Viva la Feminista

I attended Program A of the Yo Solo Theater Festival of Latino Solo Shows at the Flat Iron Arts Building on Sunday (Media day). The festival will be: Featuring six solo pieces by Latino writers from Chicago and around the U.S. Yo Solo is an event that will display the breadth of talent and the rich complexity of each individual performer as they bring their own personal experiences to the stage, collectively creating a beautiful collage about the Latino experience. In addition to six solo performance pieces, visual art installations and live music will add to Yo Solo’s festival vibe. The first performance was "La Risa de Dios" written and performed by Febronio Zatarain: La Risa de Dios captures the voices and stories of the Latino immigrant community of Chicago and how they see our city. Through monologue and song, Mr. Zatarain captures the joy, the heartache, and the challenges of living in the big city and the dreams that bring us here. He certainly ...

CALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection Cinema and the Mother: Motherhood in Contemporary World Cinemas    Editor: Dr. Asma Sayed   DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: October 31, 2012! Mother figure plays an essential role in cinema. Films have, by and large, presented a stereotypical role of a mother wherein she is hailed for her sacrifices and hated for having any personal desires. Representation of motherhood in world cinemas has either been framed within patriarchal norms or within nationalist discourses in which mother figure symbolizes the nation. Patriarchy glorifies motherhood, and cinema as an institution reflecting socio-cultural reality has tended to idealize motherhood; depending on the ethno-cultural paradigms, mother figure is presented either as angelic or demonic, thus prescribing a normative image. While cinema can and does impact the perceptions of its audiences, a...

I'm taking Summer of Feminista to Blogher! I am loving all the blogger badges , but here are the ones that fit me: Due to the last minute decision, I'll only be at Blogher on Saturday. But don't let that stop you from stopping me and saying hi. The reason for attending Blogher (other than to see friends) is to be on a panel about Latinas in elected office : Event Date: August 4, 2012 - 9:30am - 10:45am The demography couldn’t be more clear: Latinas are the new power brokers, politically and economically. Elected officials and analysts of electoral politics speak about the rising influence of Latinas in elected office, what they uniquely bring to the political process, and the role of social media in their 21st century political leadership. This panel takes a close-up look at the roles some key Latinas are playing in shaping politics. Ana Roca Castro moderates a discussion with blogger Veronica Arreola, Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, NYC Councilwoman Melissa ...

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes Yvonne Condes. She is the Editor and Co-Founder of  MomsLA.com , a community with more than 125 bloggers in Los Angeles. She is a Mom of 2 boys, former newspaper reporter, and occasional marathoner. Also find her at her personal blog  YvonneInLA.com , on Twitter  @YvonneInLA   @MomsLA , and  Facebook  . She is PBS KIDS VIP and a member of PlayStation Family. My son asked me a question during the last presidential election. He wanted to know why the Obama campaign was asking for money. I explained that it was how it was done; the candidates raised money to buy ads in the hopes that people will see the ads and vote for them. “Why would you give money to someone who has lots of money and not to charity?” Yes, why would I give lots of money to any campaign especially right now, 4 years later. I donate money to the public school my boys go to and I give my time. Without donations there isn’t enough money for t...

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes  Martha Carolina Preciado from www.martyness.com , music bloggera from Latin America, as she discusses what she wants to see from the 2012 Presidential Candidates. As a Latina voter, an issue on President Barack Obama’s political agenda which resonates is access and affordability for underprivileged students to higher education institutions. Specifically, a long term goal of Latino educational advancement. Latinos remain significantly underrepresented in enrollment and acceptance rates. For many, financing college is a hardship. Yet another major obstacle are social barriers in public education which continue to prevent economically and educationally disadvantaged students from pursuing higher educational opportunities. Limited funding allocation and poorly executed academic preparation programs are misconstruing guidance of students towards college. Question to consider towards President Barack Obama’s political stance on educat...

Remember that book everyone was reading a few years ago about the plight of women and girls around the world? Well it's still being read (although it still sits dusty on my book shelf taunting me) by thousands and has grown into a movement. Not only is there a fab looking website and a PBS special October 1st and 2nd, but today there is a twitter chat! Wednesday, July 18 Join Half the Sky and Somaly Mam at 5:30 pm Eastern Use the hashtags #endslavery and #halfthesky  This is happening during summer camp pick up, so I can't join in the discussion, but I hope you can make it! Disclaimer: I'm a member The Mission List , which supports me in writing about the causes I care about. All opinions are my own.

This week we welcome Michelle from xishell words ! I have a confession: I haven’t been paying much attention to the upcoming presidential election. There, I said it. I consider myself to be a progressive Xicana Feminist, so it’s kind of embarrassing to admit it. But now that I have and that I’m thinking about it, I really haven’t paid much attention to any presidential election- possibly ever. I’ve read articles, watched some TV, but I’ve never done in-depth research into a candidate’s position on this or that because I know that I’m going to vote for the Democratic candidate. I’m not a Democrat. I’m most definitely not a Republican. I’m ideologically opposed to our current two-party system, what is the name for that? From my perspective, there isn’t much of a difference between the candidates when it comes down to it. What Republicans say frightens me, what they do terrifies me; what Democrats say sometimes encourages me, other times, confuses me and then what they do, fr...

WOWZERS! I can't believe it's already been five years since I opened this blog . I seriously do not even know where to start. So much has happened since this baby opened. So many new books read, honors, opportunities, but seriously, it is all about the people I have met through my writing here. Thank you to everyone who has continued to check in here despite me neglecting it during my return to graduate school. And to celebrate VLF's anniversary, I've spiffed her up with a new template (so if you're reading this elsewhere, you might want to click over). Not everything is perfect yet, but some things had to wait until I hit the switch. I'm planning a few surprises for the rest of the summer...before I have to hit the books again. And don't forget to keep up with Summer of Feminista . Tomorrow's post is excellent! Here's to another five years!

Cheryl Haworth isn't just strong, she was the youngest athlete to win an Olympic weightlifting medal. The documentary, Strong! , follows Haworth as she recovers from a frightening injury. But what made this story poignant was how weight, femininity and beauty are discussed.  At one point, Haworth and two other women who weight-lift discuss what it means to larger than average and it was heartbreaking. Haworth recounts that during the 2000 Olympics a man asked her to pose with a cheeseburger. Now imagine me in my living room yelling, "REALLY?!" Haworth and the other women talk about how they are athletes and thus watch what they eat. But at 300 lbs, Haworth looks more fat than strong to most people. And that conflict between loving her strong body and conforming to society's beauty standards plays out during a shopping trip where Haworth voices her displeasure with even finding clothes in her size. "I find solace knowing I could beat up anyone in this stor...