Tag: CMASR

CMASR director plans new initiative, speaker series

Professor, novelist, poet and scholar, Christopher Carmona, PhD, now adds a new title to an impressive resume: Director of OLLU’s Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR).

His plans for CMASR include launching an exciting speaker series and helping OLLU implement a bilingual, biliterate, bicultural and binational (B4) initiative. 

The B4 Initiative is a university-wide effort that facilitates OLLU becoming a bicultural, bilingual, biliterate and binational Hispanic Serving Institution through curricular approaches, community engagement, and relevant research initiatives.

“Having a B4 initiative would certainly set us apart from any university in the country because we would be the first to implement it,” said Dr. Carmona, an Associate Professor of Mexican American Studies. “With this initiative the university would embrace its Latino majority student body and make the Spanish languages, as well as Mexican American and Latino cultures, accessible and embraced.”

Dr. Carmona also aims to launch a speaker series this fall that coincides with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, two days after the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, the CMASR will host scholars from “Refusing To Forget,” a nonprofit that raises awareness about state sanctioned violence on the Texas-Mexico border between 1910-1920.

Though no date has been set, San Antonio native and U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos will also speak at OLLU. “He’s from the West Side of San Antonio,” Dr. Carmona said. “I’m excited.”

The Speaker Series will be held at the CMASR, which is housed in Moye 214, across  from Dr. Carmona’s office. “It is important for students, faculty and community to be exposed to Latinx peoples working in the world and changing it for the better in the various fields, from the sciences to education,” he said. 

An accomplished writer, Carmona is the author of “El Rinche: The Ghost Ranger of the Rio Grande.” Last year, he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters, which comprises the state’s most recognized and serious writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism and scholarship.

Before arriving at OLLU in 2022, Dr. Carmona taught at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and served as Interim Director of the Mexican American Studies Program.

OLLU Marketing Sept. 2022

Historical narrative on Mujeres Tejanas de el Alamo set for Tuesday

Ethno historical researcher Dr. Citlali Maria Zentella will engage participants through a historical journey on “Mujeres Tejanas de el Alamo accompanied by Los Inocentes” on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Library Community Room.

The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR), the Center for Women in Church in Society and the Humanities and Social Sciences Department is hosting the two-hour event.

Those interested may also attend virtually at bit.ly/43wS4fc. For questions, email nmartinez29fl@ollusa.edu.

‘Listening to Wars’ presentation to be held on April 3

Dr. Christina Baker, Professor of Latin x American Theater at Temple University, will present “Listening to Wars: Enacting Violence on the Contemporary Mexican Stage” in Main Building, Room 311 at 12:30 p.m. on April 3.

The one-hour talk will center on how theater artists use the aural realm to represent the sonic impact of Felipe Calderone’s “War on Drugs” and ongoing instances of violence. 

Lunch will be provided.

The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR), the Center for Women in Church in Society and the Humanities and Social Sciences Department are hosting the event.

Those interested may also attend virtually at bit.ly/3V6wRX7. For questions, contact Dr. Jessica Hajek at jchajek@ollusa.edu.

‘Life and Death on the Border’ panel exhibit begins Saturday

OLLU, the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research, the Sueltenfuss Library, and Refusing To Forget proudly present “Life and Death on the Border: 1910-1920,” a panel exhibit that includes photographs, postcards, court documents, and rare artifacts that tell the story of daily life and re-examines Texas historical events of the early 1900s in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas.

The exhibit will be on view from Saturday through March 31, 2024, at the OLLU Sueltenfuss Library.

The Refusing to Forget project worked alongside colleagues throughout the state and nation to help research and put together this exhibit and event series. These histories inspired Tejano literature, art, and music and influenced the creation of the Mexican American civil rights movement.

The schedule for the event is as follows:

Saturday from 10 a.m. 2 p.m.

Historias de la Gente: Oral History recording session where OLLU students and volunteers will help record the stories of the community:

Topics might include:

1.     Stories of living through anti-Mexican violence and its impact.

2.     Stories of living growing up in the West Side | South Side of San Antonio, South Texas

3.     Stories of civil rights struggles

4.     Stories that detail family history and lore

We will also be opening a call to community members to donate/ have on display items and artifacts that reflect the history of Mexican Americans in San Antonio and South Texas or that relate to the history of Chicanos in South Texas. These items will only be on loan to the OLLU library during the length of the exhibit: Nov. 11, 2023 – March 31, 2024.

Renowned educator Dr. Laura I. Rendón coming to OLLU Nov. 6

Renowned educator Laura I. Rendón will speak at OLLU on Nov. 6 presenting one session for faculty and staff, one for faculty and one for students.

SESSION I — “Fostering Success for Low-Income, First-Generation Students“
Open to all faculty and staff
Nov. 6
12:30-1:45 p.m.
MARC Ballroom
Register online
This session is designed to help faculty and staff work with low-income, first-generation students.  The focus will be on the importance of validating students as capable learners, recognizing and leveraging student assets, and employing a sentipensante (sensing/thinking) approach to teaching and learning that also connects to issues related to equity and justice.

SESSION II —  “Designing A Culturally-Validating Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking Pedagogy)”
Open to faculty, registration required.
Nov. 6
3-5 p.m.
MARC Ballroom
Register online (required)

This workshop will feature an overview of contemporary pedagogies that can foster inclusion, equity, justice and well-being. In particular, Rendon will explain the basic tenets of operating with Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy to address the interconnection and rhythmic balance between intellectual, social, emotional and inner-life skill development. Rendón will feature videos of faculty who foster deep learning while employing prácticas de conocimiento/illuminative knowledge tools (i.e., autoethnography, socially-driven art, photography, guided imagery, audio narratives, music and periods of reflection).

SESSION III — “Overcoming Challenges and Employing Strengths to Succeed in College“
Open to all students
Nov. 6
6:30-7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Thiry Auditorium
No registration required

This session will present the key challenges first-generation, low-income students face in college and how students can overcome them.  Students will also learn personal strengths which can be employed to succeed in college, the importance of establishing validating relationships, and the need to learn the college learning culture.

The McNair Scholars Program, Center for Mexican American Studies and Research, Center for Women in Church and Society, HuSS Department, Title V PODER Grant, THECB Grant, and 1st Gen. and Tri Alpha Student Organizations are sponsoring Dr. Rendon’s visit.

To learn more about Dr. Rendón, visit: https://www.laurarendon.net/. For questions, contact jmquintero@ollusa.edu.

‘Sana, Sana … Mental Health and the Latinx Community’ to be held Tuesday in Library Community Room

An expert panel from the Center for Health Care Services will be on campus Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Library Community Room to take part in a discussion on effective strategies for emotional physical well-being for the Latinx community.

Titled, “Sana, Sana … Mental Health and the Latinx Community,” the event will include experts Juanita Rodriguez, MA LPC-S, Vice President for Clinical Outcomes; Clarissa Aguilar, PhD, LCP, Director of Psychology and Training; and Melissia Tijerina, LMSW, Vice President Child Behavioral Health. They will talk about cultural factors and barrier related to mental health. Yolanda Rodriguez-Escobar, PhD, Director of the OLLU Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR), will moderate the discussion.

For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be available on Zoom at tinyurl.com/Sana-Sana; password is OLLU.

It is hosted by CMASR and Center for Women in Church and Society. CEUs will be provided.

For more information, contact Dr. Rodriguez-Escobar at yrodriguez-escobar@ollusa.edu.

CMASR acquires new collection from late Chicana poet, activist

The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research has acquired a collection of papers from Angela de Hoyos, the late Chicana poet, artist, songwriter and activist. 

Her body of work featured feminism, gender and Chicana philosophy as prominent themes. De Hoyos wrote Spanish language song lyrics in the 1950s and poetry and essays in the 1960s and 1970s when she emerged as a prominent voice in the Chicano movement.

She also produced drawings and other artistic motifs that included flowers and nature, buildings in the Spanish architectural style, sculptures and family portraits. De Hoyos enjoyed an international reach, as several of her works were translated and published in South America and Europe. The poet and author Raúl R. Salinas referred to her as the “spiritual den mother of Chicano letters.” 

In 2021, her husband Moises Sandoval donated materials related to her career to the CMASR Special Collections at OLLU. The Angela de Hoyos papers consist of approximately five linear feet of printed and digitally scanned documents, audio and video saved to CD and DVD, spanning her career from the 1940s through the 2000s.

Included in the collection are original poetry, books, instructional pamphlets, royalty statements and various publications in which she was featured. The digital files contain photos of her paintings, sculptures and block prints, dresses and pottery. 

The finding aid to the Angela de Hoyos papers is published under the Our Lady of the Lake University Library webpage for the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research. 

The papers are accessible in person by appointment at the Special Collections for the CMASR, located in the Our Lady of the Lake Convent, room 112. Through the summer, the archive is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Contact archivist Joseph De León at jdeleon6315@ollusa.edu.

CMASR to celebrate Afro-Latinidad on Thursday

Lee Rios of Semenaya Dance Studio will lead the event, “Celebrating Afro-Latinidad,” on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the Mall Area. Sponsored by the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research, the celebration will include Afro Caribbean dance and music. All are invited to come and learn basic Salsa steps and see Merengue, Bachatá and Kizomba. 

Free Puerto Rican food will be available from El Coqui.

If the weather is too cold, the event will be held in the Multicultural Activities and Recreation Center (MARC), formerly known as the International Folk Culture Center (IFCC).

For a complete calendar of CMASR events this spring, look here:

Latinx Indigeneities Book Talk to be held on Wednesday

The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR) will hold a virtual Latinx Indigeneities Book Talk with anthropologist Sherina Feliciano-Santos, PhD, on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Feliciano-Santos will discuss an indigenous community incorrectly believed to be extinct — the Tainos of Puerto Rico. To join the one-hour Book Talk via WebEx, go to: https://bit.ly/RazaEvents.

For more information, contact Dr. Aimee Villarreal at amvillarreal@ollusa.edu.

CMASR looking for graduate assistant and undergraduate work study

The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research (CMASR) is looking to hire a graduate assistant and undergraduate work study. Interested students may email CMASR Director Aimee Villarreal at amvillarreal@ollusa.edu.

CMASR supports OLLU’s mission and values as a Hispanic Serving Institution. The Center promotes awareness of the broad diversity of Mexican Americans and the Latinx communities through cultural events, scholarship and activism. CMASR sponsors cultural events and activities, advances research and knowledge and inspires campus engagement.