CSRC Newsletter - November 2009

Volume 8, Number 3

Director’s Message

As we celebrate the CSRC’s fortieth anniversary, we look back to our numerous accomplishments and honor the people who helped make them possible through their talent, tenacity, and vision. But we also continue to innovate, developing new research methodologies and employing new modes of dissemination. Become a CSRC Fan on our new Facebook page, visit our Wikipedia page, and view excepts from our DVDs on the CSRC’s YouTube channel. Check them out, and then send us your feedback so we can continue to improve our outreach not only to the academic community but to the world beyond.
 
Chon A. Noriega
Director and Professor
 

News

CSRC in Guadalajara
CSRC will be represented at a number of events during the twenty-third annual Guadalajara International Book Fair—Feria Internacional del Libro (FIL). Los Angeles is this year’s guest of honor at the FIL. The Guadalajara book fair is a dynamic literary and cultural festival, with more than 600,000 visitors. For more information, visit FIL website. CSRC activities include:
 
Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, the groundbreaking exhibition co-curated by Chon A. Noriega, opens November 6 at El Museo de Arte Zapopan (MAZ). The exhibition will run through January 31, 2010. Since Phantom Sightings inaugurated at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in 2008 it has traveled to museums in Mexico City and San Antonio and has been seen by over 100,000 people.
 
Vexing: Female Voices from East L.A. Punk, a multimedia exhibition on the punk-rock scene in the late 1970s and 1980s, will open at the University of Guadalajara Museum of Art on November 27. The show, co-curated by Colin Gunckel, assistant professor of screen arts and cultures at the University of Michigan and associate editor of the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series, originated at the Claremont Museum of Art last May.
 
In addition, the CSRC Press will feature a selection of its publications and DVDs in the exhibitors’ hall. Javier Iribarren, assistant director of the CSRC, will take part in a seminar titled “Mercado y Communication.” Seraina Rohrer, CSRC visiting scholar, will present at a conference held in conjunction with the fair (see below).
 
Annual Latinidades Conference
Tere Romo, CSRC arts project coordinator, participated in the third annual Latinidades conference on October 7–9 at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) in Spain. The conference focused on the contributions of Latin American immigrants to the cultural dynamics of European and American cities. The Manifesto de Barcelona, a document outlining the ideas and conclusions of the conference, will be released later this month.
 
Photography of Oscar Castillo
El Movimiento: Chicano Identity and Beyond through the Lens of Oscar Castillo continues at The Latino Museum of Art, History, and Culture. This exhibition presents photographs taken by Castillo during the 1970s and 1980s that document the artists and activists of the Chicano movement. The CSRC Library is developing an online digital archive of over 5,000 photographs drawn from the Oscar Castillo Papers, a collection donated by the photographer to CSRC in 2006. Look for the launch of the Oscar Castillo photography archive in December.
 
New School Honors Sal Castro
LAUSD recently voted to name a new middle school after Sal Castro, the Chicano activist and educator. Mr. Castro is best known for his role in the 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkouts and his life-long commitment to youth leadership in Los Angeles. The middle school is located on the campus of Belmont High School. In 2006 the CSRC organized the Sal Castro and the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference: The Development of Chicano Leadership Since 1963.
 
Presentations by CSRC Visiting Scholar
Seraina Rohrer, CSRC visiting scholar from the University of Zurich, will present her research findings on the films of La India María at “Geographical Imaginaries and Hispanic Film,” a conference at Tulane University, New Orleans. Her presentation, on November 6, will focus on issues of migration and border crossing. On November 27 she will present her work at “Cine y Frontera: Territorios Ilimitados de la Mirada,” a conference that will take place during the annual Guadalajara International Book Fair. The conference is organized by La Red de Investigadores de Cine (REDIC).
 
Publications by CSRC Visiting Scholar
Alvaro Huerta, CSRC visiting scholar and Ph.D. student in city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, is the author of several publications that have recently appeared in print and online media. An essay that appeared in the Daily Bruin in October describes why CNN should drop Lou Dobbs from its schedule. Essays on immigration and health care reform were published in The Progressive in October and September, respectively, and reprinted in numerous U.S. newspapers. His short story for children, “The Reader,” was published on November 1 in the Kids’ Reading Room section of the Los Angeles Times. The story describes how his Mexican immigrant parents, who lacked formal education and held low-wage jobs, motivated Alvaro and his older brother, Salomon Huerta (a renowned Chicano artist) to pursue higher education. As teens, Alvaro and his brother were day laborers in Malibu, California.
 

Events

Melnitz Screening
Melnitz Movies and the CSRC will present a screening of Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive! on Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 p.m., at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater (Melnitz 1409). Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive! is considered the first Chicano feature film. Produced and directed by Efraín Gutiérrez and written by Sabino Garza, the film inspired Chicano-oriented independent film production in Mexico and the United States. Admission is free. Follow the links for a map and directions to the theater and for a schedule of Melnitz screenings. Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive! is the sixth DVD in the CSRS Press’s CSRC’s Cinema and Media Arts Series.
 
Activist to Speak
Renowned educator and activist Ericka Huggins, a former leader of the Black Panther Party, will give the keynote address at “Buildin’ Bridges and Stirrin’ Waters: Women of Color Activism and Feminism.” This event will be held Thursday, November 5, 5:30­–7:30 p.m., in the Powell Library Rotunda (second floor). Professor Huggins, who teaches in the Women's Studies program at California State University–East Bay, will talk about women in social movements and color feminism. Other speakers will include Mary Kao, publications coordinator for the UCLA AASC Press, Stephanie Santos, PhD student in women’s studies at UCLA, and Mo Nishida, veteran community organizer. The CSRC is a co-sponsor of the event.
 
40th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture
Join us for the first of three lectures in the CSRC’s 40th Anniversary distinguished lecture series. José Limón, Regents Professor of American and English literature at the University of Texas at Austin, will present “On Birmingham and Brownsville: Cultural Studies in the Light and Shadow of Américo Paredes,” on Thursday, November 19, 4:00–5:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines Hall). A reception will follow. To RSVP or for more details e-mail csrcinfo@chicano.ucla.edu.
 

CSRC Library and Archive

YRL Librarian at CSRC Library
Norma Corral, YRL librarian, will help students with their research papers in the CSRC Library (144 Haines Hall) every Monday, 1:00–2:00 p.m., from the fifth week through November 23rd of the fall quarter. Students may drop by during her CSRC office hours or schedule an appointment at ncorral@library.ucla.edu.
 
Collections Preservation
Three collections are currently being processed and preserved.
 
Vista en LA. This collection contains papers from Vista en LA, a local magazine that covered popular Latino culture from a Tropicalia perspective.
 
Plaza de la Raza. In addition to processing the Plaza de la Raza archive, the CSRC is currently working with Yvette Doss to prepare an essay for an upcoming book on the collection, which will be published as a volume in the CSRC Press’s Chicano Archives series. Situated in Lincoln Park, Plaza de la Raza is the only multidisciplinary cultural arts center serving Latinos in Los Angeles. It provides year-round programs in arts education and fosters the enrichment of all cultures.
 
The Joan Moore Papers. This collection contains the original research papers, interviews, and manuscripts of Dr. Moore, who has made major contributions to the social sciences in the areas of crime, drugs, and gangs. Dr. Moore has written two widely respected books—Homeboy: Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles (Temple University Press, 1979) and Going Down to the Barrio (Temple University Press, 1992)—and numerous articles.
 

CSRC Press

Two New Policy Briefs
The CSRC Press will release two new policy briefs this month. In The State of Latino Los Angeles (Latino Policy and Issues Brief No. 24), Abel Valenzuela Jr. uses an equality index to compare the quality of life of Latinos with that of other major racial/ethnic groups in Los Angeles. His study reveals that Latinos face disadvantages in many areas.
 
In a study of support for aging Latino baby boomers, Carlos M. Haro surveyed ten prominent advocacy groups and service organizations. Findings show that these groups do not adequately address the needs of the growing population of elderly Latinos. This brief, Advocacy for Latino Baby Boomers: Protecting an At-Risk Population (Latinos and Economic Security Policy Brief No. 4), was produced with the help of Javier Iribarren, Karina McCormack, and Yvette Flores.
 

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