze it together. Such crossroads—of body, theory and knowledge—make historians of color hesitate as they negotiate with archival work, memories,

Editor’s Note: Three Decades of Engendering History, Selected Works of Antonia I. Castañeda*, edited by Linda Heidenreich with Dr. Castañeda and published by University of North Texas Press (2014) debuts at Esperanza on March 28 at 7pm with a celebration of Antonia’s life and work.

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facts and experiential images in order to write history that is fair to the subjects of that history but also theoretically clear for those who have been biased, and rendered Chicanas/os’ experiences invisible in U.S. mainstream narratives. This is an interview at those crossroads. Abject living conditions, unfair wage practices, gender and racial discrimination, health problems and no health care, lack of access to formal education, and constant physically punishing work however, were everyday components of a larger context of Tejanas/os lives. These threatening terrains and spaces also represented home and family, community and history. Resistance and personal struggles recreated tales of strength, community formation, and love; resistance and personal struggles also brought respect and love for the land where all of these bodies converged to work and to share in the construction of migrant worker communities.

Anglos. So when we got to Eastern Washington, the orchard [workers] were, at that point, principally Anglos—Euro-Americans, at least where we were. In other parts of Washington, like the Okanagan, Native Americans were the earliest orchard workers. The issue is that orchard work does not require one to stoop; it is not stoop labor.

Luz María Gordillo: Let’s talk about how, on the one hand, working in the fields was terribly punishing. And on the other, you experienced a sense of fluidness in the body—a sense of freedom, a sense of touching the earth with your hands, a sense of connection.

The fields and that punishing hard work also made us very conscious and very aware of our bodies, of our physical beings because that was what we used, that was our tool—that was our instrument: our legs and our hands and our knees, our spine, our neck, our head. So it was a whole universe, not only of learning, but a universe of being. So yes, the fields were a physically taxing space. We came out of those fields dragging, sometimes crawling, and sometimes the work involved literally crawling—or if not crawling on your hands and knees then moving on your knees, kind of walking on your knees and moving from plant to plant, depending on what crop you’re working.

Antonia Castañeda: The fields… I was going to say particularly the row crops, but actually all of the crops, whether they were row crops; hops, which are on vines; or orchards, although we didn’t work a lot on orchards, in the early years. Farm labor is very hard punishing work, like all things in this society, it is also hierarchical with respect to Mexicans and

When I think about the fields, I think about, on the one hand, very hard work, punishing work, if you will. But the fields were also an incredible universe: a universe of learning, a universe of understanding, a universe of exploration and imagination. Those contradictory realities were ever-present for us. Sometimes we were able to think about it and to focus on it, and sometimes we just lived it. It took me a while to understand, but eventually I did and came to appreciate my body and what it did, how it functioned, how it moved, and how it worked.

As a woman, as a young woman, as a teenager, I realized—I don’t know as I was really thinking about it per se, but I came to a realization that working in the fields, or what I did in that physical labor, also became the basis for appreciating my body and its ability to work very hard. That hard work also taught me how to push my body; we learned how far it would go and its strength and its endurance and its power. That knowledge, or understanding, became the basis for moving through space— for moving through space in the fields, in the camp where we lived, but also on the dance floor. And so, we danced with a kind of freedom of movement and ease, we were at ease with our bodies and later, as I thought about it, that was not only a basis for an appreciation of your physical being, but also of your sexual being. I think of that movement, and although I didn’t think about it at the time, there was a freedom with one’s body that was not acceptable and was not accepted by Euro-American society…. I’m working on an essay about the body in that regard. Not just as a body that labors, but as a body— your laboring body—as a basis of learning about your body and learning about movement and moving through space—it’s an energy. Not just a field of energy, but it becomes energy itself. I comment that there are elements of sensuality and sexuality in labor—at least there were for me. It was in the fields that I first became aware of my sexual self. A confession that I’ve certainly never made publicly or ever told anybody: I was just

At the same time, [farm labor] was punishing work and it was exploitative work in many respects... it was complex. I don’t romanticize it. There was nothing romantic about it. But it was certainly a place of learning, a universe, a university, if you will, that provided what I’ve come to understand is a world of depth.

So one learns, it’s a universe of learning—and how could we not learn? We experienced and daily saw life and death in the fields. It wasn’t just life and death of the plants, the crops we were working—certainly it was that because there is a seasonal cycle; you plant the crop, whatever it is, whether tomatoes, potatoes, hops, or anything else. They grow, ripen, and die as you perform the work cycle of planting, irrigating, weeding, pruning, and harvesting. We not only saw the plants, we also saw animals: birds, rodents, spiders, bugs, insects, bees and so we were aware of all kinds of life in the fields—not just our lives, and the lives of plants, but we also saw the lives of other entities that were present. That universe was very important to my formation and to who I am; I believe it was important to the formation of all of us who worked in the fields, who did farm labor. At the same time, it was punishing work and it was exploitative work in many respects. And Mexican workers, field workers, were needed but not wanted. I’ve written about how, when we came in flatbed trucks from the camps into town to buy groceries or to go to the park, Euro-Americans in town looked

at us with fearful eyes, sometimes with disdain—actually a lot with disdain. So it was complex. I don’t romanticize it. There was nothing romantic about it. But it was certainly a place of learning, a universe, a university, if you will, that provided what I’ve come to understand is a world of depth. I am only now having the time to go back and examine and explore that. But I’m particularly interested in how work also became the basis for our understanding, or at least the basis for our moving through space and occupying space. And I didn’t know it at the time, but that —not so much understanding —that being, just that sense of being and that sense of movement and that sense of freedom of movement [was part of the understanding]. Working in the fields, as I’ve said, gave me, at least, and the women in the community that raised me, a flexibility and a freedom of movement, and an ease. I was at ease with my body. I liked my body. I still do. Those are all elements that I’m now beginning to not only think about but to talk about and to begin to write about. There is much there and I’m very grateful for that experience. I can now appreciate it. At the same time, it was punishing work and we were very aware that we worked the land, and that the land was not ours. And I was also equally aware that the owners needed our labor but did not want our presence in their world; one could not help but be aware, and it also became the basis, for what I subsequently studied and wrote.

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working, in the hops, and from one moment to the next, there was an orgasm, and I didn’t know what was happening. I must have been thirteen. It was a particular movement of legs and hips, maybe dragging myself along to the next plant. Though I did not know what it was, I somehow understood I was not to talk about it.

LMG: You said that when you danced, you danced with freedom. Take me back to you getting ready for one of these dances. I want to hear the conversation again. AC: So we’re out in the fields and it’s late afternoon and we’re sweating like crazy. We’re dripping. We covered our head with a bandana, and a hat on top to protect the face and head from the sun because we didn’t want to get sunstroke. So we’re dripping wet, if it’s the middle of June, as it can get very very warm—up to 110 degrees in the middle of overgrown fields. And so we’re hurrying like crazy and probably cutting the plants as well as weeds, if we’re weeding, in order to get to the dance because we all want to go to the dance. We’re living in the camp and there are communal showers just like there are outdoor toilets. There is a communal water faucet that’s a bit of a distance from the particular cabin, or long house, that we live in. So everybody—the women in particular (the men, I’m sure are having their own conversations) but our conversations as teenagers, was about who we were going to dance with con aquel o “no voy a bailar con él porque andaba con ella,” y “que te vas a poner.” “y no tienes hair spray.” So these were the conversations as we were getting ready to go and then we would tease each other about being in such a hurry that we didn’t even want to take the time to shower. We were just going to put “Tabu” on ourselves and go. Tabu was this very stinky kind of perfume, real cheap in a blue bottle, I think in a heart-shaped bottle. We were just very happy to have a dance to go to.

...it is usually the polkas, the polquitas that we dance.

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We are getting ready and going to the shower … and the communal shower is also the communal lavandería (laundry room) because, in addition to the shower, there are sinks. The sinks are ridged in the front, where you bend into the sink, so that you can scrub clothes—and big faucets. And then we go and presumably by the time we’ve showered we have ironed our dresses and all of those crinolines that are starched beyond belief and they pouf-out the skirt. And we go to the dance. I’m allowed mainly to go to wedding dances. It is rare that my parents, specifically my father, allow me to go to the other dances, which are the dances where people pay to get in, like a cover charge.

This is the 50s, so … la música … more than the boleros, it is usually the polkas, the polquitas that we dance. Dancing, obviously is another kind of movement. The unspoken protocol of the arena is that everybody dances in the same direction. But sometimes, if you get a little charge with music, sometimes going the opposite direction you bump into people. So the dances are a joy and a release, where we are able to move in ways different from how we move in the field. They are related but also different movements. And so it’s all my friends and their mothers and sometimes their fathers, but the girls usually go with their mothers. And there’s lots of talking and lots of looking at the dancing partners. And sometimes, if there are no male partners, and even if there are, we dance with each other. The point is to dance. The point is to move. The point is to be in sync and on rhythm with the music that is being played. And the source of that music is Tejas, and Tejas is home. So the dance is about our movements. It’s about enjoyment. It’s about geography. It’s about flirting. It’s about engaging with other people—with other girls and their mothers, in particular. It’s about learning to be sociable. Portarse bien o mal—in a family in a communal setting.

Antonia arrested at the demolition of Univision in 2013.

But it is also about moving out of spaces of oppression and exploitation and difficulties. So the dances create those spaces for us. Or we create those spaces for ourselves in the dancing. So, for me, the memories of that period and of dancing are very, very important precisely because it was a realm in which we could be who we were and move in the way that pleased us and that mattered to us. And it is interesting to think about it now because actually the reality is that the dances were usually held at the roller rink that was no longer in use so the cement was all cracked and the walls were—re-thinking it, it was probably a shabby place or would have been considered a shabby place. But for us it was as elegant as any elegant ballroom. It could be because it was ours and because we were dancing. So it’s a whole other universe. And it’s a rhythm. Some of the rhythms were transported from where we were working—from our work, but we also developed other movements of body. 2 Note: Plática I, El Cuerpo y El Baile is reprinted with permission of University of North Texas Press. Notes at the end of Plática I can be requested from: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org. See the back page for more on the event celebrating Antonia’s life and work.

At the 2010 International Women’s Day March

Raza e por Rogelio Saenz

Martin, la población blanca ha creído en la inocencia de personas blancas y en la culpabilidad de individuos afroamericanos, mientras que los afroamericanos creen completamente lo opuesto. Dos mundos—uno blanco y otro negro. Mientras esta dualidad continúe existiendo, será muy difícil imaginar una justa balanza en la impartición de justicia

cuando una víctima sea afroamericana y un policía blanco, el perpetrador. Ciertamente, esta realidad común refleja las imágenes y percepciones que guían las relaciones raciales en este país. Los hombres afroamericanos son vistos como agresores y delincuentes—personas que no pertenecen a la sociedad “normal.” Cuando un policía blanco mata a un hombre afroamericano, es fácil para muchas personas blancas racionalizar esta situación a partir de estereotipos corroídos que representan a hombres afroamericanos como perpetradores y a

policías blancos como guardianes de la paz. Es difícil separar estos pensamientos, imágenes y emociones—las formas en que tienen sentido las relaciones raciales—de las mentes y corazones de las personas responsables de juzgar la inocencia o culpabilidad de policías blancos acusados de matar a personas afroamericanas. La participación de afroamericanos y latinos en jurados continúa siendo limitada. Demográficamente, la población blanca continúa siendo el grupo dominante en la mayoría de comunidades de la nación y en los padrones de votantes que sirven como base para la selección de los miembros de los jurados. Las personas de color también enfrentan obstáculos debido a que sus mayores índices de encarcelamiento se traducen a menudo en privación del derecho al voto. Al final, no es poco común encontrar jurados cuya composición de miembros blancos es dos o tres veces superior a la de afroamericanos, tal y como fueron los casos de Darren Wilson y Daniel Pantaleo por las muertes de Michael Brown y Eric Garner, respectivamente. Es evidente que las personas blancas y afroamericanas ven los casos de manera diferente cuando se trata de decidir sobre la culpabilidad de incriminados de su propia raza. Equipados con imágenes que utilizan para dar sentido a las relaciones raciales en este país, no es difícil imaginar que muchos blancos hayan dado el beneficio de la duda a los inculpados de su mismo color de piel, y no a las víctimas afroamericanas. Una Continued p. 10...

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omo de forma dolorosa ha sucedido repetidamente en la historia de nuestra nación, en un lapso de nueve días fuimos testigos—una vez más—de los mismos hechos, y no en una, sino en dos, ocasiones. El 24 de noviembre de 2014, un jurado integrado por 9 personas blancas y 3 afroamericanos en Ferguson, Missouri, decidió que Darren Wilson, un policía blanco, no podía ser acusado por la muerte de Michael Brown, un joven afroamericano desarmado. De manera similar, el 3 de diciembre de 2014, un jurado en Staten Island, compuesto por 15 individuos blancos y 8 afroamericanos y latinos, decidió no fincar responsabilidades a otro policía blanco, Daniel Pantaleo, por la muerte de Eric Garner, un hombre afroamericano que tampoco portaba arma alguna. ¿Se impartirá algún día justicia a las decenas de afroamericanos que han muerto en manos de policías? No parece que así sea. A lo largo de la historia de Estados Unidos han existido dos mundos: uno blanco y uno negro. A pesar de la creencia de muchos blancos de que el racismo no es un asunto relevante y de que vivimos en un país post-racial, la realidad es que este mundo dicotómico de color continúa existiendo. Las encuestas de opinión muestran claramente que una vasta mayoría de blancos creen que la cuestión racial ya no es importante en la vida de afroamericanos en este país, mientras que la gran mayoría de afroamericanos reportan que el racismo todavía pesa en sus vidas. En los casos de juicios notorios, como el de O.J. Simpson, el de brutalidad policial contra Rodney King, y el del asesinato de Trayvon

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A La Memoria de Reies Lopez Tijerina, el Tigre del Norte by Yoly Zentella

On January 19, 2015 Aztlán lost a powerful champion and symbol of the Chicano struggle for land justice. As we reflect on the death of Reies López Tijerina (1926-2015), we remember the legacy and lessons he left us: he dedicated his life to a struggle to regain the lost land grants of el norte de Nuevo Mexico; he modeled commitment and organized against the victimization of our Raza; and he encouraged an activism that yields the best change—that which comes from the grassroots! Tijerina’s death has left a void in our hearts and our political horizons; we are wanting of a true fighter, of a tigre for el norte. Now, we search for the best way to pay him tribute. The backdrop to Tijerina’s activism is centuries old, one that began with the overarching European colonization of the indigenous American continent. One thread of this colonization was 19th century Westward Expansion in the U.S. This was a push toward the acquisition of territory west of the Mississippi, supported by Manifest Destiny—the Anglo philosophy that condoned the violent taking of what is now the southwestern and western U.S. At that time, these were the northern territories

of Mexico, which included Nuevo Mexico where much of the land was organized into land grants with collective and individual sectors. The reasoning behind the taking of the land was that these vast territories were in inferior Mexicano hands, and because of this, were an underdeveloped, mismanaged wasteland. Such territories, they reasoned, would be better off in the hands of the superior Anglo race that would bring civilization to the area, an enterprise sanctioned by Providence. So thought a number of U.S. politicians and businessmen—and this was the message spread by the press. This message became an incentive to instigate the Mexican-American War, ending with the infamous Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and later the Gadsen Treaty of 1853. Together, these treaties took about half of Mexico. Manifest Destiny also motivated mass Anglo immigration into the former Mexicano territories; a movement bolstered by government acts encouraging and rewarding settlement. The years after 1848 saw rampant capitalism, land and resource grabbing, erection of fences, the denial by U.S. courts of numbers of Mexicano land grant claims. Such acts were supported by collusion among business entrepreneurs, lawyers, and government officials in the ultimate illegal acquisition of land. It also saw the betrayal of poorer Mexicanos by rich Mexicanos who collaborated with Anglo counterparts.

The greatest injustice of this era was the murder of Mexicanos and the dispossession from their lands that included the placing of non-adjudicated land grants, some with thousands of acres, into the public domain. Under this status, land grants could be disposed of, at will, by the U.S. government. It was this status that in later years placed land grants under the protection of the Forest Service. It was this placement that underlined the struggle by la Alianza Federal de Mercedes, spearheaded by Tijerina that unfolded in Tierra Amarilla, Nuevo Mexico in the 1960s. Central to this political drama was that the taking of the land by the government was directly connected to the death of small Nuevo Mexicano rural communities. In the past these communities relied on the natural resources of the area to not only maintain their livestock and crops, but also to build homes and secure other natural products

from the environment for a variety of needs. The historical dispossession of Nuevo Mexicanos and state laws that appeared to be designed to strip them of their remaining lands when seeking public assistance is described by a Las Vegas, Nuevo Mexico resident: “ It’s really like a holocaust that happened to our people, and how do you deal with a holocaust, how do you deal with the fact that here you are in New Mexico, you’re on welfare, but you no longer have access to ancestral lands.” (Zentella, 2006, p. 198) With land loss came a loss of independence, a loss of the power and wealth that comes with the ownership of land, and loss of a survival base. In turn, loss brought a dependence on paid employment or government assistance. Loss of land also meant the disintegration of family and community ties and collaborations necessary for life on the land. A resident of Springer, Nuevo Mexico described the ability of Tijerina to see these connections:

“He had a broader picture of how the families were being broken up, [how] the culture, religion was tied together, it was not just the loss of the land but [that] land loss led to the breakup of the family.” (Zentella, 2006, p. 193)

Awareness and becoming politicized as an outcome of the Chicano Movimiento and the activism of Tijerina is described by

An impressive perspective of land seen through the eyes of a politicized child is recalled by a resident of Ocate, Nuevo Mexico: She was a little girl and she explained to me what had happened when all this stuff was going on with Tijerina and the police had come. She was very, very adamant about why we had to fight for our land and not let the land go and that it had to go on for generations and generations. (Zentella, 2006, p. 207) Reies López Tijerina’s activism had a tremendous impact on el norte de Nuevo Mexico. La Alianza and the Movimiento are directly responsible in contributing to the politicization of numbers of people. Land activism coincided with the Chicano Movimiento in this part of Nuevo Mexico, particularly in Las Vegas, an area familiar with historical uprisings. Political activism in the 1960s extended a tradition of resistance and rebellion, with roots in Las Gorras Blancas (1889-1891), El Plan de San Diego (1915-1917) and smaller uprisings and individual stands against invasion and colonization taking place, particularly after 1848. Today, activism continues as HispanosChicanos resist gentrification through the preservation of their culture, language, music, and traditions for future generations. Keeping el norte safe for our children includes fighting to keep oil and gas out of the area, a daunting task because of the money and political muscle wielded by these corporations, and the support of business by a Republican state government. Tijerina reinforced the idea that land is basic. Fighting to retain one’s territory, to be able to control one’s ancestral places, as is Aztlán for La Raza, is a natural human instinct. But this is not unique to el norte; consider what was once apartheid South Africa and the current situation in Palestine. Both are examples of the consequences brought about by the colonial severing of the most basic connection that can occur between a group, an individual, and the land. Activism and resistance to this severance is also a natural outcome. Such are the concepts that are embodied in the person of Tijerina and are part of a universal struggle. The best tribute that we can make to him and those that went before him, are the words attributed to Joe Hill before his death, don’t mourn, organize. And, remember! 2

—Que en paz descanse. ¡Reies López Tijerina, presente! Bio: Yoly Zentella is an independent researcher, writer, psychology faculty and licensed psychotherapist living in el norte de Nuevo Mexico. Email: yzentellnm@ yahoo.com. | Contact lavoz@esperanzacenter.org for article references.

Left: Protest burning of a park sign at the Santa Fe National Forest . Ctr: (LtoR) Chief Beeman Logan, a leader of the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians from NY, Reies López Tijerina and Rev. Ralph Abernathy of the SCLC at the Poor People’s March, May 17, 1968. Right: Tijerina, El Tigre, continued to be an activist as an elder.

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The complex consequences of land loss were at the heart of the restoration of the land grants to the descendants of the original owners. La Alianza organized protests on the disputed land during the years 1965 to 1967 and carried out the infamous raid on the Rio Arriba courthouse on June 5, 1967. The raid resulted in the injury of several employees and, consequently, a manhunt by law enforcement for Alianza members including Tijerina. While what followed was government harassment, arrests, charges, convictions, and prison time, the issues that were the basis of the protests did not die and continue today, as does admiration for Tijerina. A resident of Las Vegas, Nuevo Mexico says of Tijerina:“I think that just in the awareness that he [Tijerina] raised was really good. There’s always been the feeling that the Forest Service, maybe even the American government . . . took over Mexico in the interest of Manifest Destiny.” (Zentella, 2006, p. 207 )

a resident of Springer, Nuevo Mexico: “I think I learned . . . in college reading [about] the rise of the Chicano Movement [and] the courthouse raid in Tierra Amarilla, I became more interested in it, did some research in it and attended conferences.” (Zentella, 2006, p. 207)

300 Lives — Displaced

The Mission Trails Mobile Home Community, MTMHC, was rezoned on May 15, 2014 to clear the path to build high-end apartments while displacing 300 lives. I don’t know what the solution is and I gather that neither did the city when they approved the re-zoning of Mission Trails. Here are a few recommendations made by the residents:

• • • •

Although landowners are within their right to sell, it was, and is, the City’s responsibility to handle this better. It was the City’s responsibility to avoid any displacement to occur. City can give incentives to developers for not displacing current residents. City could make sure that current residents have priority on renting or buying in new development.

•

City should try to make it possible so that development projects improve the quality of life of current residents rather than remove current residents to pave the way for new residents that will benefit and enjoy improvements that the current residents have every right to benefit from themselves, because after all —are we not all created equal under the constitution of the U.S.?

No one did their homework to see what the economic impact would have on the 300 lives that were displaced—sending the residents in all directions as if a natural disaster had hit our community. But it was not a natural disaster, it was a man-made disaster. The City would show an act of good will if they were to rectify the wrong that came out of this decision, and close the wound that was inflicted on all the residents of the Mission Trails community. This decision not only incurred a debt for the residents but it also affected their physical, emotional & spiritual well-being —creating emotional stress and anxiety, with many seeking therapy to overcome this injustice. I do believe that in order for there to be closure and healing that the City Council • should make an effort to work with the residents • and come up with a viable plan to incur some or all of the debt that the residents were forced into. Do not waste a portion of your life only focused on the dollars and forget about the lives around you. There are many things in life that are not fair, but God is with us, and He will eventually bring justice if we continue to trust Him. —Mary C. Flores / Former Resident of the MTMHC, #38 2

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The remaining residents of Mission Trails Mobile Home Community (MTMHC) are due to move out by February 28, 2015 and face financial hardship as a result of their displacement. Help supplement the minimal support that the City of San Antonio has offered, thus far. Make a tax deductible donation at www.crowdrise.com/missiontrails, or mail checks to OUR Casas, 2300 W. Commerce, Ste 302; SATX 78207. For info on how else to support former residents of MTMHC call or text: 210.262.0654; email: aspanglisholive@gmail.com.

Raza e Injusticia....continúa de p.7

vez más, las posibilidades de brindar justica están en contra de afroamericanos. Lamentablemente, hemos visto una oleada de homicidios de afroamericanos y latinos a manos de policías en los últimos años. De hecho, uno de estos últimos ocurrió posteriormente al juicio de Darren Wilson, cuando un policía disparó y mató a otro hombre afroamericano desarmado en la escalera de un edificio de vivienda pública en la ciudad de Nueva York. Mientras que el sistema continúe sesgado hacia los afroamericanos y otras personas de color, la balanza de la justicia seguirá inclinándose en contra de ellos. Esta forma de racismo no emana de racistas iracundos que sólo escupen veneno, sino más bien de ciudadanos comunes que, conscientemente o inconscientemente, se niegan a reconocer los privilegios que reciben por pertenecer a la raza blanca—tales como el beneficio de la duda que se otorgan entre ellos—y de las desigualdades y los costos que marcan las vidas de afroamericanos y otras personas de color. 2 Bio: Rogelio Sáenz es Decano del Colegio de Políticas Públicas y Profesor Peter Flawn de Demografía en la Universidad de Texas-SA. Este ensayo fue originalmente publicado en Inglés en el San Antonio ExpressNews. For the English version go to: www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/ commentary/article/Dual-justice-system-remains-in-U-S-5969721.php.

Katharine “Kittu” Riddle,

born Katharine Parker on May 21, 1919 in Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, India left peacefully on July 27, 2014 in Tucson, AZ. She was 95. Her life consisted of helping others — as a missionary or working in communithy for women and children. She was married for 35 years and had three children. After divorcing, she continued an amicable relationship with her ex-husband. She lived in San Antonio with Margot Kostenbader, her partner of 30 years, and was involved with the Doté Foundation and the Women’s Resource Center creating Story Letters, an international women’s publication. Her autobiograhy, A Nourishing Life, was published by Pentland Press in 1999. A Guide to the Katharine Riddle Papers is housed at the UTSA Libraries Special Collections (www.lib. utsa.edu/special-collections). Kittu’s life was exemplary — may she rest in peace. 2

On Thursday, January 29, 2015, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona demonstrated once again why he needs psychological therapy for anger management. As chair of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, he holds tremendous power on issues of war and militarism that makes his anger a threat to world peace. On that day, a group of protesters from the women-led grassroots organization, Code Pink, interrupted McCain’s hearings on Capitol Hill demanding that his star guest, Henry Kissinger, be arrested for war crimes. McCain angrily yelled at the female protester calling her “low-life scum.” A brief look at Henry Kissinger’s history shows that McCain was screaming his insults at the wrong person...

Historians have documented that during the 1968 U.S. presidential elections, President Nixon and Kissinger were concerned that if the Vietnam War ended before the elections, the Democratic Party candidate Hubert Humphrey would win. To prevent that, Nixon and Kissinger plotted to continue that bloody war. Kissinger promised South Vietnamese President Thieu better deals after the election if he would refuse to accept a peace proposal made by North Vietnam. As a result, over 20,000 U.S. soldiers and thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians died. Another example of Kissinger’s deeds: declassified U.S. government documents expose how Kissinger, President Nixon’s National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State, was the mastermind behind conducting a secret and illegal indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia between 1969 and 1973. Using B-52 bombers they

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issinger has been charged in international courts of masterminding, financing and training terrorist forces in many parts of the world from 1970 thru the late 1980s.

dropped the equivalent of five Hiroshima bombs on a peasant society killing over one million innocent Cambodians. While Kissinger continued his wars in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Chile held its 1970 presidential elections and Salvador Allende was elected president, democratically—his election confirmed by the Chilean Congress on October 22, 1970. Immediately afterwards, U.S. corporations including IBM, ITT, Coca Cola and others demanded that Nixon and Kissinger intervene to remove Allende from office. Both the Nixon Administration and U.S. corporations sent millions of dollars into Chile to form an opposition and to sabotage the economy through CIA operatives. Kissinger, as Nixon’s Director of the National Security Council, was the coordinator of that terrorist plan that he called “Operation Condor”. He was quoted as saying, “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people—the issues are too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.” After months of trying to sabotage Allende’s government, Kissinger decided to unleash a bloody coup on September 11, 1973 that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Chilean activists and innocent people. Kissinger also gave his approval to have General Augusto Pinochet installed as president, immediately, and publicly referred to Pinochet as “the savior of the Chilean people.” The military dictatorship that followed under Kissinger’s idol was one of the bloodiest in the history of Latin America. In 2001, while Kissinger was living in Paris, a French judge tried to serve him with a summons to appear in court concerning concrete evidence linking him to the assassination of Chilean General René Schneider two days after President Allende’s election was confirmed by the Chilean congress. General Schneider was the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean army and opposed the planned military coup against President Allende. The CIA had been promoting the coup as part of “Operation Condor” and, with Kissinger’s approval, paid thousands of dollars to a group of assassins who on October 25, 1970 ambushed and murdered Schneider. The U.S. embassy in Paris hurriedly helped sneak Kissinger out of France and

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Kissinger Reading List

to the U.S. Since then, the Schneider family has been seeking justice in U.S. federal courts but the U.S. State Department has been shielding Kissinger from prosecution. Kissinger’s bloody legacy continued after the Chile coup. In 1975, he used his power as Secretary of State during the Gerald Ford Administration to convince the Indonesian dictator, General Suharto, to invade East Timor. Indonesia had come under U.S. control in 1965 when the CIA financed, armed and organized the overthrow of President Sukarno and replaced him with Suharto after a bloody coup that, according to historians, left over one million dead. After East Timor won its independence from Portugal, Kissinger wanted to prevent the Timorese people from controlling their own country and their destiny. One of Kissinger’s goals was to take over Timor’s vast oil fields in its territorial waters. So, he unleashed another bloody coup. In his memoir, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then U.S. ambassador to the UN, wrote that in the first couple of months of that coup, Suharto’s terrorist forces massacred “over 60,000 persons.”. I could go on and describe many more

atrocities perpetrated by Kissinger. From Bangladesh in 1971, to Uruguay in 1973, to Argentina in 1976, to Nicaragua, to Panama, etc.—all resulting in millions of innocent people killed. Surprisingly, and shamefully, Kissinger and his cohorts from those bloody actions continue to be interviewed in U.S. national TV networks and welcomed to speak in universities. At the same time, the brave and dedicated women in Code Pink keep encouraging us to believe that a peaceful and just world is possible. So, given Kissinger’s torrid history and the angry tantrum exhibited by John McCain who keeps defending him, a logical question to ask that hostile senator from Arizona is: Senator McCain, who was the real low-life scum you had in front of you on January 29th? 2 Bio: Antonio is a community and labor activist who began his activism against the Vietnam War after completing a tour in the Marines. Since then, he’s been an organizer with various independent groups. Publisher, editor & writer for progressive newspapers, he’s currently writing a book on San Antonio’s progressive movements from 1968 - 2004.

State of Denial by Bob Woodward The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky Kissinger & Cyprus: A Study in Lawlessness by Gene Rossides Pol Pot and Kissinger on War Criminality and Impunity by Edward S. Herman The National Security Archive, George Washington University “Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup September 11, 1973. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 8.

Blanca S. Ayala

beloved mother, grandmother and aunt, died Jan. 23, 2015 at 86 years of age. Born March 29, 1928, on the city’s West Side, she was the last of 15 children born to Pablo Serna, a man of the borderlands, and Catarina Rios Serna, an orphan who immigrated to Texas from Mexico in 1900. “Blanquita” attended Public School No. 40 (“La 40”) that later became Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School and Lanier High School. After the death of her husband, Ricardo, she she raised two of their four children alone continuing to be involved in their schools and providing a loving home. She worked as an Avon lady, a salesperson at Joske’s Las Palmas and as a cafeteria lady at Cooper Junior High, among other jobs. On the last day of her life, family members from ages 2 to 68 circled her bed, placed their hands on her, prayed and gave thanks that she was now at peace. The Esperanza extends our sympathy to the Ayala family.

Que en paz descanse.

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center presents

Dulce Vigilante:

Remembrances of the Western Region of Puerto Rico

ART EXHIBIT featuring illustrations

by Andrea María Carnaval On display through March 6th Esperanza Gallery Hours: M-F, 10am-7pm | 210.228.0201

or nearly 10 years, the San Antonio community has shown their solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), who recently received the 2015 Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Their Anti-slavery Campaign works hand-in-hand with their Campaign for Fair Food, which has included many successful corporate campaigns. The Boot the Bell Campaign, launched by the CIW’s student ally network -the Student/Farmworker Allance (SFA)- called on high school and college campuses to cut their contracts with Taco Bell starting in 2001. While the University of Texas @ San Antonio did not have a Taco Bell on campus at the time, the growing national support—with over 300 schools working on the campaign— led the UTSA administration to an agreement that would prevent Taco Bell from doing business with the university. A victory was announced in 2005 when the first Fair Food Agreement was signed between the CIW and Taco Bell. In 2014, the Boot the Braids Campaign kicked off with a new call to young people to use similar tactics to put pressure on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program. We are thrilled to be bringing leaders from the CIW and SFA in April for the San Antonio premiere of Food Chains and look forward to the many intercambios and pláticas to come! The following is an exerpt from an interview, part of the CNN Freedom Project, a series about ending modern-day slavery, featuring Food Chains director Sanjay Rawal. — by Marina Saenz Luna

November 19th, 2014: Q&A with Sanjay Rawal, director of Food Chains, a documentary that examines the plight of farm laborers in the U.S. CNN asked its director, Sanjay Rawal, about the movie and how it came to be made.

CNN: What was the most surprising thing you found while making this movie?

Rawal: We look at supermarkets as benign, neighborly institutions when they’re anything but. The supermarket industry is as large as tech. And the companies within the grocery sector are bigger. Walmart’s grocery division alone made almost twice as much gross revenue than Apple. CNN: Does anything you see offer hope that conditions are improving?

CNN: Did you encounter any resistance as you made this film? Rawal: We have encountered stiff resistance from the supermarket industry. Farmers have been very appreciative because they suffer daily under the massive pressure supermarkets place on them. Grocery is an industry that’s frankly out of control. CNN: How has the film been received? Rawal: We’ve had a stellar reaction from chefs, foodies and farmworkers. I think it’s clear from the film how we’re all connected to one another through the food system. CNN: What do you hope this film will accomplish?

CNN: How do you expect people to react to this documentary?

Rawal: I think people will be shocked by the footage we have (shot by the amazing Forest Woodward), but they’ll also feel hopeful—that there is a solution to the exploitation of workers. CNN: You weren’t scared to go after some very large corporations and industry associations. Why did you think it was important to name names and direct some of the tension in the documentary towards particular organizations? Rawal: We’ve seen the horrendous mushrooming of corporate influence in this country, effectively neutering legislators who are beholden to these sources of campaign dollars. If legislators won’t fight for our food system, we have to—by attacking the companies atop the food chain. CNN: What can people do to make a difference to the conditions of farm laborers? Rawal: We need to support workerdriven movements. No one can guarantee the true sourcing of a product more than a worker. We need to support worker organizations and programs like the Fair Food Program that can guarantee the rights and wages of those who pick our food. 2 Note: See back AD for info on the upcoming Film Screening + Action

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Rawal: Modern-day slavery, sexual harassment, wage theft—these are realities within farm labor, but no longer in the Florida tomato industry. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, together with Florida tomato farmers, has transformed what was known as ground zero for modern-day slavery in the U.S., into the most progressive sector of American agriculture.

Rawal: We need major corporations like supermarkets and fast food chains to adopt the few farmworker rights programs out there. The CIW’s Fair Food Program is one.

* community meetings *

Amnesty International #127 For info. call Arthur @ 210.213.5919. Bexar Co. Green Party: Call 210. 471.1791 or bcgp@bexargreens.org Celebration Circle meets Sun., 11am @ Say Sí, 1518 S. Alamo. Meditation: Weds @7:30pm, Friends Meeting House, 7052 Vandiver. 210.533.6767. DIGNITY SA Mass, 5:30pm, Sun. @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1018 E. Grayson St | 210.340.2230 Adult Wellness Support Group of PRIDE Center meets 4th Mon., 7-9 pm @ Lions Field, 2809 Broadway. Call 210.213.5919. Energía Mía: Call 512.838.3351. Fuerza Unida, 710 New Laredo Hwy. www.lafuerzaunida.org | 210.927.2294 Habitat for Humanity meets 1st Tues. for volunteer orientation, 6pm, HFHSA Office @ 311 Probandt. LULAC Council #22198, Orgullo de SA, meets 3rd Weds, 6:30pm @ Luby’s, 911 Main Ave., Alamo Room. To join e-mail: salgbtlulac@gmail.com NOW SA Chapter meets 3rd Wed’s. For time and location check FB/satx.now | 210. 802.9068 | nowsaareachapter@ gmail.com Pax Christi, SA meets monthly on Saturdays. Call 210.460.8448

LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 2•

Proyecto Hospitalidad Liturgy meets Thurs. 7pm, 325 Courtland.

SA Women Will March: Planning Meetings are underway. Check: www. sawomenwillmarch.org|210.262.0654 Metropolitan Community Church services & Sunday school @10:30am, 611 East Myrtle. Call 210.472.3597

Overeaters Anonymous meets MWF in Spanish & daily in English | www. oasanantonio.org | 210.492.5400. People’s Power Coalition meets last Thursdays | 210.878.6751

Be Part of a

Progressive Movement in San Antonio

PFLAG, meets 1st Thurs. @ 7pm, University Presbyterian Church 300 Bushnell Ave. | 210.848.7407. Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm | www. pomcsanantonio.org. Rape Crisis Center 7500 US Hwy 90W. Hotline: 210.349.7273 | 210.521.7273 Email: sgabriel@ rapecrisis.com The Religious Society of Friends meets Sunday @10am @ The Friends Meeting House, 7052 N. Vandiver. | 210.945.8456. S.A. Gender Association meets 1st & 3rd Thursday, 6-9pm @ 611 E. Myrtle, Metropolitan Community Church. SA AIDS Fdn 818 E. Grayson St. offers free Syphilis & HIV testing | 210.225.4715 | www.txsaaf.org. SGI-USA LGBT Buddhists meet 2nd Sat. at 10am @ 7142 San Pedro Ave., Ste 117 | 210.653.7755. Shambhala Buddhist Meditation Tues. 7pm & Sun. 9:30am 257 E. Hildebrand Ave. | 210.222.9303.

¡Todos Somos Esperanza! Start your 2015 monthly donations now! Esperanza works to bring awareness and action on issues relevant to our communities. With our vision for social, environmental, economic and gender justice, Esperanza centers the voices and experiences of the poor & working class, women, queer people and people of color. We hold pláticas and workshops; organize political actions; present exhibits and performances and document and preserve our cultural histories. We consistently challenge City Council and the corporate powers of the city on issues of development, low-wage jobs, gentrification, clean energy and more. It takes all of us to keep the Esperanza going. What would it take for YOU to become a monthly donor? Call or come by the Esperanza to learn how.

S.N.A.P. (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Contact Barbara at 210.725.8329. Voice for Animals: 210.737.3138 or www.voiceforanimals.org SA’s LGBTQA Youth meets Tues., 6:30pm at Univ. Presby. Church, 300 Bushnell Ave. | www.fiesta-youth.org

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Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.

March 2015

Join the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health for International Women’s Day with a Community March and Rally in Brownsville, TX on Sunday, March 8th sponsored by Human Rights Coalition of South Texas. On Monday, March 9th the Human Rights Network and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health sponsors Nuestra Voz, Nuestra Salud, Nuestro Texas: A Women’s Human Rights Hearing. See www.nuestrotexas.org or Email: info@ nuestrotexas.org Las Hermanas: The Struggle is One, an Interdisciplinary Symposium March 19-21 @ Univ. of the Incarnate Word honors Las Hermanas, a grassroots Latina movement formed 40 years ago to challenge the church in society. Registration: $50. Women Religious and students are free. Contact Adri-

enne Ambrose, Ph.D. at ambrosea@uiwtx. present and future of curanderismo. More info on Facebook. edu or see www.uiw.edu/lashermanas INCITE!’s Color of Violence 4 (COV4)— Beyond the State: Inciting Transformative Possibilities Conference is March 26-29 in Chicago. This marks 15 years of engaging in grassroots organizing projects, critical conversations, national actions, transnational campaigns & community building strategies to end colonial, racial and gender-based violence against women of color, trans and queer people of color & our communities. See www.colorofviolence.org for more. Folk Healing, Curanderismo and the Practice of Biomedicine Conference sponsored by the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences will be held on April 22-23 @ University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburgh in the Rio Grande Valley looking into the

Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) @ UT-Austin w/ Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa are honored to serve as hosts of El Mundo Zurdo 2015: Memoria y Conocimiento, Interdisciplinary Anzalduan Studies—Archive, Legacy, and Thought May 27-30. Papers on the Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers, 1942-2004 at the LLILAS-Benson Latin American Studies & Collections are among the topics presented. Free, but registration is required. See www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cmas UC-Davis offers Summer Abroad courses including Indigenous Literary Movements in Chiapas, July 1-31, with instructor, Inés Hernández-Ávila (ighernandez@ucdavis. edu). See studyabroad.ucdavis.edu.

UTSA WOMENS HISTORY MONTH EVENT HIGHLIGHTS FULL SCHEDULE, TIMES AND LOCATION at www.education.utsa.edu/womens-studies/schedule_of_events

Thursday, March 5 3 – 5 PM Women’s History Month Reception w/ Favianna

Rodriguez & Dr. Yvonne Katz @ JPL Assembly Room 4.04.22

Wednesday, March 4 4:00 PM | Dr. Patrisia Gonzales - Indigenous Peoples’ Healing Practices: The Body-Land-Time in the Ceremony of Return 6:00 PM | Dr. Jeanine Weekes Schroer - Walking Softly and Other Virtues for Combating Oppressive Narratives Friday, March 6 1:00 PM | Dr. Lauren E. Gulbas - Deconstructing Marianismo: Gender and Attempted Suicide by Latina Youth

Monday, March 16 1:00 PM | Amber Genuske & Carina Kolodny - Cliteracy Tuesday, March 17 2:30 PM | Dr. Patricia Lopez -Latina Intersectionality and Race – Gendering in Texas’ Legislative Process 7:00 PM |Say Word: Performing Voices of S.A. Women through Poetry Monday, March 23 11:30 AM | Anel Flores Empanadas and Art 1:00 PM |Dr. Ben Olguin Red Leather Gloves Thursday, March 26 5:30 PM | Marie Ferdinand and Millie Lam - Can We Talk…about Shooting for the Stars?

19th Annual Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice

Saturday, March 28th, 2015

9AM - Community Program @ Guadalupe and S. Brazos. 10AM - March to the Alamo with Grand Marshal Little Joe of La Familia

Nickie Valdez & Deb Myers ¡Felicidades! 29 years together! Wishing you much joy and happiness in the years to come! De parte de la staff y buena gente de Esperanza

www.cesarlegacy.org

LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 2•

Tuesday, March 3 11:30 AM | Dr. Patricia Portales - Tejanas on the Home Front: Women, Bombs, and (Re) Gendering of War in Mexican American World War II Literature

LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 2• 25th Annual San Antonio

article p.13

International Woman’s Day March and Rally We Will Keep Marching Until We Are All Free: Women Telling Our Stories

Saturday, March 7th

MEET 10AM @ Plaza del Zacate (Milam Park) www.sawomenwillmarch.org

Join us for our monthly concert series,

Noche Azul de

FILM SCREENING + ACTION FRIDAY APRIL 3 at 6PM @ Esperanza | $5 más o menos

w/ leaders from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Student/Farmworker Alliance

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org

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SATURDAY MARCH 21ST 8PM @ Esperanza $5 Donation

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center presents a Women’s History Month special event:

Antonia I. Su Vida y Castañeda Su Obra

Her Life and Her Work

Saturday March 28, 7 pm @ Esperanza, Free

Celebrate Antonia’s book release and her life as an academic, activist, and cultural arts advocate with + Special guests and artistic tributes + Plus film excerpts from Antonia: A Chicana Story (dirs. Luz Maria Gordillo & Juan Javier Pescador, 2013) article p.3