Author: Lilliane Ballesteros
Speakers, films, student performances and a family picnic marked this year’s Semana de la Raza, an annual weeklong celebration of Chicano/a, Latino/a culture, art and history hosted by MEChA/ALAS. This year’s theme was “The Latino Movements of Our Generation.” Latino movements of several countries were featured throughout the week.
Other sponsors included ASOC, Programming Board, KOXY, the Intercultural Community Center (ICC), Remsen Bird and Community Relations.
The week started with music in the quad, Monday, March 31 as students danced and were given small flyers announcing the week’s coming events.
Event organizer and MEChA/ALAS Chair Cesar Serrano (senior) said he and Leo Magallon (senior) started planning last semester, speaking with Assistant Director of the ICC Naddia Palacios. “Naddia really helped with the organizing,” Serrano said.
Serrano said the organizers originally planned to dedicate each day of the week to a specific country’s Latino movement, including Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. He said that although each country was not as focused as much as would have liked, he was glad that all the Latino movements were featured in a display that was available for students to view the entire week in the ICC. On Tuesday, April 1, local high-school students visited Occidental to view the display, something made easier by MEChA/ALAS’ collaboration with Occidental’s Community and Government Relations. Director of Neighborhood Partnership Jesus Maldonado is MEChA’s adviser. “Through Maldonado, we are able to work more with the neighborhood,” Serrano said.
The week also featured special Marketplace menu options, with dishes from Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela. The organizers met with Associate VP for Hospitality Services Amy Munoz beforehand. Serrano said Munoz was “very open with that.”
MEChA/ALAS sought funding from ASOC. “We knew that funding was going to be an issue,” Serrano said. He said the organizers tried to start early funding requests. “We tried to get an ASOC request in early; we knew that ASOC was already short on funds,” he said. “It was still not in as early as we would have liked.” The organizers also received money from the Remsen Bird Funding. They also contacted Programming Board and KOXY to help with some of the events. Club funds helped supplement the events. “We were also comfortable taking money out of our account[ing],” Serrano said.
On Tuesday, April 1, students gathered in the cooler for a night of dance and spoken word performances. The show was a celebration of Chicana art and featured the work of local artist and Oxy Alum Diana Correa De Rempel ’77. Occidental’s Folklorico Company, who performed at this year’s Dance Production, showcased their talent. Ana Vasquez (first-year) performed a song in dedication to singer Selena. Musical group In Lak Ech, a Mayan greeting that translates to “I am you, and you are me,” also performed. The night’s highlight was Cyn Da Poet, who read several poems in Spanish. Cyn Da Poet is known for her direct style and ability to tackle sensitive subjects in the Latino community through her work.
On Wednesday, April 2, Raices de Sangre, a film aimed to involve audiences by getting them politically involved, was screened. On Thursday, April 3, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was screened. The film, released in 2002, is a documentary that focuses on a Venezuelan coup that overthrew Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in 2002.
Semana de la Raza ended with discussion about the Zapatista Movement in Mexico. A panel of Los Angeles Zapatismo activists was featured in Friday’s event entitled, “Zapatismo and its Relevance to our Generation.” Speakers included music artist Olmeca, Assistant Professor of History and Associate Coordinator of the Latin American Studies Program at CalState LA Enrique Ochoa, Outreach Coordinator for Healthy School Food Coalition at Organizer Center for Food and Justice Laura Palomares, Researcher and Coordinator for the non-profit Eastside Cafe Roberto Flores and member of the Immokalee Workers Melody Gonzales.
Olmeca performed Friday night in the cooler along with other artists for the “Zapatism: Creative Resistance” event. Other performers included Folk Ballet Company Grandeza Mexicana, Chicano/a theater comedy troupe Teatro Chusma and musical group Quinto Sol.
Rounding out the week was Dia de la Familia, a family event held at the ICC on Saturday, April 5. Families celebrated by eating Latino dishes and partaking in children’s face painting, a jump castle and piñatas.
Magallon commented on the events’ aftermath, saying, “We feel that the week was a great success! A lot of people were impressed with the variety and depth that our programming contained throughout the week. We were able to reach a diverse audience and represent several different regions within Latin America.”
Serrano echoed the sentiment, but was also disappointed at the lack of student participation. “For the most part, the turnouts were good, but I was expecting more from the Oxy community. Unfortunately, it’s mostly the same people that go to our events, which consists of people of color. I would have liked to see more support from non-MEChA/ALAS members because that is one of the reasons I plan events. I do it to bring a valid representation of the topic or issue to our campus so those audiences that are not normally exposed to this issue can be exposed to it.”
Serrano talked about the club’s advertising, saying much was done to get more people to attend the events. “I know advertising was not an issue because we passed out 1,000 flyers, chalked the walk, sent emails to the digest and sent emails on Facebook,” he said. “So people knew about our events. Everything just becomes very clear to me when the Doctor’s and Nurses Dance can draw half the school and not put up one flyer, while we can only draw 100 people for a benefit for the Chiapas Communities, which some called the best event of the year. There is something wrong there.”
In regards to next year’s Semana de la Raza, both Magallon and Serrano said they were hopeful that new leaders would emerge to plan the events. “We have a strong group that will definitely be ready to step up to the plate next year,” Magallon said. “We hope to continue our relationship with Naddia Palacios of the ICC, who was a great help throughout the entire process.”
Serrano said he expected a lot from next year’s group. “I expect next year’s e-board to expect a lot of themselves as well. I was already talking to Professor Katie Mills and we want to have an event on Chicano/a Lowrider Culture. I know next year’s club will follow-up with her on that. Semana de la Raza is my favorite week because of the tradition it has at this college. I just hope we can continue to do it justice.”
Overall the organizers were pleased with the week. “Despite some of its struggles I feel that the week was an overall success,” Serrano said. “We planned some great events. The people that came had an awesome time. As long as the people that came felt moved during an event I helped planned; and even if it was just one soul, it’s all worth it to me. I feel like we brought something special and something to be proud of to the Oxy campus. Zapata Vive!”
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