Chisme Blog
It's been a chingón academic year--I've been flying around tanto con mi Superwoman Xicana cape that I can't believe summer is here! My keynote address, which was entitled, "My Life Journey from the Farmworker Fields to Stanford University" was a huge success and will go down in my Xicana life as one of the most inspirational moments of my life. It was both humbling and enriching to address women from all over the world and to share my message of social justice. An important social activist in the audience, Samina Sundas, introduced herself to me as the Director of the American Muslim Voice Foundation. She then explained how the AMV strives to promote peace, trust and respect among all diverse communities. Samina described how one of the AMV's awards was named after César Chávez. There were many inspiring young women that I met at the conference. One in particular, a Nigerian graduate student stood out among them. This young woman went out of her way to tell me how inspired she was by a phrase from my speech, "When you're born with nothing , you have everything." Another highlight from my Stanford visit was visiting with Adan Griego and Roberto Trujillo, the curators from Green Library, who showed me what happens to my boxes of "junk" I send them each year for my archives or the "Gloria Velásquez Papers." This was exciting and fun to think that I will be immortalized on "The Farm." Last but not least, I revisited El Centro Chicano where I taught my first Xicano course as a graduate student. I met with a former friend of mine, Frances Morales, who is now the Director at El Centro Chicano. Frances introduced me to some Chicano students as well as informing about their recent socio-political activities. It was amusing to see how El Centro Chicano has been transformed from the old rasquachi building it once was to a modern cultural center.
From Stanford University I flew to Denver to perform at the Lalo Delgado Festival. This event was also inspirational since it is an annual homage to one of our great Movimiento poets, Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado, who passed away several years ago. It was inspiring to hear Ramón Del Castillo perform his poetry. (Ramón and I go way back to our UNC days in Greeley, Colorado) One of his poems about immigrant rights was very effective with its repetition of the verse, "When an immigrant dies," which is also the title of the poem. I also loved reconnecting with my Denver comadre poeta, Margie Domingo. And an unforgettable moment came when I spoke with Lola Delgado, who insisted on being at the event even if it meant coming in a wheelchair. Lola and I shared stories about the Canto al Pueblo where I first met Lalo and other Movimiento poets such as José Montoya.
Upon my return to Califas, I put my cape back on and went to Cuesta College to the "Edúcate" Latina Leadership Conference for teen girls which was named after my poem, "Edúcate." It was quite an honor to see all those teen girls and to share my poetry and message of self-empowerment. "Edúcate," les grité along with "Speak up, Xicanita," a line from my Xicana Power Trip poema.
En fin, I came back from both trips more inspired than ever to continue writing and doing my "Xicana thing." This July, I will host another Raza Speaks in Guadalupe and showcase some local poets y también leer unos poemas nuevos. I'm still plugging away on Tommy Stands Tall, the 9th novel in RHS Series. It's coming slowly, pero ni modo. Bueno, 'ay nos wachamos y hasta la próxima!
La Superwoman Xicana on the Movida